GPS - 3/5 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jan

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You Spoke, ASUS Listened - An Unlock Tool For The Transformer Prime's Bootloader Is In The Works (And ICS Is Coming On 1/12)

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Eee Pad Transformer Prime, News

Well, that didn't take long, did it? Just one short day after news hit the web that the Transformer Prime's bootloader is encrypted and locked, ASUS has issued a statement on its Facebook page regarding the matter, and it's definitely a step in the direction that the modding community was hoping for. Here's the meat and potatoes of it:

Regarding the bootloader, the reason we chose to lock it is due to content providers' requirement for DRM client devices to be as secure as possible. ASUS supports Google DRM in order to provide users with a high quality video rental experience.

Dec

[Update: Working As Intended] ASUS Transformer Prime GPS Performs Very Poorly Without Wi-Fi, Massive XDA Thread Ensues

Posted by David Ruddock in ASUS, Eee Pad Transformer Prime, News, Tablets

Last Updated: January 3rd, 2012

Update 2: ASUS has issued an official statement on the matter and determined that the Prime's GPS is functioning as intended, which for many folks means essentially non-functional.

Please note that this product is not a professional GPS device ... To avoid inconveniencing users who demand a powerful GPS device, we made the decision to remove it from our specification sheet and marketing communications. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

ASUS

That means if you're actually unable to live with your Prime without true GPS, there's not a lot to do but sell it - because ASUS isn't going to (and apparently can't) do anything about it.

Oct

Dan Morrill Reveals The Real Reason Behind The Galaxy Nexus' Barometer

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Galaxy Nexus, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

Since last night's announcement, there has been a lot of speculation surrounding the Galaxy Nexus. One of the most mysterious features of Samsung's latest Nexus device is its onboard barometer. Many have been questioning why Samsung would include a barometer in the Nexus' sleek chassis, citing possibilities from more accurate weather prediction to simple altitude detection (which is partially true).

In a Google+ post today, Android Engineer Dan Morrill gave us the scoop on what the barometer is actually for, and it's more interesting than you might think.

Morrill explains that the barometer is actually intended to speed up GPS location, because "locking onto a GPS involves numerically solving a 4-dimensional set of linear equations - 3 dimensions in space, and time."

That sounds a bit complicated, doesn't it?

Sep

[New App] Geodog For Android Tracks Your Canine's GPS Collar, Costs More Than The Dog

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, News

Geodog GmbH are the developers of Geodog Mobile, a new application for Android that helps the user track their lost dog via GPS by connecting with a separately-sold tracking collar. The app will track location, display topographical maps, and even provide street directions to reach your wandering pet. Another interesting feature is the ability to save maps for offline viewing, meaning no data connection is required if your dog is lost within a map that you've already saved.

The catch here however is the price- a GPS-enabled collar will cost about $425, while the app itself is nearly $100 (about $140 for the Pro app, which can track multiple dogs in the same manner).

Jul

Wikitude Drive US Is A Slick Looking Augmented Reality Navigation System That Rivals Google Maps, Retails For €9.99 ($14)

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Applications, News

It is difficult to look twice at a navigation app when Google Maps and Navigation comes pre-installed on every Android device. Indeed it is even more difficult to pay for an alternative navigation app unless it offers a compelling feature. However, it appears that Wikitude (known for its popular Augmented Reality Browser) has hit upon a novel and useful feature that may just tempt users in the United States to cough up for a paid navigation app.

Wikitude Drive is the world's first mobile augmented reality navigation system which uses your device's camera to show you the road as you drive through it.

Jul

[Review] Sports Tracker Keeps Track Of Your Mileage And Gives You The Support Network To Keep You Going

Posted by Matt Demers in App Reviews, Applications, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Phones are quickly adding "personal trainer" to the list of roles they can perform for their users. The potential for note-taking, record keeping and stat tracking is immense, as there's a good chance you won't forget your device when you go out for a run or hit the gym.

Sports Tracker works by letting the app use your phone's GPS signal to determine distance and speed travelled while doing activities like cycling, running, swimming or rowing. The app also takes input like heart rate, allowing you to journal your progress across a number of days, further supported by the optional Bluetooth heart rate belt that's on sale from their website.

Jun

Tesco Now Testing In-Store Navigation System Accessible From Your Android Phone

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Applications, News, Off-Topic

Let's face it: large physical retail stores can be difficult to navigate at times, especially for first-time shoppers. To help alleviate this problem, UK retailer Tesco (informally known as the European Walmart) has developed and is now testing an in-store GPS system that can be accessed from an Android phone.

Upon opening the app, you'll be greeted with an empty shopping list which you can fill with any and all products available at Tesco. This isn't just any shopping list, however; step into the Tesco Extra store in northeast London and a comprehensive store map will appear on your handset, complete with the locations of all the items on your list.

May

Skyhook Joins Forces With MapQuest, Brings More Accurate Navigation To Android

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

Mapquest's navigation app already offers a slew of features that we've come to expect from a worthy GPS app, but it has recently seen an update that brings Skyhook's hybrid positioning engine into the mix. This engine not only uses satellites for global positioning, but it also judges accurate location by using nearby WiFi networks (Google Location does this as well - but Skyhook utilizes their own proprietary magic and claim it's more accurate).

Even though Google and Skyhook haven't always played nice, the addition of the Skyhook engine in Mapquest really does make it a worthy competitor to our beloved Google Navigation (some may say that it already was).

Apr

We Knew It Was Coming: Google Is Being Sued Over Location Tracking in Android

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News

I would like to say that this comes as a surprise... but I would be lying. Two Michigan women have filed a class-action lawsuit against Google for location tracking features used in Android's GPS, stating that it puts "users at serious risk of privacy invasions, including stalking." Their request? That Google stops selling phones that can track users location. Puh-lease.

This $50 million class action lawsuit comes after Google acknowledged that Android phones temporarily store some location based data directly on the phone after using GPS. Google stands firm that this information is not traceable back to the originating device, nor a specific individual.

Apr

Race To The Top - Google Maps Is The First Android App To Ever Pass 50 Million Downloads

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

While Google Maps already made headlines today for omitting the changelog in the latest update, causing hundreds of 1-star comments, it does have a reason to celebrate, which overshadows this snafu by a long shot. The 50,000,000 installation mark, never before achieved by any app in the Market, has been reached, and by none other than Google Maps, making it the most downloaded Android application ever.

It's no surprise - the absolute brilliance of the Maps team helped create a product which wows first-time users, single-handedly lures them over to Android, and keeps innovating time and time again. Who needs a standalone GPS device when you've got Google Maps?