We knew that much confusion prevailed in the field of vehicle gps unit and that is why we decide on this article. The main motive of this article is to remove all these confusions from the minds of our readers. http://www.vehiclegpsunit.com Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:15:14 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.vehiclegpsunit.com/general/driving-sales-redefined-by-growth-of-gps-systems.html Hot in-car devices provide marketers with in-your-face options. CALL IT THE FOURTH SCREEN. There are the TV, computer and cell phone screens--and now there is the GPS screen. As the new must-have toy, GPS navigational system sales are among the fastest growing in the consumer electronics category. And now, marketers and manufacturers are creating new ways of using them to get consumers while they're on the go. Dash Navigation's GPS devices, which will hit shelves this fall, will be the first to offer a wireless Internet connection. Yahoo! Local search has already signed on with Dash Express to help users search for nearby products, services or businesses. "Forget the 'click-through model,' you can have the 'drive-to' model," said Robert Acker, svp-marketing at Dash Navigation, Mountain View, Calif. "[Ads] can deliver customers right into the parking lot. We can deliver timely, relevant information." Acker is planning on offering sponsored searches, customized buttons as well as other advertising models. "It's just the beginnings of the future advertising models in this space." Sales of GPS devices nearly quadrupled last year, per NPD Group, Port Washington, N.Y. The 900,000 units sold were a 255% increase over the year prior. Dollar volume surged 128% to $476 million. This two-way communication opens the car door wide for marketers, said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis at the NPD Group. "That model lends itself very well to advertising. You can literally drive business to a local establishment. It could be very effective." While established players like Garmin, TomTom and Magellan have yet to offer such advertising opportunities, it's only a matter of time, said Angela Linsey-Jackson, a rep for Thales Navigation, San Dimas, Calif., which manufactures the Magellan GPS product. "It's a natural next step," she said. "If you look at the long-term future, Wi-Fi is something that most of the leading GPS manufacturers... articles - General Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:50:28 +0100 http://www.vehiclegpsunit.com/general/differential-gps-yields-military-quality-accuracy.html Differential GPS (DGPS) receivers are making a name for themselves by providing accuracy close to the military's super-precise P Code. This new approach uses a ground station to enhance GPS C/A Code to enable GPS users without access to military P Code to achieve accuracy of less than five meters. Accuracy of this caliber is good enough even for precision aircraft instrument landing approaches. To maintain security -- especially to deny potential enemies access to highly accurate GPS signals -- the U.S. Defense Department degrades its P code GPS signals, which are available only to authorized military users, and makes these degraded signals available to everyone as 100-meter-accurate C/A code. Honeywell's Business and Commuter Aviation Systems Division in Phoenix, Ariz., offers a DGPS system for FAA Special Category I aircraft precision instrument approaches, which the FAA is set to certify for use by this spring, says David C. Moya, strategic product manager at Honeywell. Military transport and tanker pilots want an FAA-certified DGPS precision instrument landing system "because most of those aircraft fly in commercial airspace," Moya says. "They are interested in a military solution that's consistent with what's available in the commercial world." Commercial users are far ahead of the military in using DGPS, says Tyler Trickey, marketing manager of navigation products, at the Rockwell International Collins Avionics and Communications Division in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Perhaps the primary reason: the military already has precision 10-meter accuracy with its P Code and has little need for DGPS, Trickey points out. Trickey says he anticipates that will have a bigger military role in the future to be compatible with civil aviation. "The FAA is looking at a satellite-based differential system that's going to be broadcast all over North America, and probably in five to ten years, they're going to replace their... articles - General Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:50:28 +0100 http://www.vehiclegpsunit.com/general/faa-gears-up-for-gps-aircraft-precision-landing-approaches.html By 1998, ground stations will be in place throughout North America to generate differential GPS corrections as part of the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), a satellite system being built by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. The