GPS

Features

• Location-based services: Are they there yet?

  Mobile users are more connected to the Internet than ever. As of December 2011, ComScore estimated that there are 97.9 million smartphone users in the US - nearly a third of the total population.

• Car tech: The connected car arrives

  Automobile technology has become so advanced that today's cars are essentially computers with wheels. So why aren't we using them to surf the Web, communicate with other cars or order food at nearby restaurants?

• Today's best GPS devices

  If you're looking to buy a dedicated GPS navigation device, you'll quickly discover that every manufacturer offers an almost dizzying array of products -- each with slightly different features. The challenge, then, is to determine which features are must-haves and which would just be nice to have.

• Android and Apps

  The more I use the HTC Incredible, the more I like it. And the thing that really makes the Incredible, er, incredible is its operating system, Android<.

• Geolocation 101: How it works, the apps, and your privacy

  Facebook wants to know "What's on your mind?" Twitter asks "What's happening?" But that's getting old already. The burning question for the next wave of social networking is "Where are you?"--and services like Foursquare, Gowalla, Brightkite, and Loopt want you to use your smartphone to answer it.

• Nokia voice nav spells doom for TomTom, Garmin

  As Nokia takes on Google with turn-by-turn voice navigation on select smartphones, the worst nightmares of GPS device makers are coming true.

• Google quietly changes the world again

  Do you remember where you were the day they unveiled Facebook? No? How about Twitter? Amazon.com? Google Search?

• Why aren't GPS navigation systems more reliable?

  We've been down this road before: A trusting soul gets bum directions from a GPS navigation system, winds up in the middle of nowhere, and may or may not survive the ordeal.

• Three ways to make GPS navigation safer for users

  The story of a Nevada couple, who followed their GPS unit's directions and ended up stuck in snow for three days, reminds us that we, not the GPS, are responsible for where we drive. But, there are still things GPS makers could and should do that might help.

• Google Maps Navigation: Free and easy

  An impressive feature of Google's new Android 2.0 mobile device operating system is Google Maps Navigation, a that's not only free to use, but is fairly easy to learn as well.

• Why every child needs a GPS cell phone

  The root of America's health crisis is bad habits formed in childhood. To protect children from harm, parents are keeping kids indoors, where they get sick, watch TV and form lifelong habits of screen addiction, inactivity and junk-food overeating.

• Can TomTom iPhone app compete with standalone GPS unit?

  TomTom's new GPS navigation application for the iPhone may sound appealing, but it's true cost and capabilities are still a mystery. The app costs $100 and allows the iPhone to function as a real-time navigation device that provides turn-by-turn directions.

• TomTom For iPhone spells an end to standalone GPS

  The new TomTom app that turns an iPhone into a turn-by-turn GPS navigation system spells the beginning of the end for standalone GPS. Not everywhere, but at least on dashboards, where a smartphone can now do everything a GPS can do and cost less than purchasing both.

• You can't trust GPS

  An 11-year-old boy is dead, and too much dependence on GPS may be partly to blame.

• A GIS pioneer on the future of mapping technologies

  With the founding of ESRI 40 years ago, Jack Dangermond pioneered the business of geographic information systems (GIS). He shares his perspective on how the Web has democratized access to geographic information, and how mashups between GIS and traditional information systems are transforming the way companies view and analyze business data.