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Garmin has some great software that is available for some of their Nuvi model GPS devices.

If you have a Nuvi 205, Nuvi 705, Nuvi 1200 or a Nuvi 1300 you’re on your way to saving some money.

The Garmin Nuvi EcoRoute software lets you choose between getting to your destination quickly, getting there via the shortest route or getting there saving some money by the most fuel efficient route.

The software will also allow you to keep track of your fuel usage and tell you just how fuel efficient your driving is. So if you’re one of those people that like to race to the next stop light or sign you may be able to break yourself of the habit by watching your fuel consumption using different styles.

When you’re doing a lot of running around or short trips back and forth you can also keep track of how much it costs you to do them! Keep running tabs on your trips and maybe you’ll even start walking once the trips to the corner store costs start adding up.

If you already have a compatible GPS you probably already know about the EcoRoute Web Site.

If you don’t have a GPS yet follow the links to find great prices on the following EcoRoute compatible Garmin GPS Devices:
Garmin nüvi 205 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Garmin nüvi 1200 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Garmin nüvi 1300 Series 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

Enjoy the Savings!

An update to GPSTuner has been released with a couple of cool new features for Windows Mobile 6 and MobileMapper users.

It seems that GPSTuner is now interfacing with some of the extra sensors put into WM6 and MobileMapper devices because GPSTuner now comes with a bubble level compass tool and a pressure graph for WM6 and an electronic-compass, barometer and thermometer for MobileMapper.

More fun tools to play with!

Everyone needs to remember that a GPS is not the end all to be all for never getting lost. If you don’t believe me just try going out into some mountainous terrain and following the exact trail back that you walked in on - no cheating either… That means no markers.

There’s a couple of things you should always remember when it comes to navigating outdoors with your GPS.

• The GPS tells you how far it is to the waypoint “as the crow flies”.
• The GPS tells you how far it is to the waypoint “as the crow flies”.

This makes me remember a time when I was out in the bush trying to locate a concrete monument that was being used to mark a mining claim. I was down in a riverbed with a rock wall on one side of me going pretty much straight up 30 meters and on the other side it was a gradual gain in elevation for about 100 meters before hitting the same type of rock wall.

My GPS was telling me that I was right on top of the monument (I had programmed the known coordinates into my GPS before leaving for my hike) but I couldn’t see it anywhere.

In the valley my dilution of precision was getting pretty bad, I was down to about 4 satellites most of the time so I was wondering really how accurate the readings could be. I had followed what the GPS told me and it pretty much put me up against the rock wall face… Crazy… There was nothing there so I moved on to the other side of the river on the flat where I though that it might be. The monument is man-made so it should be easily accessible… Right?

I walked around looking for about ten minutes and still had not encountered it… I sat down for a second to try and keep my GPS still so I could get a little better accuracy. Looking over to the other side of the river at the top of the 30 meter high rock wall right above where I was standing before was the monument I was looking for.

Now I always remember… Look up… and for that matter… Look down too!

GPS’s aren’t just about getting you to work or your travel destination. You can have a lot of fun with them too. If you have a group of friends and a little time to set things up there’s a few fun games you can play.

High Tech Hide and Seek/Catch
If you and a bunch of friends all have iPhones a high tech cross between Catch and Hide and Seek may be in order. Just make sure you have some rules in place about the boundaries of your game. An iPhone is capable of showing your all your friends’ locations so you should be able to figure out how to set it up quite easily. I’d think that the more densely populated are the better (downtown core).

Treasure Hunt
Set up a treasure hunt for the kids to help them learn how to use a GPS efficiently. This game is probably best played on a camping trip or somewhere where there’s a lot of space. Plant a few items and mark their locations on the GPS with a waypoint and let them go off and running. To make it just a bit more challenging and educational you can also not mark the waypoint on the GPS and just write it down on a piece of paper - coordinate data types to make it really interesting!

GeoCaching
Of course there’s ready-made GeoCaching - a game you can play with the whole world. Yuo can find the original Geocaching web site at GeoCaching.com

Use your imagination - there’s a lot of potentially good times to be had with a GPS and some people you like.

A lot of devices with the Windows Mobile operating system are coming out GPS enabled as well. A lot of times they don’t even come with the software to handle the GPS part of things.

I recently purchased some GPS software for my Windows Mobile OS based device and believe that this is some of the most advanced GPS software you can get for just $24!

Actually there’s 3 different versions of the software Basic (without upgrades), Standard (1 year of upgrades) and Geo (allows you to do area calculations and comes with 1 year of upgrades).

Since I use my GPS in mother natures great span of wilderness I really prefer this type of software to navigational software.

One of the best things for me with this software is the ability to use Google Earth’s satellite photography as my maps. So when I’m hiking around in the Mexican sierra I won’t get lost! The compass view with the sun’s direction is also really helpful for me when trying to find out which direction I should be going. Of course, the software has all the functions of regular GPS software like the ability to add waypoints and tracks.

When I’m on the road or traveling in a city I’ve never been in and more so if it’s a popular tourist destination, the ability to use maps from Terraserver, OpenStreetMaps or Google Maps is perfect because I don’t have to shell out $50 to $100 just to get a CD with all the maps on it for where I intend to go.

Another neat feature if you’re traveling with a bunch of friends in a real connected city is the ability to share your GPS location with your friends in real time. Yes - I believe this software had the GPS Share functionality long before the iPhone even existed.

Download a free trial of GPS Tuner - Offroad Navigation Sofware today!

Changing the voice file on a Garmin or TomTom GPS these days has become something you can do in just a few minutes. It takes no longer than the time it takes to load up your iPod or MP3 player with your choice tunes.

So if you’re going on a road trip with the guys maybe you’ll want some entertainment on the way. You can get that with some new Politically Incorrect GPS voices from P.I.G.Tones.

Now that GW Bush’s term is just about over you will be hearing from him a lot less. Not that I personally have a problem with that but some of you out there just might be fond of the little guy after the eight terribly long, almost unbearable years he spent in office… Well, if you find that you do miss him you can download and have him right there as a little, electronic voice.

Just as if he were in office using his veto powers against the will of the majority of the people he was supposed to be serving - he can STILL be telling you WHERE TO GO!

Quoted from International Mining

“Today (June 10) at the MassMin conference in Lulea, Sweden, Greg Baiden of Laurentian University, Canada (also Chief Technology Officer of Penguin Automated Systems) presented on a newly developed Underground Positioning System (UPS). The UPS has a range of some 2 km through rock and accuracy better than 3%. Mine trials are to be undertaken later this year and in 2009. Going forward, this has tremendous potential for finding trapped miners, for equipment mechanisation and mine wide asset management. The system employs VLF and would rely on a network of ’satellites’ placed to surround an orebody or underground workings.”

Read the rest of their article.

At first glance the Magellan Triton looks like a GPS force that can throw some serious weight around.

The Triton isn’t just showing off a tough exterior - it really is built with rubber armoring, impact resistant plastic and a water resistant seal so you won’t have to worry when you take this electronic device outside where it’s actually supposed to be used.

The Triton has a “becoming standard equipment on all electronic devices” 2.5″ touch screen, uses SD Card storage and the famous SiRF Star III GPS chip. Even though it’s doubtable you’ll ever have 20 satellites available to you the SiRF Star III GPS chip boasts 20 channels with WAAS/EGNOS real-time correction.

We like the fact that Magellan decided to give this GPS a 2MP digital camera - now we’re getting somewhere but here’s where Magellan really screwed themselves. This built in digital camera does NOT allow you to geo-tag your photos.

Talk about a failure on the digital camera part - Sorry Magellan you’re STILL way behind.