Remember when you used to need a map or city guide in order to find what was best when you visited family or friends, or just moved to a new place? That’s so old school. The free SPUN app makes this all a thing of the past thanks to its geo-targeted “what’s happening” app.
SPUN uses a cool 3D interface that I find nice to use for navigating between its application panes. It currently delivers personalized news and cultural information for eleven cities in the USA, including New York, Boston, Philly, DC, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, Portland, and Seattle.
Employing hundreds of media sources, the app aggregates results on dining, culture, lifestyle, news, entertainment and events, along with mapping of their locations. The app is designed to curate the best local content from a variety of leading digital publications. It can even remind you when events you like are coming up so that you’ll never miss them, and you can save favorite destinations so you can be alerted when you’re nearby.
There’s more than a few unkind words to be said about Apple’s decision to boot out Google Maps and use their own, hobbled version instead. Didn’t someone just get fired over this? That being said, I wonder if Bilbo Baggins had used an iPhone 5 and iOS 6 Maps, would he have gotten completely lost? The guys over at Bullz-Eye wondered the same, and came up with this approximation of what his journey might have looked like.
Just like many people, I’m pretty sure that he might have gotten lost using iOS 6 Maps, going many days out of the way on his trek to Lonely Mountain. Unfortunately, Google Maps hasn’t yet released their anticipated iOS app yet, so unless Bilbo has an Android phone, he’s out of luck for now.
It does make you think about when was the last time you pulled out a paper map. Smartphone and car GPS maps are way more convenient to use, and even if you get lost, you can find your way back pretty quickly. Unless it happens to be one of these places.
With Black Friday here if you’re planning on going out and doing a lot of shopping today, you may want to plan your route using a new service available on Google Maps. Google has added indoor layouts for some stores and malls to the web version of Google Maps. The update brings indoor floor plans for over 10,000 locations around the world, and include other indoor maps for locations like museums and airports as well.
Those locations include retail stores and more. Indoor floor plans have been available on Android for some time now, but this marks the first time indoor store layouts have been brought to the web-based version of Google Maps. Google says it has brought the indoor layout service to the web version just in time for holiday shopping.
The cool part is if you’re wondering around the store looking for a specific item, the layouts will tell you specifically where you can find certain sections such as tools and hardware or electronics. Other than retail stores there also indoor layouts for airports, museums, universities, and Las Vegas casinos on Google Maps. iOS users can even take advantage of the new service by going to maps.google.com using Safari.
Businesses interested in having their buildings added to Google Maps, can go here to upload their own floorplans.
There are already mobile GPS apps that we can use to help locate a person, but that assumes that the mobile device is with the person. Which is why I’m quite intrigued by the Leo. It’s a GPS wristwatch meant to be worn by children that is supposedly very hard to remove.
According to inventor Jason Sullivan, the Leo has an optional locking mechanism and a tamper-proof strap. The locking mechanism is made of “titanium-woven steel” that is supposedly so tough that you’d need a pair of bolt cutters to take the watch off once it’s been locked. With respect to its tracking features, the Leo works with a mobile app that can be used to send a signal to the watch to send back its location.
The wearer can also press the Leo’s panic buttons to send a text message to a predetermined number – parents, guardians, etc – as well as place a call to 911. The watch can also be configured to automatically send an alert if the wearer leaves or enters an area or if the wearer exceeds a speed limit. Here’s Jason demonstrating the watch on the Ricki Lake Show:
Jason’s company Guardian Lion is currently raising funds for the Leo watch on Indiegogo. As of this writing if you pledge at least $119 (USD) you’ll be one of the first to get a Leo wristwatch. It looks like a very useful product, but I’m a bit concerned by a couple of things. First of all, the Leo’s official website contains banners and logos of media establishments, including Engadget and Reuters, implying some sort of endorsement or press coverage of the Leo:
However, from what I can tell neither Engadget nor Reuters has talked about the watch. Engadget wrote about another Guardian Lion product back in 2005, but they have not released anything about the Leo. All I can find on Reuters is a press release from 2011. So why are the banners there? The other thing that makes me wary about the Leo is that Jason clearly states in the video above that the watch is also a cellphone. There’s also an image on its website that supports that claim. Note the send and end call buttons on the watch:
But for some reason Jason and his company failed to elaborate on this feature, whether on their website or on their Indiegogo page, which seems strange because it should be a major selling point of the product. Let me make it clear: I’m not accusing anyone of anything and I hope all of this gets cleared up. But considering the company is already asking people for money without a final product on sale, I just thought I’d share my observations before you plunk down your hard-earned cash.
We’ve seen how socks can be made smarter using RFID. This device does the same to your wallet – or any object you attach it to – except it uses Bluetooth and GPS. You’ll also need an iOS device. Because Android users can build their own tracking device. Oh sna – wait, I have an iPhone. Dammit.
