Find undiscovered America using your GPS

by Scott Carmichael on

By now, I’m guessing every single one of you has access to a GPS unit. Some may even own two of them. In the past decade, automotive and portable GPS units have dropped from about $800, to well under $100. Some even appear for under $50 every now and then. With prices that low, you really can’t afford to not own one.

Most of you probably use the device for the occasional journey in an area you are not used to, others use it for fun, and plot their daily commute on it. In this article, I’ll describe how you can use that GPS device, and turn it into a fantastic way to discover parts of the country you’d never know about without the use of a guidebook.
Every GPS unit comes with a “points of interest database” – this database contains things like banks, gas stations and restaurants. The categories on your device are usually fairly limited, but one advantage of most modern GPS devices is the ability to add your own custom POI files.

The process of adding custom points of interest is actually quite simple, and the majority of these files can be downloaded for free.

Adding a custom “POI file” starts with finding a source of good quality files. My personal favorite is poi-factory.com.

This site has 1000’s of community built POI files, with content varying from Waffle House locations, to a database containing over 2800 offbeat tourist attractions.

Before you can download a file from this site, you’ll need to register for a (free) account. Once registered, simply download the file to your computer and take note of where you saved it.

The next step involves loading the POI database onto your GPS device. Users of Garmin GPS units are in luck, because Garmin developed a free Point of interest database loader called “POI Loader“.

With POI Loader, you simply connect your GPS unit to your PC or Mac, start the program and tell it where you saved the file. Ten seconds later, the new custom POI file is on your device.

If you have a TomTom unit, you’ll need to go through a couple of extra steps, but the general process is about the same. Poi-factory has a great guide on their site for TomTom GPS owners, as well as Magellan owners.

Once loaded on your device, you can browse the database, but the real fun begins when you are on the road, and want to find something of interest around you. Simply browse to the list of locations, and let your GPS unit lead you to the weirdest and wackiest tourist attractions the nation has to offer.

Make hotel reservations on your iPhone with HotelPal

by Scott Carmichael on

The Gadling hotel month may be slowly coming to an end, but we are always on the lookout for new and interesting applications to help make traveling a little easier. HotelPal is such an application.

Imagine pulling up your current GPS location on your iPhone, and getting a list of all hotels in your area. The application can list the distance to you, current rates, photos and even availability.

Once you find a good looking hotel, you can go ahead and make a reservation, all from the comfort of your device.

You’ll be able to download HotelPal in the App store later this week. Best of all, the app will be free of charge! If you leave your email address on their site, they’ll drop you a note when the application is ready to download.

The developers behind HotelPal have made quite a name for themselves with their other applications – FlightTrack and FlightTrack Pro. FlightTrack is currently the number one travel application in the App store, so HotelPal has quite a reputation to live up to.

Aircell adds two new pricing plans to the Gogo Inflight Internet service

by Scott Carmichael on

Our favorite inflight WiFi provider just made life a little cheaper (and easier) for travelers lucky enough to be flying a Gogo Inflight enabled plane.

Flights shorter than an hour and a half now let you get your online fix for just $5.95, and passengers who are making multiple trips in a 24 hour period can pay a single $12.95 fee for a full day of access.

These new options come in addition to the existing $9.95 (up to 3 hours) and $12.95 (3 hours or more) plans. Gogo Inflight also offers an all you can eat 30 day option for $49.95.

Some minor fine print is involved with the plans – the 24 hour access plan is only valid on AirTran and Delta flights. The 30 day plan will work on AirTran, Delta and Virgin America.

A full overview of the pricing options can be found here.

With 420 planes now in service using the Gogo Inflight service, Aircell is now the undisputed world leader in inflight Internet access. What started with just a handful of planes on a couple of routes, has now evolved into multiple airlines with fleet wide Internet access – all in under 12 months time, an amazing accomplishment. To see which airlines participate, check out this handy overview on the Gogo site.

KeyToss updates their offering with mobile hotel searches

by Scott Carmichael on

Late last year, we took a look at mobile information portal KeyToss. Back then, they were offering everything from flight status updates to the latest news through an easy to use mobile site.

Last month, KeyToss added hotel searches and reservations to their lineup, and after playing around with it for a bit, I’ve got to say that I am very impressed. The portal is extremely easy to use, and is filled with small touches that make it a breeze to find a hotel.

