Learn all about it here -- and here’s a video to watch:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdcJVuylmsM

Now you can use Google Maps on your computer, laptop, or even smartphone, and have Google send those directions to your vehicle and when you get in the vehicle, the directions will be there waiting for you.

And that means you get to use one of my favorite parts of Google Maps -- the extreme ease of customizing your route (you simply drag the blue line on the route to the road you want to take and it adjust the route for you so if you know a shortcut,  you can take it and still be following your voice prompts).

This video explains it all pretty well -- if you’re interested, it’s definitely worth the 2:15 of your time.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3EhHr7lbkk

Sure, there are plenty of apps for smartphones available with similar functions, but gps watches are a lot easier to run with and they don’t mind if you sweat on them (after all, no self respecting gps watch would be without waterproofing).

One of the best is new Timex Ironman Global Trainer GPS Watch available exclusively from REI.

Timex GPS Watch With Heart Rate Monitor

You can get it with or without the heart rate monitor – with it runs $325, without $275.

Here are the features straight from the horse’s mouth:

• Featuring SiRFstarIII™ GPS technology, the watch quickly locks on to satellite signals to measure pace, speed and distance in real time
• Watch measures your location and tracks altitude ascent and descent distances and rates
• Records up to 100 GPS waypoints so you can find your way home or create custom routes; recall up to 50 custom routes so you can track your pace
• Included heart rate chest strap takes continuous readings of your heart rate and sends them to the watch so you can monitor how your body is performing
• Adjustable and flexible elastic strap makes the sensor comfortable to wear; ANT™ technology eliminates cross talk with other heart rate monitors
• Custom heart rate target zones help maximize performance, whether your goal is to burn fat or train for a race; visual and audible alarms alert you when you fall out of a zone
• Watch counts and displays calories burned during a training session
• Customize the display to show up to 4 windows of information so you can monitor pace, distance, split time and heart rate all at the same time
• Chronograph with interval and countdown timers lets you develop personal workouts that will help you improve your performance
• Performance pacer mode helps you meet goals and set personal records
• Watch is water resistant to 50m (165 ft.)
• Download your workout and route data and analyze it using online training software
• Customize and manage watch settings using the included desktop software
• Recharge the internal lithium-ion battery by connecting the watch to your computer with the included USB cable or plug it into the wall with the included AC adapter
• Compatible with Timex bike sensors (sold separately) that use ANT+™ wireless technology; also compatible with third-party bike power sensors using ANT+

Yeah, GPS is for the dogs.

Seriously.

Garmin just released the latest version of it’s Astro Dog Tracking System.

Geared towards hunters, it allows you to keep track of your dog from miles away so he can do his job of tracking and flushing out game and you’ll still be able to find him and up to nine friends.

List price is $599 but if you should be able to pick it up for $500 of less online (Amazon had it for $488 last I checked) .

The latest one, the DC-40 now allows you to track up to 10 dogs on the same receiver.

Garmin Astro DC-40 Dog Tracking System - GPS

Looks really cool, but haven’t actually used one of these systems myself since I don’t actually hunt or even own a dog for that matter – anybody care to chime in with their thoughts?  I’ve noticed the old system, the DC-30 is pretty well rated on Amazon and people seem to really like it.

When will it become socially acceptable to put these things on our kids too?

I love GPS – I have almost no sense of direction, and even when given clear directions, frequently follow them incorrectly.

However, I was reading this article in the Washington Post and it got me to thinking about the dark side of GPS.  Namely, that we assume the GPS device is smarter than we are and we throw common sense aside and blindly follow the route calculating algorithms built into our phones of PNDs.

When I’m driving in towns I’m familiar with, I frequently power up my GPS because I like to know how far I am from destination and the ETA seems pretty accurate when in town (when on the Interstate, it’s crap, but that’s another story).  However, I almost never follow the directions to the letter.

