Garmin has a new GPS navigation device, and while smartphones may have taken over in-car directions, the Garmin Overlander aims to prove that standalone still has its place. Targeting the overlanding community, the eponymous all-in-one navigator includes not only road mapping and directions but topographical mapping, too.
"Google" is now also a verb because of how search has become so ingrained in our modern lives. There is, however, one other Google product that has subtly cemented its role in our lives. Google Maps has changed the way we travel and navigate partly because it made what was once a paid subscription feature available for all and for free. The latter isn't going to change but Google may soon be looking for ways to profit from its lead by, what else, placing ads in Google Maps.
In October, navigation app Waze launched an in-app audio player with support for a handful of popular audio sources. This feature is designed to provide drivers with direct access to their favorite audio content, minimizing distractions and eliminating the need to toggle between apps. In its most recent update, the company has added Android support for the music streaming service Deezer.
Once the butt of jokes, Apple Maps has grown up to become a serious rival to Google Maps, especially for those deep into Apple’s ecosystem who have very little trust in the search giant’s ethos. Although it still does miss out on some features, Apple is fortunately not one to slack off. No major announcement has been made but Apple Maps’ coverage is growing bigger and stronger, especially with the addition of new indoor maps and transit directions both in the US and the rest of the world.
Waze is expanding its Beacons program to help drivers in New York City stay connected while in a traffic tunnel. Driving a car within one of these concrete tunnels typically results in a connectivity blackout, meaning the navigation app can no longer get a GPS signal. Waze Beacons help deal with this problem using Bluetooth to transmit data to phones as an alternative to a GPS signal.
Garmin is a name mostly associated with car navigation systems but some might also know that the company makes all sorts of devices that are empowered by GPS technology. Even before it was making smartwatches and trackers, however, Garmin was already making Golf watches and handhelds to help players improve their game. With the new Garmin Golf Approach G80 does not only that, thanks to some new monitoring hardware, it also tries to make practicing and playing golf even more fun for both beginners and veterans alike.
Any GPS user who has ventured into an area with lots of obstacles that prevent satellites from being seen by their navigation unit knows the woes of satellite-based navigation. Anytime the GPS device on your dash can't see the satellites, you lose your signal. Signal loss happens under heavy tree cover, in mountain canyons, and in cities with tall buildings.
Google Maps is adding electric vehicle charging station information, promising to make powering up an EV or plug-in hybrid more straightforward. The new functionality is being added to the Google Maps app for iOS and Android today, and will follow on in the desktop version in the coming weeks, Google says.
Google Maps has navigated its way to CarPlay, with Apple's in-car infotainment interface opening up to Google's app with the arrival of iOS 12. One of the most-requested features of CarPlay since it launched, it means no longer being forced to use Apple Maps when you hook your iPhone up to a compatible in-car infotainment system.
For a time, iOS locked its doors to other web browsers like Firefox unless those used its WebKit web engine. While that is in the past, there are still other parts of Apple’s ecosystem that remain closed off to other players unless they’re to concede some ground to Apple. One of those is CarPlay, which can only use Apple Maps for its navigation. That’s changing in iOS 12 and now Google Maps has a beta that reveals just what it had to do to get in.
Google Maps has long been the definitive mapping and directions app on both Android and iOS. One recent challenger to that standard has been Waze, which features crowd-sourced data on driving conditions to keep its information accurate and up-to-date. Waze was such a stand-out service that Google actually acquired it about five years ago. While Waze has never been absolved into Google Maps, like many expected, one of its best features might finally be making the jump.
Apple Maps is about to get a huge upgrade, with exponentially more data, crowdsourced updates, and potentially paving the way to future AR smart glasses projects. The mapping app hasn't exactly got the best reputation among navigation right now, though it has significantly improved since Apple first launched it in 2012 as part of iOS 6.