Road test: Google public transit maps on the iPhone

by Grant Martin on

The most recent firmware upgrade to the iPhone brought significant improvement to the mapping functionality, specifically with the addition of Street View and Public Transportation overlays. You’ve probably already seen Street View while browsing through neighborhoods on your local Google Maps computer. Basically it shows you what any (urban) storefront looks like from the street and is a good cross reference for when you’re walking around on foot.

What about the Public Transportation tool? To find out, I decided to give the service a try while visiting San Francisco last weekend. Follow along for a quick road test.

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Google maps with the 3G iPhone in and of itself is an excellent tool if you’re on foot in any urban environment. Need to find out where you are? Turn on the GPS, find out what corners you’re on and figure out what direction you’re going in. Type in your target address, place a pin and walk towards the pin.
If you wanted to take public transportation? Before, you had to navigate to the local public transportation website (ie, open up a Safari window and visit mbta.info) browse around, find a schedule and download it. It’s possible, but cumbersome, and you have to find a quiet corner to mess with your phone where nobody will disturb you.

With Google’s new functionality, however, schedules and fares are integrated into the map. So when you select the “Public Transportation” option from the top of the map menu, it uses your location, finds a bus/subway/train stop near you, gives you directions to the stop then gives you the departure time, schedule and fares.

Let this soak in for a second. It tells you exactly where you are, where you need to be, how to get there on public transportation, how much it will cost and when you’ll arrive. That is nothing short of amazing.

In San Francisco last weekend, I found myself in Alamo Square a few minutes before I needed to meet a colleague. Punching in “3292 22nd St” into Google Maps, I pressed the Public Transportation button and received the following:

“Departs a 1/18/09 10:21 AM, Arrives at 1/18/09, 10:46 AM — $1.50”
“Walk to Fillmore St & Hayes St”

And so the journey began. Seven minutes later I was on the 22 heading south on Fillmore, and before I knew it I was standing at Boogaloos, right on time.

Now, mind you that this is in the most technologically advanced city in the country on a clear, traffic free day. The Public Transportation option doesn’t work in all cities (cough, New York) and under all conditions. But if San Francisco is the marker by which the travel world will soon change, then a revolution is soon at hand.

Product review – Kensington Auxiliary dock for iPod Nano

by Scott Carmichael on

In this brief product review I’m going to introduce one of the newest products in the Kensington 2009 lineup.

The Kensington Auxiliary dock for the iPod Nano is a portable iPod dock designed to plug directly into the AUX jack found on many car stereos.

The device comes with 4 different iPod Nano inserts, and fits every model from the first Nano to the current 4th generation.

The dock itself is as simple as can be – the dock plugs into the headphone jack on your iPod, and the folding audio jack on the back of the dock plugs into your stereo.

I’ll pretend I know what you are thinking, and yes; a regular stereo cable will do the exact same thing, but the auxiliary dock does it so much nicer.

It also brings your iPod up by your stereo, and allows you to change tracks or pause the music without having to reach for your player. Of course, it also prevents the iPod from sliding around in the center console or passenger seat of your rental car.
When you are not using it, you simply unplug the device from your car stereo, and fold the connector inside the dock. It’s a simple yet efficient and well designed little product.

There is of course one drawback to the unit – your iPod does not charge when it is plugged into the dock, nor do you have access to a charger port, but with iPod battery life at an all time high, that may not be a huge problem.

The Kensington Auxiliary dock for the iPod Nano will be available from Kensington.com and other Kensington retailers soon, and retails for $24.95.

I have included some other images of the product in the gallery below.

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Product review – Lenovo Ideapad S10

by Scott Carmichael on

In this product review, I’m going to give you a (long overdue) review of the Lenovo Ideapad S10. The S10 was featured as one of the top 25 travel technology product of 2008 here on Gadling.

2008 was without a doubt the year of the netbook. These smaller computers have completely overtaken most computer sales charts, and have been the best selling style computer on Amazon.com for almost 7 months.

In a previous article, I’ve described what a netbook is, and how it can help you on the road, so check out that article if the term “netbook” is foreign to you.

I’ve picked the Lenovo S10 out of all the other netbooks on the market because of a couple of features that help it stand out in the busy crowd. So, why the Lenovo S10? Design may be a very personal thing, but I personally find it to be one of the best looking machines in the market.

Every part of the machine has been extremely well designed, and it’s quite simply great to look at. From the nice speaker grill on the front to the well positioned ports and buttons, it is obvious that Lenovo took their experience in making other notebooks, and put that into designing the S10. For those not up to date on the computer market, Lenovo purchased the IBM desktop/notebook division in 2005, so they have a very rich heritage.
Specifications

Inside the Ideapad S10 is an Intel Atom CPU running at 1.6GHz, the version on review here also features 1GB of memory, a 160GB hard drive, a webcam, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth and Windows XP. The various available versions of the Ideapad S10 offer different amounts of memory and hard drive space. The machine is available in black, white, pink, blue and red.

