Andrew Wirtanen » Mobile

The end of handheld GPS devices: Google will practically shut down Garmin and TomTom

Andrew Wirtanen — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:28:26 +0000

This week Google released Google Maps Navigation for Android. It’s only a matter of time before it’s available for other phones.

Gizmodo was quick to look at both Garmin and TomTom’s stocks on the day of the announcement:

When I bought my Garmin nuvi 660, I saw this coming. My digital camera is already collecting dust, since my iPhone 3GS’s camera is good enough for most purposes. There are GPS applications for my iPhone, but I still pull out my Garmin just because it is already paid for (and the iPhone GPS applications are not).

What’s the future for Garmin and TomTom? Well, Garmin attempted to create an iPhone killer called the nuvifone. It was a good idea, but very poorly executed. TomTom handled things a little smarter, and were the first company to announce a turn-by-turn GPS application for the iPhone (though not the first to release one). TomTom even managed to realize that they could make a little money on hardware by selling accessories (including the suction cup).

Garmin’s nuvifone will undoubtedly bomb, and the company’s future is uncertain. TomTom will probably scrape by, but they need to somehow stay on top of Google.

Texting While Driving–the Flash game!

Andrew Wirtanen — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 19:04:02 +0000

The New York Times has released a driving simulation Flash game that tests your ability to multitask. It’s far from scientific (and so was the NBC driving experiment) since the game requires a constant rate of lane switching and has a constant rate of incoming text messages, but it’s fun and educational nonetheless.

While I initially thought that banning texting while driving was ridiculous (i.e., why not ban eating while driving too?), I am seeing it more frequently. Also, it is more challenging to text with touchscreen phones because they lack tactile feedback.

[New York Times via Waxy Links]

Touchscreen Phones for the Blind

Andrew Wirtanen — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 22:31:07 +0000

Making touchscreen phones accessible seems like an impossible challenge. But, the Eyes-Free Android project is working on it! Skip to about 2 minute mark for the demo.

Click here to view the embedded video.

[Gizmodo]

iPhone Tip: Enable Caps Lock

Andrew Wirtanen — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:46:30 +0000

Here’s a quick tip for all of you iPhone users:

Settings > General > Keyboard > Enable Caps Lock

Now, when you quickly tap the Shift key twice on the keyboard, it will turn blue and become a Caps Lock!

Why wasn’t this enabled by default? I have tried, on numerous occasions, to figure out how to enable Caps Lock. I tried holding and pressing the Shift key, and also hitting it quickly.

[Thanks to The iPod Observer]

Smart Dust Leads to Smart Parking

Andrew Wirtanen — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 19:17:28 +0000

It’s always cool to see presentations from CHI (and related conferences) end up in commercial products. At the time they are presented, they usually seem far-fetched or appear to have no real-world application (but, of course, we need crazy ideas and unconstrained thinking).

Smart Dust (CHI 2002) is being used commercially by a company called Streetline to create smart parking spaces. It is essentially a tiny transmitter with bi-directional communication.

Streetline are using Smart Dust to create “smart” parking spots. The idea is that the chips can sense when there is a car in their spot, and transmit data wirelessly in real-time to a server. The server can then be tapped into by commuters on their mobile devices that are looking for parking spots in a geographical region (e.g. San Francisco). I looked at the results of their San Francisco pilot test, and was amazed by their Google Analytics-like reports. I wasn’t able to find a UI prototype of their parking management system though.

(Streetline Networks via Gizmodo)

Little ditty, about TomTom and Garmin

Andrew Wirtanen — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:45:10 +0000

Like it or not, devices are converging. With phones like the Motorola MotoZine ZN5, we are finally seeing a promising convergence of point-and-shoot cameras with mobile phones. Phones like the Nokia N95, BlackBerry, and HTC Touch are some of the first convergent phones capable of many things like GPS, Email, and Web browsing. However, the Apple iPhone has done it most elegantly, and has by far the best Web browsing and email user experience. The only big thing that it lacks is a good integrated camera.

GPS and Point-and-Shoot cameras will be the first two devices integrated into phones. It is really kind of silly that most of us are still carrying around two devices (our phone and our pocket-sized camera). GPS is another logical convergence, though this is not as necessary because GPS devices typically stay inside vehicles. But, GPS could come in very handy for hikers and urban hikers.

All eyes are on TomTom and Garmin as they both prepare for the inevitable convergence of their industry with mobile phones. TomTom seems to believe that their power is in their software, and they are planning an iPhone release of their mapping software. Garmin, however, is taking a different route with their nuvifone. The phone is the best attempt to compete with the iPhone that I have seen. It’s a risky step for Garmin, but the phone looks very promising. Here’s a video of a tour of the phone’s interface:

Click here to view the embedded video.