Articles in the GPS Navigation Category
Posted in GPS Navigation on 1 February 2012
No one wants to go through life without direction, and everybody just hates it when they’re lost. Literally speaking, a map or some directions from a local could draw the thin line that separates getting lost from getting where you need or want to be. Thus, we have Global Positioning Systems (GPS).
But with all the companies out there competing with one another on who gives directions best, how can you accurately compare GPS system to GPS system, and figure out which is best for your needs? Do you go for the ones with fancy names, those who claim to be number one, or those whose products you often see in the street? Well, to compare GPS system to system is just a matter of comparing the companies’ or products’ offers and features, and figuring out what would best suit you and your specific needs or requirements. I for one would not automatically go for the biggest GPS company, though with obvious advantages, without checking out other stuff first.
It all grinds down to what a specific individual prefers or what particular requirements are set in trying to compare GPS system A to GPS system B. For instance, do you need an all around GPS device that you can carry in your pocket, or do you just need it while driving? Are you hearing-impaired or you have difficulty going through complicated gadgets and would prefer a simple graphical user interface? Choosing which company or product gives you directions might be a big deal to some, so perhaps product reviews from people who own and have used the products might help.
Posted in GPS Navigation on 30 January 2012
If Christopher Columbus had a Global Positioning System (GPS) in his hand back in the days of his exploration, he would have found what he was looking for, and the US wouldn’t have been what it is today. That’s how far it has gone: from thinking and believing the world was flat to handheld portable GPS devices that even tell you where to turn next. Could Columbus have guessed where navigation was heading into when he mistakenly named America the New World? Could Magellan have known his exploits would have a GPS company take on his name?
Even today, GPS technologies are still advancing and developing. Even the companies in the industry are changing and shifting. Try looking for a Garmin 360 GPS through Google or even the Garmin official sites. It’s been discontinued. It had some pretty good features and a catchy name, but change has phased it out. No one can have a brand new Garmin 360 GPS to walk them through directions anymore.
The future holds many more horizons for GPS, just look how it’s evolved since 1983 when former President Ronald Reagan allowed its civilian use. In a world where convenience and ease of use, not to mention peace of mind from getting lost, seems to be prioritized, technological wonders of today would easily be things of the past quicker than we can imagine. Gearing towards aspects such as convenience, such tools and devices like the Garmin 360 GPS inevitably face their demise almost as soon as the next model comes out.
Posted in GPS Navigation on 28 January 2012
People have never ceased shopping online ever since the internet offered the advent of being able to do so. And with today’s modern technologies and gadgets, it seems most suited to shop for mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and Global Positioning System (GPS) devices over cyberspace. Thing is, when doing this online, you don’t get someone you can ask, like a sales clerk or whatnot, about how to choose. Like for choosing what GPS device to patronize.
So how do you know how to compare GPS navigation systems? There are hundreds of products out there offering different features with their own advantages over the others, but it all boils down to you, really. Perhaps you’d like to keep three things about yourself in mind so you know how to compare GPS navigation systems:
First, your needs. What do you need? Do you require a personal portable GPS device or something that can be installed in your car when you travel? What sort of features would you need most when using a GPS device? Would you need a more visual GPS or something that actually speaks out the directions?
Second, your wants. After prioritizing the must-be’s, you can then go ahead and add to the list of things you want in a GPS device those things that aren’t necessarily crucial, but you’d prefer to have.
And of course, your tendencies or inklings. This won’t be found on any description of a product you’d find. This is somewhat a gauge of how well you know yourself, and thus knowing what to avoid or take advantage of while comparing GPS devices. For example, do you tend to choose the big names though their products have the same features as other brands, causing you to spend more? In this case then you might want to make sure you have a strict budget. Do you tend to lose stuff a lot, such as mobile phones or PDAs? Then you might consider not going for portable GPS devices that you could easily lose, et al.
Those are some things to remember so you’d know how to compare GPS navigation systems, and eventually select one out of your list. Of course these three items encompass wider fields, but most aspects fall on one of those three.
Posted in GPS Navigation, Portable GPS on 26 January 2012
It pains one to imagine what the early seafarers and navigators had to do in order to get to their far-off and as yet unknown destination—it was already a challenge keeping a whole crew of a ship alive by not wandering out of the planned course or going over the edge of the world. Such was their plight back in the days of the flat Earth that when someone pulls out a portable Global Positioning System (GPS) device, you either pity Magellan and Columbus, or fell very indebted to these famous souls, among others.
Ever since former President Ronald Reagan issued the directive that enabled civilians to use the Department of Defenses’ GPS, its use has been further developed with the civilian in mind, and in an age where everyone wants everything literally at their fingertips, portability is one notable advancement. GPS portable systems, as many refer to it, have become widely popular and useful. It’s not just a map with more detail, graphical interface, and directions to and from a place, it’s a practical atlas in a nutshell.
GPS portable systems have made it to cars, mobile phones, and handheld individual devices, to mention a few. These devices prove to be very handy, especially for those people who like to—or need to—travel a lot, living out of suitcases, and/or in transition to a new home, life, or what-have-you.
Who likes the feeling of being lost anyway? GPS portable systems get rid of that (assuming one knows how to operate them), and gives the user a sense of control—perhaps this is an important factor in how well these navigational devices are received.
Posted in GPS Navigation on 24 January 2012
If you’re driving skills are good, but the same can’t be said about your navigational prowess, you just wish there was a navigator on your passenger seat to show you the way. Maybe all you need is a driving Global Positioning System (GPS) device, such as a Magellan 760 Roadmate.
Magellan Navigations, Inc., who, yes, took their name from the renowned Ferdinand Magellan, the explorer, offers the Magellan 760 Roadmate to drivers who don’t know much beyond the next few blocks from their house. In the 760 Roadmate, GPS has evolved into very convenient, perhaps spoon-feeding technology, because it can actually give you voice and visual directions as you drive. And these aren’t just general directions, it can actually tell you where to turn left or right
One can’t help but think more and more people find themselves lost these days, what with the whole GPS device thing—virtually anything and anyone needing to get somewhere can have a GPS installed or a portable handheld brought with him. Convenience has definitely reached the realm of the wayfarer. If only Columbus had a GPS portable in his pockets at the time, but then again, he would’ve found what he was actually looking for and not have discovered America.
A device like a Magellan 760 Roadmate does ease a wary driver’s concern, and brings much convenience for the geographically innocent. Quite handy, fairly easy to use—perhaps it’s time for paper maps and atlases to move over, and let the GPS devices and technologies take the wheel from here.
Posted in GPS Navigation, Handheld GPS, In Dash GPS, Portable GPS on 22 January 2012
Buying a car would entail that you know how to drive, and that you’re geographically inclined enough to know what lies a few blocks off and effectively find your own way to a destination. With the present day Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technology however, getting to and from anywhere becomes a simplistic task. I was wondering if someone who wanted to buy a private jet or boat would need to consider GPS as much as someone wanting to buy a vehicle would. Thinking about it, they would probably need it more. How about submarines, perhaps? My silly search for a GPS company catering to almost—if not all—all frontiers brought me to Google, and Google gave me Garmin.
Garmin Ltd. is a parent company of a group of companies that make just what I was curious to find: GPS technologies for any terrain or environment. Garmin navigation systems encompass consumer, aviation, and marine GPS technologies and devices. It’s interesting to see such a company, and even more interesting to think about how they will be in the future. Would Garmin navigation systems be popular for individual consumers or just aviation and/or marine navigation needing companies? Could it out market Magellan Navigations with its name and wrestle Tomtom NV from Europe’s top spot?
It’s remarkable how GPS technologies and devices are slowly but surely erasing the need for traditional maps. With this sort of change, GPS companies and their technologies, such as Garmin navigation systems, would then unavoidably change and adjust with the ever changing tides of the modern times.
Posted in GPS Navigation, Handheld GPS, Portable GPS on 20 January 2012
Directions from the Best
People lose directions just as easily as anything else. So to avoid getting lost, they find ways to know where they are and how to get to where they need to get. In this quest for the lost path, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are indispensable. So then people go into efforts of finding out which is the best GPS device product or technology and/or manufacturer or company. And then they need directions here, too.
Many companies in the GPS industry claim the coveted top spot, the best portable GPS navigation systems, devices, and technologies. Among all the claims, only one can be true, and there’s no solid, definite way to find out. True, statistics, reviews, and surveys might shed light into the truth, but that truth is popular truth—the truth that appealed to the most number of people. So how do you choose between Magellan GPS, Garmin GPS, Tomtom GPS, or what-have-you? They own have their pros and cons, but you might want to stop looking at the company and start thinking about yourself: what you need, and what you want from a GPS device. That’s how you can effectively search for the best portable GPS systems.
