GPS gadgets

I have to admit, I had never heard of Aerotel before today, but it certainly sounds like a company that would make “mobile and home-based telemedicine and telecare solutions”. Well, that is just what they do, and they have recently introduced two new wireless tracking systems.

The first is the SKeeper, a wearable personal safety phone. This device allows a user to be in close contact with anyone in case they need help. It allows for two-way voice calls, text messaging, and even advanced alerts in case of emergency.

The second is the GeoSkeeper, which you see pictured here. The GeoSkeeper is a step up from the SKeeper as it comes with an embedded quad-band GSM/GPRS module, built-in speakerphone, and GPS receiver. In other words, if the user gets lost, the geofencing features built-in allow others to find them. In fact, it can even be programmed to send out a text message to someone else if the user wanders outside a specified area.

In other words, the Aerotel GeoSkeeper and SKeeper are the “help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” for the next millennium. Yeah, I’m sure you were thinking the same thing, and so I just had to put it in writing.

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Jobo from Germany have been around for a fair bit of time (the 1920s, to be exact), and has since made a name for itself when it comes to photo processing machines and darkroom accessories. Nearly a century later, the company still soldiers on, and they certainly did not come to PMA ‘08 to have a look at all the booth babes parading new photography equipment. No sir, they were there with a mission as well - displaying a digital camera add-on known as Photo GPS which can be fitted to the flash hot shoe of virtually any digital camera while recording GPS data as you shoot.

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Nowadays, every gadget is trying to be a multi-tasker. Take the iPhone - it’s trying to be a portable computer, a music and video player and a phone (amongst other things). Not to be outdone, Garmin just presented the teeming throng of gadget hounds with the nuvifone, a cellphone that is also a GPS. Here is how nuvifone is being described: “[nuvifone] is the breakthrough product that cell phone and GPS users around the world have been longing for — a single device that does it all” No mention of the fact that there are many other options out there to do that, but I’ll reserve judgment on this device until it gets some use.

The nuvifone doesn’t have many details out yet, but is slated to be released in the 3rd quarter of 2008. Here’s a list of features:

• Google local search
• Garmin Online services - traffic, weather, fuel prices, hotel discounts, etc.
• n vi-like navigation on the road or in pedestrian mode
• Email, text, IM functions
• Camera, video camera, MP3 and MPEG4/AAC Read the rest of this entry »

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As a member of the female population, I enjoy a number of things that don’t pertain exclusively to being a girl. I love video games, gadgets (as if writing on this site couldn’t make that point obvious) and all things tech related. Hell, I even love power tools - I’d much rather get a new power tool than a new pair of shoes. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy girly things like massages, gossip or the color pink.

Where I take objection to the whole “girl = pink” equation is when consumer electronics and gadgets are slathered in a coat of pink to “appeal to the female demographic”, well, it makes me want to punch a marketing executive.

Next in the long line of “girlifiying” gadgets is the new Blackberry Pearl 8130 in a pretty, pretty pink color. So, I’ll be calling it the PinkBerry (yes, I’m aware of the frozen dessert treat of the same name, but just work with me here) for purposes of this review. Read the rest of this entry »

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Do you enjoy the thought of spying on your loved ones? I can’t really say that I’m a fan of it, but I suppose if you’re an overprotective parent, you’ll go to great lengths to keep track of your teen. If you happen to be both overprotective and a tech junkie, I really feel sorry for your kids, as I have little doubt that you would put this X1 GPS tracking system to use in their vehicle.

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Panasonic will be rolling out a spanking new portable navigation device known as the Strada Pocket - or in a more complicated manner, the CN-MP50D in Japan this coming February 12th. Tipped to retail for approximately $660, the Strada Pocket aims to make you part with your hard earned cash for the following specifications.

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A few months ago, we highlighted the coolness that is the Gisteq Photo Trackr, a pocket pocket sized GPSs device that allowed photographers to geo tag their pictures and plot them on any google map or flickr mashup. And although this device is awesome for hard core shutterbugs travelling the world on $40 dollars a day, users still had to synch the pictures up with software on a PC. The next step is here with the ATP Electronics GPS Photo Finder that bypasses all that.

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At last, there’s now a GPS navigation system for motorcyclists which is robust enough to cope with the outdoor life of a biker. It’s been designed so that the icons are larger therefore easy to use whilst wearing gloves and has improved shock and vibration resistance. It’s also waterproof (very necessary if you live in the UK as it’s normally quite wet here).

The TomTom Rider, as seen at CES 2008, is currently available in the USA and Canada, with Europe coming soon. It comes loaded with comprehensive maps of the USA and Canada together with millions of points of interest (such as the nearest Maccy D’s) and incorporates in-helmet navigation instructions with Cardo scala-rider Bluetooth headset. The bluetooth technology also allows hands-free calling and provides in-helmet navigation instructions to help you on your way.

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