GPS Internals

TomTom announces that the TomTom for iPhone navigation application can be purchased in the Apple iTunes App Store starting today.

“With TomTom for iPhone, millions of iPhone users can now benefit from the same easy-to-use and intuitive interface, turn-by-turn spoken navigation and unique routing technology that our 30 million portable navigation device users rely on every day,” said Corinne Vigreux, Managing Director of TomTom. “As the world’s leading provider of navigation solutions and digital maps, TomTom is the most natural fit for an advanced navigation application on the iPhone.”

The TomTom app for iPhone 3G and 3GS users includes a continental map of Europe or map of UK & Ireland from Tele Atlas, and is available to download through www.tomtom.com/tomtom-app from £59.99GBP.

TomTom app for iPhone key featuresTomTom app for iPhone includes the exclusive IQ Routes™ technology. Instead of using travel time assumptions, IQ Routes bases its routes on the actual experience of millions of TomTom drivers to calculate the fastest route and generate the most accurate arrival times in the industry. TomTom IQ Routes empowers drivers to reach their destination faster up to 35% of the time.

Furthermore, the TomTom app for iPhone comes with an extensive safety camera database including verified safety camera information in 11 European countries². This means drivers are informed ahead of time about any safety cameras on their route, encouraging road safety, while saving money on fines at the same time.

Additional TomTom app for iPhone features include:

Best routing and maps

• Navigation software including fast route planning and clear voice instructions
• Automatic re-routing if a turn is missed
• Route demo or map of route when trip planning
• Latest Tele Atlas maps of the US, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand 

Easy to use and personalise

• User interface fully optimised with iPhone
• Multiple display options including landscape and portrait navigation view
• Night and day colour mode for optimised screen visibility in varying light conditions
• User interface available in 18 languages
• Change view settings (2D or 3D map display)
• Easy to download from iTunes App Store
 

Complete phone and map integration

• Multi-touch gestures such as tap, swipe, pinch and zoom to operate the application and zoom in and out of the map
• Navigation to contacts in address book
• Points-of-interest search and call capabilities from iPhone

Pricing and Availability

Apple will make continental and regional versions of the TomTom for iPhone application for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS users, available today on www.tomtom.com/tomtom-app.

• The TomTom app for iPhone including map of Western Europe is available for £79.99 GBP
• The TomTom app for iPhone with maps of UK & Ireland is available for £59.99 GBP 

Compatibility with iPod touch and other iPhone models coming soon.

Requirements for use on the iPhone 3G or 3GS include phone installation of OS3.0 and installation of iTunes on the PC or Mac.

Olathe, Kan./July 8, 2009/Business Wire — Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced that it has refreshed its GPSMAP® 400 and 500 series by adding a high sensitivity GPS receiver for faster satellite acquisition, an improved digital design for increased map drawing and panning speeds, and NMEA 2000 connectivity* for plug-and-play system integration.

“Combining performance and value, these new portrait plotters are designed for boaters who demand a high-performance, compact unit with a small footprint,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales.

Building upon the success of the GPSMAP 400 and 500 series and Garmin’s proven easy-to-use interface, the new chartplotters in the GPSMAP 5×6, 5×1 and 4×1 series come standard with an internal high-sensitivity GPS receiver that allows for faster acquisition times and superior satellite tracking so that boaters are able to acquire and maintain a GPS fix more easily. In addition, these units boast an improved, high-speed digital design that will increase map drawing and panning speeds, making chart adjustments extremely fast. Many of the new models in this series are also NMEA 2000 certified, and can interface with Garmin’s full lineup of NMEA 2000 marine sensors and autopilots, and other third-party sensors.

Ultra-sharp and easy-to-read, the GPSMAP 5×6 series with its brilliant 5-inch VGA display makes no excuses. The GPSMAP 556 UK has preloaded detailed offshore chart coverage of the United Kingdom, Ireland, and portions of France, Belgium and the Netherlands, while the GPSMAP 556 AUS had detailed Australian and New Zealand offshore charts. Boaters in North America will like the GPSMAP 546 that comes preloaded with detailed BlueChart® g2 marine cartography of U.S. coastal waters, including Alaska, Hawaii and Explorer Chart data of the Bahamas – or the GPSMAP 536, which contains preloaded maps of more than 14,000 U.S. lakes and rivers. The GPSMAP 526 has a preloaded worldwide basemap that allows the customer to choose the best cartography for their area on a data card sold separately.

Each unit in the GPSMAP 5×6 series is also available with sonar capability (designated by an “s” after the model number). Sonar models have a digital sonar receiver to give extraordinary target definition and boast a built-in 500-watt RMS digital sounder with a dual frequency transducer for offshore and a 400-watt RMS with a dual beam transducer for inland use. These units can also support an optional 1,000-watt transducer for even more power. In addition, this powerful sounder can scan fish, structure or other objects as deep as 2,000 feet. All units in the GPSMAP 5×6 series are compatible with the GXM 51, Garmin’s latest XM WX weather antenna that allows boaters to see weather data like storms, wind currents, temperatures and much more on the chartplotter. A subscription through XM Satellite Radio is required to receive the XM WX data.

