The Wirecutter’s singular goal is to decide which gadgets to buy or not to buy. Today, it takes a hard look at a portable GPS for wandering the bush.
A company called Vertical Power has created a GPS-based co-pilot for smaller private planes that’s constantly worried about the worst-case-scenario when flying. But that’s a good thing, since in the event of an emergency like an engine failure, it already knows the nearest and safest place to land.
NASA has a new trick up its sleeve: a GPS system that is designed to locate the exact positon of serious earthquakes. Known as the Real-time Earthquake Analysis for Disaster (READI) Mitigation Network, it’s being tested in the western US — and it’s hoped it will save lives in the process.
What do you do when the GPS market for driving navigation is a bit saturated? Branch out into GPS for other activities. Garmin’s been doing this for a while with golf-centric GPS devices, and its latest, a golfer’s GPS watch, claims to know 27,000 golf courses.
Asus’ super-powerful silver bullet Android tablet had one big problem: its GPS sucked. So instead of issuing replacement hardware that didn’t suck, Asus is handing out fat, ugly dongle attachments. Oh, and they block the tablet’s dock connector, too. Sweet!
By all accounts the LiveWire NavGenius is your typical grey-market GPS navigation device, with touchscreen functionality and basic mapping software. But tucked away inside is an extra bit of hardware that lets the unit remotely tattle on its location.
GPS devices designed for land-lubbers work just fine on an engine-powered boat that can head straight across the water. But for sailboats who have to zig-zag — or tack — to catch the wind, The Sailing GPS is better suited as it understands that the quickest route from point A to B isn’t always a straight line.
It’s not enough to just ride a bike these days — you’ve got to be able to take calls, check the GPS and skip tracks on a playlist. But with one hand on a gadget and the other on the handlebars, you’re asking for an accident. The new Cardo BK-1 is a two-speaker Bluetooth headset that mounts on your bike helmet so you can control your portable gadgets and keep in touch with other riders — without taking a spill.
