TrackStick Mini GPS Tracking System Review...

Have you ever wanted to go for a drive and be able to remember those new routes that you find on your way? Maybe you just want to find a new way to get to your work and save time and money each day. Whatever the case, it’d be nice to have a tool that will record your routes so you can review them in the future. TrackStick Mini GPS Tracking System is a compact tracker that you can attach to anything moving to record geo information on the go. So you just set it and forget it.

The device comes with a 360 degree antenna that doesn’t need to point to the sky to get the tracking information. While it takes advantage of a lithium battery to record your information, it does come with a vibration detector to minimize your battery use. So you can take this with you on the know, knowing that it won’t run out of battery when you are not using it.

So you may say, big deal. Why would anyone need such a tracker, right? TrackStick GPS lets you:

• track and record your location on the go.
• tag your photos automatically.
• work with Google Earth and other top map solutions to display your routes.
• record stop times, speed, direction, altitude, and ….
• share your geo-tagged photos on Flickr

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TomTom for iPhone GPS Review...

The wait for TomTom iPhone is finally over. After weeks of waiting for TomTom’s iPhone application, the package is finally available on iTunes. TomTom for iPhone is the company’s last attempt to keep improving its position and grow its market. The personal navigation device market has slowed down a bit and more people are focusing on transforming their mobile phones into GPS devices. Having an all in one solution that you can take with you on the go is certainly more attractive than having 6 gadgets that do 6 different things. TomTom GPS helps you transform your iPhone into a powerful GPS device, so you won’t have to take multiple gadgets with you on the go.

If you have used TomTom GPS devices before, you are going to have an easy time navigating your way through the options available in this app. Entering a new address and recovering your previous destinations couldn’t be much easier. You can also use the map that you get with this app to find out exactly where you are. I found the menu to be intuitive and easy to get a handle off. So unlike some of the other GPS apps for iPhone, you don’t have to jump through hoops to start navigating.

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iGo My Way 2009 for iPhone...

Unless you haven’t been following the iPhone app market, you have probably heard about some of the top GPS apps for iPhone. The device and its SDK have revolutionized the GPS industry, forcing companies such as Garmin and TomTom to come up with their own solutions to compete in the mobile GPS market. If you think about it, it’s much easier to use your phone as a GPS and avoid having to carry a seperate mobile GPS unit with you all the time.

iGo My Way 2009 is another innovative GPS solution for iPhone that provides you with the directions you need to get to your destination without having to rely on a standalone GPS unit. Similar to other top GPS apps for iPhone, iGo provides you with beautiful 3D maps to help you find your way around more easily. So whether you are in Canada or the U.S., you can always rely on these 3D maps to get yourself out of tricky situations.

What I like about this app is that you are not reliant on your network connection for directions. Essentially, you still get directions even if you are in a dead zone. I found the voice guidance to be very clear, and the automatic re-route feature works like a charm. It’s also good to know that you are going to get the latest map updates for a while (until December 2010).
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IDC Ecco Intelligent Digital GPS Locator Review...

It’s one thing to buy a personal navigation device to help you find your way around your city or during your trips. But what if you wanted a super portable device to help you track specific locations while on foot. You can always take your portable GPS with you when you are on the move, but wouldn’t it be easier if you could use a super portable GPS to get the job done. What made me interested about IDC Ecco was its ability to help me find my way around any situation and reach my starting point at anytime. So whether you are biking or just taking a short walk around your a foreign city, IDC comes in handy.

IDC Ecco Intelligent Digital GPS Locator is a digital compass that lets you locate your car and 3 locations in total when you are on the go. It can cover anything between 10 feet to 9,999 miles. What I like about the device is that it easily fits in any pocket, but it can act as a digital compass to get you to your destination. It’s not a turn by turn GPS system, but it does get you to where you want to go.

IDC Ecco Intelligent Digital Compass GPS Locator makes it so easy to find your way back to your hotel, car, or your conference location without having to carry yet another large gadget with you. Best of all, there are no wires needed, and you don’t need an external antenna for this device to work.

What to Like:

There is a lot to like about this cool gadget.. For starters it’s super portable and can fit into your key chain. It’s durable too. Here are a few good reasons anyone should consider getting an IDC Ecco:

• Range: the range is just superb. It goes from 10 feet to 9,999 miles. Now that’s what I call a powerful tracker.
• Location: you can track 3 locations on this device. I would have liked more but then again, you can’t be in 10 places at once. You probably need to track your car, your hotel’s location, and maybe your conference’s place. Being able to track more locations would be great but not an absolute need.
• Fee: there are no fees for using this device. You can use it without having to pay a monthly fee, which is a big plus.
• Battery: the battery is rechargeable and lasts you a while. So you don’t have to go broke over batteries like you would with some other devices.
• Size: you won’t find a smaller GPS than IDC Ecco.

