Garmin unveils Alpha integrated dog tracking and training device

If you’re the sort of person that wants to keep an eye on where your dog is at all times, Garmin has a new system that let you do just that and help you train the dog the same time. This particular system is aimed more specifically at hunters who use dogs when out in the wild and is very expensive. The system has an MSRP of $799.99.

The Alpha 100 GPS tracking system can update the dog’s location as often as every 2.5 seconds. Hunters or trainers with multiple dogs can track as many as 20 animals with a single handheld from up to 9 miles away, depending on the terrain. The handheld device has a three-inch touchscreen that works while the user is wearing gloves and is designed to be easily viewable in direct sunlight.

The handheld device is also capable of sending preselected messages between devices in the field such as “help,” “come here,” or “go on without me.” The handheld can also give an audible or vibrating alert when a dog trees whatever you are hunting or goes on point. The handheld device is loaded with 100k topographical maps and the device works with other maps, including BirdsEye Satellite Imagery.

The Alpha 100 training features have to reconfigurable buttons that allows the user to set multiple combinations and levels of correction between continuous, momentary, or tone. The training method is described as “stimulation” which seems to be of the shock variety like some shock collars I’ve seen before. The handheld device is powered by a rechargeable battery good for up to 20 hours per charge and is waterproof to IPX-7 standards. The dog collar device is good for 24 hours of use per charge with a 2.5-second update rate. Additional collars can be purchased for $299.99 starting this month.


Garmin unveils Alpha integrated dog tracking and training device is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


CN-350TOP, RWC new One Piece PND for your bicycle/Bike!

Living in Japan can be very challenging! Especially when most streets do not even have a name and houses numbers! And this is one of the reasons why GPS or PND are SO popular in Japan.
Today’s Winner in the “Must Have PND” Category is RWC new CN-350TOP designed for Bike and Bicycles that on top of doing Water-resistant (IPX5), comes with Bluetooth, has a nice 3.5” QVGA Screen, Support SDHC Cards up to 16GB and is compatible with WMV and AVI (DivX files), the CN-350TOP comes in a nice “One …

Wifarer app provides real-time indoor navigation

WifarerIf you’re paying a visit to the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, BC, Canada, be sure to load up your Android phone with Wifarer’s recently launched app. Available for free on the Google Play Store (iOS version coming soon), the app is designed to enhance the visitor experience and offers customized tours with real-time indoor navigation and automatic delivery of location-based multimedia content.
(more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: TomTom to launch on Android devices “fairly soon”, Karelog Android app lets you keep tabs on your partner’s whereabouts,

TomTom launches new hands-free dashboard mount for smartphones (video)

TomTom launches new handsfree dashboard mount for smartphones video

TomTom is busting out a pair of new smartphone cradles to ensure your handset sits snugly on the windshield of your whip. The Hands Free Car Kit is available in both iPhone or microUSB (for all other smartphones) versions and comes with a built-in two watt speaker, extendable microphone and fast charging. Both editions are available for £80 ($125), while an iPhone-specific bundle that comes with the company’s navigation app will set you back £130 ($204).

Continue reading TomTom launches new hands-free dashboard mount for smartphones (video)

Filed under: ,

TomTom launches new hands-free dashboard mount for smartphones (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 18:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Google brings NYC subway alerts to Maps, makes public transit a little more bearable

Google brings NYC subway alerts to maps, makes public transit a little more bearable

Google has offered up New York City subway information via Maps for some time now, but as anyone who’s navigated the 100-plus-year-old transit system will happily tell / complain to you, such information is only so useful without info on the requisite service changes — a lot of work goes into maintaining something that old. Google’s upping its game by bringing services changes to Maps for Android and its web-based counterpart. Clicking on one of the 468 stations in Maps will bring up relevant maintenance information, as well as step-by-step instructions for navigating around it. Until Boingo rolls out WiFi to more stations, however, you might want to check your status before going underground.

Filed under: ,

Google brings NYC subway alerts to Maps, makes public transit a little more bearable originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 10:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceGoogle  | Email this | Comments

TomTom launches new hands-free car kit for smartphones

TomTom has announced the launch of its new hands-free car kit for smartphones. The new hands-free car kit comes in two versions, and they are designed to work with the iPhone or other smartphones that use a micro USB charger such as Android phones. The new car kit has advanced noise and echo cancellation systems to reduce background noise for the caller and remove ambient noise for the driver.

Among the features of the new hands-free car kit for smartphones are new mounting options to make the use of the system safer and more convenient. The new smartphone kit has an adjustable grip that will fit any smartphone with or without a case or cover, and the new kit has an extendable microphone. That extendable microphone can be clipped to the sun visor for clear audio.

The new car kit can be paired to two mobile devices at the same time via Bluetooth. Voice-recognition functionality can be activated so the driver can navigate and dial their phone without taking hands off the wheel. The system has an integrated 2-watt speaker for clear voice calls and navigation instructions. The kit also promises to fast charge the phone on the go.

