GPS News and Reviews

If you are traveling at all this long weekend, you will probably hit some traffic. With a little work, you can either plan ahead and know what you are getting into, or see the traffic situation and plan to route around it. It's not hard, here are a couple of tips to make traveling a little easier.

1. Check out conditions at Beat the Traffic in most major metro areas. They use Inrix data for some pretty detailed accounts of roadway slowdowns. You can elect to sign up for a two week free trial for their service that will allow you to plan your regularly used routes and get updates. They also have an iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and "mobile" set of solutions to help you while you are on the road.

2. Use Traffic.com's solution to plan a route and see what the traffic conditions are before you leave. they can recommend alternates for you to consider that will make the trip faster. Type in your starting and ending addresses for turn by turn directions. At Traffic.com - It's free.

3. Download the Inrix App for iPhone or Android where you can see traffic around you while on the road. I use this in combination with a GPS to get me around the worst spots: See trouble, pan the Inrix Map to see the last exit before the congestion, use the GPS to find my way around the issue to pop back on teh highway after the back-up. (Co-pilot recommended)

4. Get a traffic Enabled iPhone Navigation App - they are not that expensive and then you add on traffic as an option. Two I like are the TomTom (iTunes Link) and Navigon. TomTom US costs $49, and has an in App Traffic subscription for $20. Navigon has a Regional option (MyRegion) for only $29 and an annual traffic subscription (in App Purchase) for $20 also. Both give you traffic in and around major metro areas. I like having an iPhone navigation app because it's with me all of the time. These Apps download the maps so they don't need connectivity for navigation but do for traffic updates.

5. Buy a traffic enabled GPS - there are a ton out there, but two that are worth checking out are the TomTom XL 335TM (widescreen, text to speech, lifetime free map updates and traffic alerts - $129 right now), and the brand new Garmin Nuvi 3790T (super slim new design, landscape or portrait views, multi-touch display with advanced features and free traffic updates). Again these traffic updates are for most major metro areas and download over the FM band, so they are a little less detailed, but cover major roadways.

UPDATE: THURSDAY ONLY - Amazon Deal of the Day: TomTom XL 335T for $119 - Lifetime Traffic updates, but not lifetime map updates.

6. Leave in the middle of the night - way less fun; I recommend one of the other options.

I wanted to highlight a few GPS units that might help you out this weekend if you are hitting the road. I have been offering advice on some cheaper units that can help out wayward travelers looking for a good deal. You can always venture into Refurbs for the best deal, but some are not interested in the risk.

Garmin Nuvi 255W - widescreen go-to unit that is right-priced at $119 at BestBuy right now as well as Amazon. See my review for more information but the unit covers most needs with a good set of features, namely widescreen, good maps and text to speech. And no, this unit isn't part of the recall.

TomTom Widescreen Best Bets Depending on the outlet:
At Amazon - The TomTom XL 325S
- a widescreen text to speech unit offering maps of the US. On sale for $114.

At BestBuy - TomTom XL 335 LE - Widescreen, Text to Speech unit that should be available for store pick-up (backordered online) - Price is $129

Safe travels.....

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This dude has done it. It is not the most elegant way of using your iPad as a GPS navigation system but may serves as a proof of concept.

Like we said he’s using Motion X GPS drive as the GPS navigation software which only costs $3 to buy but you’ll have to pay $25/year to activate voice guided turn by turn directions.

Bad thing is there’s no built in map data, meaning all the maps have to be loaded over the air. Also it looks like there’s no text-to-speech to pronounce street names.

What’s your GPS navigation solution for your iPad? Let us know.

Brought to you by your GPS navigation site NaviGadget.

using Motion X GPS Drive on your iPad

Interested in a marine personal locator beacon? This one is ACR AquaLink View PLB and Panbo has a good review about it.

Because I’m also testing the Pro version of ACR’s 406Link service, the same “All’s well” short message and location link could have been emailed and/or texted to four other recipients. Frankly, though, I consider that Spot-like messaging feature quite secondary to the reassurance felt when you can test a critical safety device like this PLB all the way through the system (short of the rescue center). I also like how the 406Link user site keeps track of beacon tests, battery life, etc.

Amazon has a bunch of ACR Aqualinks varying between $366 and $650.

Brought to you by your GPS navigation site NaviGadget.

ACR AquaLink View PLB with 406link

Verdict: Doesn't Take Full Advantage of the iPhone, But It'll Get You To Your Destination Magellan has been making standalone GPS devices for years. Now the company is hoping to stay competitive in an increasingly smartphone-driven world, and has released...

Read the whole entry

Garmin just announced a new touchscreen device for cyclists called Edge 800.

It provides BirdsEye Satellite Imagery, has a bigger 2.6″ display compared to older Edge models. It can track all of your performance data, on and off road and always helps you find your way back to the start. Edge 800 tracks speed, distance, time, GPS position, elevation, calories burned, climb and descent. It syncs wirelessly through ANT+ technology with heart rate monitors and speed/cadence sensors. For even more data Edge 800 incorporates a barometric altimeter to pinpoint changes in elevation.

