March 18, 2010

TomTom Reporting Average Speed Limits

Flexing their muscles on data acquisition, TomTom was cited in the Wall St Journal in reference to average speed limits on highways state by state. So while the article is interesting in that most states have average speeds a lot higher than 55MPH, and many states have raised the legal speed limit either as a forethought or in reaction to the reality, I think that the cool GPS story here is that TomTom is starting to think of themselves as a data collection and analysis company. These types of studies and data citations usually indicate that the company is sitting on some cool stuff, and that they feel it's worth sharing to further a strategic vision. Now comes the guessing game of what that vision is....

Since TomTom has announced their crowd sourced traffic in the US, through the advent of their iPhone App that offers anonymous tracking for data collection purposes, TomTom is starting to gather steam behind the idea that not only getting from point A to point B is important, but doing so in a smart fashion based on empirical data is where this category is going. I happen to agree.

More at Wall St Journal

March 18, 2010

Garmin - Movin' on Up to Switzerland; Dividend Doubles

Garmin is going to be asking shareholders to approve a move of their umbrella company from the Cayman Islands to Switzerland. If approved the move is said to help with strategic location for growing their European business, and of course the murky world of tax favorability. The number crunchers must have been busy with this one, but I would imagine that with European acquisitions in recent years, their critical mass on that continent makes for a compelling balance sheet change.

As part of the move, Garmin will have a one time increase of the cash dividend from $0.75 per share, to $1.50 per share. Must have had some cash hidden in the closets down there in the islands!

March 17, 2010

Garmin Edge 500 Bike Computer Gets the Team Garmin Argyle Traeatment

Garmin is skinning the their Garmin Edge 500 cycling computer with the team colors - argyle in honor of the Team Garmin biking colors. The team that features Christian Vendevelde will unveil the new design along with a more calm black and white treatment in May at the Tour de California.

Looks like a nice design on the Edge that is a solid performance minded biking computer. It is a low profile bike GPS that has data galore, and no on screen mapping. The unit tracks speed, distance, time, GPS position, elevation, calories burned, climb and descent; the latter is facilitated by a barometric altimeter in the Edge 500.

The blue and White version is available at Amazon Now - Garmin Edge 500

March 17, 2010

Navigon MyRegion- Regional iPhone Navigation at a Great Price

Navigon has announced a new way to get their iPhone navigation - Mobile Navigator with regional maps. Don't need the whole US? Why pay for it is the idea. The limited mapset comes at a limited price - Navigon Mobile Navigator with MyRegion for $25; additional regions are $13. The US is divided up into three regions: Eastern, Central and Western - and they all download to the iPhone upon purchase, but you only get access to the region you bought. Need another region - buy it in the App, and get access immediately.

Navigon MyRegion is a full featured application with turn-by-turn directions, Google local Search, Reality view of the road ahead, and optional Traffic-live, an add-on that grabs some pretty sophisticated traffic feeds and renders a very accurate traffic picture for you.

U.S. East map: AL, CT, DE, FL, GA, IN, KY, MA, ME, MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VT, VA, WV

U.S. Central map: AL, AR, CO, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NE, NM, ND, OH, OK, SD, TN, TX, WI, WY

U.S. West map: AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY

Available at iTunes (iTunes Links):

MyRegion East

MyRegion Central

MyRegion West

Full Press Release Below.....

Continue reading: "Navigon MyRegion- Regional iPhone Navigation at a Great Price"

Read More in: Mobile Phone GPS | Navigon GPS

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March 15, 2010

Garmin Nuvi 285WT - $119 at Amazon

The Garmin Nuvi 285WT is a full featured widescreen GPS that offers text-to-speech, bluetooth hands free, and for a while, access to MSN Direct's load of features including traffic, weather, movie times, local gas prices and more. The downside here is that MSN Direct is stopping in January 2012, making the MSN direct features short-lived.