Heck, just last week I was driving up to Omaha for a concert just to get the exit number I needed.  It wanted me to take the wrong one.  Then when we took the correct exit, it wanted us to take the longer way.  All in all I turned the GPS on because I needed three turns, all three were wrong.  Had we blindly followed the GPS, out trip would have certainly taken longer.

When using GPS, the best tool in your arsenal is common sense.   If it seems wrong, don’t do it.  Of course, it’s easy to override the GPS when you’re in an area you know.  However, when you’re traveling I recommend having paper maps handy just in case or that you use a service like Mapquest to map out your planned route ahead of time just so you can see if something is really wrong ahead of time.  Mapquest certainly isn’t infallible either, but it tends to give pretty good directions, in my opinion.

Bad Directions

When following a GPS, it’s critical to make sure you pay attention to street signs… especially one way streets.  Most GPS devices know which streets are one ways, but they’re not 100% accurate so you always need to make sure that street signs match up with directions.

Keep in mind that there can be errors on maps as well.  I remember my first GPS was a TomTom and it had an error on Interstate 76 when heading to Denver.  It always wanted me to get off the interstate and take a couple highways to go around.  I never followed those directions because I knew it was wrong.  I finally figured out that the map in the system didn’t have Interstate 76 going straight through so it always wanted me to go around.

Of course, the experience I had that really takes the cake and constantly reminds me that I can’t be 100% dependent on GPS is an experience I had in Northern Colorado when driving to Steamboat Springs to go snowboarding.  It was my first time taking the trip my GPS was a shiny new toy to me at the time so I didn’t bother to grab my maps before I left.  I figured the GPS was smart enough to get me where I was going and since the route was pretty straightforward.

All went well through Nebraska and Wyoming until I about 30 miles from my destination.  For some reason, the GPS thought that a snowmobile trail was a road and it took me down a gravel road that then turned into a dirt road that then turned into a mud pit.  I nearly got myself stuck 15 miles from the closest town in winter in an area with no cell phone service.  Fortunately, I got out of the mud, backtracked to the previous town and got directions from a real human being.   While a major incident was avoided, I’ve always tried to be cautious with my GPS even though I love it so.

Do you have any GPS experiences you’d like to share?  Whether it’s a case where it got you in trouble or saved your bacon, chime in with your experiences in the comments section.

Have a great day!

Sure, some of the suggested uses like waiters using it to take orders and uses it for interactive textbooks for students seemed cool, but pretty nichey.

I did eventually conclude that it’d be useful in my business when making presentations to clients, but again, that’s a pretty specialized use.

I’m not at all convinced it could replace my trusty laptop on a trip.

However, since this is a GPS site (or we used to be, once upon a time), I quickly concluded the iPad could easily be used as the ultimate GPS navigation device in your car.  With it’s gigantic 9.7 inch screen, it makes even the large displays found in Mercedes and Infiniti navigation systems look small.

I know that I sometimes strain to see the screen on my Droid for directions, but with an iPad that’s a thing of the past – you can see everything clearly.

Gear Required

To make this all work nicely, you’ll need a little gear.

• iPad 3G (no wi-fi only devices)
• CoPilot Live HD (built specifically for iPad’s huge screen $29.99)
• An iPad Car Mount (and don’t even think about putting this thing on your windshield, dashboard or cup holder mounts only, please)

At that point, you’re ready to navigate in style, and you’ll get incredible bang for your buck considering that a built in system with a screen that size runs about $2500.

The HTC EVO 4G is what happens when phone makers decide to make a phone with no compromises under the hood.

With its giant 4.3 inch screen, 8mp camera, 720p video camera, WiMAX connectivity, and that oh so powerful 1GZ Snapdragon processor, under that hood it’s everything you could want (and a few things you feel very demanding asking for) in a phone.

And if Android 2.1 is just too dated, the Android Froyo 2.2 update has already been ported if you don’t mind doing the work of installing it yourself.