To me a GPS is an extremely important tool that I use a lot. I use my GPS to mark locations where I take rock and soil samples, I record my tracks so I know where I’ve been and how to get back there later and I record important geographic or man-made changes in geographic features. And of course use my GPS to keep me from getting lost.

Sometimes I have it pretty easy and there’s a lot of resources around because I’m marking where we’re doing a lot of work. But most of the time I’m trekking around in really hot weather, in barren terrain that’s very far off of the beaten path. There are very few people around to offer me help if I ever need it. It’s hot, it’s dangerous, and I’d be in a serious life-threatening situation if I were to ever get lost. I rely on my GPS not only to collect data but I also rely on it to help keep me safe.

It helps to stay safe by not carrying more than what I have to. I normally carry some food, a couple liters of water, some candy, my camera, a hammer, a small pocket knife, 20 or so thick plastic bags with tie straps, my backpack, cellular phone, old style compass, keys and of course I’m carrying my GPS.

The list of what I’m carrying looks reasonable. Not too bulky, not too heavy – but as I’m hiking I’m putting rock samples in those plastic bags I’m carrying. I’m marking the location of where I picked up the rocks and taking a picture of the area and the place where I picked them up. If you haven’t guessed it by now – I’m using my GPS while prospecting for minerals. Sometimes I’m one of the guys that goes in and finds the place to explore before there’s ever a thought of a mine being there.

Since I’m picking up rock samples along my way my backpack is getting heavier all the time. Sometimes I’m doing a 20km (12.5 miles) round-trip hike in 35C (95F) or hotter weather. Under the conditions Im using my GPS in – even the shirt I wear is heavy.

One of the reasons I like the Trimble Juno is because it’s a handheld computer. The Juno runs the Windows Mobile OS and while I’m a Mac user I have to admit that the Windows Mobile OS is actually pretty good. My GPS is not only a GPS, I can open spreadsheets with it, take notes with it, add custom programs to it, look at reference pictures that I put on it and I can even play music or movies on it. My GPS is a multi-functional device but it’s not as multi-functional as I’d like it to be.

I’d like to have a reasonable camera in my GPS, it’d save me from having to carry one and the extra effort to get it out of my backpack after taking a sample. The camera should take pictures that include of geographic reference to where the photo was taken (geotagged).

Both the new Juno SB and the Juno SC now have the functionality I’m looking for.

The two new models now sport a 3 megapixel camera that will geotag the pictures it takes. Trimble upgraded the body style so that the device is a little more rugged too. Being rugged is pretty important, since it’s pretty likely you’re going to be using this thing outside.

The only real difference between the two new models is that the Juno SB has a 3.5G cellular modem. This feature actually, that you’re going to pay an extra $200 for, would have been far more useful if it were a full fledged cellular phone. I have to give Trimble a thumbs down on that point – why wouldn’t you have given it phone functionality too?

All in all, both the new Juno models look pretty good, but I’m not going to pay the extra $200 for the 3.5G modem – that additional feature isn’t going to keep me from having to carry my cellular phone.

TomTom has come out with a series of products that make using your Navigational GPS easier. Your not going to have to give up the attention you’re putting on your driving to be able to use these GPSs.

TomTom calls this series of devices the XXL series, and what makes the XXL series unique is the size of the screen. Honestly, these GPSs are super-sized compared to anything else on the market. You’re not going to have to endanger yourself by squinting your eyes to see these. The large screen also means that the on-screen buttons are bigger too, you’re not going to be hitting the wrong button as much when you’re using one of these.

TomTom’s XXL series GPSs have HUGE displays compared to most other GPSs on the market, we’re talking 5 inches (measured diagonally) of screen real estate. They’re the biggest I’ve seen around on the market.

TomTom currently produces 5 versions of their 5 inch Huge-Screen Navigational GPSs and out of all of those to choose from I prefer the models listed below. The TomTom XXL 540M comes with free lifetime map updates and the TomTom XXL 540TM comes free lifetime Map and Traffic updates.

• TomTom XXL 540M (Lifetime Maps Edition) 5-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator
• TomTom XXL 540TM (Lifetime Traffic & Maps Edition) 5-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

Bigger is Definately Better when it comes to a GPS that you’ll be using while you’re driving.

Enabling this function is easy. Just go to System Preferences and click on the “Date and Time” section. Under the Time Zone tab, check the “Set time zone automatically by location” option. The map should turn grey, and your Mac will start automatically determining your current location using the CoreLocation service.

I’m sure it won’t take long before they are, but Mac’s aren’t yet being sold with a built in GPS chips. Your Mac won’t have GPS functionality unless you add it. However, the CoreLocation service will use your computer’s visible Wi-Fi networks and check them against a database of the WiFi’s registered locations.

