Can you top this gadget?

For shoot locations that require more than 3-4 turns, I come to wish I had a built in navigator in my car. Recently having directions with 11 turns or more, I've come to realize that a nav system is an existential necessity! So I'm on the look out for a portable system with a large screen that will be easy to follow.




"Navigon has just dropped it's latest satnav baby on us -- the 7200T -- and it comes with an extra side of slick... like, gooey slick. Upping it's game a touch, the device sports a redesigned OS which incorporates real-time traffic updates (free of charge over FM via Clear Channel's Total Traffic Network) as well as "Reality View Pro" and "Landmark View 3D," the former designed to whip up some photo-realistic 3D signage when you need to make a move, and the latter aimed at helping you notice the little things in life... like the Chrysler building. The unit features a 4.3-inch, 16:9 touchscreen display,... read the whole story here.

Can you top this gadget? (no not the 50D or the D90,) a gadget, gadget!

Asher

Asher Kelman said:

For shoot locations that require more than 3-4 turns, I come to wish I had a built in navigator in my car. Recently having directions with 11 turns or more, I've come to realize that a nav system is an existential necessity! So I'm on the look out for a portable system with a large screen that will be easy to follow.

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I've been using GPS devices (mostly Garmin units) for decades. For car navigation, I'm not sure a big screen is beneficial, but quality spoken directional instructions are (less visual distraction is better). An aftermarket system does depend on an unobstructed antenna view on the satellites from the car's interior, so fully metalized windows are spoilsports. In a good climate, one could use an external magnetic antenna if the GPS supports that, but that's not the most sophisticated solution.

In my previous 13 year old Nissan I used a Garmin Quest, which is so small that it also doubles as my geo-tagger for shooting locations, and as a pedestrian's city guide in locations I'm not familiar with, or when I'm hiking in nature, or for finding my car in a large parking lot. Having a small (weatherproof) portable unit with decent battery life, is helpful for me. I'm less interested in MP3 or pictureframe features.

If I were to purchase a new one, it would preferably use a SiRF chipset since it is often better in keeping a signal lock in highrise neigborhoods, or narrow streets, in cities. That is important when using it as a navigation unit. Of the current on-the-road models, the waterproof Garmin Nüvi 500 series looks nice, although a bit bigger than the old Quest and I'm not sure if it uses a SiRF chipset. I also like the Garmin Mapsource software that comes with their units, it allows to do decent planning and waypoint exchange with the GPS unit.

I prefer functionality over gadgetry.

Bart

I have a TomTom with a small screen. I normally stand it on the dashboard and glance at its map while driving. The spoken instructions are good but I do need to glance at the map as spoken instructions alone are very misleading - especially in complicated road layouts. Of course, it often doesn't get it right either. Sat Nav can be misleading and has reported occasionally to be very inaccurate. My experience - it's good but not perfect.

My kids gave me a Garmin Nuvi 780 for my birthday a couple of months ago and I love it. It sits in a bean-bag mount on the steering column just in front of the tach and speedo (which I don't need to look at during any sort of normal driving).

The bluetooth and a good speaker system takes care of the no-hands law for cellphones we now have out here and the Microsoft connection actually has given good traffic info so far.

Asher, if you want to look at mine we can arrange to meet for a show & tell session this weekend. Let me know.

Attach one end to your front door, and the other to the bumper (fender) of your car.

You'll always be able to find your way home.



Happy journey!

Stuart

With that gadget, fine dry British humor is well showcased! If we see this in the next Olympics games in 2012 in London, for the opening ceremony, we'll be watching Madonna dancing with the Archbishop of Canterbury and have the Dali Lama step in, tap the prelate on the shoulder and ask for the dance. This televised over the world, would upstage the Chinese as all the sponsor money for the opening ceremonies would be given for Tibetan and Darfur relief.

We do need British sense of fun, so your gadget is superb.

Asher

Was I not the only one that wasn't impressed by the Olympics?

I don't know whether the 2012 games will actually happen. I know they're supposed to be doing away with the Olympic flame.

I used to love watching the summer and winter Olympics since 1960. I'm not sure when it started but something changed and I've found the coverage of the games increasingly annoying to the point where I've stopped watching them completely. It's unfortunate.

Well, here's a novel contender for super-gadget. It combines the street view with the map.



Read more here.

Asher

Asher Kelman said:

Well, here's a novel contender for super-gadget. It combines the street view with the map.

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Very cool! Of course the next step is a head-up-display projection.