Features

On the outside of the Ideapad S10 is of course where you’ll find the various ports. The S10 offers you 2 USB ports, an Ethernet (network) connector, audio in/out, a 4-in-1 memory card slot and an Expresscard/34 expansion slot.

That last feature is unique to most machines in this class. Expresscard slots allow you to add a large variety of expansion cards to the device, from memory card readers to 3G broadband access cards. Business users will most certainly appreciate the availability of this slot if they travel with a suitable 3G card. One minor beef I have with the Expresscard slot is that cards do not fully slide into it, this means you will always have to remove the card when you stow your machine to prevent damage.

On the inside of the machine, you’ll find a well designed keyboard, a fairly large trackpad and dedicated buttons for power and wireless control.

Keyboards have always been a very strong part of most Lenovo machines, and this one does not disappoint. The buttons are of course smaller than your home PC, but they are all very well positioned, and I rarely found myself reaching for the wrong button.

The trackpad has a slightly rough texture, making it much easier to navigate precisely, the 2 buttons for the trackpad are below the pad itself, much easier than on some other machines (like the Acer Aspire One).

Display and performance

The 10.2″ display has a 1024×600 resolution and is powered by an Intel 945G video chip. Of course, if none of this means anything to you, don’t worry. What it means in real life is that the screen has a decent resolution, without getting too small (or too big). Web pages fit the screen just fine, and the video performance is perfectly sufficient for most on-the-road entertainment purposes. Of course, with no internal DVD player, you’ll have to resort to video files to get your movie fix.

The screen is nice and bright, and even during some direct sunlight on a recent flight, I was able to read it. It also works from a fairly wide angle, so if you plan to get some private work done in public, you’ll need to consider getting a privacy screen.

Application performance is equally impressive, at least if you limit yourself to the kind of applications you’d use on the road. Web browsing, email, music and video all work just fine, but don’t expect to pull it out of your bag to play the latest and greatest 3D shooting game.

Travel with the Lenovo Ideapad S10 is quite comfortable – the machine is light, powerful enough for most tasks and with its built in webcam you can use chat applications like Skype or AIM.

It’s small size makes it perfect for using in-flight, and you won’t run the risk of snapping it in half when your fellow passenger decides to recline his or her seat in front of you.

Other machines often include a (very) basic case, but you’ll have to find one of those yourself for the S10. I recommend the Solo Netbook Messenger pictured here on the right.

Power and battery life

Power for the S10 comes from a 3 cell Lithium-Ion battery pack, which brings me to the only real complaint I have about the machine – battery life is pretty limited. In its defense, no other 3 cell powered netbook is any better.

With the 3 cell battery I was able to squeeze about 2 hours and 32 minutes out of the machine, before it shut down. If you need more than this, you’ll have to find a power source or outfit the machine with a $129 6 cell battery pack. The biggest drawback of the 6-cell pack is that it sticks out the back of the machine, adding quite a bit of bulk. The 6-cell pack doubles battery life to a respectable 5 hours.

Final thoughts

All in all, a very impressive machine, and of all the netbook machines I’ve tested in this price range, it is the most well equipped. Battery life is always going to be an issue on 3-cell computers, but there are options out there to increase it.

The Lenovo Ideapad S10 is priced between $349 and $409 depending on the version and color you select. This puts it well in line with most other netbook brands, despite offering some features not found in the competition.

To me, the price and Lenovo quality make it the best pick. The machine comes in a fairly basic package – you get the netbook, battery, AC charger and a manual/CD kit.

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Product review – Garmin Oregon 400t rugged handheld GPS

by Scott Carmichael on

Welcome to my product review of the Garmin Oregon 400t navigation unit. If you are reading this article expecting to learn all about the latest and greatest car GPS unit, I’m going to disappoint you.

The Oregon 400t is a handheld GPS receiver with a very strong focus on outdoor activities. For starters, the unit is waterproof, and comes in a very sleek and sturdy enclosure.

The unit has just one button – power. The rest of the controls are operated using its color touch screen display. Operating that display is a breeze, and each feature can be accessed by pressing a large icon – making it easy to use even when you are wearing gloves. Moving from screen to screen on the device is done by “swiping” your finger to the next set of options, much like on the Apple iPhone. The screen is anti-glare, and can easily be read in direct sunlight though you may need to adjust the backlight settings to get make it more readable.
Inside the Oregon 400t is much more than just a GPS receiver – it also contains an electronic compass and a barometric altimeter.

When you first go out to use the device, you select a profile – each profile sets the device up for the specific activity you have planned for the day. The 5 different activities are recreational, geocaching, automotive, marine and fitness.

The feature is pretty smart – when you select “geocaching”, the geocaching menu option appears on the main menu page, and “automotive” moves the “route planned” and trip computer to the first screen. Another smart feature is that the background image of the device changes, depending on which profile is selected.