ground stations generate corrections and uplink them to an Inmarsat satellite. The information is broadcast down on the GPS frequency to enable receivers designed to receive this information to improve the signal's accuracy, says Bruce Hensel, GPS product manager at the AlliedSignal Aerospace Commercial Avionics Systems division in Olathe, Kan. Today the FAA does not allow GPS alone to be used as an aircraft navigational aid. Aircraft still must have VHF Omni-Range (VOR) radio beacon navigational equipment on board. When WAAS is implemented in 1998, GPS will be allowed as a primary means of navigation for Category I precision instrument landing approaches. A Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS) will be set in place around 2000, Hensel says. This system uses airport-based ground reference stations to increase GPS signal accuracy. LAAS will enable pilots to make more-demanding Category II and III instrument landing approaches. Non-precision instrument landing approaches require pilots to have the airport runway in sight while the pilots are no lower than 400 feet from the ground. Category I, II, and III approaches require the pilot to have the airport runway in sight at 200, 100, and 50 feet from the ground respectively. articles - General Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:50:28 +0100 http://www.vehiclegpsunit.com/general/get-mooving-for-less-with-this-affordable-gps.html MIO MOOV 200 Higher-end features not usually found in an entry-level GPS navigator — like text-to-speech functionality and multisegment routing — make the Mio Moov 200 an attractive device. We just wish it handled points of interest (POIs) better. The no-frills Moov 200 features a smallish 3.5-inch, 320-by-240-pixel, antiglare touch-screen LCD. You also get a sensitive, 20-channel SiRFstarIII receiver for fast satellite acquisition. Powered by Tele Atlas map data, the device includes maps for the 50 states and Puerto Rico, but not Canada. On the road, I found that the directions generated by the Moov 200 were good, though slightly different from ones suggested by the Garmin StreetPilot 2720. Instructions with street names were given at appropriate intervals, and route recalculation times for a missed turn were acceptable. The way the Moov 200 handled POIs, however, was disappointing. When I searched by name, it presented results alphabetically by city name rather than by distance from my current location, which isn't as useful. And there aren't any POI subcategories, so although I could search for nearby restaurants, I couldn't find any by specialty, such as Italian or Chinese. At $180, the Mio Moov 200 is certainly affordable, and while it isn't flawless, it's definitely worth considering if you're traveling on a tight budget. articles - General Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:50:28 +0100 http://www.vehiclegpsunit.com/general/gps-maps-moving.html Commercial designers also are adding mapping capability to GPS devices. Commercial technology is outpacing the military in this area, but the military will benefit from the advances, says Magellan's White. Magellan offers commercial handheld products with graphics displays that "allow the user to not only get a longitude-latitude read out of the position location, but actually see the position location on a map," White says. He predicts this technology will help land-based military forces such as infantry and special forces units that cannot haul bulky maps but need to know exactly where they are. The Allied Signal Aerospace Commercial Avionics Systems division in Olathe, Kan., also integrates moving maps in its GPS systems, says GPS Product Manager Brace Hensel. The company's KLN 90B, a 2-inch panel-mounted unit certified for instrument flights, is part of the U.S. Air Force/Navy Joint Primary Aircraft Training System better-known as JPATS, being built by Beech Aircraft Corp. in Wichita, Kan. AlliedSignal officials also plan to introduce the KLN 900 in May 1996. This device is identical to the 90B except for its Dzus-rail form factor. The 900 also has additional inputs and outputs for turbine installations. The actual eight-parallel-channel GPS receiver in most of AlliedSignal's products is a credit-card-size sensor board called Xpress that rejects interference from VHF palm radios "that are smack dab on the GPS signal," Hensel says. "In the Xpress development, we have improved the performance over our previous receiver by a factor of 25 dB." GPS is also making a difference among surveyors, sailors, railroad dispatchers, trucking companies, and even automobile drivers. "I think you'll see GPS becoming more of a commodity, and you'll see an increasing level of integration and the cost of the sensor itself coming down," says Honeywell's Moya. articles - General Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:50:28 +0100 http://www.vehiclegpsunit.com/general/gps-ins-integration.html Honeywell integrates a ring laser gyro-based INS with a five-channel