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Hankhan

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    Rand McNally enters the GPS market

    in GPS technology and devices

    Posted

    Rand McNally Enters Portable GPS Market

     

    By Gregg Keizer, TechWeb Technology News

     

    Map and atlas maker Rand McNally on Tuesday introduced its first portable GPS navigation device, entering an American market already crowded with competitors.

    The Rand McNally GPS Navigator, which lists for $499.99, fits on a vehicle's dashboard, and can be easily dismounted to tuck into a briefcase or bag, said the Skokie, Ill.-based company. The device boasts a 3.5-inch color touch screen, voice prompting, and automatic rerouting for missed turns, along with maps of the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

     

    It also comes with a companion printed road atlas and trip planner to overcome what Rand McNally characterized as the "limits of any small device screen in providing the 'big-picture' perspective."

     

    The portable GPS market is very competitive, with several vendors -- including Garmin, Lowrance, Magellan, and Tom Tom -- already entrenched in consumer sales.

     

    Rand McNally's navigator is available now from the company's online store or from Amazon.com. It will go into wider distribution next month, said the company

    City Select Or City Nav For Gsmap 76cs?

    in GPS technology and devices

    Posted · Edited by Hankhan

    I've read something about the map segments (? whatever they are) being larger in navigator than they are in city select. Will navaigator segments fit in my 76CS? I believe it has something like 115 mb of memory. I think both select and navigator have the same detail, tho I confess I'm not sure.

     

    thanks...

    Moving/saving Waypoints

    in GPS technology and devices

    Posted · Edited by Hankhan

    I've made progress. Thanks! I was able to move my waypoints into/out of Mapsource, and I figured out to put them into categories. Then, if I'm doing this right I save whatever is on my screen into a file. Is this right? Am I missing something? Am I supposed to be putting my few waypoints on my map and into a category, and then saving it? Then I assume I can bring that file up and move it back to the GPS as needed??

    Moving/saving Waypoints

    in GPS technology and devices

    Posted

    I'm sure this is a stupid question, but I've tried searching and can't find the answer.

     

    I've got a bunch of waypoints on my GPS and I'd like to organize them. I've typically got 3 or 4 from places I hunt/fish. Is there something I can use to move them from the GPS to my PC, put them into a file that names them by general location and then move them back to the GPS when I'm going to be visiting that area again? I've got a GSMAP76 and Mapsource TOPO. I just learned how to find my way to a waypoint last weekend - if I hadn't I might still have been wandering around in the mountains of N. Idaho.

     

    Thanks...

    Segway Puts Gps On Roadmap

    in GPS technology and devices

    Posted

    Segway Inc. launched a new program on Wednesday, through which it will offer free global positioning systems made by Garmin along with its Human Transporter vehicles.

     

    As part of the promotion, labeled by the firms as Find Your Way with Segway, buyers will receive a free Garmin eTrex Legend or eTrex Legend C GPS handheld unit when they buy a new Human Transporter (HT), Cross-Terrain Transporter (XT) or Golf Transporter (GT) through January 2006. The Segway HT retails for $4,495, while the XT model costs $4,995 and the GT goes for $5,495.

     

    The Garmin GPS devices, which retail for roughly $170 and $250 respectively, are considered by some experts to be among the better personal GPS units on the market.

     

    Executives at Bedford, N.H.-based Segway said that engineers at the company may add various kinds of onboard electronics to future models of Transporters, and indicated that the company may look to partner with other device makers to combine popular technologies like the Garmin with its vehicles.

     

    While Segway discourages people from wearing headphones while they ride Transporters, Apple's iPod music player has become a trendy device to mount on the two-wheeled scooters.

     

    Klee Kleber, vice president of marketing at Segway, said that the GPS add-on was a virtual no-brainer based on the manner in which people tend to use the Transporters.

     

    "People who ride the HT tend to use sidewalks, bike trails or slow roads, so having a GPS around to give you the best route can be helpful to finding where you want to go more easily," said Kleber.

