Hasta La Gadget!

With the new HTML5 wave covering the whole internet-loving universe, the news this morning of Telenav’s HTML5 Nav on Android and Windows Phone devices is a sign of a fabulous new era. This push comes in the form of Scout for Apps, a service that was launched earlier this year for iOS exclusively. With Scout for Apps, developers will be able to integrate into their creations the first HTML5, browser-based, voice-guided, turn by turn, GPS navigation service for mobile phones!

This service allows developers to push free, voice-guided, turn by turn, GPS navigation directly from their app or their website, making full use of the Telenav database with ease. Just as easy as it is to embed a video into your website, you’ll be working with Telenav’s Scout mapping without sacrificing your own brand – the app or website can keep their own brand name on everything throughout the whole navigation session.

This Scout for Apps environment and service is available for developers on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone starting immediately, and Telenav has also brought on a companion for the web as well. Telenav is bringing on a website widget for Scout called the Scout Drive Button, made for small businesses that want to make it super easy for people anywhere in a web browser to find their physical location. Your mobile browser will be able to initiate turn-by-turn directions now with a single tap!

Developers will be able to access the Scout Drive Button for websites as well as the Scout for Apps environment immediately, for all three major mobile platforms! Have a peek below at our other recent encounters with Telenav and Scout, and get to navigating!

Telenav extends HTML5 Navigation to Android and Windows Phone is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We know that iOS 6 will bless iPhone users with some in-house-made mapping, but that hasn’t stopped Telenav from bettering its own Scout navigation offering for Apple’s favorite handsets. Scout now does offline navigation by letting users download maps of the west, central or eastern United States over WiFi only. Plus, Scout now takes voice commands, so on your next road trip you can tell it to find the nearest Whataburger whether you have cell signal or not. Interested parties can head on over to the App Store to get their download on, but you’ll pay for the privilege — offline navigation costs $9.99 a year or $2.99 a month, though the free, data-dependant version of Scout for iPhone still includes speech recognition. Still not sold? Perhaps the video after the break will persuade you.

Continue reading Telenav’s Scout gives iOS users offline navigation in exchange for ten bucks

Filed under: GPS, Software

Telenav’s Scout gives iOS users offline navigation in exchange for ten bucks originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Aug 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin is expanding its range of watches by introducing its new fenix outdoor watch. As you might expect, it makes full use of GPS in order to help adventures better navigate the great outdoors, and adds some useful functionality in the process. You can record waypoints using the watch, such as landmarks or campsites, and make notes of points along your route using GPS tracklogs.

The watch provides a navigation arrow that will help steer users to destination points, and there’s a TracBack function that will help the owner retrace their steps as well. In combination with a desktop application, users can also plan certain routes and trips and share them out to friends and families in the process.

In terms of connectivity, the fenix comes equipped with Bluetooth plus altimeter, barometer, and compass sensors. The altimeter will provide elevation data, the barometer may be used to see any upcoming changes in the weather, and the compass naturally helps the user with their bearing. The fenix can also auto-calibrate using the built in GPS chip, and automatically set the time by determining the location of the watch.

Garmin has made sure the watch is rugged and durable too. There’s a “high-strength housing” that will survive shocks and bumps, plus a glass front that will resist scratches. The LCD display is LED backlit, with the watch held together by polyurethane wristbands. Garmin says the watch should be capable of 50 hours of battery life when actively using GPS, and its also waterproof up to 50 meters. The fenix should be on sale sometime this Fall, and cost around $399.99.

Garmin introduces fenix outdoor GPS watch is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Drones continue to see large rollouts in various industries across the world, and now there’s one more thing to worry about on top of privacy issues and potential death from above. A team at the University of Texas has managed to find a vulnerability in drones that allows an attacker to gain control of the unmanned vehicle and change its course. Professor Todd Humphreys and the team spoof GPS receivers in order to take control of the drones.

Spoofers are a new problem for GPS-guided drones, allowing hackers to trick navigation systems with false information. Humphreys and the team have designed a device costing less than $1,000 that sends out a GPS signal stronger than the ones coming down from orbiting satellites. At first, the rogue signal mimics the official one in order to trick the drone, and once it’s accepted new commands can be sent to the UAV.

Naturally, Humphreys highlights the associated risks of such a device, saying that in the wrong hands drones could be turned into missiles. Right now drones can’t be used in US airspace on a wide basis, but Congress has asked the FAA to come up with regulations that would allows drones to fly over the United States by 2015. That could lead to usage in law enforcement, as well as by power companies and delivery firms.

The US government says its aware of the potential dangers of spoofing, and officials from the FAA and Department of Homeland Security have seen Humphreys’ demonstration first hand. The Department of Homeland Security reportedly has a program in place to try and solve the problem of GPS interference, but it’s aimed at trying to deal with jammed signals, not spoofed ones.

[via Fox News]

Researchers find drones vulnerable to GPS spoofing is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Soon you’ll be able to download your very own entirely Google-made version of Google Maps for iOS, this time not having Google on the back end of the Apple interface you’ve seen since the iPhone was launched. This new version will be released soon, with Google executive Jeff Huber speaking up this week on the subject with a simple “we look forward to providing amazing Google Maps experiences on iOS.”

Apple announced and demonstrated their own version of GPS mapping with the tentatively titled Apple Maps, this being the first time Apple wasn’t relying solely on Google for all of their mapping needs. Apple’s new system will rely instead on TomTom-based backend mapping data, and will include new features such as the rather impressive looking Flyover 3D rendering of the planet.

This first Google-pushed Google Maps application for iOS will likely make a stab at Navigation now that Apple Maps will have the same functionality, and will almost certainly be a free download as well. Have a peek at our timeline below to see all there is to see on Apple’s new mapping initiative, and get ready for a map war!

[via Google+]

Apple Maps spurs full Google Maps app is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.