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New Layar Makes The World Your Augmented Reality Show

Kit Eaton — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:53:16 -0500

It's hard not to be excited about Augmented Reality since it's a dream sci-fi tech that's actually real and growing before our eyes--led in part by the AR Browser Layar, which has just been updated. Its new powers show the future of AR really is everywhere.

Today's Vision of Tomorrow: Augmented Reality-Boosted Beer Drinking, Via Stella Artois

Kit Eaton — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:56:23 -0500

Probably not good news if you've just fallen off the wagon: Stella Artois has just leaped aboard the augmented reality advertising app bandwagon, and it's almost certainly the way beverage ads will go in the future, mainly through convenience.

AIDA - Your Robotic Car Co-Pilot of the Future - Now With Video

Kit Eaton — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:38:15 -0500

Last week we introduced you to AIDA (the Affective Intelligent Driving Agent)--get used to her if you can. MIT and Audi are hoping that this robot, or one that looks even more like Pixar's EVE, may be gracing your car's dashboard to help you drive in the near future.

Android 2.1 Already Lurking Around the Web

Chris Dannen — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:34:46 -0500

While the smartphone world is just coming down from its Android 2.0 high, Google is apparently already testing Android 2.1. Android fanboy site AndroidAndMe has reported that its analytics show 23 visits from Android 2.1 devices visits over the past few weeks. (AndroidAndMe's analytics graph, below.)

Google's Turn-by-Turn Nav Sends Garmin, TomTom Stocks Plummeting

Chris Dannen — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:21:25 -0400

We reported yesterday that Google may upset the entire GPS market. Hours later, they did. Personal navigation stocks went into freefall yesterday after Google announced it would bring turn-by-turn navigation to its mobile Google Maps apps.

Nav App Makers Beware: Google Maps Navigation Is Real

Kit Eaton — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:41:13 -0400

We wondered if makers of GPS navigation apps and systems should worry about Google's rumored efforts toward free turn-by-turn nav just the other day. And guess what--it's all true, and Tom Tom, Navigon, and the rest should be afraid.

Should Nav and Map App Makers Fear Google?

Chris Dannen — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:54:06 -0400

Earlier we reported that Google was abandoning Tele-Atlas to begin collecting its own mapping data. Now Forbes is reporting that personal navigation companies are afraid that Google will begin making its own PND software, undercutting the market's current leaders.

Apple's Next Move: Location-Aware Apps for Your Car

Chris Dannen — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:58:47 -0400

Yesterday the Web caught wind that Apple had bought mapping software startup Placebase in July. Several recent patents filed by Cupertino suggest that the iPhone maker is interested in personal navigation. What do they have planned?

BionicEye AR App for U.S. Subways and Stores Hits App Store

Kit Eaton — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:49:20 -0400

First up was the Paris Subway augmented reality iPhone app, then came the London one, and now the U.S. version has hit the iTunes App Store. Borrowing from sci-fi movie implementations of the idea, it has been rebranded the Bionic eye.

Is Google Street View Joining the Augmented Reality Fray?

Kit Eaton — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:47:12 -0400

Google's Street View revolutionized desktop maps, and its coverage of cities around the world is still expanding. But compared to some upcoming augmented reality apps, Google almost feels like its lagging. Is this why its added business metatags to the service?

More AR Apps Hit the App Store: London Bus Routes and Yelp

Kit Eaton — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:37:49 -0400

Seemingly moments after the first "real" augmented reality app hit Apple's iTunes App Store, more have arrived. One is a London version similar to that first Parist Metro app, and another is from Yelp, the customer-driven business review portal. Both have snuck under Apple's radar.

First Augmented Reality App Lands in App Store--Will Apple Let It Stay?

Kit Eaton — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:08:13 -0400

We recently described a lot of ways augmented reality (AR) is going to appear on a mobile device near you soon.

Video Tour of Ford's Tech Suite: Voice Control, In-Dash PCs and... Printers

Chris Dannen — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:59:37 -0400

Ford is doing things with navigation that you never expected--namely, bringing it to the masses, with voice control. The new Taurus, redesigned as the company's flagship for 2010, now sports the kind of nav you'd never have expected from the seafoam-green Tauri of years past--and it's all voice controlled, whether you get the top-of-the-line touchscreen model or the lower-level in-radio models. Ford is also adding in-dash computing to its line of trucks with full PC functionality--including Internet connection, word processing, and even an in-truck printer. Check out the video below.