The upside is that the unit itself is a solid unit, offering a lot of capability at this price - widescreen GPS navigation with Bluetooth. The discount is pretty significant, driving the populatrity of this GPS at Amazon to the top of their best seller list.

At Amazon - Garmin Nuvi 285WT - for $119

March 10, 2010

TeleNav - Insight into GPS Use

Telenav has researched what people are using their service for - where people are going, what they are looking for and how they are battling traffic. The data was collected anonymously from their applications and on-phone navigation system. What's the most searched for Point of Interest? Which city needs to re-route around traffic? What's the most searched for food?

The data is fun to look through and it's not a surprise to see the results - like Pizza being the most popular search for food, WalMart being the most popular Point of Interest searched for, and maybe not a big surprise that Los Angeles is figuring out how to get around traffic most frequently. The data is a fun read.

More on TeleNav and their navigation solutions at Telenav

Full press release after the jump...

Continue reading: "TeleNav - Insight into GPS Use"

March 9, 2010

Win a SPOT Satellite Messenger Emergency Tracker GPS

I tweeted this earlier today, and wanted to post a link to the page too. If you enjoy the back country, you should consider a SPOT Tracking GPS. The SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger
allows you to send an SOS message to authorities, a personal message to friends, or an "I/'m OK" message through a satellite system not through a cellular system. So, no matter how far you are out there, you can still get word back on your status.

Head over to GPS for Today to enter

March 8, 2010

What Does IPX6 and IPX7 Waterproof Rating Mean?

When you are out on the trail, and your hike just turned into a muddy downpour mess of an afternoon, you'll want to make sure that you are carrying a GPS that is rated to handle the weather.

Most handheld GPS units are rated to the IPX7 waterproofing standard; a pretty good standard that keeps the unit sound in the face of whatever a typical hike bike, run or other outing can throw at it. Some handhelds are rated to the IPX6 standard; which is a lower standard that doesn't offer the immersion capability that the IPX7 does...... Immersion capability? Yes, see below:

IPX6 Waterproof Standard

Heavy splashing and rain - This test sends water at all angles through a 12.5mm nozzle at a rate of 100 liters/min at a pressure of 100kN/m2 for 3 minutes from a distance of 3 meters. Must not fail or show water seepage.

IPX-7 Waterproof Standard

Puddle, stream, beer cooler and splash rated - Protected against water immersion - Immersion for 30 minutes at a depth of 1 meter.

I have had my GPS units out in the driving rain for hours and have dropped them in muddy puddles without issue on the IPX7 standard. I like it and it works for almost anything you can throw at it on a typical day.... except dropping it overboard on a boat..... and luckily that hasn't happened.

Photo via:Tom Curtis / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Read More in: GPS News | Handheld GPS Reviews

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March 6, 2010

RIP - Garmin Colorado 400 Series Discontinued

The Garmin Colorado 400 series was discontinued by Garmin recently and I am sad to see it go. While that means there will be plenty of deals on it in the coming weeks to months, it was and for me, remains a strong reliable GPS with advanced features that made the upgrade from an eTrex obvious and painless. The first to include a set of features that brought the handheld GPS to a more user friendly place like USB computer connections, pre-loaded with Topo, Coastal or Inland waterway maps, a large and easily readable screen all helped to make it a powerful contender. The wireless sharing of routes, waypoints helped and when combined with the ability to display data from other modules, like a heartrate or bike cadence monitor made it an attractive new device on the market.

While discontinued, I think that the Colorado will still offer great service for years to come. I still use mine on a regular basis for hiking, biking and boating, and expect to for years to come. When i have a crowd, I use my decade old eTrex Vista and an eTrex Vista C - both old, both discontinued and both still reliable.

Introduced just two years ago at CES, it was quickly followed by the touchscreen Oregon series which has seen more popularity, spawning its smaller sibling the Dakota. The touchscreen versions seem like an easier sell, and a more sustainable platform.

Look for good deals on them as the Garmin Colorado 400t is about $295, which is around at $50 discount to a similarly equipped Oregon 400t.