The dual mount mounting system of the new car kit allows the driver to mount the device to the dashboard or the windshield. When mounting to the dashboard the driver uses a self-adhesive disc that is included with the kit. The car kit also has easy to reach answer and reject buttons for voice calls. The iPhone or smartphones version of the new hands-free car kit are available for €99.95. TomTom also offers a kit for the iPhone that includes a Western Europe navigation app for €149.95.


TomTom launches new hands-free car kit for smartphones is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Magellan eXplorist TOPO! Special Edition Series

Magellan eXplorist TOPO! Special Edition Series

The Magellan eXplorist TOPO! Special Edition series is designed for hikers. The series comprises of the eXplorist 310 TOPO! Edition and the eXplorist 510 TOPO! Edition. The eXplorist 310 TOPO! Edition features a 2.2-inch color display, while the eXplorist 510 GPS has a larger 3-inch color touchscreen display. Both navigation systems feature National Geographic’s full-color USGS topographic maps. The Magellan eXplorist 310 TOPO! Edition retails for $199.99, while the eXplorist 510 TOPO! Edition is priced at $299.99. [Ubergizmo]

Magellan eXplorist TOPO! Special Editions for hikers announced

Magellan eXplorist 510 TOPO! EditionAny readers out there who are into hiking as well? If you are, and you’re looking for a GPS receiver to take on your future trips, you might want to check out Magellan’s new eXplorist TOPO! Special Edition receivers. These GPS devices combine Magellan’s rugged and waterproof designs with National Geographic’s full-color USGS topographic maps that have been scanned at high resolution and seamlessly tiled together for “the most detailed outdoor recreation maps available for the entire U.S.”
(more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Magellan announces partnership with Effigis to add OnPOZ software to its eXplorist Pro 10 GPS, Magellan RoadMate portable automobile navigation range announced,

Nokia gets connected with automotive futures

This week the folks at Nokia are bringing on the next generation of their hardware and software integration talks with none other than their own Floris Van-De-Klashorst speaking about the future of automotive. The Connected Car, as they call it, is one which is a futuristic concept – this meaning that though we’ve got cars at the moment that are relatively connected, we’ve not yet scratched the surface. According to Nokia, it’s Points of Interest (POI) search capabilities that are at the center of the future for vehicles that use what they call “Intelligent Technology.”

Built-in phone technology as well as data connectivity is at the center of this concept as well – as Nokia sees the future, anyway. They’ve presented a video showing off some concepts as they sit inside the concept known as the Ford Evos. This vehicle is a blue beast, with no less than cloud services and APIs, search technology, mobile connectivity, and build-in communication technology as well. Have a peek at this concept video and see what the future holds.

Nokia is announcing this week via their Conversations by Nokia blog – or perhaps re-announcing for those of you that’ve followed along with the Evos rather closely- that they’re working with Ford as one of its main integrators of futuristic tech. This partnership will use Nokia’s own Location Platform to support the vehicle’s in-car location-based set of systems. This vehicle will, thanks you Nokia, not only know where you are and what businesses and places of interest are near to you at any given point, it’ll know which kinds of music you like to listen to on certain commutes.

You’ll also be working with Satnav maps to bring on your ability to avoid locations in your city (or wherever you’re driving) with heavy pollution. With detectors and reporting devices such as what we’re seeing here with this vehicle and its connected services alone, we’re hoping for a completely world-environment-aware vehicle in the very, very near future.

Have a peek at our hands-on look at some Nokia Windows Phone mapping technology that we saw back at CTIA earlier this year as well to get deeper into Nokia’s love for knowing where you are at any time – and what’s around you as well.

First have a peek at Nokia Drive and Nokia Transport:

Then get in deep with Nokia Maps, the center of the whole Nokia GPS universe:

Finally check out Nokia City Lens – an amazing next-generation vision on Nokia Windows Phone devices which will allow you to see tags on every business and building of interest around you – it’s fabulous!

Stay tuned for more awesome Nokia location-aware technology, and get ready for awesome Nokia-embedded vehicles as well!


Nokia gets connected with automotive futures is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Skobbler brings maps to Nook Tablet, Color with ForeverMap 2

Image

We’ve seen attempts to bring mapping functionality to Barnes & Noble’s Nook Color in the past, but Skobbler’s going full out with the arrival of ForeverMap 2 for that device and its more clearly defined tablet successor. The app utilizes WiFi positioning, offers route guidance and features both global and local maps. The standard version is free and a pro version can be picked up for $5, offering up added functionality like unlimited offline map downloads. Skobbler also used today’s launch to announce that it’s working on broader implementation by making it available to Nook app developers.

Continue reading Skobbler brings maps to Nook Tablet, Color with ForeverMap 2

Filed under: , ,

Skobbler brings maps to Nook Tablet, Color with ForeverMap 2 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jul 2012 11:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments