Articles in the Portable GPS Category
Posted in GPS Navigation, Portable GPS on 7 September 2010
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, Handheld GPS, In Dash GPS, Portable GPS on 3 September 2010
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 1 September 2010
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 30 August 2010
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 28 August 2010
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 25 August 2010
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.
