Tagged With "GPS"

It's a nightmare! A fair chunk of my packing now includes various chargers, connection cables and mains power adaptors for phones, iPads, Kindles. cameras.... Oh, plus a universal backup power supply battery (RAVPOWER - good value) in case I cannot get to a mains socket - just to keep in touch! I have to say that the Euro proposal to have ONE single charger for all devices has some merit!! PS - watch out that chargers that are sold as suitable for iPhones are often not powerful enough to...

The RAVPOWER unit that I went for is shown on the following link (a real mouthful): http://www.ravpower.com/ravpow...hite-us-version.html This model has enough power to fully recharge an iPad! Currently available from Amazon for USD 36.00 They also do more powerful packs. (Hope this doesn't cut across any "No Advertising" policies

No, Mac, that doesn't cross any sort of policy. We want to help travelers get good honest feedback about products that might be helpful to them on the road (or conversely that aren't worth the money). What's not tolerated is people paid to promote products on our website and providing dishonest information. Ravpower is exactly the kind of unit I'm looking for. Need to go order it soon.

In the Duel of the Devices, I'm going to declare the RAVPower unit the winner. Both of these devices are essentially external batteries, something that's becoming more popular as more phones come with non-removable batteries. There are two critical differences, however: capacity and output. The PowerStick has a capacity of 750mAh (about half the power held by an average cellphone battery) and a maximum output current of 700mA (phone chargers usually supply 1000mA). The RAVpower device has a...

By the way...here's my solution to the other charger issue (plugging in at home). It's a 5-port USB host that has a short cord to plug in (no brick to get in the way at the outlet) and takes 5 standard USB cords for your devices...the kind that come with your device, although more are available cheaply. The five outputs include 2 2100mA for iPad, 2 1000mA for most phones, and 1 1300mA for Samsung. All can be used for any device up to the designated output (that is, you can plug your phone...

PowerStick only charges from a USB port. The PowerStick has a capacity of 750mAh Perfect ! That is all that I need for my modest travel needs - just a little juice for a camera or my old flip (!) phone, if needed during a day of sightseeing. The PowerStick is only about the size of a pen, takes no thought to use and does not involve batteries. My kind of tool. Travelers who carry a lot more toys have greater needs than little me.

Well, I understand the urge for simplicity and not getting tied down...but both the PowerStick and the RAVPower ar e batteries. The RAVPower isn't big; about the size of a cellphone. But it costs 30% less, and will actually put a full charge on a phone, which the other won't. In fact, it will put a full charge on about 6 phones.

Ran across this device for charging smartphones http://www.jackeryusa.com/

On our recent trip to Sicily, our GPS took us down a farm road that dead-ended, except for a rugged dirt tract that was unsafe to drive in a car (doable in a 4 wheel drive vehicle). The GPS instructed me to continue down the dirt track, but as a human being I declined the machine's advice. Good thing I did, because as we looped back we could see that even the dirt track dead-ended in a mile or so. Somehow we made it to our next destination, although it's easy and expected to get lost a...

There's a new GPS app asking for attention. Scout, from skobbler, a subsidiary of map supplier Telenav, is free like Google, and offers offline functions like the dedicated GPS boxes.    The free version provides online use and offline use...

A fleet of Google's mapping cars...now Apple is doing the same                 Photo: westbayhomes.org   Apple, whose 2012 Maps application got no love as a replacement for Google Maps on Apple devices, is...

Imagine sitting in your armchair with a virtual-reality helmet and a remote control and "visiting" the streets of your favorite city, an art gallery, the Grand Canyon, or...?   There have long been travel documentaries and the like for armchair...

PICKING THE RIGHT TECH FOR YOUR NEEDS   This is part 1 of a 4-part report on communication for travelers.   Years ago, traveling meant being out of touch with home, and struggling with unfamiliar pay phones for local calls for...

A recent news post on Travelgumbo mentioned Flight Map , an Android app that can give you a live flight map display on your phone, even in "airplane mode," with the cellular radio features turned off. It works by combining known information on...

Sometimes a GPS can take you to just where you would have wanted to go if you had known it was waiting there for you...

A dog-sled team had to be sent out to rescue two tourists in Norway's Arctic north after their GPS sent them down the shortest line between two points.   The only problem is that the shortest route between Garga and Masi has been closed since the...

Getting ready for a road trip still calls for packing and getting in the car, but when it comes to maps and routes and where to stop and where to stay…well, there’s an app for that. Quite a few, in fact.

In the US, I use the Scout GPS app. They seem to listen to feedback and have made several improvements in their updates of the app. Overseas I use Google Maps, but will try others

UPDATE: There's an important update to Google's navigation and maps: it's now possible to download the Google Maps for most areas and then use them for turn-by-turn navigation while off-line. Considering that there are still areas where cell service is weak and that many people don't have generous data allowances when abroad, this can be a BIG advantage. Available now for Android users, and soon for iPhone.

Beautiful!

As a younger man this sort of thing might have been something I'd do. But now I'm happy to watch others have fun -- and it really does look like fun! Thanks for sharing these beautiful images, Marilyn!

Since July, the software for Garmin's popular GPS devices has tried to direct a bonanza of tourist traffic to Preitenegg, Austria, seen above. Perhaps you've never heard of Preitenegg? No surprise: It has fewer than 1000 residents.

Don't always believe it when your GPS doesn't make sense...or even sometimes when it does.  HERE is the story of an American couple who followed their GPS on a route for Tenby Island, off the coast of Wales and actually not reachable except by boat.

Five blind or partially blind hikers, with the help of an innovative GPS-enabled smartphone app, completed a 6-day, 80 kilometre hike in the Vosges mountain range last week—unaccompanied by sighted guides.