Mobile Devices

Nokia 6220 Ad Touts Mapping Features
An ad extolling the mapping features of the Nokia 6220. Via Visual Think Map. Nokia Maps 2.0 came out of beta in May, which Mapperz and Engadget covered; I, alas, did not. Previously: Nokia Maps 2.0 Beta; Nokia Maps…. »
Posted on Sunday, August 3, 2008 at 12:39 PM
Categories: Mobile Devices, Video
iPhone Navigation Applications
My original plan was to write an entry about the navigation applications available for the iPhone and iPod touch by buying a few of them myself and trying them. As often occurs with my plans, that didn’t happen. In… »
Posted on Sunday, August 3, 2008 at 9:06 AM
Categories: Geocaching, Geotagging, Mobile Devices
GPS on the iPhone 3G: Engadget’s Review
I’ll have more to say about location-aware iPhone applications once I’ve installed the 2.0 software update on my iPod touch and played with a couple of them. I won’t be able to say anything about the GPS on the iPhone… »
Posted on Friday, July 11, 2008 at 9:58 AM
Categories: GPS, Mobile Devices
GPS on the iPhone
The new 3G iPhone’s GPS is only one of several location-finding methods. From Apple’s page: iPhone 3G uses signals from GPS satellites, Wi-Fi hot spots, and cellular towers to get the most accurate location fast. If GPS is available, iPhone… »
Posted on Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at 9:34 PM
Categories: GPS, Mobile Devices
An Apple/Mac Roundup
I’ve had a few items cluttering up my to-do list that relate to Apple, the Mac and Mac software, and the iPhone/iPod since Macworld; time to stop procrastinating. iPhones and iPods. The iPhone’s mapping application got a major upgrade at… »
Posted on Monday, March 3, 2008 at 10:14 AM
Categories: GPS, Geotagging, Macintosh, Mobile Devices
Nokia Maps 2.0 Beta
Nokia announced its Maps 2.0 Beta last week; its key feature is pedestrian navigation — i.e., turn-by-turn navigation on foot, rather than in a car (see also CNet Reviews). CNet’s Margaret Reardon tried out the service in Barcelona, with… »
Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 at 10:34 PM
Categories: GPS, Mobile Devices
OpenStreetMap on an iPhone
Speaking of OpenStreetMap, Mikel Maron has come up with a method of viewing OpenStreetMap map tiles on the iPhone’s map application, which normally uses Google. It’s a hack, and requires a hacked iPhone to do it (to access the… »
Posted on Tuesday, October 23, 2007 at 12:35 PM
Categories: Mobile Devices
Nokia Maps
Nokia, as part of its new suite of Internet services, has made a free map application available for a dozen of its smartphones. It seems fairly versatile at first glance (not having a compatible Nokia smartphone myself). It supports built-in… »
Posted on Thursday, September 6, 2007 at 7:39 PM
Categories: Mobile Devices
NYC Subway Maps on an iPhone
Yes, the iPhone has Google Maps on it, but Khoi Vinh feels the need to carry along a mobile version of the official New York Metropolitan Transit Authority subway map on his iPhone. His solution is what he calls… »
Posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2007 at 8:03 PM
Categories: Mass Transit, Mobile Devices, New York
On the iPhone and Its Lack of GPS
To read some of the commentary about the iPhone’s implementation of Google Maps, you’d think that a mobile mapping application is worthless without GPS. But is it? All Points Blog’s Joe Francica doesn’t say so outright, but in this dismissive… »
Posted on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 at 10:17 AM
Categories: GPS, Mobile Devices, Online Maps
Google Maps: UK Geocoder, Palm OS Application
I’m working on a big post on Google Maps on the iPhone today — or, more precisely, on the reaction to Google Maps on the iPhone — and I don’t know how long it’s going to take me to finish… »
Posted on Monday, July 9, 2007 at 10:36 AM
Categories: Hacks & Mashups, Mobile Devices
Some Google Maps Updates
Google Transit adds Reno and San Diego; I must have missed when they added the Japanese rail networks, domestic airlines and ferries. Google Maps for mobile supports GPS on certain devices — for example, the BlackBerry 8800 and some Windows… »
Posted on Monday, May 28, 2007 at 8:42 AM
Categories: Driving Directions, GPS, Mass Transit, Mobile Devices, Online Maps
MapQuest’s Send-to-Cell Feature
Gizmodo disses on MapQuest’s send-to-cell feature, now in beta, which sends directions via SMS to your mobile phone: “In this day and age of mobile Google Maps and Windows Live Maps already on smartphones and dumbphones, only a few people… »
Posted on Monday, March 26, 2007 at 9:54 AM
Categories: Mobile Devices, Online Maps
iPhone Includes Google Maps
During his Macworld keynote presentation today, Apple CEO Steve Jobs just announced the iPhone, Apple’s mobile phone that doubles as an iPod and Internet communicator. One of the features announced for this phone — which won’t be shipping until… »
