navigation

I've thought about it a lot, and much as I'm enamored with smartphones' navigation capabilities, I still think it makes sense to own a dedicated GPS.

But only a dedicated GPS that comes with lifetime map updates -- and, ideally, lifetime traffic reporting as well. The last thing I need is another gizmo that I have to keep paying for.

So here's a gem: Wal-Mart has the refurbished Magellan RoadMate 2036T-LM GPS for $59.98, plus sales tax in most states. You can pick it up for free from a Wal-Mart store or, interestingly, a Fedex Office … Read more

Any developer making navigation apps for the iPhone has to be looking at the impending arrival of Apple Maps with fear, as it will come preinstalled on iOS 6 and offer turn-by-turn voice prompts for free. But Waze can make a few arguments why its navigation app trumps the upcoming Apple Maps.

The Waze app's initial focus was crowdsourced traffic, and it has evolved to offer full-blown, free navigation. Its social focus is something that Apple Maps will have a difficult time duplicating, but also limits Waze's usefulness in some areas. Waze's traffic features make it useful … Read more

Any developer making navigation apps for the iPhone has to be looking at the impending arrival of Apple Maps with fear, as it will come pre-installed on iOS 6 and offer turn-by-turn voice prompts for free. But Waze can make a few arguments why its navigation app trumps the upcoming Apple Maps.

The Waze app's initial focus was crowd-sourced traffic, and it has evolved to offer full-blown, free navigation. Its social focus is something that Apple Maps will have a difficult time duplicating, but also limits Waze's usefulness in some areas. Waze's traffic features make it useful … Read more

While outdoor navigation has been mastered with GPS satellites and cell phone triangulation, indoor navigation has proven more tricky.

Now, a group of researchers at the University of Oulu in Finland has tapped the Earth's magnetic field to create an indoor positioning system (IPS). The researchers say their approach was inspired by studying the way homing pigeons and lobsters use anomalies in the magnetic field to navigate their travels.

Researchers explain in a paper (PDF) -- titled "Ambient magnetic field-based indoor location technology / Bringing the compass to the next level" -- that the same magnetic field that … Read more

Google Maps is adding some fine art to its database, as it today gives Android users indoor maps for more than 20 U.S. museums. Joining the more than 10,000 indoor maps already available on the service are floor plans for the de Young Museum in San Francisco, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Cincinnati Museum Center, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, 17 Smithsonian museums, and the Smithsonian National Zoo.

Whether you're conducting a Google Maps search from afar or you're standing at the doorstep of a supported museum, you can … Read more

In the online maps space, Google may draw more attention, but MapQuest, online years earlier, has continued to improve its service. And among iPhone apps, MapQuest can boast a crucial feature over Google Maps, free turn-by-turn navigation with voice prompts.

MapQuest's history as a mapping company shows up in the app's interface. Unlike navigation-focused apps, the MapQuest app does little to help users look up destinations. At the top of the map the main screen shows a free form search box where users can enter an address or business name. There are no buttons for previous or favorite … Read more

GPS could drop off the map as British boffins work on a new location technology that navigates by signals from mobile phones and Wi-Fi. Defense firm BAE Systems is testing Navsop, a navigation system that goes where others can't.

Navsop figures out where it is from a GPS signal, then learns about different signals including medium-wave radio frequencies, mobile phones, televisions, and Wi-Fi to find its way around.

Read more of "Navigate by Wi-Fi and TV signals with GPS rival Navsop" at Crave UK. … Read more

There are many customizations you can make to Google products on the Web. Unfortunately, the omnipresent navigation bar doesn't fall into that category (as easily).

You may not even use some of the services that are linked in the navigation bar; or worse, ones you use are swept off into the drop-down menu. With a Chrome extension, Big G Black Bar Sorter, you can order the products any way you like -- putting the stuff you use just one click away. Here's how:

Step 2: … Read more

As far as mobile mapping goes, Google Maps for Android offers one of the best experiences you can get. More than a simple piece of mapping software, this feature-fest offers turn-by-turn navigation, voice search, indoor mapping (select locations), public transportation information, Street View, and so much more.

When viewing a location, Google Maps lets you activate a variety of add-on layers offering information like traffic, terrain, transit lines, and more. There's even a Wikipedia layer that plots out entries related to your location. And if that's not enough, you can zoom all the way into Street View for … Read more