Amod GPS Photo Tracker review

Amod GPS Photo Tracker review

This is how I like to review things: Take it out of the box. Charge it/put batteries in it - then use it. No manuals, no quick start guides, no settings, no configurations. This is exactly what I did with the Amod GPS Photo Tracker.

Right before I went on a camping trip I took my camera with me, opened the box for this little GPS photo tracking device, put in the 3 AAA batteries it needed, and then hit the road. I figured it can’t be to complicated to use a device with two buttons and 3 LEDs. One of the buttons has the power icon on it, the other - a flag. The LEDs are for memory, satellite signal, and battery power. After we left the city I turned it on. The green satellite LED was solid at first - few moments later it started blinking and stayed that way. First I thought blinking can’t be good. But than I thought in normal working state a blinking LED would save a lot of energy compared to an always on LED. It turns out blinking green satellite LED means all is good and we have satellite fix.

Then during the rest of the trip every time I took a picture I hit the little flag icon on Amod GPS photo tracker. Sometimes the device wasn’t within my reach so I didn’t bother. Sometimes I forgot to turn it off after I used it. I made sure I used the device carelessly and wanted to see if it was ‘fool proof’.

After the trip I sat in front of my PC, emptied out my digital camera’s SD card on to my computer as I normally would. And then I found the CD that came in the box double clicked the ‘setup’ to install the software. That went pretty smoothly. After that using the USB port of the Amod GPS Photo Tracker I connected it to my PC. My Windows box immediately recognized the device. Still no glitches… Going well.

When the software was ready I first found my pictures and then I found my GPS logs. I had about 10 - 12 that needed to be tagged. And then a few more between those that I never tagged. With the hit of a button the software immediately found all the pics I had tagged, and told me which ones were not tagged. Then after that I was able to fly in to the area where my pictures were taken using Google Earth. All that worked pretty good.

As a final note I can easily say the device is quite easy to use and it does what it promises. Thumbs up.

(Via NaviGadget.)

landrover’s iPhone GPS navigation app

landrover’s iPhone GPS navigation app

Now Land Rover has joined our list of iPhone GPS navigation systems. Their developers are not quite experienced as others in the fields, so you won’t be getting your dynamic turn by turn directions with this app. Nor will you know what street to take or anything like that. It just draws a straight line from your start point to your destination and calculates the distance for you. You know why? Because if you have a Land Rover Defender that how you’d drive. In a straight line.

We haven’t tested it but it seems like the app also lets you pick your own Land Rover - customize it, etc…

(Via adsoftheworld.comt.)

TeleNav for iPhone review

TeleNav for iPhone review

Just recently I had a chance to review the new AT&T Navigator (powered by TeleNav) for the iPhone.

I’m usually a bread and butter kind of guy. I like simple things. The basic map application on the iPhone use to be sufficient for my needs, but being that its hard for me to drive and type addresses into my phone; I needed another solution. Not to mention that its illegal to play on your phone while driving. Not that I would do anything like that… So, I bought a cigarette lighter mount for my iPhone so that I can use Telenav, charge my phone and listen to my music via the car speakers.

Telenav’s user interface is very straight forward and easy to use. The Drive To selection allows you to choose from your favorites or places you recently looked up. The Business feature is really cool, and I used it quite often to find the cheapest gas in the neighborhood. You can type in names of businesses or select from business types, and Telenav will give you concise directions to the destination you select. The intersection ‘Call it’ feature works very well when you have the phone to your ear or when you have a headset. However, trying to use the call it feature with the speaker phone can be frustrating when there is a lot of background noise. The system seems to misinterpret what you are saying. When the call it feature is selected the app switches to the phone and makes the call.

Once you have verified you destination and end the call, the app seamlessly starts up again. The app then gives you the options of starting navigation or saving the location to your favorites. One of the downsides of Telenav is that you cannot view the map in a landscape horizontal view like most stand-alone navigation systems. This is some what of a downside in my situation since the cigarette lighter mount that I have for my Honda Civic is mounted below the dash and its hard to see the street names. Not to mention that the most stand-alone navigation systems have bigger screens. If it could go horizontal it would alleviate this problem. I give this application an 8/10.

Pros

• Voice directions were good and very responsive.


• Graphics were very good for the iPhone.


• Gas prices were always accurate and up to date.


• Call it feature works very well and is very user friendly.

Cons

• Landscape map not available


• Automatically assumes that you can get into the HOV lane, should have a feature that lets you specify the number of people in your car.

(Via NaviGadget.)

iPhone GPS app for North America from Navigon is out

iPhone GPS app for North America from Navigon is out

It is one of those cases where the title says it all. The MobileNavigator for iPhone from Navigon which we talked about here and here has recently made debut at the Apple App Store.

The introductory price for the application is $70 which is good until August 15th. After that day the price is supposed to go up to $100.

Here is what you need to know about MobileNavigator for iPhone.

• no monthly fee - cheaper in the long run


• on-board maps - maps don’t download as you go. You’ll have access to all the maps when you don’t have coverage. However we can’t say the same about the GPS signal.


• takes 1.29GB of space on your iPhone


• supports landscape view

So are you getting one? - or are you holding out for other iPhone GPS apps?

(Via NaviGadget.)