The AT&T Navigator app is a great way to bring voice navigation to your iPhone (or other supported devices). The app is fast, accurate and, thanks to a recent update, you can listen to music while using the app and have the music fade when new directions are being given.

Telenav, the developers of the app, offered three one year subscriptions to the service. We are grateful to them for the opportunity to share these three subscriptions with some of our readers. And the three winners are…

Continue Reading

Continue Reading

Continue Reading

photo credit: Joseph Robertson

If last week’s news is any indication, we’re all about to see an army of Droids to be released and hit the mobile scene — in a very big way. Even if you didn’t already pre-order through Best Buy, Big Red hopes you’ll be stopping by their stores this Friday to see what all the fuss is about.   Some good hardware from Motorola and a faster, much improved Android 2.0 should please quite a few Verizon customers by providing what could be argued as the carrier’s first eagerly anticipated smartphone.   But will it pose any real threat to the iPhone?

Continue Reading

For almost two and a half years I have been using my iPhone each and every day. The improvements from the first generation iPhone with OS iPhone 1.0 until now, when my iPhone 3GS runs iPhone OS 3.0 has been significant. But it has also been gradual enough that it is easy to take the incredible functionality it offers for granted. I mean, who can even remember using an iPhone that was entirely dependent on **gasp** web apps??

Yes, using my iPhone for everything from browsing the web to writing posts on the go has become as natural as putting on my shoes in the morning. Yet every now and then there is some small thing that happens where my iPhone is so useful that I am reminded just how amazing this device is. In fact, just today I was twice reminded that…

Continue Reading

After some initial issues with one iPhone GPS app I have been using AT&T Navigator and finding it quite useful. It is fast, accurate and the redirecting process works well to help avoid traffic issues. The one downside of the app is that it requires an active data connection. Living where I do, however, it has not been much of an issue. Yes, the service requires an ongoing monthly fee of $9.99 but it also means that I always have the most current maps. Not a bad trade-off.

Well, thanks to Telenav we have a huge giveaway of three YEAR LONG subscriptions to the service. Continue Reading

Continue Reading

This is the tale of how I almost stopped using my iPhone as a GPS unit and how the right app and a better idea of how to use it changed my mind. Here is what happened.

When the iPhone gained its GPS capabilities I was excited to use is for navigation. Using Google maps worked well enough but certainly was not a replacement for standalone unit. Then a host of new third-party GPS applications began to appear and I became more excited about using the iPhone as my only GPS unit. That didn’t last very long. I was heading to a wedding I was officiating in New York when things went more than a bit array. Continue Reading

There’s nothing worse than losing your car keys. Unless of course you lose someone who has Alzheimers. It can be difficult to remember just who has watch duty on what day so why not relieve some of the stress by strapping on on a EmFinders EmSeeq wrist watch. Comes in one snazzy color – black – so it never needs cleaning. Monthly service is $25 or $275 for a year. Presently it works in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana so if your outside those areas you may want to give a whistle as a backup. Uses advanced cellular triangulation techniques to determine location of the person wearing the device. Available in 8 1/2″ and 9 1/2″ bands.

Continue Reading

If you’re always on the go all year round then chances are this Satsports Multi-sports GPS might be of interest. Included are GPS applications for running, golfing (including course layouts), biking, hiking, skiing (trails), snowboarding, mountain biking and walking. Versions are available for Android and Windows Mobile as well as a standalone GPS application. Check their site for a complete list of the golf and ski resorts that they map for you.

Continue Reading

Last week, I took a look at MotionX GPS Drive.  The hits just keep coming, and this week a big player stepped into the ring.   MapQuest comes to us with a new off-board (maps are loaded over the Internet on the fly) navigation app which they have kindly allowed me to test drive.

With the iPhone Navigation market getting quickly populated, I was curious to know how a big player like MapQuest would do in this space, especially given their long experience in mapping and route navigation.  So let’s take a look!

Continue Reading

The new Amber Alert GPS is a handy (albeit costly at $279 plus monitoring fees) device for parents wanting to keep track of their children. Slip the GPS into a backpack or other secure location. Throughout the day you receive text messages that show you exactly where your child is. Safety zones can be setup so if for example they were to wander away from school during the day you would automatically receive an alert. Once you’ve received an alert you can log into a web site to show the exact track that they’ve taken (requires unlimited service plan). There’s also an SOS button that can be activated by your child in the event of an emergency, a speed alert (handy for teens) and temperature alert. This device lasts up to 12 hours on a single charge (the company sells other larger models that last 5 and 21 days respectively). Current price for the Amber Alert GPS is $279 and monthly recurring monitoring fees add another $9.99 for the basic service which allows for 75 monthly alerts.

Continue Reading

A few days ago, I reviewed the new navigation app MotionX GPS Drive. I cited a few limitations of the applications. Well, MotionX released an update to the application that addresses some of the things I experienced.

Continue Reading

Worried about being caught by a red light speed trap that will photograph your license plate if you fail to stop for a traffic light? How about his free standing Red Light Camera Detector. It uses an internal GPS and 6,000 location database to compute whether you’re passing within range of a red light and speed camera. The red light camera database is updated monthly using information from chambers of commerce and state contracts. Simply connect the device to a PC running XP or Vista and download the latest red light camera locations from the manufacturer’s website. Includes one year of free updates; $19.95 annually thereafter. Of course other alternatives would be software such as Trapster for the iPhone (free) or my favorite detector – the Escort Passport 9500ix (review) more expensive at about $450 but the detector combines radar/laser and red light alerts into one dash device. Or you could just use the best alternative which is to stop for all red lights.

Continue Reading

I’ve been looking at iPhone GPS navigation applications for a while now, and  some products need more work, and I’ve seen highly-polished products. One thing that continues to surprise me is that more companies keep jumping into the competition!

One of the new entries is GPS Drive from the folks at MotionX. They were kind enough to send me a code for their $2.99 program (which comes with 30 days of live voice guidance) just in time for my semi-annual road trip to visit my mother – about a 1000 mile long trek.

So lets take a look at how it did.

Continue Reading