The Wallet TrackR is a credit-card sized device that works in conjunction with a free iOS app. In other words, the TrackR isn’t really concerned if your wallet is near you; it just wants to be with your iOS device all the time. When the two get separated, the TrackR will send a signal to your iOS device. It will also take a “GPS snapshot” so you can see its location from within the app. Finally, you can make the TrackR ring an alarm from the app to make it easier to find your wallet. The TrackR has a range of 100ft. and a user-replaceable battery that lasts up to 10 months.
Pledge at least $19 (USD) on its official website to reserve your own Wallet TrackR (There’s a limited quantity available at this price, then it goes up to a still-reasonable pre-release price of $29). Obviously its reliance on Apple’s gadgets will make it a deal breaker for many people. Perhaps inventor Phone Halo should also release a keychain remote to make the device more versatile.
It never ceases to irk me that I can check out parks and streets around the world from me, yet I can’t see my own neighborhood on Google Street View. The Google Street View car rolled past my neighborhood, but didn’t bother to come through. Personally, I’d like a chance to play a nice Street View prank.
While my neighborhood still lacks Street View detail, Google has announced the largest update to Street View in the feature’s history, having added 250,000 miles of roads around the world. The service has specifically increased coverage in Macau, Singapore, Sweden, the U.S., Thailand, Taiwan, Italy, Great Britain, Denmark, Norway and Canada.
The covers also increased in specific tourist locations such as Catherine Palace in Russia and other locations in Taiwan, Vancouver, and other places around the world. That means you can explore parks and even castles in distant lands from the comfort of your desk chair – but still not my neighborhood in Texas.
Activity bracelets and other fitness gadgets are a great way to get motivated to get into shape. Instead of relying on paltry humans, your love for gadgets will keep you running when the lactic acid starts to settle into your legs! Well, that might still be a pipe dream, but check out Lark’s latest release. It’s kind of like a minimal version of the Nike+ FuelBand.
The LarkLife will track your activity, from sleep patterns to food intake using a bracelet and a mobile app. For now, this will work only with iOS devices. It’s not waterproof, but splash-resistant, and has a pedometer inside to count your steps. It will be able to measure how long you sleep and how long it takes you to go to sleep. There’s a vibrating alarm built-into this band as well.
Just like other bracelets, you have to manually enter your food intake, which is a bit of a downer in my book, but the band uses Bluetooth Smart to automatically sync with your iPhone. It can also tell whether you’re running or walking, meaning that the app will log workouts even if you forget to enter them. The device will dish out advice during the day and reward “good behavior” with badges. It’s available for pre-order from Lark for $150(USD) and will be available before the holidays.
Google has been significantly expanding its Maps offerings for a long time. When the service first started one of the only things you could do was get directions to places you wanted to go. Over time, Google expanded offerings with Street View showing you exactly what the roads in the area you were looking at were like.
Google also started venturing inside businesses along the routes to give you interior views of shops and restaurants. Google has announced the launch of its first ever underwater views thanks to a partnership with The Caitlin Seaview Survey.
Google is now offering images of underwater beauty in spots including Hawaii, The Great Barrier Reef, and the Philippines.
Imagery is limited right now and rather difficult to spot. Areas where you can view underwater sights are marked with an orange circle on Google’s normal maps. That orange circle shows up when you’re almost fully zoomed in. But if you want to dive right in without looking for a needle in a haystack, head on over to maps.google.com/ocean.
I think this is a really cool update and I hope Google expands the available underwater views.
You know that when World War Z happens, you better be prepared because there’s no way that you’ll be able to charge your smartphone when the power grid is down. The KANZ Field Power Desk will help all technological zombie fighters to keep working and playing as long as the sun is still in the sky.
The KANZ Field Power Desk is a portable desk that has integrated power packs, which offer six hours of battery. I know that it doesn’t sound like much, but six hours is better than zero. It also has solar panels to recharge these packs, and a wide array of adapters and ports to support a large number of electronic devices. There’s also an optional Satellite Broadband IP Terminal that will allow you leverage satellite connectivity in the wild.
It’s dust-resistant and can be housed in a durable traveling case. All this tech doesn’t come cheap though, as the Field Power Desk will cost you $2,495(USD), with the additional satellite connection costing you an extra $2,850. Just remember that during World War Z, money won’t matter!
Nestlé wants to be like Willy Wonka, but instead of a Golden Ticket, they are using GPS technology. Certain candies like Kit Kats will have GPS in the packaging so that when you open them, the GPS is activated and they can track you down.
Soon after you open a winning candy wrapper, some PR people (presumably not dressed as an armed SWAT team) will come to your door and let you know that you have won a pile of cash. But despite the prize, this whole campaign seems really creepy.
The video is amusing yes, but what about those poor folks who don’t know about the promotion, suddenly getting harassed by PR guys? Some of us value our privacy. At the moment, this campaign is only running in the UK right now. What do you guys think? The money is cool, but some folks will find the idea of being tracked down by their candy bar to be unnerving.
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But for some reason Jason and his company failed to elaborate on this feature, whether on their 