If you’ve connected a GPS device to your Mac and it Snow Leopard recognizes it, the CoreLocation service should automatically use your GPS to determine its location. With the GPS connected you can pretty much take your computer anywhere in the world and OS X will automatically adjust your time to the local time for you.

When the CoreLocation service is using WiFi networks to determine your location you’re going to be a lot more limited on where you get this automatic functionality.

Other applications can use CoreLocation service through OS X too. We wrote about Google Latitude earlier (Google Latitude – It’s a GPS Without a GPS – Sort Of) and it will ask for access to your Mac’s CoreLocation service so you can share your location with your friends.

For security, an application will always ask permission to access to your location information. If you like, you can completely disable the CoreLocation service by going to the Security section of System Preferences and checking the “Disable Location Services” checkbox under the General tab.

If you want a real professional mount you can but on Amazon.com for pretty cheap. But be warned – some of the OEM mounts look clumsy and I’ve heard that others have a tendency to fall off the dashboard in warm weather.

There’s a product on the market made by 3M that will mount your GPS to your dash quick and easy. You can place it pretty much wherever you want and it’s not going to fall off very easy. I use this stuff to mount mine in my 4×4 Ford truck that I use on really bumpy back roads and my GPS has NEVER fallen off my dashboard. Removing my GPS from the dashboard is actually harder than I thought it’d be too, I’ve found that giving my GPS a little twist while pulling on it makes it easier to remove it.

The stuff I use to mount my GPS to my dashboard has been around since around 1941. The inventor actually had a hard time trying to bring it to market until the aerospace industry picked it up and started using it in the spacesuits that astronauts wear. Surprisingly this stuff is still quite cheap and not very high tech – you’ve probably used it before too!

I use a type of Velcro called 3M Dual Lock to mount my GPS to my dashboard. I like the stuff by 3M because it has a nice glue on it that sticks really good. There’s no point using Velcro to mount your GPS to your dashboard if you can’t get the Velcro to stick to the plastic – the glue on 3M’s Velcro works great.

When you want to remove the Velcro from your device or your dashboard you can usually carefully peel it off by picking at one corner of the Velcro tape and then washing off the glue using a microfiber cloth with some mineral oil (baby oil). It takes a bit of work to get the glue off but a good GPS mount is worth it – how often are you going to be changing cars anyways?

See larger image 3M Dual Lock Low Profile Reclosable Fastener 5/8-Inch-by-10-Foot, Clear (Tools & Hardware) List Price: $20.44 USD New From: $16.99 In Stock

Latitude lets you to track your family, friends or even your employees in real time. This opens up a whole new way of using location based information and you don’t even need an iPhone to do it. It’s a lot like the Quoox GPS Tracker we wrote about back in 2008. The Quoox GPS tracker is a lot more limited than Google Latitude because it has an internet connection requirement.

Before you get all don’t tread on my privacy rights with your GPS stuff – let me give you a few examples of where this technology can help out a lot.

• Keeping Track of Your Drivers – With Google Latitude a small business wouldn’t have to make a huge investment in infrastructure to be able to track their drivers. This could mean that you’ll get more accurate information when you phone that food joint you ordered from to ask them where your food is.
• Public Involvement in Search and Rescue – Sometimes you need to get a lot of people together really fast. When it comes to locating a missing child or something of similar grave importance the general public is always willing to help. Keeping track of where all these helpers have been and where they currently are is a lot more easy and a lot more cheap with Google Latitude.
• Concerned Parents Have Rights Too – I support the privacy rights of children but sometimes there’s a real need for being able to track them. Maybe if you could keep track of their location via Google Latitude it’d give you that extra confidence to give your child permission to take that first road trip. Ask your child to allow you to do this as a condition of extending permission and you might be surprised when you come to an agreement.

A device with Latitude software installed can retrieve the location of the device from either a built-in GPS module or through your WiFi connection details if you don’t have a GPS enabled device. If your device doesn’t have a GPS you’ll find that your location information will be less accurate and even non-existent when you get out into rural areas. You should consider the drawbacks of a non-GPSs enabled device if you’ll be using the system under mission critical conditions.

You can download Google Latitude and find out more about it on Google Latitude‘s web site.

Some people have told me that they don’t need to buy a GPS, they have an iPhone and its GPS capabilities are enough for them. Their logic makes sense too, if you’ve already invested in an iPhone you don’t really need any other mobile electronic devices. The iPhone isn’t just a phone – it’s a mini computer, it’s an MP3 player, it’s a camera, and it’s even a GPS.

But sometimes having a purpose built device is a lot better than the do-almost-everything device. Professional, or even hobby photographers aren’t using the iPhone to take their pictures because the iPhone just isn’t all that good at it and doesn’t give the final product they’re looking for. In the same sense, a purpose built GPS will be better at doing the GPS thing than the iPhone will be.