The Oregon 400t comes complete with a 3D topographic map of the U.S. (or Europe on the EU version). The map detail includes things like parks, forests, points of interest and trails, making it perfect for active use. Thanks to the built in MicroSD card slot, you can add additional maps to the unit. Additional maps are available for other countries, as well as regular Garmin City Navigator navigation maps for turn by turn directions. In addition to these regular maps, the Oregon 400t can also be expanded with specialty maps, like the Garmin Lakemaster and Bluechart marine map products.

Maps on the device can be viewed in 2D or 3D, and update very fast, even when you are using it on a plane. To start navigating, you can have the device direct you towards recent locations, waypoints, tracks, points of interest, tides and geographic points. You’ll notice that it can’t direct you towards an address – the topographic maps don’t include that data.

Now, on to the unit itself; on the rear of the device is a locking clip for keeping the rear battery cover on place, behind the cover are the 2 AA batteries, and behind the batteries is the MicroSD card slot. The rear cover also has 2 grooves for attaching accessories. Included with the unit is a carabiner clip, and Garmin will also gladly sell you a car mount, belt clip, marine mount or bike mount.

On the bottom of the device is the interface port, which uses a generic MiniUSB connector. This allows you to connect the Oregon to your computer, a MiniUSB cable is included.

The list of features on the Oregon 400t is impressive. You’ll find everything from wireless exchange of data with other Oregon units, to Wherigo location based adventures.

What impressed me most on the Oregon 400t is its well designed interface. Everything is where it should be, and most screens can be customized to your liking. The unit also features several handy additional applications like a calculator, calendar, alarm clock and even an image viewer.

These three screen captures show some of the screens you’ll find on the unit. The left map is a 3D elevation map showing a plotted course (in this case, a 757 heading towards O’Hare airport). The middle image shows a 2D map and the right image is of the trip computer, showing just a couple of the variables the device can display. You’ll notice that we were traveling at 631 mph and were descending.

GPS reception on the Oregon 400t is absolutely fantastic. The unit grabs hold of the weakest GPS signal and has no problems getting a “fix” even indoors or inside a plane (which is a heck of a lot more fun than watching the Airshow).

All in all, the Oregon 400t is the best outdoor GPS unit I have ever tested. There is no denying that the $599 price tag will scare you a bit, but if you spend a good portion of your time outdoors, then this is one investment you may want to consider.

The unit can be expanded with a great variety of mounting options, as well as a Garmin heart rate monitor and bike cadence sensor. Several vendors have decent deals on the unit, including Amazon.com, who sell it for $509.

The Oregon line of GPS receivers comes in several different flavors, the 400t comes preloaded with US topographic maps, the 400c comes with the Garmin Bluechart maps and the 400i comes with a US Inland Lakes map. 2 slightly cheaper models come with Garmin base maps.

I’ve added a gallery with some more images of the product.

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What the digital TV switchover means for people on the road

by Scott Carmichael on

By now, most of you have probably seen the commercials warning about the upcoming digital TV switchover planned to take place on February 17th 2009.

Of course, I’m not going to waste your time explaining how to get ready for the transition at home, but I do want to take a minute to help those of you who depend on TV when they are on the road.

There are a couple of scenarios where travelers carry a gadget capable of receiving TV on the road, one involves those little 2″ LCD TV’s, the other is PC hardware for receiving and watching TV on your portable computer.
If you have been a happy user of a portable LCD TV, then the bad news is that you are pretty much out of options. All of these units are analogue only, which means no digital reception. So far, nobody has come forward with a digital unit, though that might change when companies announce their 2009 lineup at the CES in Vegas this week.

If you absolutely must get your TV fix, then you could consider this 7″ Haier unit ($129) or this $150 7″ Axion LCD TV.

Of course, neither unit is as portable as what you are probably used to, but both feature an integrated digital (ATSC) tuner. Portable TV’s in this price range usually come with a small digital/HDTV antenna, but depending on your location, you may not be able to pick up the signal, not to mention you’ll look like an idiot trying to position the antenna in the airport departure lounge.

For users of a computer based TV receiver things can be a little trickier.

Sites like Amazon are still selling PC TV tuners that are not compatible with the upcoming digital transition, so when you shop for a tuner, you’ll need to keep an eye open for units that won’t become close to useless after February 17th.

The magic words you are looking for are “ATSC”, “Digital TV” or “Digital Terrestrial”. More advanced tuners may even include support for “QAM”, which is the digital system used by cable companies.

Some PC TV receivers can be upgraded with digital support, while others simply lack the hardware to receive the broadcasts. If in doubt, check the support site of the device manufacturer.

There are of course alternatives to receiving TV over the air with a tuner. My personal favorite is the Slingbox, which lets you “stream” the signal from your home TV signal over the Internet to your laptop, desktop or mobile phone.

Alternatively, some mobile phone operators offer their own “mobile TV” service, usually starting at $10/month. Both options require a connection to the Internet, and can be fairly data intensive.