LG GM730 out next month

Remember LG GM730 we talked about back in February?

Well it is set to be released next month – in July – starting in Asia, and then all over the world.

Here are some features of LG-GM730:

• navigation-based social networking service
• 5 megapixel camera
• MP3 player
• 3″ touchscreen
• 3G network support
• A-GPS
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• games
• 11.9mm thin
• colors: black, lime and pale pink

Also starting new in July will be the app store, conveniently starting up as soon as LG GM730 comes out.

Brought to you by your GPS navigation site geodetics.

GAO Report: The Long Form

A much longer version than previously reported by this website of the U.S. Government's General Accounting Office report on GPS health is available online. This 61-page PDF, compared to the 15-page digest that we have previously pointed to, contains the same conclusions and recommendations, stemming from the same analysis, but includes further key supporting figures and more extensive...

UN ICG Seeks Presenters for Fourth Meeting

Preparations are underway for the fourth meeting of the United Nations International Committee on GNSS in September, and the workshop is looking for contact with receiver manufacturers, software application companies, scientists, or educators that would be willing to make a presentation to the group.

Multiple Vehicle Cooperative Vision-Aided Navigation

The development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) began soon after the ?rst manned ?ight. The evolution of unmanned systems has lead to a shift from manned to unmanned Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance missions which has in-turn lead to an increase in the number of Unmanned Vehicles (UV) operating in a theater. The development of UV technologies has removed the pilot and crew from the vehicle to safe locations. As a result the scale of these vehicles may be reduced considerably, and this reduction in scale allows for increased operation of UVs in Global Positioning System (GPS) degraded environments. With the loss of GPS signal the vehicles are forced to rely on Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) which, when reduced to an appropriate size for these applications, are inherently inaccurate. (more…)

Trimble Introduces Tiny GPS Timing Receiver to Keep Systems in Sync

Trimble has introduced a new embedded GPS receiver for timing applications. The Trimble Resolution-SMT GPS receiver provides advancements in performance, ease of integration, and software flexibility, Trimble said. It enables system integrators to add precise GPS to provide location, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), and synchronization to many products or systems where cost or size...

U.S. Customs OKs 'Redesigned' GPS Chip Import

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has determined that GPS chips redesigned by SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc., of San Jose, California, fall outside an exclusion order issued by the U.S. International Trade Commission, reported the Reuters news service. Following the announcement, SiRF stock rose 14 percent.[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Bushnell Yardage Pro XGC

Bushnell has a new GPS range finder called Yardage Pro XGC. Amazonhas the device available for $350 - same as a few other online sellers - but no reviews yet.

One of the nice things about Bushnell Yardage Pro XGC is that it has a 2.2″ sunlight readable color screen and a battery that is supposed to last up to 16 hours. A few other features of this golf gps device includes:

• Download custom color course maps
• Distance to any point on the hole
• Stores up to 100 courses
• Scorekeeping & statistics capabilities
• Belt clip and storage pouch included
• Rechargeable Li-lon battery
• Rainproof

GPS L5 First Light

Great excitement surrounds the activation of a new transmitter from a satellite — an occasion dubbed first light. Research groups around the globe joined the GPS Wing in monitoring and analyzing the first L5 signals from space. We describe the equipment and procedures used to capture and analyze SVN49's signals and give an assessment of their characteristics.[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Thinkware iNAVI ES300

Thinkware iNAVI ES300 is the latest GPS navigation system from the company. Get this though; this beauty is considered low-end in South Korea! It has a big 7″ screen, supports split views to show you amazing realistic 3D intersection view, as well as vicinity map with 3D buildings.

Thinkware jumped on the green band wagon and included the ECO Drive function which is supposed to discourage you from driving like a maniac and get you the most efficient route to your destination. As far as hardware this “low-end” GPS navigation system features brushed aluminum looking keypads, comes with 2, 4, or 8GB of space, has a nice 900mAh battery, and the ability to read SD cards. It costs somewhere between $260 and $340 depending on the storage space… via

interstellar navigation

Let’s say you’re traveling at warp speeds and you need to avoid hitting any kind of mass along your path? How do you navigate and know where you are? Can you rely on our flimsy earth-made global positioning satellites that are in danger of failing within the next couple of years? Nope, you sure can’t.

Then what you’ll need is something similar. Instead of listening to signals from these satellites you look for pulsars that emit regular radio signals; just like our satellites.

That’s what Bertolomé Coll at the Observatoire de Paris in France found: Four pulsars within our galaxy (specifically: 0751+1807 (3.5ms), 2322+2057 (4.8ms), 0711-6830 (5.5ms) and 1518+0205B (7.9ms)) that form a tetrahedron around our solar system that can help us locate the position of any point down to a meter. You may call it an interstellar GPS system.

Why four pulsars? Coll points out that on these scales relativity has to be taken into account when processing the signals and to do this, the protocol has to specify a position in space-time, which requires four signals.

Coll then defines the origin for this system of co-ordinates as 00:00 on 1 January 2001 at the focal point of the Interplanetary Scintillation Array, the radio telescope near Cambridge in the UK that first observed pulsars.

via

Russia to Launch Two GLONASS Correction Relay Satellites

According to an Interfax news item, the Russians will launch two multipurpose relay satellites in 2010-2011, which will carry payloads for providing GLONASS correction data.[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

FCC to Reestablish Two Advisory Councils; Nominations Sought

The FCC has announced its intent to reestablish the Communications, Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council (CSRIC). The FCC states that "the purpose of the CSRIC is to provide recommendations to the FCC to ensure optimal security, reliability, and interoperability of communications systems, including public safety, telecommunications, and media communications."