Things like being able to enter a check-in date or “days from today” mean you won’t be messing around on your phone to find what you need.

The site pulls information from Hotels.com which means you get access to their extensive database of hotel information, including photos, reviews, maps and of course any available discount rates.

You can make a reservation on your phone using a 2 step form, or if you plan to make multiple reservations you can add all your information to your KeyToss secure wallet and breeze through the booking process without having to dig up your credit card for each booking.

When you find a hotel deal, you are presented with all the fees and fine print involved with the price. All in all a fantastic update to an already impressive site. If you are regularly on the road, I highly recommend adding m.keytoss.com to your mobile bookmarks.

Gadling gear review – Olympus E-P1 – the second week

by Scott Carmichael on

It has been two weeks since I first got my hands on the gorgeous Olympus E-P1, and I think the time has come to give my honest opinion of how this retro Micro Four Thirds camera performs in some day to day photo work.

As I mentioned in the previous reviews (Introduction and “the basics“), the E-P1 shoots in 12.3MP and the version I have comes with the M.Zukio Digital 14-42mm lens. I also have the matching retro flash.

Lets go over the good and the bad with the Olympus E-P1.

We’ll start with the good:

Quick startup time and fast power-on till first photo. Sure, this won’t be as quick as some P&S cameras, but it is still snappy enough to reach for the camera and take a photo before the opportunity is gone.

Fantastic photo quality. Seriously, what good would a camera be if it couldn’t take awesome photos? The E-P1 does not disappoint, even though I am by no means a pro, I’ve made a whole bunch of photos that look better than anything I ever made in the past.

Settings, settings, settings… This is almost my favorite part of the camera. This thing is filled with so many cool features, that I’m still finding fun things to do with it, even after 2 weeks. The basics are easy to find (like the awesome art shot modes), some others are hidden away in the menu structure (like a fun multiple exposure mode).

The looks. I’ve read quite a few reviews of the E-P1, and not a single person has anything bad to say about its looks. Every part of the E-P1 oozes good looks. Olympus really did find a perfect balance between retro and modern. Without a doubt, this is the best looking camera I have ever had the pleasure of using.

Video quality. Video quality on the E-P1 is surprisingly good, and makes all those cheap handheld flash HD cameras look like toys. When you hook the E-P1 up to your HD TV using a (optional) Mini HDMI cable, you really see how well it captures video. Not only that, but since it records stereo audio, things don’t sound too bad either.

The bad:

No optical viewfinder. In order to make a camera this small, and still manage to fit the large sensor in its body, it is obvious that some concessions were made. But understanding that does not make it less annoying that there is no optical viewfinder in the camera. It is just something you need to learn to live with.

No built in flash. This one is not as annoying as the previous one, but it still means I need to carry the flash around with me wherever I take the camera. Also, the flash is an optional extra, so once you buy the camera, you’ll need to spend another $100 for it.

That’s it – only 2 things really annoy me about the camera, but both issues are so minor that they have not really made the experience with the camera negative in any way. In fact, for the first time in my life, I’m beginning to get more and more interested in photography, and will probably be spending some time taking classes on how to take better photos. I already started getting tips when I was in New York, as I was surrounded by professionals who looked at me like a real “work in progress”.

The only remaining thing that will obviously be of concern to some is the price. There is no denying that $799 for the body and the 14-42mm lens is steep. Once you add a second lens, a flash, some memory and a spare battery, you are already creeping towards $1250. That is a lot of money, and obviously puts the camera in the price range where it won’t be an impulse purchase.

That said; I’m of the opinion that anyone in the market for a new camera should look at the E-P1. If I were to make the choice between a mid-range DSLR or the E-P1, I’d pick the E-P1. Having the features and quality of a large camera in a package this compact (and pretty) really is a treat.

I’ll close with a video demonstration and a selection of photos I made using the E-P1 – when you look at them, remember that I have been a P&S photographer all my life, so I’m naturally quite proud of the results. The video was about the most challenging thing I could throw at the camera – on the wild “tilt-a-whirl” at Coney Island, and you’ll clearly see that even with that much action, it did a very decent job.

Olympus E-P1 video demo from Scott C on Vimeo.

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