Technologizer

Is TomTom Toast?

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Among the bevy of interesting things about Verizon’s Droid smartphone is Android 2.0’s new version of Google Maps, which includes full-blown turn-by-turn GPS navigation with spoken instructions–for free. Judging from the couple of trips around San Francisco it’s guided me on so far, it would be pretty darn appealing even if it wasn’t a freebie–the [...]

TomTom GPS Comes to the iPhone: So Far, Not So Good

Monday, August 17, 2009

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TomTom’s long-awaited–relatively speaking–GPS navigation software for the iPhone is now available on Apple’s App Store. It’s $99.99 for a version that includes maps for the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada–pricey for an iPhone app (and almost three times as much as CoPilot Live, which I haven’t tried yet) but not outrageous given the extreme usefulness [...]

Finding Sexual Predators? There’s an App for That.

Monday, July 27, 2009

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For ninety-nine cents, iPhone users can download an app called Offender Locator to locate sexual offenders in their vicinity. You might be surprised what you learn, even if you’re not personally worried about sex offenders at the moment. Offender Locator was reviewed on TechCrunch today. The app has become one of the top ten paid [...]

Google Latitude on the iPhone: Impressive! Not Confusing!

Friday, July 24, 2009

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Google’s Latitude–which lets you use your phone to share your location with friends–has finally debuted on the iPhone, months after it showed up for Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile. On the iPhone, it’s a Safari-based Web app rather than an iPhone app. But it’s apparently only a Web app because Apple was unhappy with the [...]

Navigon Navigation Comes to the iPhone

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

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One by one, the big names in GPS navigation are landing on the iPhone, thanks to iPhone OS 3.0’s support for turn-by-turn directions. Last month, AT&T released a navigation service powered by TeleNav. And today, Germany’s Navigon announced that the North America. version of its MobileNavigator is available on Apple’s App Store. AT&T’s Navigator costs $10 [...]

Talking, Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions Come to the iPhone

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

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The iPhone 3.0 app goodness continues roll in. An iPhone version of AT&T’s Navigator turn-by-turn GPS driving directions app is live in Apple’s App Store. It’s one of several navigation apps that have already appeared in the week since iPhone OS 3.0’s arrival. (The most eagerly-awaited one, though, is probably from TomTom–and it’s not due [...]

Air Force: No, GPS Will Not Fail

Thursday, May 21, 2009

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The Air Force has begun work to allay fears of GPS system failure following a GAO report last week that the system stands a risk of deteriorating starting in 2010. In a scheduled online forum over Twitter on the topic, the armed services branch said in no uncertain terms that GPS is not going anywhere. “No, [...]

Let Folks Glympse Your Location

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

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How many times in your life have you called someone to tell him or her where you were–or to admit that you had no idea where you were? If your sense of direction is as lousy as mine, the answer is “lots.” Glympse, a free new application for GPS-enabled smartphones launched this week at the [...]

GPS System May Start Deteriorating Next Year

Friday, May 15, 2009

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The GPS system is beginning to show its age, and like some of the elderly among us, may begin losing its way beginning in 2010. This is due to the aging of the satellies themselves, some of which have been in operation for close to 20 years. According to the Government Accountability Office, the Air Force [...]

5Words for May 4th, 2009

Monday, May 4, 2009

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Never assume RIM is toast: BlackBerry Curve outells the iPhone. Two trends conspiring against Microsoft. 11.6″ EeePC on its way. Navigon exits North American market. “Houdini’s” a great phone name. MySpace formulates its turnaround strategy. Myst for iPhone: It’s humongous! WiiMotion Plus on sale. The White House gets social. The world’s lamest cell phones.

Location-Based Services: Cool! Disturbing!

Monday, April 27, 2009

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GigaOM has published an interesting read about how Apple’s iPhone has driven demand for location-based services. The rise of these services was inevitable, but now there need to be recognized, accepted practices about what they can and can’t do. A few years ago, I changed a setting on my Nokia to avoid commercial SMS messages. I [...]

Dash Express is Killing Its Device? Sad. And Smart!

Monday, November 3, 2008

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Dash Navigation has announced that it’s going to stop selling the Dash Express, its clever, well-reviewed Web-enabled GPS unit. Instead, it’ll focus on licensing its technology to manufacturers of other gadgets–in-dash navigation systems, smartphones, netbooks, and the like–and it will cut its staff (reportedly by two thirds) to reflect its new direction. For a company that [...]

IFA: A Few More Photos

Saturday, August 30, 2008

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My time at the IFA electronics show is winding down, but I’m still catching up on reporting back here on everything I’ve seen on the show floor. Herewith, a few more items… Beko had a booth full of pretty generic looking TVs and other products, but in a world chock-full of electronics companies with pompous taglines, [...]