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23 May 2010 11:48

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Tech: GPS in need of an upgrade, and it’s gonna cost a couple bucks

  • $8 billion to upgrade the widely used geo-navigation system source
  • before The system had a margin of error of about 20 feet – OK for driving, bad for walking a city street.
  • after After the upgrade, the system will be able to get within an arm’s length of the location. Whoa, cool!
  • » Not just for nav: It’s used for all sorts of purposes, including tracking financial transactions from ATMs and stock trades. In 2007, when the system was knocked offline in San Diego, cell phones and hospital paging systems stopped working. In other words, the technology, which currently uses 24 satellites to do its dirty work, is pretty useful.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Oct 2009 20:31

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Tech: Google’s on a tear today thanks to Android and the Motorola Droid

  • $199 the cost of Motorola’s new Droid phone, which uses the Android 2.0 software officially launched today
  • -20% the drop in stock price for TomTom, whose GPS navigation software was just made obsolete by Android 2.0 source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Oct 2009 10:48

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Biz, Tech: Messing with GPS: Google is no longer friends with TomTom

  • There’s no doubt that those guys are going to be disrupted.
  • Opus Research analyst Greg Sterling • On Google’s decision to offer free navigation software for mobile phones, essentially taking the GPS navigation abilities of TomTom and Garmin and making them look expensive and useless. Google does this a lot, and it has the effect of creating animosity in certain industries. For his part, Google CEO Eric Schmidt says he doesn’t see it as disruption, just helping consumers: “Obviously we like the price of free because consumers like that as well.” • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jul 2009 10:50

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Tech: Who needs a GPS system when you have an iPhone, really?

  • 40%+ of all smartphone users use their phones for directional help; the number is 80%+ for iPhone users
  • -29% the dip in year-over-year sales for TomTom’s GPS units; they’ve made a navigation app for iPhones source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Apr 2009 09:29

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Offbeat, Tech: Alzheimer’s patients could be using GPS to navigate

Grocery stores can have confusing layouts to the elderly. So can kitchens and new places. Technology can help. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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