Subscribe to Gizmag's RSS feed
Follow Gizmag on Twitter
GPS
Cuman personal tracking devices for persons, pets or products
By Darren Quick
00:09 April 14, 2009 PDT
While Orwell’s 1984 suggested that human surveillance and tracking would be an integral part of a dystopian future, the reality looks to be quite different, with people quickly embracing GPS technology and the myriad of uses such technology provides. The last few years has seen a range of tracking devices that use GPS to keep track of everything from products and pets to loved ones. The latest player to enter the field is South Korea electronics company Cuman with its range of tracking devices, which picked up the Editor’s List Award recently at CeBIT 2009. Read More
Glacier's W200 Wearable Computer
By Darren Quick
01:37 April 10, 2009 PDT
While laptops have ushered in the era of mobile computing, their form factor still dictates the need to use a desk, table, or at the very least, a lap. Other handheld units are easier to use on the move but would be even better if we had another appendage, given that one hand is rendered useless through the need to hold the device. The solution - wear your computer. This example for Glacier Computer - the new Ridgeline W200 wearable computer - combines the same features of a standard computer with a device that straps to the wrist to provide hands-free operation while retaining full access at all times. Read More
Garmin update Forerunner fitness watch range
By Jude Garvey
01:42 April 3, 2009 PDT
Garmin will release two updated Forerunner fitness watches this Summer, the 310XT and the 405CX. Both come equipped with the latest GPS technology and can be synced wirelessly to the user’s PC or Mac so workout data can be automatically downloaded. Performance information can be acquired by simply tapping the bezel, calorific consumption is calculated by the user's heart rate and the user can even challenge a virtual partner to a workout. Read More
Samsung launches first WiMAX-enabled mobile internet device
By Darren Quick
23:07 April 2, 2009 PDT
One of the new releases attracting a lot of attention at CTIA is the Samsung SWD-M100 Mondi, a mobile WiMAX enabled handheld device that is designed for use with the Clear mobile WiMAX service from Clearwire. The touch screen Mondi includes a slide out lower lip QWERTY keypad and, according to Samsung, ‘many of the powerful features and uses of a laptop computer or netbook,’ in a unit that fits in your pocket. Read More
Garmin introduces long-haul navigation and delivery truck GPS system
By David Greig
22:13 March 18, 2009 PDT
Truckers have special requirements for on-road navigation that most of us wouldn't even consider and GPS units that cater for these needs make a good deal of sense. Garmin has now entered this niche with the announcement of the nüvi® 465T, the company's first portable navigation device designed exclusively for over the road long-haul navigation and delivery trucks. Read More
iPhone OS 3.0 unveiling tomorrow, rumor round-up
By Darren Quick
02:15 March 17, 2009 PDT
Apple is set to preview the iPhone software version 3.0 at an invitation only event on March 17th and, as is traditional in the lead up to any Apple event, the rumormongers have been busy with predictions of what will and won’t be added to the device. So we thought it would be timely to do a bit of a rumor roundup in readiness for the imminent announcement. Read More
Sentience intelligent cruise control demonstrated: you steer, it works the pedals
By Loz Blain
00:39 March 12, 2009 PDT
The driverless car of the future is getting closer every day, as more and more technologies come along that take critical jobs away from the driver and put them in the hands of lightning-fast, all-seeing computers. One of the latest and most ambitious of these systems has just been successfully demonstrated in the UK; the Sentience system is a kind of hyper-intelligent cruise control system designed specifically to minimize fuel consumption and emissions. It calculates the best route for you based on traffic, topography, curves, speed limits and a host of other information, and then actually takes over the throttle and brakes for you for the entire journey. It keeps you strictly within speed limits, slows down for corners, speed bumps and roundabouts, and it even knows when the lights ahead are about to turn red, so you don't waste petrol accelerating towards a stop point. Fuel savings in testing have been between 5% and 24% - a very significant figure - and Sentience is expected to be available on production cars, for a minimal cost, as soon as 2012. Incredible stuff. Read More
New Fully Rugged Getac GPS PDA PS535F with camera, altimeter and e-compass
By Mike Hanlon
23:09 March 2, 2009 PST
Specialist rugged mobile computer manufacturer MiTAC has released details of the Getac PS535F, a next generation fully rugged GPS PDA featuring an auto focus camera, altimeter and E-compass. The PS535F is designed for GIS surveying applications and will find use in the utilities, oil and gas, forestry, geology and mineral resources sectors. These new features will enable field-based workers to capture field data on-site and transmit data back to headquarters in real-time, as well as provide pinpoint navigation support to improve location based productivity. Read More
Acer jumps into the smartphone market
By Darren Quick
22:04 February 26, 2009 PST
Perhaps realizing that consumers really don’t have enough choices when it comes to mobile phones, Acer has decided to jump into the market with the introduction of a new line of smartphones aimed at both home and business users. Acer unveiled the first set of phones to make up their Acer Tempo Smartphone series at the Mobile World Congress held recently in Barcelona. Let’s have a look see at the specs. Read More
Lenovo touts rugged capabilities of Thinkpad range
By Darren Quick
17:43 February 25, 2009 PST
With the number of ruggedized computers hitting the market you’d think that people are running around treating their laptops like last night’s leftovers. Of course that’s not the case, most people use their laptops in pretty clean, stable environments and won’t ever need the rough and ready specs of a ruggedized laptop, but there is a section of the workforce that does. Particularly in the areas of public safety, utilities, construction and the military, and it’s these markets that Lenovo have in mind with their range of eight ThinkPad laptops designated for use in field and vehicle semi-ruggedized computing environments. Read More
Palm Pre: the next big thing in 3G smartphones?