My Experience:

Here is how the device works. The first time you start the gadget, you will have to calibrate your device. You can accomplish that by following the 3 steps instructions. You should be good to go for a while (as long as you don’t travel too long of a distance). However, I did have some issues having to do the process again frequently. The process was painless so I didn’t mind.

Once you are done, you need to push the lock button, select the location #, and then go. That’s all it takes really. I found the instructions to be pretty close in general. If you do move too fast, you may want to stop and let the device catch up. I also wasn’t able to get this to work inside my office, so you need to be outdoors to get the best of it. Nevertheless, I did manage to find my car when I parked in a shopping area, so it did the job.

All in all, IDC Ecco Intelligent Digital Compass GPS Locator is the answer to the directionally challenged folks. You won’t need a fancy GPS to find your way back to your starting point on foot when you have IDC Ecco. It’s not only much more affordable, it’s very portable too.

Navigon MobileNavigator Review...

Navigon may be out of the PND business, but it can surely develop killer GPS software. If you don’t believe me, you’ve got to try MobileNavigator which can be a big game changer in the world of GPS. Till now most iPhone applications didn’t hold a candle to the dedicated GPS systems on the market. MobileNavigator sets the bar high by transforming iPhone into a fully-fledged GPS system with all the cool features we have come to expect from top GPS gadgets (e.g. 3D reality view, lane assistant, …).

MobileNavigator’s interface looks awfully close to what we have seen with Navigon GPS systems such as Navigon 7100. If you have used Navigon GPS devices in the past, you probably know about the innovative software that is used on them. Navigon is known for making things so easy for drivers by helping you stay in the right lane and take the right exit. Navigon was one of the first companies to introduce lane assistance and virtual view to its GPS systems, and now you can get it all on your iPhone.

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Azentek SM-450 Smart Mirror GPS Review...

A few months ago, I had a chance to preview Azentek’s SM-450 smart mirror GPS. Since then, the device has been released and available to the public. It’s an GPS and mirror in one solution that allows you to keep your eyes on the road and get directions to where you want to go at the same time.

What you get is a rear-view mirror with built-in GPS navigation unit and internal antenna. The GPS service is provided to you by Navigon. You get a 4″ (480 x 272 pixels) display with touchscreen controls. The Text-to-Speech feature tells you which streets you are passing by. That means as long as you can read the name of the streets, you don’t even have to look at the GPS screen. And if you want to make hands-free calls, you can do so with the blue-tooth functionality.

As you would expect with Navigon devices, you get great graphics with their 2D/3D feature. That is extremely helpful when you are in a new neighborhood. You can also expand your device by using the two video inputs to enable rear-view capability.

The device won’t be cheap. It will cost you about $600. Of course, for getting such a neat gadget, you’ve got to expect such a price tag. Overall, if you have trouble with regular GPS or you want to keep your eyes on the road while navigating with it, you should try Azentek SM-450. Otherwise, you want to stick with other GPS solutions.

Garmin Edge 705 Bicycle GPS Navigator Review...

Garmin Edge 705 Bicycle GPS is a cool gadget designed for those of you who love going biking and want to have a device to let you know how to find your way back home. It comes with a 2.2-inch color screen that lets you customize what you want to see on the screen as well. The device is like a personal trainer. Not only it provides you with directions, but it also comes with a heart rate monitor that lets you keep on top of your progress and find how much more energy you need to consume to reach your fitness goals.

I personally love the virtual Partner feature which lets me race a virtual competitor over a specified distance and speed. Biking is always more fun when you are competing against someone else. You can also race against a previously recorded workout, so you can compare your current and past performances over the same ride. The information that you get on the screen can keep you honest and help you get more out of your workout.

Just like any personal training, Garmin Edge 705 alerts you if you strays outside the range of speed, heart rate or cadence values. Alerts can also indicate when a set amount of time or distance has passed. And you got to love the fact that you gain access to an online community to can rely on to upload and store you workout data, analyze your data, and get custom exercise templates for your fitness device.

