Jun 23 2009

Ethics and GPS

I suppose that the introduction of new technologies may raise ethical issues, and now GPS units have joined that club.  There have been recent ideas of providing people suffering from dementia with GPS tracker units so that their carers can find them more easily and providing children with GPS enabled mobile phones that inform the parents if the child moves outside a pre programmed area.

The ethical issues regarding the invasion of privacy are weighed against the requirements of duty of care/ responsibility and I guess that each individual has to make up their own mind in these cases.  However, a scheme has been piloted in North Wales, providing school children with gps enabled smart cards which are specifically aimed at monitoring their behaviour.

Another step towards “big brotherdom?”

Jun 19 2009

Sat Nav for Lorries, Vans and Caravans

Navevo ProNav PNN-200

Navevo ProNav PNN-200

With all the complaints in the press regarding HGV’s and other unsuitable vehicles laying waste to small villages, victims of “sat nav directions”, it is great to report that there is another sat nav on the market specifically designed for use by larger vehicles.

The Navevo ProNav PNN-200 is designed for use for lorries, caravans and vans with route planning which gives the driver warning of height, width and weight restrictions as well as showing preferred hgv routes and where they are prohibited, steep hills, sharp bends and risks of grounding are also indicated. Designed with the professional driver in mind, these sat navs have POIs  such as truck stops, hgv fuel stations with high flow pumps and loading bays in London

Jun 08 2009

Lost without your sat nav?

I know I harp on about keeping maps in the car and using a sat nav as an aid to navigation, not a substitute for common sense.  Well, an article posted today in the Marine Corps Times, illustrates the concern in the US Marine Corps regarding the erosion of map reading skills amongst its troops.

Over reliance upon their sat nav landed a USMC foot patrol in jeopardy in Iraq when their GPS went blank.  They had a map, but no compass, or spare batteries for the gps… they were lost.  Luckily they weren’t under fire.

The thing is, rarely will our life depend upon our sat nav. If it goes down, we might get lost and waste a bit of time, unless, of course we do what it says and try to drive up a railway line!

And it used to be said that the most dangerous thing on a battlefield was a subaltern with a map!

Jun 02 2009

Garmin Zumo 660 Selling like Hot Cakes

Now that the Garmin Zumo 660 is readily available in the distribution channel, the units seem to be selling like hot  cakes!  Of course, given the specs on this sat nav, it is hardly surprising that it should become the sat nav of choice for motorcycle enthusiasts, but what is surprising is the number of units that are being sold.  Either riders have been waiting for the Zumo 660 to become available or they have decided to replace their existing units.  The other interesting fact is that quite a few of the Cardo Systems Scala Rider Q2 helmet mounted headsets are being purchased at the same time.

Mind you, with the lovely weather we have had recently and the forecasted hot summer ahead, it must be pretty wonderful riding through the countryside, easily finding those out of the way places and sharing the experience with your passenger and fellow riders.

 

May 26 2009

Zumo 660: Sporadic Supply builds Frustration

Customers frustrated by lack of supply of Zumo 660
Customers frustrated by lack of supply of Zumo 660

Frustration is mounting amongst both suppliers and customers and potential customers for the Garmin Zumo 660 motorbike sat nav.  Lack of information regarding deliveries and the dribble of units into the supply chain is probably not earning Garmin any brownie points. 

We have received a fraction of the units we have ordered but are now accepting pre-orders and hope to have another delivery this week.

May 20 2009

Don’t give up map reading

All sat navs are dependant upon signals from the Global Positioning System (GPS) (which was developed and maintained by the US military) to determine their positions.  Now, it seems, the lack of funds to replace aging satellites is putting the integrity of the system in jeopardy.  The US Governments Accountability Office reckon that there is a 20% chance that the system have less than the required number of satellites at times, between 2011 and 2012.

The EU “Galileo” System, which is supposed to provide Europe with its own navigation system should have 4 satellites operational next year. But this won’t help if your sat nav is tuned to receive signals from the US GPS system.

May 19 2009

Binatone Car Sat Navs Added to Range

The Binatone C350BT has Bluetooth at under £86
The Binatone C350BT has Bluetooth at under £86

With a range of three units, Binatone car sat navs represent excellent value.  The entry level Binatone X350 comes with maps of the UK and Ireland, safety camera locations and a full 7 digit UK post code location finder and is priced at under £68.

The C350BT is one of the least expensive sat navs to include Bluetooth, while the X430 is one of the best value units with a 4.3” touch screen

May 13 2009

The Festival Season Cometh… and Garmin will help

The nuvi 865T has the Park Position Recall function
The nuvi 865T has the Park Position Recall function

Garmin are offering a free download of festival locations for 2009 as a Points of Interest file for their sat navs.  So if you want to get there, or avoid the area, this could be an invaluable tool.

If you do go to any of these huge out door events, like Glastonbury or the Reading festival, you will know that the huge car parks look very different at the end of the weekend. The Park Position Recall function that is standard in the Garmin Nuvi 700, 705, 800 and 805 range of units will help to guide you back on foot, to where you parked the car.  A really useful function whether you are tired and happy or cold and wet.

May 05 2009

Special price on Garmin Nuvi 865T

There is a special promotion on the Garmin Nuvi 865T until the 22nd May which will save you over £100 on the RRP!  Priced for a limited period at £297.99 (from an RRP of £399), the 865T has voice activated commands (so you can tell it where you wan to go and have voice controlled phone conversations), lane assist, Bluetooth and FM transmitter; in fact all the features you would expect from a top of the range Car sat nav.

This is  an ideal time to get your hands on a really great sat nav from one of the market leaders!

Apr 28 2009

TomTom Add IQ Routes To One And XL Ranges

I announced in one of my November blogs, that TomTom had introduced a new route planning system to the GO and GO LIVE ranges of their car sat navs.  This system plans routes based upon historical information for the time of day and day of the week and avoids those areas that have bottlenecks.  Typically, planning routes with this system will give you a faster route to your destination 35% of the time (TomTom’s figures).

Well, they have now added IQ Routes to their lower priced One v5  and XL v3 units which now makes these even more attractive.