Five Trailblazing Augmented Reality Navigation Apps

Kit Eaton — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:24:59 -0400

Augmented Reality is coming soon to a life near you, thanks to the latest crop of sensor-equipped smartphones. Navigation is, perhaps, the most natural fit between AR and useful technology. Simply put, when you're going somewhere, you need to know both where you are and where you're going. You often need both pieces of information when you're someplace unfamiliar and don't know quite what your destination looks like.

Turn-By Turn GPS on Netbooks: Dumbest Idea Ever

Kit Eaton — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:56:49 -0400

Dell recently announced it'll make a GPS add-on for its Mini 10 netbook. While your mileage may vary on the value of this idea, I'm making my mark here: This is one of the dumbest gadget ideas ever.

Navigon's Mobile Navigator iPhone App Beats TomTom to Market

Kit Eaton — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:17:48 -0400

One of the most eagerly-awaited functions of the recent iPhone 3.0 firmware upgrade was the addition of proper turn-by-turn navigation. The first big-name effort has hit iTunes today: Navigon's MobileNavigator. It's a chunky $104, but that's no surprise.

Google Street View Now Lets You Navigate Like a Superhero

Kit Eaton — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:41:01 -0400

Google's Street View app has always been, if you think about it, a bit mind-blowing (that's why we put Stephen Chau on our list of the 100 Most Creative People). But amazing--and free!--as it is, the app has never been very easy to use. But now it's been souped-up, and could pass as a sci-fi movie special effect.

RoboGames

Fast Company Calendar — Thu, 21 May 2009 11:28:43 -0400

They play Connect Four. They mix martinis. They paint. And at this sixth annual event, robots go head-to-head in categories from navigation to remote-controlled flame throwing. In the past two years, the gathering has doubled to 70 events and entrants from more than 80 countries. Spectators will witness AI technology powering amateurs' homespun creations. Our favorite contest: the SOBotz (translation: 16-ounce robots) Combat. May the best bot win -- and survive. -- KR

RoboGames

Fast Company Calendar — Thu, 21 May 2009 11:28:43 -0400

Apple's Latest Patent: An In-Car iPhone GPS Hybrid?

Kit Eaton — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 07:16:33 -0400

The next iPhone could be the center of a sophisticated in-car navigation system, if a recently revealed Apple patent is taken to logical extremes. We've mentioned Apple's extensive patenting of GPS technology before, but that's mainly covered how the software will work. This time GPS hardware is outlined, and the main focus of the new tech is driver safety.

Microsoft Directs TomTom to Drop Dead

Chris Dannen — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:05:00 -0400

At the end of February, Microsoft [MSFT] brought suit against GPS company TomTom [TOM2] for several patent infringements pertaining to TomTom's Linux-based GPS navigation software. Now the Linux community is preparing for a fight, afraid that Microsoft will turn its snarling legal team on another member of the open-source community.

How Sony And Google Can Beat Amazon at the E-Book Game (Hint: Not With Out-of-Print Books)

Kit Eaton — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:44:37 -0400

Sony and Google joined forces today to tackle the Amazon Kindle, the current king of e-books...by releasing half a million out-of-print books for the Sony E-Reader from Google's Book Search library. Will it be an effective strategy? Uh, maybe. But Google and Sony have a pile of technologies between them that, combined correctly, could blow the Kindle clean off the scene.

Palm Pre vs iPhone 3.0: A Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Kit Eaton — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:15:30 -0400

The Palm Pre is going to be a hot item when it launches this summer--possibly hot enough to tackle the iPhone. One reason it's gaining so much traction is that the Pre's features weren't designed to compete against the current iPhone, but the next generation. And today Apple took the battle to Palm, with an updated software package that's designed to fight right back.

Ford Wants To Make Your Car as Emotionally Attentive as KITT

Kit Eaton — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:30:01 -0400

"Michael, I'm detecting elevated stress levels in your voice print. Is something going wrong?" is exactly the sort of line you'll hear spoken by the fictional KITT in Knight Rider from time to time. And with a patent it just filed for an in-car system, Ford plans to release an in-car system that will behave as intelligently as KITT.

Garmin-Asus Outs Its M20 Smartphone, Doesn't Herald GPSphone Revolution

Kit Eaton — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 10:02:03 -0500

News that Garmin and Asus were teaming up to produce the other type of convergence smartphone--marrying serious navigation power with a cellphone--only hit the other week, but the alliance has just stumped up with news on its first proper product. And the Nuvifone M20 looks to be a sweet deal indeed.