Up and running by 2014? Try 2017 at the very earliest. Such is the bogus news coming out of the European Commission today, as reported by the German Financial Times. Shockingly enough, the ill-organized Galileo navigation network has suffered from yet…
Category Archives: SatNav
Solar flares set to wreak havoc on GPS signals
The sun’s activity isn’t usually a hot topic around these parts, but when it threatens to derail satellite navigation services around the world, it must surely take center stage. UK researchers have corroborated Cornell’s 2006 warning that our solar system’s main life-giver is about to wake up and head toward a new solar maximum — a period of elevated surface activity and radiation. It is precisely that radiation, which can be perceived in the form of solar flares, that worries people with respect to GPS signaling, as its effects on the Earth’s ionosphere are likely to cause delays in data transmission from satellites to receivers and thereby result in triangulation errors. Still, it’s more likely to be “troublesome than dangerous,” but inaccuracies of around 10 meters and signal blackouts that could last for hours are being forecast in the absence of any intervening steps being taken. So yes, you now have another reason not to trust your GPS too much.
[Thanks, Mike]
Solar flares set to wreak havoc on GPS signals originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Galileo sat-nav system back on the map, said to be ‘up and running’ by 2014
Remember Galileo, Europe’s proposed GPS-like satellite navigation system? It’s back in the headlines, and according to the Telegraph, UK-based Surrey Satellite Technology and Germany's OHB System have jointly secured €566 million (that's $815 million in US currency) to build 14 more satellites. The funding continues until 2013, whereby 22 satellites will be order. Full satellite navigation requires 27, and ultimately the European Union wants 32 technological waypointers. Launch date? Apparently 2014 — we're hopeful, but this road has been wrought with delays before.
Galileo sat-nav system back on the map, said to be ‘up and running’ by 2014 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Jan 2010 11:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Also posted in europe, galileo, german, germany, nav, ohb system, OhbSystem, sat nav, sat navigation, satellite nav, satellite navigation, SatelliteNav, SatelliteNavigation, SatNavigation, surrey, surrey satellite technology, SurreySatelliteTechnology, uk, united kingdom, UnitedKingdom Tagged greader Comments closed
Mio MiBuddy GPS units to trade Windows CE for Android
If you’re keeping tabs on Mio Technology’s GPS happenings, you’ll be interested to dip into some facts that PC World has uncovered about the company’s upcoming offerings. According to the mag, the next version of the electronics-maker’s MiBuddy satnav unit will dash the underlying Windows CE architecture for Google’s newer and far more suave Android platform. The new device will be pushing into MID territory, boasting a 4.7-inch touchscreen along with a hardware slider keyboard, the ability to browse the internet, and WiFi and Bluetooth onboard. Call us crazy, but it seems possible that devices like dedicated PNDs running Android could easily adapt Google’s new turn-by-turn system as their primary mode of operation. Alternately, you could switch between Mio’s proprietary version and Google’s variation… or they could axe the big G’s altogether, though that awkward situation makes far less sense to us. No word on timing or price just yet, but we’ll keep you posted.
[Via NaviGadget]
Update: Seems this is all just a great big mixup, and the whole Android thing is just untrue. Bummer.
Filed under: GPS
Mio MiBuddy GPS units to trade Windows CE for Android originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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TomTom Go I-90 integrates into any dashboard, brings radio ‘infotainment’
TomTom has been on a mission to keep itself relevant as smartphones increasingly start to overstep on its territory, and the GO I-90 is another move in its counteroffensive plan. Capable of slotting into the double DIN slot usually reserved for in-car radio / music players, its big selling point is that it integrates into your dashboard yet is still capable of being moved around like a discrete nav unit. You wouldn’t be left decrying the loss of your radio either, with the GO I-90 sporting FM (with RDS support) and AM reception, USB support for MP3 players including iPods, and a promised compatibility with an “extensive” list of phones for handsfree calling — unfortunately, the poorly worded PR makes no mention of Bluetooth so we’re not sure how they’ll pull that off. Throw in a guarantee to receive the latest maps, TomTom’s Map Share for crowdsourced routes, and a Help-Me! emergency menu, and you get a pretty comprehensive product. Shame about that €599 (about $893) sticker then. Available in Europe in December.
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TomTom Go I-90 integrates into any dashboard, brings radio ‘infotainment’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 06:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Also posted in car, dashboard, dashboard integration, DashboardIntegration, go i-90, GoI-90, GPS, handsfree, in-car, in-car entertainment, In-carEntertainment, infotainment, integrated navigation system, IntegratedNavigationSystem, map share, MapShare, navigation, tomtom, tomtom go, tomtom go i-90, TomtomGo, TomtomGoI-90 Tagged greader Comments closed
CSR debuts SiRFstarIV location-aware architecture, kisses slow fixes goodbye
Nary half a year after snapping up SiRF, CSR is already tooting its horn about an all new SiRFstar architecture. The predictably titled SiRFstarIV technology takes quite the leap over its three-pronged predecessor, all but promising to nix those annoyingly long location fixes that are all too common on existing PNDs. The new location-aware, self-assisted, micro-power tech enables devices to be continually aware of location without requiring network aide; furthermore, there’s hardly any power drain to speak of, which ought to please smartphone owners who can literally watch their battery meter drop with GPS enabled. CSR’s first SiRFstarIV product is the GSD4t receiver, which is optimized for mobile phones and “other space and power-sensitive consumer devices.” We’re told that samples of the chip are shipping out now, with mass production slated for October and device integration happening shortly thereafter.
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CSR debuts SiRFstarIV location-aware architecture, kisses slow fixes goodbye originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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