The cliché says beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. In this case it proves to apply as well. There is no one best GPS company or product, since the superlative adjective ‘best’ does not attach itself to a company or product automatically, but is affected by who views what; affected by a persons relative judgment, opinion, and preference. What’s best for me might not be good at all to you so stop trying to search for the best portable GPS systems, but search for the best GPS technology for you.
Posted in GPS Navigation, Handheld GPS, Portable GPS on 18 January 2012
Need Directions? Ask Magellan.
When Ferdinand Magellan tempted fate to throw him over the edge of the flat Earth in search of God, Gold, and Glory, little did he know that his exploits would make him a common household name—not just in history but in everyday use. Magellan Navigations, Inc. has made the explorers name synonymous with convenience by naming their company after him. Their trade is in Global Positioning Systems (GPS).
Maybe you know someone with a Magellan GPS system or a portable device or has a car with a Magellan 760 Roadmate. Since GPS is allegorically and literally everywhere nowadays, it’s not surprising that tourists suddenly pull out their portable GPS devices to see where to go next. And for someone needing directions, a Magellan GPS system definitely has much appeal in its name.
Since 1983, when former President Ronald Reagan issued the GPS directive due to a Korean airliner straying and being destroyed in USSR airspace, the Department of Defense’s technology has grown in popularity and use—and the trend is seemingly poised to phase out the use of maps and atlases in the near future. What might Magellan Navigations’ role be in a future where a technology like a Magellan GPS system pervades every vehicle, liner, and even individual pocket of everyone in the street?
Hopefully, this GPS trend doesn’t testify to more and more people being lost or geographically ignorant, because though the convenience, ease of use, and peace of mind GPS offers is welcome, I for one don’t want to see a day when you can’t ask anyone directions without them looking it up in their GPS portables.
Posted in GPS Navigation, Handheld GPS, Portable GPS on 16 January 2012
In today’s world of constant and rapid change and development, it’s hard to be at the top of your game; or for a company, at the top of their industry. While age old industries still survive competition around the world between companies in newer technologies and advancements have been clashing over the number one spot, such in the Global Positioning Systems (GPS) industry.
Since former President Ronald Reagan’s directive in 1983, the world has embraced and developed GPS. People use handheld GPS devices, install them in their vehicles, and even in their Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and mobile phones. So many a company has invested into the still growing trend of not getting lost. In Europe, Tomtom NV, a Dutch manufacturer of automotive and stand-alone GPS technologies, leads the pack.
A Tomtom GPS system is commonplace in Europe. With GPS overwhelming traditional maps and atlases, Tomtom, as a company, is definitely poised to keep its current position and reach even further. Europe might very well be looking at an age when every car has a Tomtom GPS system.
But Europe is just a small stage in the international theatre, and there are more areas of the six inhabitable continents that will sure develop in the future, proving to be ample staging ground for marketing expansion. GPS and its flag bearers like the Tomtom GPS system, is almost certain to set in and settle once the third world countries, for example, advance into an era which needs the convenience and direction GPS provides.
Posted in GPS Navigation, Handheld GPS, Portable GPS on 14 January 2012
Ever been lost without anyone to ask for directions from? Ever been at your wit’s end trying to decipher a symbol on a map or road you’ve come across that would draw the line between getting where you need to be and camping out for the night in the meantime? Well. You’re not alone. Everyone gets lost sometimes, and few, if any, have treasured the experience. That’s why Global Positioning System (GPS) is around.
Since that historic and tragic downing of a Korean airliner in Cold War era Communist Russian airspace, GPS has been made available by former President Reagan for civilian use, and this directive was most welcome. Since then, GPS and navigation systems have since evolved and progressed enough that what was a Department of Defense tool once, anyone can have in an everyday, nondescript handheld device. GPS companies have even named their devices from famous explorers, such as the Magellan navigation system.
Magellan Navigation, Inc. currently offers different makes and types of GPS devices for the common consumer. Looking it up on the net, there are some pretty good things said about the Magellan navigation system from people who own one of their GPS portables. Perhaps striving to be true to their name taken form a great explorer, the company has been trying to meet the demands of the lost.
If you tend to get lost a lot, or maybe you’re just a regular Joe with no vast knowledge of geography to speak of, you might want a GPS portable handy. You’ll never know when a Magellan navigation system could get you out of a hairy situation.
