Columbus Geographic Systems has just released yet another GPS navigation system so that you will be able to find your way to your parents’ home this upcoming holiday season without getting lost - not a very simple thing to do especially when you’ve been away from home for a couple of decades and many new buildings have sprouted up all over the place. Dubbed the Ranger, this offering from Columbus is the company’s most recent off-road navigation application.

Touted to be a robust navigation system that targets the fast-growing market for recreational, off-road and outdoor enthusiasts (that includes off-road driver, skier, hiker, mountain biker, or camper - but this is not a comprehensive list), the Columbus Ranger offers a cutting-edge navigation software that provides location-based, Global Positioning System (GPS) mapping, navigation, and information solutions for the off-road environment. It is capable of functioning across a wide range of devices such as a Car PC, a PDA, and even on other Personal Navigation Devices (PND). For those who rock it out with their cellphones, Columbus will cater for that group by offering Ranger for cellular phones before the first quarter of 2008 is over and done with.

Columbus also has your safety in mind by making the Ranger easy to use to reduce the chances of you getting lost, providing you with an exact geographic location to direct rescue services in the event of an emergency. This is especially important if you like to do solo camping and head off on your own - I just hope the device has enough juice to send an alert so that the necessary rescue forces will be able to zone in on your location and get you out of that deep ravine in time. According to Tsvika Freidman, CEO of Columbus, “There is increasing market awareness of the advantages of navigation and GPS tools, particularly for vehicle navigation systems. While existing location-based applications have focused on urban and street navigation, Ranger clearly provides the off-road enthusiast with an effective tool to enjoy the benefits of GPS navigation.”

Press Release