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Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 unboxing gallery
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cameras, Features, Galleries, GPS,
We just got the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 digital camera in for review, and we must say, we are pretty stoked. We were big fans of last year’s DMC-ZS3, and the ZS7 improves upon that model with a 16x intelligent optical zoom, 12.1 megapixel images, much improved facial recognition, and GPS integration. We’re excited to put this one through the paces, especially with the built-in geotagging, and we will have that to you soon. In the meantime, we’ve put together a Lumix DMC-ZS7 unboxing gallery to show off the goods. Check it out!
Read More 
| Panasonic Lumix ZS7 unboxing gallery
Gallery:
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SXSW 2010: Location-based Marketing and Advertising: Targeting the Mobile Consumer
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Editorial, Features, GPS, Internet,
Navteq and their parent company Nokia believe that LBS or Location Based Services are going to be a $7 billion dollar industry by 2013. This is due to an increase of mobile connected devices and their ability to receive targeted advertisements when they are near a specific location.
Navteq currently has 80 people globally in their sales force, working with mobile operators as well as smaller application developers to help sell the data that they collect about locations. They warehouse this information by deploying “data collection trucks” which have high definition cameras mounted on the rooftop and drive most all of the major cities roads . These cameras take photos and collect other data such as elevation as they drive through the streets. Company spokesman and presenter Shawn Gunn said future unknown applications will leverage this. To seed such innovation, Navteq has a location based challenge that they run annually and several augmented reality projects are frequently presented from that.
SXSW 2010: Playing with Place - Location-aware games
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Editorial, Features, GPS, Video Games,
Katheryn started off the session giving us geo location coordinates that only a machine would love. Her followup to this was the context matters; our location around a place and who is around that space with us. There is also excitement around discovery with geo. An example could be geocache games which created back in the old old black and white LCD “latitude and longitude” GPS units and have worked their way into the App stores of the iPhone and Android handsets.
Although location is in its infancy, Foursquare has opened their APIs and sites like gatsby.com are using location data + user preferences to send SMS messages to those who are in proximity with one another and could potentially benefit in meeting up in real life. While this leads to privacy issues, it is opt-in and could let “regular strangers” connect and communicate in ways that they might night work up the courage to in the physical world.
Click to continue reading SXSW 2010: Playing with Place - Location-aware games
Alpine partnering with Nokia to integrate smartphones into cars
Posted by Finnian Durkan Categories: Accessories, Smartphones, Corporate News, GPS, Transportation,
Need a reason to chuck your Garmin/Tom-Tom, etc. out of your car other than ‘has stupid name and labels me as a poor-driving tourist wherever I go’? Well wait no longer, avid reader: today Alpine announced a strategic partnership with the Finnish cel phone giant, Nokia, to fully integrate smartphones into car infotainment systems. While I was surprised that ‘infotainment’ was actually a word, I was more surprised that this type of alliance hasn’t been made sooner. Not only are these two electronics giants looking to elbow in to the lucrative GPS/Nav market, but they are also bringing a few bells and whistles of their own, namely widgets that can monitor fuel levels and direct you to the nearest and cheapest gas station. Might as well go ahead and chuck that gas gauge now, Chachi, ‘cause you’re not going to need it anymore; welcome to the future, only 48 years after your grandpa thought he’d have a flying car.
Read More | Alpine
Bleeding Edge TV 333: Dual, the iPod touch GPS
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Apple, CES, CES 2010, Features, GPS, Handhelds, Podcasts, Transportation, Videocasts, Videos,
We were able to catch up with Dual, a company that is bringing GPS functionality to the iPod touch. Get a look at the Dual iPod touch GPS add-on, which also acts as an external battery for the iPod touch as well, and check out how it works with the Dual GPS app, as well as every other iPod touch app that requires GPS. This is definitely one to watch.
A big thank you to Bing for sponsoring Gear Live’s CES 2010 coverage.
OnStar lets you get Santa location updates on Christmas eve
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: GPS, Transportation,
Plan on being in the car with the little ones on Christmas Eve? If so, are you an OnStar subscriber? Then you’ll want to hit that blue OnStar button and ask for a Santa update, because OnStar is teaming up with NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) to keep tabs on Santa’s location as all times through the evening. Oh, what’s that? You find that to be almost as ridiculous as the Necky?
Hey, we agree, but let’s not let the silliness of this promotion get in the way of…no, you’re right. It’s silly. Silly enough that we want to try it.
Motorola DROID review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Features, Google, Handhelds, Product Reviews, Videos,
The Motorola DROID is a symbol of change, for a bunch of different reasons. The fact is, the DROID is a Motorola phone, exclusive to Verizon Wireless, and runs Android 2.0. There is major significance for each of those three bullet points, and that’s not even getting into the actual device. In many ways, the DROID is something new for all three companies involved, which is likely why the three worked to closely together on getting the device just right. So the question is, did they succeed? We’ve had the device for about a week now, and we’ve been playing with it non-stop for the most part. We know what you’re probably wondering—how does the DROID stand up to the iPhone? Is Android 2.0 actually better than what we’ve seen from the platform on other devices? Does the Verizon network really make a difference?
We’ve got all the answers for you in our Motorola DROID review, so sit back, and read on for our take.
Click to continue reading Motorola DROID review
Lok8u Num8 watch keeps tabs on your kids
Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Wearables, GPS,
The Num8 from Lok8u (pronounced “locate-you”) is designed for parents who want to know where their children roam. This GPS locator device is concealed inside an ordinary child’s wristwatch, and a parent can follow their kid virtually via mobile phone or computer. Users also have the option of setting up a “virtual fence.” If a child with the Num8 steps outside this “safe zone,” the parents will be notified electronically. The Num8 will also notify the parents if the device is removed for any reason.
Of course, this security has a price. The device is about 149 Euros ($245,) and the location services range from about 4.99-19.99 Euros ($8-33,) depending on what type of service you want.
Read More | Num8 Press Release
Newegg Deal: TomTom ONE 130S GPS with text-to-speech
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: GPS, Hot Deals, Transportation,
Newegg has a nice deal going on currently on the TomTom ONE 130S GPS unit. We’ve always liked TomTom products, so we had to let you know about this bargain. The TomTom ONE 130S is being sold for $69.99, which is $50 off the normal price. This one is great for getting from point A to point B, without any of the other frills that may get in the way, and it also has text-to-speech built in. Take a look at the TomTom ONE 130S on Newegg to get the savings.
As always, you can find all sorts of Newegg promo codes and deals on our forums.
Read More | TomTom ONE 130S
HTC Tattoo budget smartphone runs Android
Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds,
If you’re on a budget, but want to get in on the hot Android action, pay attention to the HTC Tattoo. Not only does it run on Google Android’s operating system with the Sense UI, but it also packs in a Qualcomm MSM7225 528MHz processor, 256MB RAM, and Quad-band GSM/EDGE. It also has a 2.8 inch touchscreen LCD display, Bluetooth 2.0, a microSD slot, GPS, a 3.2 megapixel camera, and Wi-Fi connectivity. To us, that’s one of the most feature-packed phones we’ve seen for the budget market. The HTC Tattoo will be available in Europe at the beginning of next month, and will come to the US soon thereafter.
Read More | Press Release
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