Posted 03/04/10 at 05:35:42 PM by David Murphy

Listen up, Windows 7 aficionados: This one's for you.  You've no doubt noticed your operating system's lack of location-based functionality.  Unlike Apple's competing OSX, which can triangulate your system's position based on the geographical locations of nearby WiFi hotspots, you can't really... well.  You can't do any of that on Microsoft's platform.  While you might not need to know exactly where your desktop is (hint: your dwelling), it would sure be nice to have this feature for a more mobile system. 

And that's not even in the, "I'm lost in the wilderness and I see a bear help" sense.  Wouldn't it be great to automatically have the weather displayed for your current location on your Windows sidebar?  If you use Twitter (and yes, readers, I realize you hate Twitter), you could just as easily pull up a listing of messages centered around your particular location: "I just ate a great meal here," or "@bear2 There is a silly human wandering around here; I will eat him," et cetera.

Well, Microsoft hasn't come to your rescue on this one--a third-party developer has created an free application that allows you tap into the wonders of geolocation all by your lonesome.  Go fetch your laptop from the other room, then click the jump!

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Posted 03/04/10 at 04:25:43 PM by Bart Salisbury

External validation is a funny thing. Without it the events in our lives, no matter how significant, have less meaning, if they have meaning at all. The birthdays we remember aren’t those which were emotionally special, but the ones we can relive because they were captured on video. Now, it seems, we can’t even experience place without external validation. Sure, you’re ‘here,’ but you still have a need to validate your being ‘here’ before being ‘here’ becomes real.

Simple things like Google Earth, just for starters, cater to this need for external validation of place. Smartphones, such as Apple’s iPhone, allow triangulation for approximation of location. And AT&T has just widened the options for PC users with the introduction of the new USBConnect Velocity modem from Option--AT&T’s first to offer GPS. Plug it in; connect to AT&T’s 3G wireless network; and watch yourself wander about the map.

AT&T says the Velocity “opens the door to location-based applications making it easier than ever for customers to get to their desired destination.” In addition, enterprise customers can add TeleNav Track LITE and Xora GPS Locator for tracking and location awareness. The Velocity also has a microSD card slot, letting it perform double-duty.

The Velocity, along with the USBConnect Turbo from LG, will be available at AT&T stores nationwide on March 7. The Velocity will be cost $29.99, after mail-in rebate and a new two-year DataConnect contract of at least $35 a month.

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Posted 02/23/10 at 08:28:53 AM by Paul Lilly

There's still plenty of winter left, which means there's more skiing and snowboarding to be done before hanging up the winter accessories for the season. That also means you're still at risk of getting lost as you head down the slopes for that final run, and that's where the X-Plore.XGX gloves come in.

Unlike any other winter gloves we've ever seen, the X-Plore.XGX come equipped with a GPS receiver inside. There's also a mini-LCD screen tacked onto the thumb and soft buttons baked into the back.

These aren't just for wandering snow bunnies, either. Skiers can check out their max speed, average speed, distance, altitude, and other handy info.

No word yet on price or availability.

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Posted 02/18/10 at 02:31:35 PM by Bart Salisbury

The current lot of PDAs, and perhaps their smartphone and Tablet PC stand-ins, are neat technology, but could you go to war with one? (Maybe even more relevant: could you afford to drop yours?) If what you need is something that will withstand a lot more abuse, AIS Industrial Innovations has something that might interest you: the Mobile Rugged PDA (RPDA37), with the looks and brawn that pair well with your cosplay Master Chief outfit.

The Mobile Rugged PDA is MIL-STD-810F/461F compliant, has an “ingress protection rating of IP67” and meets the IEC 60529 (IP65) international protection standard. It’s build to withstand extreme conditions, repeated five-foot drops, and thermal shock. And it has cool rubberized bumpers.

While that’s impressive, perhaps the internal specs aren’t. The RPDA37 has a Marvell PXA270 625MHz processor, 256MB RAM, and a base storage of 256MB Flash ROM. It has a 3.7-inch transflective TFT LCD that’s touchscreen capable. Resolution depends on the option chosen: either QVGA, 240 x 320, or VGA, 480 x 640. And for operating systems there’s a choice of Windows CE 5.0 or Windows Mobile 6.1.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are standard, but GPS/GAlILEO and GPRS/3G/3.5G are optional. Ports include two USB 1.1 Type A connectors, one USB 1.1 Type B mini connector, an RS-232 port, and ethernet port, headphone and microphone jacks, and a Micro-SD slot.