Bart

FYI,

"Another major improvement is the lane-assist view (see the slideshow for an example), which shows you which lane you should be in as you approach an exit. It also shows the actual road signs you'll see as you approach major highway intersections. This is very similar to the Reality view first introduced by Navigon over a year ago in its 7100."

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2329358,00.asp

Bart

Thanks, Bart, the nüvi 755T an excellent Garmin update to the 760. However, I found this

"One gripe: The nüvi 755T comes with advertisements. My evaluation unit arrived with three preloaded vendors (BP, Walgreens, and Wells Fargo). When you access the traffic menu, one of these advertiser's names always appears at the bottom of the screen. Also, from time to time, one of these ads will pop up on the map view screen (they won't appear when you are in motion). A single tap of the advertisers' name will perform a POI search for nearby retail locations. Unfortunately, you can't disable these ads, but it's likely that they help Garmin offset the cost of the live traffic information that it offers free."

So is that a general trend? How intrusive does it seem?

Asher

"How intrusive does it seem?"

Intrusive enough so I'm glad I gave a 780 to my kid tonight for his birthday instead of a IOU for one of the forthcoming models.

When I'm a little older, I'm expecting a corporate branding message to play on my implanted pacer/defibrillator after each activation. You know, something like "Medtronics saved your life again!" or "You can always depend on Duracell". Of course, if it doesn't work, I won't care that the message isn't true.

You might think you're exaggerating, but I don't think you are. Think of what the typical website looks like now, and consider the electronic billboards cropping up along our roads, and the push for location based push content for our cell phones. Fast forward to "Blade Runner" and imagine us all having just traded in our fulltime heads up displays for neural implants. It's coming — it's just a matter of time.

Nill

Nill,

I've been reading science fiction since the early Fifties and I'm fairly convinced more of the dystopian predictions are coming true compared to the utopian ones (with the possible exception of the USA-USSR nuke exchange. So far).

We shall see. Or rather, my kids will. IMO, life in the US is becoming more like life everywhere and everyplace else. The late Forties, Fifties, and early Sixties were a magical time in the US for a great many people (and not for some, I realize that), created from WW2. It won't be repeated without a break-through in cheap fusion power, I think.

Will and Nill,

As you point out, advertising intrudes further and further in our lives. Taken to the max, where would it land us? What good might there be in it? The pacemaker guys would certainly get get a free pass as long as the parts were not recycled and had a discount! This fascinating subject of "pushed" content has been cloned here.

Now back to the gadgets to get us there and back. What about linked to our pictures by Geo-taggiong?

Asher

Asher,

I can see geo-tagging as important for some research and perhaps for private detectives looking to build a divorce case. I can't see it as vital for anyone else. Nice perhaps, but not very important.

I am interested in the what-GPS question. I used one recently in a rental car and it was fantastic. So I want one. (In fact I would have one if Verizon hadn't so thoughtfully disabled the built-in GPS in my Blackberry — thanks Verizon!)

Dell was blowing out Garmin Nuvi 250W's last week for 150 bucks and I missed it. Where from there? Don't want to spend a lot, but want a good basic unit, mostly for car travel but some pedestrian also.

Nill

Will_Perlis said:

Asher,

I can see geo-tagging as important for some research and perhaps for private detectives looking to build a divorce case. I can't see it as vital for anyone else. Nice perhaps, but not very important.

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for photography it can be useful, like when you want to go back to photograph at a location. You can load a picture and get to it easily.

I do have a question about what monthly fees one is paying?

Asher

Asher,

The one I have came with a free three month trial of assorted MSN services. You can buy a year for $49.95 and a life-time access for, I think, $129. The auto power cord has a receiver for the MSN data built into the plug and feeds the data to the GPS unit.

I find the traffic info somewhat useful if there's a way around a jam. The other info (like movie times) doesn't interest me. I have to make up my mind about signing up soon. I'm on the fence right now.

Nill,

CU is rating the Garmin Nuvi 200 as a "Best Buy" at $150. Thing is, there are so many variations you need to look at the specs to see what's important to you.

Asher Kelman said:

for photography it can be useful, like when you want to go back to photograph at a location. You can load a picture and get to it easily.

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Any photography for which location can be important (remembering/finding/communicating), can benefit from geotagging. One can even scout locations based on other photographers' work, e.g. with http://www.panoramio.com/ .

I do have a question about what monthly fees one is paying?

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The GPS signal is made available for free (well, taxpayers money for the DOD). The traffic message services are based on a subscription, although some seem to offer them for free.

Bart