By Tim Hanlon
20:15 February 15, 2009 PST
Announced at CES 2009, Palm's Pre is a 3G smartphone set to take on the iPhone and the G1. Read on to find out why we think it's got a fighting chance of becoming the next "must have" handset. Read More
iPhone gets turn-by-turn GPS navigation via xGPS jailbreak app
By Tim Hanlon
05:19 February 11, 2009 PST
While TomTom has had a functional turn-by-turn GPS application working in the lab since June last year, the "complicated issues" preventing a launch that Apple mentioned a couple of weeks later obviously haven't been sorted out - but that hasn't stopped the xGPS team from bringing turn-by-turn to the iPhone and iPod touch in the form of a jailbreak app. Read More
Samsung announces 8-megapixel camera phone for US market
22:45 February 5, 2009 PST
Samsung and T-Mobile are set to introduce a touch-screen phone equipped with an 8-megapixel camera into the US market. Called the Memoir, the phone is apparently a US version of the Pixon handset announced for Europe and Asia last year and will sport a Xenon flash, 16x digital zoom, in-built GPS and a virtual full-QWERTY keypad. Read More
HTC boosts GPS credentials on updated Touch Cruise smartphone
By Darren Quick
19:09 January 22, 2009 PST
HTC has announced an updated version of its HTC Touch Cruise smartphone that was released in January 2008. The new model Touch Cruise features a new look and expands on the GPS capabilities of its predecessor with the inclusion of HTC Footprints – geotagging software that not only allows users to geotag photos taken on the unit’s 3.2 MP fixed focus camera, but also lets them take notes and an audio clip related to that image to form a “digital postcard”. In addition to identifying each postcard with its specific GPS co-ordinates, Footprints also auto-names each postcard with its general location or area. Read More
The VAIO P: Sony's answer to the netbook
By Tim Hanlon
17:26 January 15, 2009 PST
Sony has set out to prove that form and function aren't mutually exclusive with their answer to the netbook, the VAIO P series. Starting with a tiny form factor and a 1.33GHz Intel Atom CPU, and adding a 128GB SSD, built-in 3G connectivity, 802.11n wireless, and a GPS that doesn't require an active Internet connection (among other things) this is one seriously portable, connected device. Just don't expect an Eee PC price point... Read More
Nu.M8 GPS childrens watch and child locator
By Mike Hanlon
14:17 January 6, 2009 PST
800,000 children are reported missing each year in the United States. In the U.K., that number is 140,000 children and there is no greater ordeal for a parent than not knowing where they are. Gartner estimates that the worldwide market for GPS based location devices will grow from 16 million in 2007 to 300 million in 2011.Using GPS-based systems to keep track of your pets and/or children is a trade off between peace of mind and cost – we’ve detailed numerous pet and child GPS locators, and the just-announced Nu.M8’s main claim is that it does not rely upon the child being responsible enough to keep their locator with them in a bag or pocket. When Nu.M8 is securely fastened to a child’s wrist it cannot be removed without sending an alert to the parent’s phone. As it’s also discretely hidden inside a watch, it’s more likely that if something goes wrong, the parent locates their child, not the technology. Read More
Bimota's DB7 Oronero: a sportsbike symphony in carbon fiber
By Loz Blain
06:59 November 24, 2008 PST
In its past reincarnation, Italian motorcycle company Bimota built a reputation around its ability to take the great Japanese and Italian engines of the time and put them into a chassis package that would actually handle - but when the brand relaunched in 2003, many wondered what relevance Bimota would have in an era when the vast majority of modern sportsbikes handle brilliantly straight out of the crate. But it seems there's still room at the top end of the market for bespoke chassis designers, which is a good thing because otherwise we'd never see revolutionary designs like the center-hub steered TESI 3D or the magnificent DB7 Oronero, which boasts one of the first all-carbon fiber frame, subframe and swingarm packages ever to grace a production bike. A truly pornographic piece of motorcycle art, the Oronero also promises breathtaking performance with a weight of just 164 kilograms being propelled by the 164-horsepower Ducati 1098 powerplant. Read More