If you really got to have one you’re going to need to save. The base model will set you back $1,899.

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Posted 02/09/10 at 02:28:03 PM by Bart Salisbury

Smaller, faster, cheaper is a mantra for today’s mobile communications hardware. Texas Instruments (TI) has taken this to heart, and tossed in multi-tasking and lower power consumer as well. TI is announcing a new chip, the WiLink 7.0, that rolls up Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and FM radio onto a chip that takes up less room, uses less power, and costs less than current multi-chip solutions.

TI says the WiLink crams all of the above into a single 65-nanometer chip, that requires 30 percent less material to build, and takes up 50% less space than existing two-chip solutions. Furthermore, TI says the WiLink will extend talk time and battery life with “Sophisticated Enhanced Low Power (ELP) technology.”

TI claims the WiLink offers best-in-class 3GPP test performance; supports both Bluetooth low-energy and Bluetooth 3.0; will support WiFi Direct and Soft AP as well as 802.11 a/b/g/n; and has improved FM transmit and receive capabilities with internal antenna support.

And, by placing all of them on the same chip, TI says it is able to reduce RF interference to insignificant levels, allowing all four components to operate at the same time without messing with each other. According to TI, a “mobile-device users could determine their current position with GPS, download a related map over a WLAN connection, and listen to an FM radio station over a Bluetooth headset all at the same time.”

Undisclosed OEMs already have the chip, which leads Engadget to speculate that prototype phones may make an appearance at the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. TI expects the chip to be in mass-produced devices by the end of 2010.

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Posted 11/17/09 at 08:30:34 AM by Paul Lilly

If you've ever lost a night's sleep because you couldn't wrap your head around how to build a Real Time Kinematic (RTK) GPS receiver without breaking the bank, then prepare to sleep like a baby. Why? Because researchers Tomoji Takasu and Akio Yasuda of Tokyo University have you covered.

The researchers developed an inexpensive, open source RTK GPS that runs on a beagle board, and better yet, they've posted instructions so you can do the same. And unlike traditional GPS, RTK units measures the shorter wavelengths in the satellite's carrier signal, which ultimately means greater accuracy.

Getting it work right, however, isn't an easy task. That's why Takasu and Yasuda deserve major kudos for printing the detailed instructions, which you can access here.

Anyone plan on tackling this project?

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Posted 11/10/09 at 09:01:31 PM by Ryan Whitwam

Google Latitude just got a little bit more useful, and creepy. Latitude now has support for Location History and Location Alerts. Locations History allows you (and only you) to view a log of your various Latitude check-ins. These can be overlaid on Google Maps or Google Earth.

If you have Location History enabled, there’s another feature available to you. Location Alerts is a service (still in beta, for whatever that’s worth at Google) that will notify you if you are near one of your Latitude friends. You can choose enable SMS and/or email notifications. The system automatically filters out places you go often. So if the next door neighbor is on your Google Latitude friend list, you won’t be notified every time you go home.

If these new features sound intriguing to you, head on over to the Latitude apps page to enable.

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Posted 10/28/09 at 07:44:31 PM by Ryan Whitwam

Microsoft is always trying to work its way into new businesses. With that sort of approach, there are times that even Microsoft must admit defeat. One of those times is now. Microsoft has announced that the MSN Direct GPS service will be discontinued as of January 1st 2012.

MSN Direct is a service integrated into some GPS devices that uses FM signals to deliver traffic data, weather, stocks, movie times, and various other bits of info. The service was initially offered in 2004 when there may actually have been a need. Now, with the proliferation of cellular data connections and other digital networks, the MSN Direct service makes less sense.

The ample warning will give users just over 2 years of service to work out a substitute. Users with MSN Direct devices can still enroll in the service right up to the end date. Any subscribers wanting to cancel their accounts will be issued a prorated refund. Be honest, had you even heard of this service before now?

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