trapster

Update to Trapster lets Android users vet road hazards

The Trapster app for Android has received a major update with a new user interface, a new widget for your home screen, and an emphasis on helping users confirm or deny reported road hazards with a turning of a digital thumb.

New to this version 3.0 update (dated July 21, according to the Android Market) is a refreshed interface that makes it easier to report road hazards while on the go. The map can now display satellite and terrain data in addition to the standard street data. New onscreen elements include icons on the left edge of the map … Read more

Car Tech Live 197: Tale of two pocket rockets (podcast)

We drive the Honda CR-Z, and await the new VW Golf R; ratting out speed traps gets kinda legit; the VW that sounds like a guitar; and Google plays smashmouth with the auto nav industry.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 197 SHOW NOTES

? Navteq buys Trapster

? VW gets Fender audio system

? VW Golf R returning to the U.S.

? CR-Z gets a K engine transplant

? Google video suggests the end of in-car GPS

? CNET's LOLCars gallery

Navteq buys Trapster speed-trap reporting service

Police speed-trap and road hazard reporting service Trapster was purchased by map and traffic data provider Navteq earlier this week.

Trapster is a cross-platform mobile app for iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry devices, as well as a Web service providing data to other smartphones and standalone GPS devices. While driving, users submit the GPS locations of spotted police speed traps, road checks, red-light cameras, and other roadway hazards using the app's interface and receive live updates on the 3.5 million traps reported by the service's 9.5 million users, potentially avoiding unnecessary speeding tickets. Garmin and TomTom users … Read more

Trapster turns your cell phone into a police detector

Skyhook Wireless' geopositioning can be useful, but rarely does it save you from a $400 speeding ticket. A start-up named Trapster is trying to change that.

The company has taken a creative spin on using geopositioning to help lead-footed drivers avoid known and newly discovered speed traps and other police dragnets. By installing the application on your mobile phone you'll get heads up on speed cameras, red-light cameras, hiding places, and live police while out and about. The application uses Skyhook Wireless' Wi-Fi and cell tower location positioning system to keep tabs on where you are while you're … Read more