Edge 800 can displays temperature readings, changes time zones automatically, lasts up to 15 hours on one charge and alerts riders if they’re moving but the timer has not been started. Nice little feature.

Edge 800 costs $450 and Edge 800 Performance and Navigation Bundle costs $ 650.

Brought to you by your GPS navigation site NaviGadget.

garmin edge 800

You’ve probably heard this already but we’ll just go over a few of the details:

• Garmin is recalling 1.25 million nuvi GPS navigation systems (796K of them in the U.S.)
• there are issues with overheating batteries
• they’re blaming a third party battery supplier
• affected models are 200W, 250W, 260W, 7xx, and 7xxT
• however not all of these are affected, go here and check
• battery supplier agreed the cost of replacing battery packs
• Garmin says this won’t affect its financial results

Here is Garmin’s statement:

Garmin is voluntarily recalling certain nüvi devices that contain a specific battery that was manufactured by the battery supplier within a limited date code range. Garmin has identified potential overheating issues when certain batteries manufactured by the third-party battery supplier within a limited date code range are used in certain Garmin nüvi models with a specific printed circuit board (PCB) design. It appears that the interaction of these factors can, in rare circumstances, increase the possibility of overheating, which may lead to a fire hazard. Although there have been no injuries or significant property damage caused by this issue, Garmin is taking this action out of an abundance of caution.

Brought to you by your GPS navigation site NaviGadget.

garmin’s major recall

Bushnell just upgraded their “backtrack >3″ to “backtrack >5″, a whole two new locations you can track for an extra $20. It is not currently in stock; maybe that’s a good thing because our favorite GPS X GUIDER which can store up to 300 points is in stock.

Bushnell backtrack point >5 has a different form factor and includes a nice little carabiner so you can attach it to your backpack or similar things. It is similar to other GPS backtracker devices in terms of other features such as the ability to include latitude and longitude, timestamp, and even temperature in this case.

It uses 2AAA batteries but they don’t report on how long it would last. We can’t imagine it would be that long before batteries run out with that relatively large backlit LCD display.

Brought to you by your GPS navigation site NaviGadget.

bushnell backtrack point >5

Garmin has announced a great looking new Edge 800 GPS based touchscreen bike computer that looks to be a big step up in capabilities, notable adding Birdseye satellite imagery and touchscreen capabilities. The Edge 800 interacts with Garmin Basecamp software where you can plan rides and then download them to the Edge 800. If your ride partners have a wireless capable GPS, you can then beam the route to them via Garmi's wireless sharing feature. Compatible Fitness units include the Edge 705 and 605, along with the Garmin Oregon series, Dakota 20 and the older Colorado series handheld units.

I use a Colorado 400t when biking to which I have added City Navigator NT maps so I can navigate roads. Sure it's big, but it handles on and off road biking nicely. With a heart rate monitor and a handlebar mount I can ride, explore and always navigate home. This summer I have been using the Birdseye satellite imagery when I ride and have found that I have come to depend on it. The experience is much better when I can navigate across roads with the satellite imagery versus the regular City NT street maps. The context gives you a better sense of what's around you and where you are in your ride. I see the addition of the Birdseye imagery as a positive step for the Edge series.

On top of the Birdseye satellite imagery, the Edge 800 will come with a long list of capabilities that people have come to expect on a bike computer. The Edge 800 accurately tracks speed, distance, time, GPS position, elevation, calories burned, climb and descent. The Edge 800 syncs with garmin Heart Rate Monitors, and cadence sensors plus third party power meters all through their ANT+ wireless technology. Further, the Edge 800 has a barometric altimeter for extra sensitive ascent and descent readings.

You Mountain bike? Add TOPO maps for a good offroad look and feel of where you are going. Yea it will work and bring back all the data you'd come to expect.

Available for $449 in a standalone model, and a $649 bundle that adds City Navigator NT street maps, their new Heart Rate Monitor strap and cadence sensors.

Read an early review by BikeRadar and see the Garmin Product Page for the Edge 800

I am a pretty avid biker, mostly road biking but a fair amount of mountain biking too. When I reviewed the Edge 705, I thought it was a data hound's dream. Mapping, data capture and the ability to easily see all kinds of information at your fingertips; speed, distance, time, calories burned, altitude, and climb and descent.

Once you ride, you can come back, download the ride to your computer and participate in the Garmin Connect Community; share rides, track your training and more.

REI has a Labor Day Sale on Starting TOMORROW for a Garmin 705 Deluxe Bundle - Heart Rate Monitor, wireless Cadence monitor, Street Maps for the US, and a pair of mounts (Road and mountain Bike!). The Price is $519, down from $649.

At REI