New early warning system to minimize tsunami impact
By Jude Garvey
01:04 November 14, 2008 PST
A new tsunami warning system called the German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) has just been implemented in Indonesia. Unlike previous tsunami warning systems, it uses new scientific procedures and technologies which are more suited to the specific geological conditions of the region. Read More
New Fujitsu Mini Notebook gets built-in GPS
22:15 November 10, 2008 PST
A netbook that combines full-featured PC functionality with voice-prompted GPS navigation, a 16-inch desktop replacement notebook that incorporates a second 4-inch touch screen and a 2.2 pound convertible tablet PC are among the latest mobile computing offerings from Fujitsu. Read More
Traveler's GPS receiver stores up to 32,000 way-points
By Gizmag Team
20:20 October 30, 2008 PDT
A travel diary and a pen have long been the technologies of choice when it comes to remembering exactly where you got to on your last holiday, but it seems this just won't cut it in the digital age. Products like Sony's GPS-CS1KA image tracker have been on the market for some time and cameras like the recently released Nikon COOLPIX P6000 offer in-built GPS for geotagging. Hama's solution is the i-gotU, a matchbox-sized GPS receiver that displays your holiday route on a computer and catalogues any photos taken on the way. Read More
Nextar adds to SNAP GPS line
By Darren Quick
01:56 October 30, 2008 PDT
Nextar has added two new models to its SNAP line of GPS systems. Joining the 3.5" SNAP3, the 5” SNAP5 and 7” SNAP7 both feature touch-screen displays, built-in stereo speakers, Nextar’s magnetic docking station, text-to-speech (English) technology and both are only 0.7” thick. All models come with a 2GB SD card offering maps of the entire US and all of Canada. Read More
MOTO Q 11 joins Motorola’s Q series of smartphones
By Darren Quick
00:08 October 17, 2008 PDT
Motorola has announced the latest addition to its Q series of smartphones. The MOTO Q 11 is a quad-band GSM phone with EDGE, (no HSDPA or 3G), and features a 2.4” 320 x 240 TFT 262K screen and full QWERTY keyboard. In the wireless department it features Bluetooth, integrated 802.11b/g WiFi, which uses Boingo Mobile to automatically connect to thousands of WiFi locations worldwide, and integrated GPS for navigation support for applications such as Google Maps. Read More
CatCam documents pet adventures
By Emily Clark
23:28 October 12, 2008 PDT
“Mr Lee” became the internet’s most popular feline when his owner attached a matchbook camera to his collar in order to document the secret life of a cat. Now pet owners can buy their own Mr Lee CatCam to see what their furry friend gets up to when humans aren’t around. Read More
Unique navigation aid for the visually-impaired
By Jude Garvey
21:18 October 7, 2008 PDT
Another interesting entry from the Create the Future Design Contest, the Navigation aid for the Blind uses existing technology in a very clever way. It consists of a headset which has an audio transducer and a built-in microphone and uses GPS, obstacle detection technology and speech recognition to safely guide the wearer to their destination. The wearer simply states the destination address into the microphone and the technology does the rest, guiding and directing the user safely through the streets. Read More
Garmin GPSMAP 600 series: one for the road... and the sea
19:21 October 5, 2008 PDT
Garmin has combined elements of marine GPS navigation with a touchscreen user interface derived from the nüvi line of automotive units for its latest multi-functional offering - the GPSMAP 600 series. The GPSMAP 640 and GPSMAP 620 (which is designed for markets outside the US) both feature a ruggedized, waterproof 5.2” WVGA touchscreen display and come preloaded with both street maps and marine charts. Read More
windykites1
- February 9, 2010 @ 19:22 UTC
