Hasta La Gadget!

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.

Granted, the Garmin Fenix already does decent GPS from your wrist, but there’s a limit to what it can accomplish on its basic little LCD. Enter Leikr: a Gorilla Glass beast with a 2-inch, 320 x 240 display that can throw out a wide range of endurance stats simultaneously or switch to a color navigation mode using up to 8GB-worth of onboard OpenStreetMap data. It’s designed by former Nokia engineers who claim they’ve used their mobile skills to make the Leikr catch a quicker GPS signal, connect directly to a cloud-based, Endomondo-integrated exercise portal using WiFi and Linux-based software, and at the same time stick to a smartphone-like 10mm thickness.

The project’s Kickstarter page has just gone live, with early bird deals still available — at the time of writing, a minimum $229 buy-in is required to lock down a final production Leikr by the summer. That’s hardly cheap, but it’s not at $400 Fenix proportions either, so take a look at the video after the break and the funding link below (scroll to the bottom of that page for full specs) and then, you know, dwell on it.

Continue reading Insert Coin: Leikr GPS sports watch has 2-inch screen, ex-Nokia engineers on its side

Filed under: Wearables, Wireless, Mobile

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Source: Leikr (Kickstarter)

It’s been official for a while now: iOS 6 Maps suck. Everyone from Tim Cook to my mother knows it, but now it’s getting scary. Victoria Police are advising people not to use iOS 6 Maps due to safety concerns. What are those safety concerns? Oh nothing, really, just people stranded deep inside a remote national park. More »

TomTom has announced that it has issued an update for its Android navigation app. The update for the app is optimized for use with the latest and most popular Android smartphones including the S3, HTC One X, and Google Nexus 4. The updated app now supports over 200 of the newest Android devices on the market.

In addition to adding compatibility with some the newest Android devices out there, the new app also brings other improvements. TomTom promises that the download manager has been improved and maps are now stored on the phone’s SD card if available. The updated version of the app also adds updated Driving View making information more clear and easy to read while driving.

The updated app version 1.1 also has a more flexible postcode entry allowing the app to find locations from the phone address book more reliably. Version 1.1 of the app is available for download now from Google Play. The price for the app is $37.99 and Android users who have already purchased get the update free.

The improved navigation to contacts feature is available in the US only. Other features of the application include full off-line map navigation and free lifetime map updates. The app also supports IQ Routes to provide the fastest routes at all times of day. The HD Traffic live traffic updates service is available as in app purchase as well as the location of Speed Cameras. The app also now offers spoken street names.

TomTom updates Android navigation app is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

For the past few months, Mexico has been sitting in limbo as far as Google’s mapping services were concerned: you could see Mayan ruins in Street View, but you couldn’t get directions to them from your phone. Google has redressed that balance now that Google Maps Navigation is reaching the country. Anyone with an updated version of Google Maps on Android can get turn-by-turn directions, traffic and nearby points of interest as they cruise towards Veracruz. Mass transit navigation appears to be the lone (if glaring) omission for Mexican use. While we’d like all mapping options to be available, it’s good to know that drivers can more smoothly cross the vast expanses of Mexico City.

[Thanks, Luis]

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Mobile, Google

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Via: CNN Expansión (translated)

Source: Google Mexico (Twitter)

This week Bloomberg is reporting that they’ve got a source assuring them that Apple’s own Richard Williamson was pushed out this week amid a Maps team shakeup. This change of the guard was spoken of by an anonymous source close to the dealings who said Senior Vice President Eddy Cue was responsible for the push. While we’ve not yet been able to confirm 100% that this move was made in Apple – or if will ever be made official if it is true, we can take this from the situation one way or the other: readers want to know what Apple is doing with their in-house Maps app.

Also reported today was a note that Cue was continuing to work with the maps company that’s responsible for much of the inner workings of the GPS information in Apple’s current Maps app, TomTom NV. Cue previously took over the now-defunct MobileMe program at Apple and is also reportedly working with Apple to improve the Apple TV ecosystem.

Recently there’s also been word that the Apple Maps system as well as the iPhone superstar Siri will be moving forward to the OS X desktop environment. This move would have a MapKit framework pushed to developers so that they might embed the workings of it into their everyday mapping apps from top to bottom. Siri similarly would be expanded to all manner of cross-platform apps and apps that would be greatly improved by talk.

Meanwhile the iPhone 5 has been reported to be the hottest selling phone in the USA over a period of 12 weeks leading up to October 28th, this according to analyst group Kantar. Chevrolet continues to show their support for Apple with next-generation MyLink with Siri in their next-generation vehicles, and the iPhone 5 is replacing BlackBerry left and right.

Apple’s Richard Williamson reportedly ousted in Maps switch-up is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.