Posted on Tuesday, January 9, 2007 at 3:01 PM
Categories: Macintosh, Mobile Devices, Online Maps
Mobile Maps Compared
Gizmodo compares Windows Live Search for Mobile and Google Maps Mobile on a phone running Windows Mobile, and finds the Google option wanting, but then the Microsoft app was native and the Google app was coded in Java: “Google Maps… »
Posted on Monday, December 4, 2006 at 8:52 AM
Categories: Mobile Devices, Online Maps
Garmin Discontinuing PDAs
At one point I was a heavy PDA user and was watching the release of Garmin’s Palm OS-based PDAs with built-in GPS (naturally) — the iQue series — with great interest. Times have changed: I’ve gone back to pen… »
Posted on Sunday, December 3, 2006 at 10:25 PM
Categories: GPS, Mobile Devices
Map Snapper
The Map Snapper project seems an awfully complicated way to generate local information and mobile maps, particularly since most of this stuff is available over wireless networks anyway. Essentially: take a photo of a map with a cameraphone, send… »
Posted on Wednesday, November 1, 2006 at 8:57 AM
Categories: Mobile Devices
Google Maps on a Palm TX
Google’s announcement yesterday of a new Treo version of Google Maps for Mobile made me wonder whether it would also work on WiFi-equipped Palm handhelds, despite their absence from the list of compatible devices. Now, I don’t have a Palm… »
Posted on Friday, October 13, 2006 at 6:51 AM
Categories: Mobile Devices, Online Maps
Nintendo DS Subway Maps
Homebrewed subway maps for the Nintendo DS, including London, Lyon, Mexico, Paris and Vienna. Some hacking required. Via Matt…. »
Posted on Friday, October 13, 2006 at 6:45 AM
Categories: Mass Transit, Mobile Devices
Google Maps for Mobile Adds Traffic Conditions
Traffic conditions for 30 U.S. cities — and directions with driving-time estimates based on those conditions — have been added to the mobile version (i.e., for cell phones) of Google Maps. See previous entry: Google Local for Mobile…. »
Posted on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 at 10:12 AM
Categories: Mobile Devices, Online Maps
GPS Tracking with a Treo 650
A tutorial on setting up GPS tracking on a Treo 650 using a Bluetooth receiver, the Internet via the cellular network, and some software. Via Slashgeo…. »
Posted on Saturday, April 8, 2006 at 8:31 AM
Categories: GPS, Mobile Devices
MapQuest’s Mobile Strategy
You’ll recall that it was previously reported that MapQuest was responding to the challenge posed by Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! by moving in an altogether different direction: instead of a hackable API, satellite imagery and web interface innovations (although an… »
Posted on Thursday, April 6, 2006 at 9:58 PM
Categories: Mobile Devices, Online Maps
Playstation Portable Maps in Japan
Engadget reports that Sony will release mapping software for the Playstation Portable. No GPS; in Japan only. (Original Japanese announcement here.) See previous entry: PSP Subway Maps…. »
Posted on Thursday, February 2, 2006 at 10:06 AM
Categories: Mobile Devices
Yahoo! Directions on an iPod
iPods have been used for subway maps before (see previous entries: 1, 2, 3); now this site generates driving directions from Yahoo! Maps that can be exported to a photo-capable (i.e., colour-screen) iPod. Via Scoble…. »
Posted on Sunday, November 20, 2005 at 3:01 PM
Categories: Hacks & Mashups, Mobile Devices, Online Maps, Roads
Apple C&D: New Name for iSubwayMaps
A little while ago William Bright started a web site where you could download subway maps to your iPod, taking advantage of the photo-storage capabilities of iPods with colour screens (see previous entry). Then some metro transit authorities caught wind… »
Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2005 at 10:36 PM
Categories: Mass Transit, Mobile Devices
PSP Subway Maps
Subway maps aren’t just for iPods any more; Engadget points to subway maps for the Playstation Portable: a map of the New York subway (in defiance of licencing policies) and maps of other cities’ subway systems. I don’t recall this… »
Posted on Monday, October 3, 2005 at 9:48 AM
Categories: Mass Transit, Mobile Devices
C&D for iPod Subway Maps
iPodSubwayMaps.com has received cease-and-desist letters from the New York and San Francisco transit authorities, who are invoking their copyright on their system maps, which the site breaks into iPod-screen-sized pieces that can be parsed via the scroll wheel. The developer,… »
Posted on Monday, September 26, 2005 at 8:32 AM
Categories: Mass Transit, Mobile Devices
iPod Subway Maps
If you’ve got an iPod with a colour screen, you can put subway maps on it. It’s a simple matter to put digital images on an iPod; where maps are concerned, though, it’s a challenge to make sure they’re legible… »