Garmin Edge 705 is a wonderful device for anyone who wants to get more out of their biking experience. It’s a GPS on steroid that can help you get more fit and improve your records in the process. If you are in love with biking, you owe it to yourself to give Garmin Edge 705 a try.

uTrackMe...

uTrackMe is a cool iPhone application that lets you share your real time location with other iPhone users who are using the same software. The application uses iPhone’s GPS technology to help you publish your current location to your website or e-mail it to anyone you know. If you are always on the go, you can use uTrackMe to keep your fans and readers constantly up-to-date with your location.

uTrackMe also allows you to publish your location information to your server, as long as it supports server side scripting. You can use the code available on the support site to get your location tracking system going.

If you are looking for a way to let others know about your whereabouts or are just stuck and want to get someone come and help you out, you are going to like uTrackMe. It’s powerful and gets the job done.

TomTom GO 740 Live...

TomTom Go 740 is one of the most innovative GPS systems on the market. TomTom Go 740 Live comes with everything you expect in a premium GPS device and more. It is a text-to-speech GPS that allows you to enter direction using the finger-touch screen or using the voice directions. You also get live traffic, smart routing, and a big enough screen to make navigation easy.

Here is what you get with TomTom Go 740 Live:

• Data entry: enter the address on the touchscreen or use voice address entry to get started fast.
• GO LIVE: automatically accesses traffic feeds; updated fuel prices; and Local Search powered by Google, Weather, and Buddies via a built-in wireless data connection.
• IQ Routes Technology: innovative feature by TomTom that gives you the fastest route every time by using actual average speeds of travel on your route to calculate your trip.
• TomTom Map Share: TomTom allows you to modify street names, street direction, POIs, road speeds, and turn restrictions on your own device
• Bluetooth: make hands free calls using Bluetooth.
• Help Me: wouldn’t it be nice if you could contact someone when you are stuck. With TomTom 740 Live, you can.
• Advanced Lane Guidance: need help navigating through those tough junctions. Fear not as TomTom 740 has you covered.

Go Live and IQ Routes are two features that make this device worth a serious consideration. IQ Routes now makes it easy to find out how long it takes for you to reach your destination. If you have owned GPS devices before, you have probably seen those inaccurate time estimates that you get with them. With IQ Routers, you actually get the fastest routes as TomTom 740 uses actual average speeds of travel to calculate your trip not the speed limits.

Go Live allows you to get more from your GPS. With Go Live, you are constantly connected and have access to many sources of information that help make your trip more convenient. Here is what you get with GoLive:

• Traffic: avoid traffic with TomTom’s real-time traffic information.
• Google Local Search: search for shops and businesses by tapping into the power of Google.
• QuickGPSfix: no more waiting for your GPS to connect to satellite.
• Weather: if you are planning a long trip, it’s good to know about the weather at your destination.
• Fuel Prices: want to save money on your gas. Find the lowest prices using Go 740.
• Buddies: connect with your friends who are also using TomTom Go 740 Live

Overall, TomTom Go 740 Live is a great attempt by TomTom to solidify its leadership in the GPS market. TomTom’s “connected” GPS not only allows you to get to your destination faster, it comes with various features that help you save time and money during your trips.

G-Map East/West for iPhone...

For months industry experts have predicted the rise of mobile phones as alternative GPS solutions for mobile consumers. While many smart-phones are still work in progress in this area, the iPhone has taken leaps to become a fairly viable alternative to GPS devices out there on the market. Application such as G-Map makes it easy for iPhone owners to not only find their way around their cities but also take advantage of many features that used to be exclusive to regular PNDs.

When I first saw this app, I thought to myself, “is this Garmin’s iPhone app?” G-Map’s interface does look awfully similar to what we have seen with top GPS devices on the market. It’s very intuitive and helps you enter and find new locations fast. What I like about this app is that you don’t need an Internet connection to get this app to work. Your map data is provided by Navteq, which means you get fairly accurate directions (just like with regular GPS gadgets).

Smart Location Search makes it easier for you to find all kinds of POIs fast. If you happen to be connected to the Internet, your location gets updated automatically. You can also do it manually. What was most impressive about G-Map were the 3D graphics used in this app. 3D view makes it easy to navigate your way through a new city and find what you are looking for fast.

Overall, G-Map East and G-Map West are great solutions for people who want to use their iPhone or iPod Touch as a personal navigation device. They provide you with accurate location and help you discover new places. Whether you want to use your iPhone as your sole GPS device or just want to carry a backup GPS solution, you should try G-Map.