The iPhone as a GPS that’s suited for the person who never wants to use the GPS functionality outside of the city. The iPhone is dainty, almost girly. I’d only use it for things like finding the closest Starbucks, Kinkos, or maybe for finding your buddies to get together for a lunch break. I wouldn’t give the iPhone credit for being able to do much of anything else and I wouldn’t trust it enough to bring it out into the bush.

For example, the iPhone screen size is too small to be using as a GPS navigator while driving – you’d be better off taking your chances at getting lost than trying to see the screen.

Compared to the Garmin nüvi 3790T 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator, the iPhone has almost a whole inch less screen space (diagonally) – when you’re driving in heavy traffic you don’t want to have to squint your eyes to see your GPS.

Anybody who likes to really explore knows that the iPhone is just too delicate to be brought on hiking or camping trips. You’re going to wreck it! In the outback you want something that’s going to take a little bit of abuse – something that’s not going to break down and leave you stranded in the bush. Garmin’s Oregon 450 – Rugged GPS Receiver is one of those devices that’s going to endure your adventures. The Oregon 450 is waterproof and it has a built in camera that will geotag your pics.

Get a real GPS – the iPhone – it’s a Phone!

People are asking questions like – Why does the government need to know the GPS coordinates of my front door?

I think everybody is getting a little paranoid! I’m almost certain that the government isn’t going to send some drone out with the coordinates for your front door to do whatever they do with drones.

It’s more like this – the government is tracking their workers! With the data that’s logged by the GPS the government can make sure that the worker traveled to every place that s/he was supposed to go. The government can also view the amount of time spent gathering data as well.

Next time the government wants to do a census they’ll be better ‘armed’ and be able to streamline the process as well.

So don’t be paranoid! You can put your tinfoil hat away for another day.

I’ve been thinking of so many ways that this new device could be used. When it’s available it’s going to come at a really reasonable price – just $500!

So I looked into this device a little more and I noticed that it comes with assisted GPS, this made me really happy. This means there’s a possibility to throw out the old handheld GPS (or maybe keep it for when you need it) and use the iPad as your navigational GPS.

All we need is some software and we’re ready to go!

I already have plans to black out the front window on my car so that I can duct tape my iPad to the inside of the front windshield. I want to see how accurate it really is! No, I’m kidding, but I think that the bigger the screen for a navigational GPS the better and the iPad might be a great replacement than what’s available on the market today.

Garmin listens to their users (the people that are making them money) and then markets the products that people want.

Look how many people are out there on the internet searching for free Garmin voices or free Garmin voice packs! I’m telling you – there’s lots of people out there looking for this kind of stuff and it is not easy to find anything.

Sure, if you’re going to disrespect the ancient and outdated copyright laws you’ll likely find some stuff on the torrent sites and the P2P networks – but you know the risks in doing that.

What Garmin did above all is listened to the market. Garmin developed a piece of software that allows you to make your own voices for Garmin GPS devices and they are giving it away for free.

You thought you were going to have to pay for something like that didn’t you?

You can download Garmin Voice Studio directly from the Garmin Web Site.

For those of you who think outside the box you’ll figure out that you’ll have no problem making any free Garmin GPS voice pack that you want to with this piece of software.

If you don’t have a Garmin yet – get with it! We suggest the new Garmin nüvi 1690 4.3-Inch Portable Bluetooth Navigator with nüLink! Services

See larger image Garmin nüvi 1690 4.3-Inch Portable Bluetooth Navigator with nüLink! Services (Electronics) List Price: Price Not Listed New From: Check Amazon For Pricing In Stock Used from: $222.00 In Stock

Most electronics these days are becoming so miniaturized that they can be easily inside something as large as a vehicle without ever being found. GPS data loggers have no need for a user interface or screen to view things on as their purpose is just for logging data onto a storage card.

If you’ve ever thought about spying on somebody for whatever reason (like I said at the start this is up to you and you take your own risks) then hiding a GPS data logger in your victims vehicle is probably something you’ve thought about.

There are a couple of things that should be carefully considered when choosing a device that will perform well for these types of covert operations.

One very important thing is battery life. Since you likely will have to set the device up in your victims vehicle beforehand you’re going to want to have the battery in the device last long enough for them to actually get into their vehicle and go do whatever it is that they’re going to do.

Another important thing to consider is the amount of data that the device will be able to store. When the device is recording a point every 5 seconds that means that it’ll be recording 720 points an hour. The covert GPS device should at least hold enough data points that it is able to generate in the lifetime of it’s battery.

The GlobalSat GPS Datalogger featured below is an excellent device to use for a purpose such as this. This GPS tracker combines an 18 hour long battery life with the ability to store 600,000 GPS points which makes it perfect for covert ops. It’ll even export the data points as a KML file so you can see exactly the path taken in Google Earth.

See larger image Bluetooth Gps With Data Logger () List Price: Price Not Listed New From: Check Amazon For Pricing In Stock