     

    "It also gives people something else to look at when they're heading on the daily commute, and we've heard from our customers that they're interested in things like just how far they are traveling, and how long it takes them to get there."

     

    In addition to the eTrex handhelds, buyers will receive a custom mount for the devices and one of Garmin's mapping software applications, which list the locations of places such as restaurants, hotels and ATMs, in addition to charting local roads.

     

    The Garmin eTrex Legend features a monochrome display with 8MB of internal memory while the Legend C has a color display with 24MB of memory, and also features an auto-routing system which promises to give a Segway rider detailed directions on how to get to their destination.

     

    Both units track speed, heading, distance and path traveled, and elapsed time, and offer Garmin's TracBack feature, which is meant to automatically guide a rider back to the beginning of their trip.

     

    Existing Segway owners will be able to purchase the Garmin GPS units with software and mounts for $399 and $499 for the eTrex Legend and Legend C, respectively.

     

    While privately held Segway doesn't release sales results, Kleber said that the company has sold increasing numbers of the vehicles by encouraging their use in specific tasks, such as with the Golf Transporters.

     

    In another example, several cities have even begun deploying the machines to police officers. The company reported that it doubled quarterly sales when it launched a trial program for the Transporters at the end of 2004.

    Mapquest Launches Portable Navigation Device

    in GPS technology and devices

    Posted

    MapQuest Launches Portable Navigation Device

    MapQuest and TomTom will launch on Oct. 3 a MapQuest-brand portable navigation device that can be used in the automobile, called the MapQuest Personal Navigation Device (PND).

     

    The unit is essentially a rebranded TomTom Go 300 GPS navigation device and will be sold only through the MapQuest Web site, said MapQuest’s chief technology officer Austin Klahn

     

    “The MapQuest Personal Navigation Device represents the most natural and significant extension of our brand to date, as we move beyond the PC and take navigation into the car, making it simple for drivers to reach their desired destination and change course if needed,” said Klahn,

     

    The unit is designed to mount on the dashboard or windshield. It has a touch screen and allows routing options such as “quickest,” “shortest,” or “avoiding toll roads.” Maps are stored on a 1GB hard drive with maps of the United States and Canada preloaded. The MapQuest PND has rechargeable battery and ships with car accessories and a USB 2.0 cable at $699.

     

    For a few years, MapQuest has offered services to allow users to port MapQuest directions from a PC to Java-enabled handsets from nearly all carriers. The MapQuest PND marks the company’s first device for the car.

     

    Eventually, MapQuest hopes to port directions from its Web site to the MapQuest PND through a Bluetooth-enabled cellphone, as the PND is also Bluetooth enabled. But at present, the MapQuest PND operates independently of the MapQuest Web site, Klahn said.

     

    MapQuest is a wholly owned subsidiary of America On Line.

    New Gps Satellite Launched

    in GPS technology and devices

    Posted

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) -- A Boeing Delta 2 lifted off from its seaside pad shortly before midnight Sunday, carrying into space the first of a new generation of Global Positioning System satellites.

     

    The dramatic night launch was a positive milestone for the mission, which had been delayed multiple times over the past six months by technical issues. The rocket created a halo effect as it passed through thin, low clouds.

     

    The Lockheed Martin-built satellite, dubbed GPS IIR-M, is the first in a series of eight new spacecraft designed to provide stronger signal strength, better protection against jamming and additional signals for both military and civilian users.

     

    The mission comes on the heels of the 10th anniversary of the GPS constellation becoming fully operational in April 1995. The system includes 24 operating satellites as well as a number of spares in orbit.

     

    One of the biggest benefits to nonmilitary users is the addition of a second civilian signal, said Air Force Col. Allan Ballenger, who oversees the GPS Program Office.

     

    "I think this, it's a pretty huge step," he said. "The military has been using two frequencies from day one of GPS. This will be first time that we are adding a second frequency for civilian users."

     

    The second signal will provide more accuracy by compensating for ionic interference in the atmosphere. But civilians will not be able to reap all the benefits of the new system until more of the new satellites are in orbit, Ballenger said.

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