GPS P/Y code receiver into its product called H-764G, which utilizes line-of-sight information in a central Kalman filter, Moya says. "Embedded GPS/INS is the technology that's in the greatest demand." The device appeals to the military because it eliminates a separate box in aircraft and other platforms that require GPS and INS capability, Moya explains. Moreover, the integrated system provides greater capability than the sum of its parts would suggest and does so in a package that remains unclassified when keyed. GPS and IMU systems are superior navigational devices in their own rights, but each has a severe weakness. The validity of a GPS signal degrades or disappears as its receiver loses contact with the Navstar satellites because of electronic jamming or terrain masking. The validity of IMUs, on the other hand, degrades over time. But integrating the two enables the GPS to update the IMU and keep it accurate while the GPS receiver has line-of-sight access to all the Navstar satellites. When line-of-sight satellite contact is lost, the IMU most often is accurate enough to provide reasonably valid navigational information until the GPS signals can be restored. Since many existing military opportunities involve upgrades and retrofits, many designers are taking the opportunity to replace standalone GPS receivers and INSs with combined GPS/INS systems, which can be critical in areas where terrain blocks GPS signals -- even for infantry soldiers taking cover behind rocks and other obstructions. Future products from Rockwell Collins will include 12-channel, all-in-view capability," says Tyler Trickey, the company's marketing manager for navigation products. "They'll be able to track all the satellites visible simultaneously, whereas the traditional military receivers track four or five satellites at a time." In the past, 5-channel receivers have been the baseline for... articles - General Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:50:28 +0100 http://www.vehiclegpsunit.com/general/new-gps-receivers-built-to-bust-jamming.html One of the biggest fears of the open-access environment of Global Positioning System C/A Code is the possibility for enemies to access the GPS code, jam it, or use it against the U.S. C/A code is available to anyone in the world, including civil users and foreign militaries. C/A code, which the Defense Department degrades intentionally, intentionally, enables users to navigate with only 100-meter accuracy. Yet weapons of mass destruction such as chemical or biological weapons with C/A code GPS guidance systems pose a threat. Just as sobering, there is a potential for adversaries to use GPS for cruise missile guidance, according to several studies, including one by The Critical Technologies Institute in Santa Monica, Calif. The Critical Technologies study says the U.S. military would be forced to jam its own GPS signal to deny that capability to its adversaries. By doing this, "even though the enemy still has their cruise missiles, they can't get precision navigation for free anymore," explains Tyler Trickey, marketing manager of navigation products at the Rockwell International Collins Avionics and Communications Division in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Without U.S.-supplied GPS signals, potential adversaries "have to invent their own terrain contour maps and invest in $100,000-highly precise inertial navigators," Trickey says. "That is a very limited and expensive kind of technology." The DOD is pushing to make military GPS more robust so that it can function in jamming and spoofing, Trickey says. Rockwell-Collins is looking at several ways to provide anti-jam capability, such as receivers with direct encrypted Y code capability and solutions within the receiver that help overcome interference. Rockwell-Collins is also developing an anti-jam antenna array for armored combat [*]vehicles, which hasn't been available on the ground before. An anti-jam non-steer antenna array has been used previously for aircraft such as the B-52 bomber and... articles - General Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:50:28 +0100 http://www.vehiclegpsunit.com/general/on-a-road-to-nowhere.html Not with GPS pointing you in the right direction. NEXT YEAR THE GREEDY DEPARTMENT of Defense will lighten the country's wallet by $54 billion. What does that pile of money get you? Nada. The Marines won't pony up the keys to their new Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle, Nimitz-class carriers don't do weekend cruises, and the Apache Helicopter is completely off limits. Hey, we want more for our money Here's how to get some of that coin back: Tap into the Global Positioning System, developed by the military in the 1970s to improve weapons targeting. You don't need to put a small dictatorship in the crosshairs? No problem. GPS technology will keep you on track to your next business meeting, or get you back to base camp after a harrowing escape on Mt. Everest. Hold It