A group of Finnish engineers want to improve indoor mapping by analyzing local disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field. The technology behind the idea is similar to the way spiny lobsters and homing pigeons navigate, says a report in Phys.org. It takes advantage of the fact that buildings create disturbances and fluctuations in the Earth’s…
Cell phone jammer disrupts service in Philadelphia
A Philadelphia man drew some attention after he used a device acting as a kill switch on a public bus, nuking cell phone service for every rider. The best part about this story is the man’s explanation behind his usage of the cell phone jammer. He simply told the local news, that he didn’t want to…
LightSquared accuses government of rigging GPS results
LightSquared is fighting for the life of its network after a recent report suggests its LTE network will interfere with GPS devices. The company countered this report with accusations that the testing was not only flawed, but rigged to fail. The scathing accusations were made Wednesday at a press conference. LightSquared claims the Positioning, Navigation, and…
LightSquared seeks investigation on GPS advisory board member
Just when you thought this LightSquared situation with the feds couldn’t get any weirder, think again. For months, LightSquared has been trying to close a 15-year agreement it struck with Sprint in an effort to roll out a new LTE network. Well, it turns out such a delay by the FCC may be due to…
TeleNav announces HTML5 maps, complete with voice guidance and turn-by-turn navigation
Now here’s an interesting move. TeleNav, a big name in the GPS space, has just announced that their turn-by-turn GPS service is going to be delivered through HTML5, making it wholly usable in just about any modern mobile browser. In the same fel swoop, TeleNav will be opening up this code to developers, so they…
On Black Friday, shopping malls will be tracking your cell phones
Ah, yes. Black Friday – a special holiday in which we all get up early to go out and lose a little bit of dignity – is just around the corner! To keep that tradition going strong, shopping malls don’t want just your money this year, they also want to know your exact whereabouts. Promenade…
BlackBerry Traffic Beta adds voice directions
RIM’s own navigation app, BlackBerry Traffic, is getting a few new features in the Beta Zone. The biggie is voice navigation, so turn-by-turn directions are read out loud to you in a friendly robot voice, which is standard for most nav apps. Voice guidance includes a bunch of options, including standard and high-quality audio, as…
Waze 3.0 for iPhone enhances your travel experience in more ‘waze’ than one
Waze released an updated version of its popular GPS app today to the App Store and version 3.0 adds multiple new features while also sporting an eye-catching new look. The first great thing about Waze 3.0 is that the app has been completely redesigned. I once downloaded it to try out, but removed it shortly…
RACO and Audi partner to turn the A6, A7 and A8 into moving mobile hotspots [Video]
Hasn’t it been your dream to drive around and stay connected to the Internet just about wherever you are? You might want to take a look at a few Audi cars (the A6, A7 and A8), it has partnered with RACO Wireless to effectively turn their cars into giant mobile hotspots and connected devices. Powered…
Garmin StreetPilot brings high-end navigation features to the iPhone
Garmin is updating their premium navigation app to the iPhone. StreetPilot onDemand is priced at just $0.99, and includes includes a number of useful features not found in other apps. For instance, it gives users the ability to view public transportation routes and schedules, renders prominent buildings in 3D, automatically reroutes based on traffic, and…