Despite its aesthetic achievements, Apple's Maps app in iOS 6 left a lot of users unhappy. Turns out that the years Google spent building out its mapping data were hugely important; Apple's data - which powered its new Maps app - didn't have the real world, real user testing that Google Maps benefited from.
Automobile technology has become so advanced that today's cars are essentially computers with wheels. So why aren't we using them to surf the Web, communicate with other cars or order food at nearby restaurants?
If you're looking to buy a dedicated GPS navigation device, you'll quickly discover that every manufacturer offers an almost dizzying array of products -- each with slightly different features. The challenge, then, is to determine which features are must-haves and which would just be nice to have.
The more I use the HTC Incredible, the more I like it. And the thing that really makes the Incredible, er, incredible is its operating system, Android<.
Facebook wants to know "What's on your mind?" Twitter asks "What's happening?" But that's getting old already. The burning question for the next wave of social networking is "Where are you?"--and services like Foursquare, Gowalla, Brightkite, and Loopt want you to use your smartphone to answer it.
As Nokia takes on Google with turn-by-turn voice navigation on select smartphones, the worst nightmares of GPS device makers are coming true.
Do you remember where you were the day they unveiled Facebook? No? How about Twitter? Amazon.com? Google Search?
We've been down this road before: A trusting soul gets bum directions from a GPS navigation system, winds up in the middle of nowhere, and may or may not survive the ordeal.
The story of a Nevada couple, who followed their GPS unit's directions and ended up stuck in snow for three days, reminds us that we, not the GPS, are responsible for where we drive. But, there are still things GPS makers could and should do that might help.
An impressive feature of Google's new Android 2.0 mobile device operating system is Google Maps Navigation, a that's not only free to use, but is fairly easy to learn as well.
The root of America's health crisis is bad habits formed in childhood. To protect children from harm, parents are keeping kids indoors, where they get sick, watch TV and form lifelong habits of screen addiction, inactivity and junk-food overeating.
TomTom's new GPS navigation application for the iPhone may sound appealing, but it's true cost and capabilities are still a mystery. The app costs $100 and allows the iPhone to function as a real-time navigation device that provides turn-by-turn directions.
The new TomTom app that turns an iPhone into a turn-by-turn GPS navigation system spells the beginning of the end for standalone GPS. Not everywhere, but at least on dashboards, where a smartphone can now do everything a GPS can do and cost less than purchasing both.
An 11-year-old boy is dead, and too much dependence on GPS may be partly to blame.
With the founding of ESRI 40 years ago, Jack Dangermond pioneered the business of geographic information systems (GIS). He shares his perspective on how the Web has democratized access to geographic information, and how mashups between GIS and traditional information systems are transforming the way companies view and analyze business data.