The Garmin GPS III Plus is a complete navigation device in a featherweight 9-ounce package. It precisely plots your position on a built-in base map of the Americas, keeps track of your travels, and even shows your speed. Attach it to your dashboard and an arrow displayed on its screen will point you to your destination. If you already own a PDA, you can plug DeLorme's garish yellow Earthmate GPS receiver into your Windows CE or Palm device to check your coordinates anywhere in the world. And DeLorme's Solus Pro software lets you download a variety of maps to your handheld. Going skiing? Besides a sunburn and a broken ankle, you usually don't have much to show for it--unless you rent the Axiom Sports Tracker, available at ski resorts like Vail and Copper Mountain. The Sports Tracker is a GPS receiver that you rent for the day and wear inside a jacket pocket while skiing. When you return the unit, data from your day on... articles - General Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:50:28 +0100 http://www.vehiclegpsunit.com/general/town-and-country-gps-devices.html GPS HANDHELD GPS DEVICES fall loosely into two categories: those for street navigation and those for use where the pavement ends. Two recent examples of this Paris Hilton Grizzly Adams split are the stylish Pocket Loox N100 from Navigon (codeveloped with Fujitsu Siemens Computers) and DeLorme's rugged Earthmate GPS PN-20. I tested a late preproduction version of the Loox. Not only can this 4-ounce unit accurately tell yon how to get from here to there, but it can simultaneously play digital music to enhance the journey; the occasional voice directions play over your music. The Loox is pretty thin as a multimedia player, though. All of the media has to reside on the included 2GB miniSD Card, which holds 1.6GB of map data, too. Audio sounded fairly good through the included earbuds, but the audio controls were rudimentary. (My test unit lacked the ability to handle photos and videos.) You get detailed street maps and points of interest for the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin islands. Based on the unit's performance in the San Francisco Bay Area, I'd say its points of interest are a bit thin. The maps look great on the 2.8-inch, color touch screen. The Loox's main faults: The text is too small to read while driving, and the screen is difficult to read in bright light. OLD-SCHOOL STYLE DELORME'S EARTHMATE GPS PN-20 lacks svelte styling and multimedia entertainment features. This yellow brick is sturdily built, weighs 7 ounces, and is waterproof. What separates the PN-20 from the crowd is its ability to store and display topographic, aerial, and satellite images--all of which you purchase and download (either to the 75MB of on-board memory or to an SD Card) from DeLorme. This feature is still more concept than practical application. I downloaded images--a cumbersome process--for Yosemite National Park and had difficulty... articles - General Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:50:28 +0100 http://www.vehiclegpsunit.com/general/where-am-i.html Let your GPS receiver show you the way. When Claudia Balmaceda goes on a hike, she packs more than just a canteen and a compass. The 40-year-old Argentine also takes along a GPS receiver to help her navigate through the woods and along the streams. "I don't want to get lost out there," says Balmaceda, a frequent day-tripper. "With my GPS, I know I can go out in unfamiliar areas and still find my way back. I've been able to go places I wouldn't dare go with just a compass." Indeed, GPS--or Global Positioning System--has become the new compass of the 21st century. Campers and hikers have turned to the technology as a way to track new trails, find out where they are, and assure themselves that they will never again get lost. But it's not just day-packers who have embraced GPS, it's being used by people to help them in everything from fishing to driving. "Until recently, GPS navigation devices have been complicated to use and have appealed mainly to high-tech early adopters," says Dave Marsh, director of navigation products for Cobra, which makes GPS equipment. "Now, advances such as large, easy-to-read screens, beaming of addresses from PDAs, and no longer needing PCs or cumbersome CDs have created a much more user-friendly experience, attractive to mainstream consumers." The technology behind GPS goes back decades to when the U.S. Department of Defense launched dozens of satellites for military use. It has become a popular tool for civilians because GPS works in any weather condition, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day. There are no subscription fees or set-up charges. The way it works is that GPS satellites circle the Earth twice a day and transmit signal information to Earth. GPS receivers take this information and use triangulation to calculate the user's exact location.... articles - General Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:50:28 +0100