Posted on Friday, August 12, 2005 at 8:08 AM
Categories: Boston, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Mass Transit, Mobile Devices, New York, San Francisco
GPS Tracklog and Buyer’s Guide
Rich Owings, author of GPS Mapping: Make Your Own Maps (Amazon, web site), reports that he’s started a new blog about GPS and mapping software called GPS Tracklog. Like The Map Room, it’s aimed at mere mortals rather than professionals…. »
Posted on Monday, August 8, 2005 at 9:17 AM
Categories: Blogs, GPS, Mobile Devices
Google and GPS on Nintendo
You’ve got to be kidding me: Google Maps and GPS on a Nintendo DS. Via Engadget. See previous entry: Google Maps on Mobile Devices…. »
Posted on Thursday, August 4, 2005 at 9:37 AM
Categories: GPS, Hacks & Mashups, Mobile Devices
Google Maps on Mobile Devices
Getting Google Maps onto mobile devices is a natural step: when we’re going somewhere, we tend not to leave our maps behind, after all. One project was a hack to get Google Maps running on Series 60 Nokia phones, combining… »
Posted on Friday, July 29, 2005 at 9:23 AM
Categories: Hacks & Mashups, Mobile Devices, Online Maps, Software
Traffic for Treo
Palm has released an application called Traffic for the Treo 600/650 that provides, for a monthly fee, live traffic data and maps for 10 U.S. cities (via Palm Infocenter)…. »
Posted on Thursday, July 28, 2005 at 8:11 AM
Categories: Mobile Devices, Software, Traffic Conditions
Question: GPS and the Mac?
I’ve talked about using a GPS with a Mac before, and even — back when this blog’s audience was a fraction of what it is now — solicited my readers’ opinions on which GPS I, as a Mac user (or… »
Posted on Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at 9:14 AM
Categories: GPS, Macintosh, Mobile Devices, Questions
Windows Mobile GPS Thingies
A couple of links about GPS-equipped PDAs — those gadgets I covet but cannot possibly ever afford. Brighthand’s got a review of the Garmin iQue M5, which runs Windows Mobile instead of Palm OS like Garmin’s other PDAs (see previous… »
Posted on Thursday, April 21, 2005 at 10:39 PM
Categories: GPS, Mobile Devices
Engadget
My coverage of GPS stuff is paltry at best, but gadget blog Engadget has a dedicated GPS section (RSS feed) that I’ll be keeping an eye on, to learn more about the subject…. »
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2005 at 12:22 PM
Categories: Blogs, GPS, Mobile Devices
A PDA Software Roundup
Rough Guides has released a series of interactive city maps for several mobile platforms, and they’re having a sale (US$20) in March. Via Gadling. Earthcomber allows Palm OS PDA users to annotate maps and share that information with other users…. »
Posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2005 at 11:54 PM
Categories: Mobile Devices, Software
GPS Connect for OS X
Speaking of GPS receivers. Because of poor-to-nonexistent Mac support by GPS manufacturers, Mac users have to resort to third-party software to connect to their gadgets (see previous entries: Mac Mapping Software, Mac Software Updates). One option I was aware of… »
Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 at 9:32 PM
Categories: GPS, Macintosh, Mobile Devices
New Garmin Gadgetry
My coverage of Garmin’s first GPS/PDA was pretty compulsive — I don’t usually cover GPS receivers, but PDAs are one of my other hobbies — so for consistency’s sake I should at least note two new models announced by Garmin… »
Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 at 9:12 PM
Categories: GPS, Mobile Devices
Garmin iQue 3200
I covered the release of the Garmin iQue 3600, a Palm OS handheld with a built-in GPS, rather obsessively last year. Now Garmin has announced a slightly cheaper sibling, the iQue 3200, which has a smaller (320×320) screen and lacks… »
Posted on Monday, July 26, 2004 at 7:20 PM
Categories: GPS, Mobile Devices
Mac Software Updates
MacMinute reported updates to desktop mapping and GPS software for the Macintosh yesterday: EarthDesk 2.5, which generates a realtime map of the Earth on your desktop; and MacGPS 5.0, third-party software for using (normally Windows-only) GPS receivers with a Mac…. »
Posted on Wednesday, March 3, 2004 at 7:55 AM
Categories: GPS, Macintosh, Mobile Devices
GPS Replies
I did get a couple of replies during the downtime to my post asking for suggestions about the best GPS receiver for my needs. Eric Arnold, who works at the University of Tennessee Map Library in Knoxville, mentioned the Garmin… »
Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 at 9:19 PM
Categories: GPS, Mobile Devices

Note: Entries from 2003 were not categorized and will not appear in the category archives. Please consult the monthly archives.