Thanks Mike for sending this in.

March 5, 2010

TomTom - Fightin' Words for 2010

TomTom had their earnings announcement recently, but buried in the text are a few clues for 2010 that offer a bit of insight into what's up for the company. They announced that they will be looking at more accurate travel times and predictive traffic in some countries. They have been taking steps towards this for a long time.

TomTom launches MapShare - TomTom starts with getting more accurate maps by crowd sourcing map fixes.
TomTom Buys TeleAtlas - they now own their map source and start investing in more accurate maps.
TomTom Captures User data from their trips - Result is more real-world trip data; IQ Routes is born
TomTom Launches iPhone App - starts capturing travel time and traffic data
TomTom Announces iPhone App ver 1.3 - Live Traffic on the iPhone

In their earnings announcement TomTom said:

Traffic information is a key investment area for us, as we know that our technology can substantially enhance accuracy and coverage. We will bring innovative, new product propositions to the market this year, such as predictive traffic information, in a growing number of countries."

It is unclear if TomTom will be using their partner Inrix for the data, or if they will be generating the information themselves through their network of GPS probes and historical information. It is not easy to do predictive traffic, as you need to understand historical speeds, as well as understand how accidents and the effects of those accidents and other effects like storms, large gatherings and special events can change traffic flow. Inrix has figured this out and also has very detailed coverage of secondary roadways in at least the US, and may offer similar quality capabilities in Europe where they have been making headway recently at data and client acquisition.

TomTom is also throwing down the gauntlet on the statement of quality:

"When it comes to location and navigation solutions, we are the only company in this industry fully focused on delivering an uncompromised consumer experience. By continuously enriching the granularity and completeness of our guidance solutions, such as by adding slope, lane and curve information, we differentiate what we can offer across the broad spectrum of our products and expand the available market."

Sounds like fightin' words to me. On top of that, I expect with that statement to see innovation in using additional map attributes to create new products this year. Back in 2007 when I went to visit TomTom, I rode in the TeleAtlas van and saw the future potential as they captured road signs, lane information and building image capture - all attributes that are used today in higher level navigation units with speed limit data, lane assist capability and in some cities 3-D drawings of buildings.

Back in 2007, TeleAtlas also talked about capturing information about lane position, and it seems like TomTom is positioning themselves to get into lane departure warnings too with their recent announcement. Never a dull moment in this field and ripe with innovation potential.

March 4, 2010

Nokia Nuron - 3G Phone with On-Board Navigation

Just in case you thought that things were settling into a nice Garmin v. TomTom and iPhone v. Android war with neatly drawn lines, Nokia is launching the Noika Nuron 5230 in the US that will come with onboard maps, and integrated navigation capabilities; Nokia, you know, the owners of NAVTEQ - the map maker who stars in the NAVTEQ v. TeleAtlas wars.

The Nuron is Symbian based and is coming out in a few weeks for the T-Mobile system and has a 3.2-inch display and is Nokia's first US phone with on board navigation. The phone will come with a $39/mo minimum plan plus a $10/mo dataplan, making it line up pretty well with other smartphone offerings in the market. What makes it stand out is that it is only $69 for the phone.

It will have driving and pedestrian routing, as well as lane assistance built in. The phone also comes with free real-time traffic updates, event and movie listings, and weather forecasts. Of course, just in case you need more, you can get it from the full HTML browser.

ReadMore in TWICE

March 2, 2010

TomTom Bringing HD Traffic to iPhone - Ver 1.3

TomTom is making the move into connected traffic services for their iPhone application and its release is just around the corner. The HD Traffic option will not only add higher definition traffic reporting, through high quality updates of traffic flow and incident reporting, but also offer insight into accurate duration of your trip, and alternate routes. The big question will be how detailed the reporting will be on smaller side roads. Without traffic reads on side roads, many navigation systems will erroneously recommend a "faster" route on the the side road that is actually clogged worse than the highway.

