Candid conversations about using GPS and wireless technology for work and fun.
Archive for July, 2008
Using GPS and the iPhone to Track Your Runs
Jul 31st
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...Author – Mary Beth Lowell – Communications Manager
Around the beginning of the year, I wrote a post about using GPS to keep up with your New Year’s resolutions. There are multiple devices that you can use to do this whether or not you’re a runner, walker, hiker, etc.
I mentioned one cell phone-based application that I’ve used in the past while running called Bones in Motion. It’s especially great for those who carry their phones with them anyway while running. (I tend to do this for safety reasons although it’s not as easy as wearing a GPS watch).
Now that the new iPhone has GPS, it was only a matter of time before a similar application launched for the iPhone. This one is called RunKeeper and, according to CNET, is designed by a company called FitnessKeeper.
I checked out the developer’s blog and it looks like the application is not quite available yet but is coming soon. I’m looking forward to trying it out – and now that I am running with a baby stroller, I don’t even have to worry about how to carry the phone.
GPS Helps Businesses Go Green
Jul 30th
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Author—Sal Dhanani – Co-Founder and Sr. Director of Marketing
We released results of a survey today that showed that 50% of business managers would implement a GPS solution for their company if they knew it would help the company reduce carbon emissions and become more "green."
Our announcement also higlighted a recent Aberdeen Group study which showed that companies who use services like TeleNav Track have seen a 19.2 percent reduction in miles traveled since using the service. This results in less fuel consumption, which represents nearly 98 percent of the carbon dioxide emitted into the environment.
While you may have your own opinion on what it takes to become green as a consumer or as a business, it’s hard to debate the fact that any reduction in carbon emissions helps our environment. Besides that, many companies are now discovering the business benefits (translation: cost savings) of going green.
If companies can use GPS services like TeleNav Track and TeleNav GPS Navigator to help them improve efficiencies and save money, they really should be considering these solutions.
Mobile GPS Navigation and Maps Usage Increases
Jul 29th
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Last week, ComScore M:Metrics released new statistics showing the growth of mobile map usage in the U.S. and in Europe. In this case, mobile maps includes turn-by-turn GPS navigation services like TeleNav GPS Navigator or accessing a static maps service via a Web browser on your phone.
Here is a quick look at the increase by country:
Pretty amazing increase since last year – especially in the US – 82%!
ComScore attributed some of this growth to the iPhone which allows access to static maps.
It’s also worth noting, however, that since May of 2007, numerous devices from carriers like AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Alltel have all launched with GPS navigation capabilities. More and more people are realizing that GPS navigation can be useful not just for traveling but also on a daily basis – to avoid traffic, find businesses, meet friends etc.
One other note from the study that I thought was interesting – more and more people seem to be transitioning from accessing maps on their PCs to accessing them on their mobile phones.
How about you? Now that you are using a navigation service on your phone, do you still look at maps online?
Using TeleNav’s Spot Marker (Waypoint) Feature
Jul 28th
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Author – Nicole Verrett – Dedicated Sales Support Team Member
How many times have you parked your car in a massive mall parking lot, shopped for a couple of hours, then returned to the parking lot only to wander to the rows wondering if your car has been stolen?
How many times have you gone camping, decided to take a walk around dusk and realized you have been walking in a circle for 30 minutes looking for your campground?
Okay, well may that is just me. Either way, it got me thinking about using the waypoints ("Spot Marker") feature in TeleNav GPS Navigator. Spot Marker is a feature within TeleNav that is a hidden treasure many people (myself included) forget, or are not sure how, to use.
Here is out it works: Go to the mall and mark your parking spot. Spot Marker records your relative location, using latitude and longitude information, since a parking lot obviously does not have cross streets. When you return from your shopping spree, you can access this location and get specific directions back to your parked vehicle. No more false alarms! Also, next time I am on a camping trip, I will mark my campground location so I can take a 30 minute walk at dusk and not worry about getting lost on my return. (note: wireless coverage must be available)
Here’s how to mark your location using TeleNav GPS Navigator’s Spot Marker (waypoint):
- Turn on TeleNav GPS Navigator
- Select "Share & More" from the main menu
- Select "Record Location" and name your spot
Here’s how to access your saved waypoint:
- Turn on TeleNav GPS Navigator
- Change your preferences to Pedestrian mode (under Share & More menu)
- Select "Drive to"
- Select "Favorites"
- Select the location you saved
- You’re on your way!
Please note that using and accessing waypoints may differ slightly depending on your phone and carrier. Please refer to our user guides for more information.
TeleNav, On the Rocks
Jul 25th
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Author – Daisy Luu – Technical Writer
Langston Hughes writes in a poem entitled "Mother to Son":
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair …
But all the time
I’se been a-climbin’ on
And reachin’ landin’s,
And turnin’ corners …
Don’t you fall now –
For I’se still goin’,
I’se still climbin’,
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
You try not to look down as you climb, focusing on the next handhold and testing your body’s balance as you make your way up the vertical wall. You mentally count, "one … two …" before releasing your foot to seek the next hold up. Halfway up the wall, your heart’s already pumping to aerobic levels, and you struggle for grip on a particularly narrow foothold, or a tricky, inclined handhold, hoping not to fall off and make your partner on the ground brake you as you drop.
On July 18, the Systems and Server Teams at TeleNav got together for a team-building event at Planet Granite, an indoor rock-climbing/belaying gym. After an hour-long lesson on how to tie specific knots and strap ourselves into harnesses and gear, we got to partner up and scale the cliffs, navigating our way up colorful handholds and footholds.
For belaying, the climber and belayer are connected by a rope held at the top of each cliff by a pulley. As the climber mounts, the belayer remains on the ground and pulls the slack of rope taut. Once at the top, the view is not of spectacular cloud-lined purple mountains, but for the beginning climber looking down, it still seems a pretty intimidating height. Especially so, since that is when the climber has to let go, lean back, and drop. On the ground, the belayer releases the rope to lower the climber back safely to the ground.
TeleNav Engineers Gauge the Cliffs
It takes a good amount of teamwork, trust and communication to take a climber to the top. The belayer is always at attention, watching the rope, suggesting climbing techniques, shouting encouragement. Partners then switch roles, giving the other a chance to climb. We trust ourselves to have the strength to make it all the way up. We trust our partners to catch us if we fall. And even though life may be no crystal stair, the corporate world is constantly wrought with competition, we still keep climbing, reaching for new heights.