The GPSMAP 5×1 series packs a powerful punch with compact plotters that feature a 5-inch QVGA sunlight-readable display. This series also features preloaded detailed charts, including the GPSMAP 551 UK (UK, Ireland, and portions of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands); the GPSMAP 551 AUS (Australia/New Zealand); the GPSMAP 541 (U.S. and detailed Bahamas data using Explorer Charts); the GPSMAP 531 (inland U.S. lakes); and the GPSMAP 521 (no detailed charts preloaded). The GPSMAP 5×1s series has built-in sonar for use with a 500-watt RMS dual-frequency transducer for offshore use and a 400-watt RMS with a dual beam transducer for inland use. Mariners with a GPSMAP 541 and 521 can add the optional GXM 51 receiver for satellite weather and radio capability.

With a 4-inch QVGA sunlight-readable display, the GPSMAP 4×1 series was designed for the boater who wants high performance in a small package. Along with Garmin’s easy-to-use interface, these units also feature a high-sensitivity GPS receiver and faster processors, and are offered with the same cartography configuration as the GPSMAP 5×1 series. Likewise, the GPSMAP 4×1s series is also available with a built-in sonar with a 500-watt RMS dual-frequency transducer for offshore use and a 400-watt RMS with a dual beam transducer for inland use. For satellite weather and radio data, the GPSMAP 441 and 421 are also compatible with the GXM 51 receiver.

An optional flush-mount kit is available for each unit for custom installation. For more specifications, availability and pricing on each new series, visit www.garmin.com.

*Models with NMEA 2000 certification include: GPSMAP 556, GPSMAP 556s, GPSMAP 546, GPSMAP 546s, GPSMAP 536, GPSMAP 536s, GPSMAP 526, GPSMAP 526s,  GPSMAP 551, GPSMAP 551s, GPSMAP 541, GPSMAP 541s, GPSMAP 521, GPSMAP 521s, GPSMAP 451, GPSMAP 451s, GPSMAP 441, GPSMAP 441s, GPSMAP 421 and GPSMAP 421s.

The Eye4Software Coordinate Calculator is a very user friendly, easy to use geodetic tool to perform calculations between different coordinate systems or geodetic datums. The software can be used in hydrographic survey, land survey, positioning and GPS applications.

The software ships with a MS Access database, containing more then 1000 predefined map grids, geodetic datums and reference ellipsoids around the world. Users can easily modify these records or add new ( user defined ) grids, datums or ellipsoids.

Map projections supported include: Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM), Gauss Kruger, Transverse Mercator, Hotine Oblique Mercator, Mercator, Oblique Stereographic, Polar Stereographic, Lambert Conformal Conic, Albers Equal Area Conic, Polyconic, Eckert IV and VI, Mollweide and Cassini – Soldner.

Please visit the product page at http://www.eye4software.com/products/coordinatecalculator for more information, or to download a fully functional 30 day trial version for free.

Eye4Software B.V. is the author of various GIS / GPS related software products, such as calculators, programming components and GPS mapping software.

Today Eye4Software B.V. released version 2.2 of their GPS Toolkit for Windows.

This toolkit allows software developers to add GPS functionality to their programs, websites or scripts, without any knowledge on GPS and serial port protocols.
Application examples include: GPS mapping, GPS navigation, GPS positioning, time synchronization, hydrographic survey, map grid transformations, map datum transformations and more.

In this latest version, the successor of version 2.1, some new features were added:

It is now possible to perform conversions between different map datums and map grids, allowing you to convert the current GPS coordinates to the map grid of your choice, you can now for instance, output the GPS position directly to UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) coordinates. Instead of using the GPS position, you can also set the source coordinates by hand.

Map projections supported include: Transverse Mercator, Oblique Mercator, Mercator, Oblique Sterographic, Polar Stereographic, Cassini, Eckert IV, Eckert Vi, Mollweide , Lambert Conformal Conic 1SP, Lambert Conformal Conic 2SP and Albers Equal Area Conic projection.

The package is now shipped containing two ActiveX controls, one supporting 32 bit Windows platforms, and a second one that can be used to write GPS applications on 64 bit Windows platforms.

The toolkit can be used from various programming, web and scripting environments, including: VBScript, Visual Basic, Visual C++, Visual C# .Net, Visual Basic.Net, Borland Delphi, Borland C++ builder, PHP, ASP and ASP.Net.

For more information about this product, please visit the product’s website at http://www.eye4software.com/products/gpstoolkit

Eye4Software B.V. is manufacturer of value for money GPS related software products.
Please check their website at http://www.eye4software.com for more information.