Press Release is below.....

A number of new services and features are coming soon to the TomTom app for iPhone, including TomTom HD Traffic for real-time traffic speed and incident reports, and Local Search powered by Google. The latest update to the TomTom app for iPhone (version 1.3), which has been submitted to Apple for review, will offer these and other soon-to-be-announced enhancements to ensure an optimal, and even more intuitive, navigation experience.

"TomTom is fully committed to offering TomTom app users the services and features they demand most," said Tom Murray, vice president of market development for TomTom Inc. "The latest update to the TomTom app for iPhone offers our highly sought-after real-time traffic service option, enhanced point-of-interest search capabilities and a wide range of other features."

Read More in: Mobile Phone GPS | TomTom GPS News

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March 1, 2010

New Garmin Friction Mount - Lighter, Smaller

A lot of people just prefer friction mounts to keep the windshield free of suction cup mount marks, and some just want the GPS closer in cars with steeply raked windshields. Whatever the reason, the new Garmin mount does away with the beanbag style in favor of the tacky bottom style. The kicker here is that the base is flexible and can conform to your dashboard's contours. Very cool.

New design is lighter weight, more flexible and more compact.
The integrated arm can be folded down for easy storage in an automobile or luggage and holds your Garmin Nuvi
Transfers from car to car

Available with free shipping from Amazon - New Garmin Portable Friction Dashboard Mount

Read More in: GPS Accessories | Garmin GPS News

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February 25, 2010

TomTom XXL 530S - $149 Amazon - 5-Inch GPS Text to Speech

The TomTom 530S is on sale for $149 which is a pretty good deal on this 5-inch screened unit. When it was announced last September, it listed for $279. Most widescreens are 4.3-inch screens, but the TomTom gives you a bunch more real estate combined with a good set of capabilities, including text to speech - yes it says the street names.

The units features a ton of TomTom features including MapsShare, IQ Routes to give you optimal routing on roads, full maps of North America, and an easy folding EasyPort mount that offers quick on, quick off mounting with easy storage.

at Amazon - TomTom XXL 530S

February 24, 2010

Inrix Traffic Scorecard: Congestion up; Economy and Construction Effects

Inrix has released its annual study on the traffic congestion in America taking a fresh look at what's happening overall and where the worst congestion spots are across the country. The good news is that it appears that the economy is on the mend as traffic bottomed out in March/April of last year, the bad news is that congestion is up overall, especially in the non-rush hours where there was a 25% increase in congestion. The stimulus package and its associated construction efforts are changing patterns; worse congestion where construction projects have kicked off and relieved congestion where they have finished.

Overall, for those who commute, you probably already know that the best day to commute is Monday, and the worst on Thursday with people taking long weekends to relieve a little stress. The trouble is that the worst morning commute is Wednesday, while the worst evening commute is Friday - not too many people are staying late on Friday.

No surprise that Los Angeles tops the list for worst traffic; here's the top 10:

1. Los Angeles, Calif.
2. New York, N.Y.
3. Chicago, Ill.
4. Washington, D.C. (up from 6th in 2008)
5. Dallas, Texas
6. Houston, Texas (down from 4th in 2008)
7. San Francisco, Calif.
8. Boston, Mass.
9. Seattle, Wash.
10. Philadelphia, Pa. (up from 11th in 2008)

Inrix grabs their traffic from about 1.6 million GPS probes out on the roads that take the form of road sensors, GPS probes in fleet vehicles and more frequently users of applications like their Inrix Traffic! App on the iphone where the travel progress along the road is anonymously sent back for reporting on in-the-moment traffic conditions. If you want pure traffic reporting on the web, you can see their data on Mapquest, or on your iPhone with their Inrix Traffic! App (iTunes Link). They also power the traffic functions on most of the iPhone Apps, including Navigon (iTunes Link).

More data and details after the jump.

Continue reading: "Inrix Traffic Scorecard: Congestion up; Economy and Construction Effects"