GPS Devices

From time immemorial people have created ways to help them navigate. During the Age of Discovery portolan charts -- a precursor to modern day maps -- were developed based on accounts of medieval Europeans who sailed the Mediterrean and Black Sea coast. In contemporary times, with the advent of GPS, people are still trying to explore their environment; with varying degrees of success.

Many of our clients rent cars but they should take heed that putting blind trust in their vehicles could lead to trouble.

In a recent NYTimes article, a writer describes a scene that happens all over the world: a person blindly following the commands of a GPS device drives up the wrong end of a highway off-ramp. People tend to forget a simple premise: technology is not infallible. Having said that, there are few inventions in the history of transportation that have revolutionized the way people navigate more than portable GPS devices.

GPS or the Global Positioning System (GPS) is the name of a global navigation satellite system that is maintained by the United States government. It is available freely by anyone with a GPS receiver and provides reliable location and time in all weather anywhere on Earth. It was established in 1973 and was created by the American Department of Defense (DOD).

The importance of having a GPS can be summed up with a simple statistic: 18% of American roads change yearly. Places change. Luckily, all GPS navigators on the market today include pre-loaded maps and provide spoken directions and automatic rerouting if you miss a turn.

The five biggest GPS brands are Garmin, Magellan, Mio, Nextar and TomTom.

Garmin

Garmin is the biggest selling brand, with more than 50 percent of the market.
http://www.garmin.com/garmin/cms/site/us

Mio

Mio was founded in 2002 and its corporate headquarters are located in Taipei, Taiwan.
http://www.mio.com/

Nextar

http://www.nextar.com/frontend/prodcat.asp?co=10000384
^^ The link above shows 5 of their GPS products ^^

Magellan

Magellan lays claim to developing the first commercially available handheld GPS receiver, the NAV 1000, introduced in 1989.
http://www.magellangps.com/

TomTom

TomTom was founded by Harold Goddijn, Peter-Frans Pauwels and Pieter Geelen in 1991.
Market leader in Portable Navigation Devices (PNDs)
http://www.tomtom.com/howdoesitwork/category.php?ID=6&Language=1
They have a wide range of products including:

• Bike navigation
• Car navigation
• Built-in car navigation
• Mobile navigation

Other options

Another popular option to finding your way around is using a free online web mapping service like MapQuest. MapQuest is an American map publisher owned by AOL and

http://www.mapquest.com/

iPhone Travel Applications

There are few inventions that rival the iPhone when it comes to revolutionizing the way people organize their lives. Ever since its June 29, 2007 launch date, the iPhone has changed the way people view their phones and for this it was named the "Invention of the Year" by Time magazine.

What we are most interested in are its practical applications: the ability to amplify productivity and increase accessibility to knowledge. And so in today's blog entry we will be going over iPhone travel applications.

To begin, the App Store (where you buy iPhone applications) is relatively new: it first opened July 10, 2008.

The number of available applications on the App Store has grown almost exponentially since its launch. In July of 2008 there were 500 available applications, by September-3000, and by December -10,000. By March 2009 there were 25,000 applications and by June it doubled again to 50,000 applications. Today, a little less than two years since the App Store was launched, over 185,000 applications are available to be downloaded.

185,000 applications: That's a lot. For our clients who have an iPhone, or plan on buying one in the future, we have taken the liberty of doing a bit of screening and have filtered it down to a more manageable size.

The old adage, “You get what you pay for”, doesn't apply to the App Store. All of the apps we have shown are free. The App Store organizes its applications by categories and the sub category we will be looking at today is Travel.

The link below directs you to the home page for Travel Apps.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/apps-for-everything/traveling.html

Hotel Booker
By: cityscouter.com
Cost: Free
Category:Travel

With the cityscouter.com Hotel Booker app you can find and book over 200,000 hotels worldwide. Our app takes offers from some of the biggest hotel providers on the internet including booking.com, Priceline and HRS and displays the best price so you never pay more than you have to while having the widest selection of hotels available.

Urbanspoon
By: Urbanspoon
Cost: Free
Category: Travel

Can't decide where to eat? Urbanspoon can help. Shake your iPhone and the Urbanspoon slot machine will pick a good restaurant for you to try. Keep shaking until you find a restaurant you're happy with.
+ Uses GPS to find a restaurant near you
+ Filter by neighborhood, cuisine, or price
+ Search and browse local restaurants
+ See a list of all nearby eateries
+ Compare restaurant picks with your friends
+ Ratings and reviews from newspapers, bloggers and fellow eaters
Available in most North American cities as well as London, Sydney and Melbourne.

TripCase
By: Sabre Inc.
Cost: Free
Category: Travel

Named the “Best Travel App” by Business week
Flight updates and trip specific messages include flight departure and arrival status, security wait times, baggage claim location, gate changes and co-share information. Get convenient push messages when your flight information changes. Our valuable tools are accessible with one click and include complete itinerary at a glance, and a list of alternate flights (great for when your meeting ends early). Our TripLog allows you to share your trip fun including photos, posts and replies with friends, family and colleagues. Decide and control sharing your trip details in a few easy steps.

Cheap Gas!
By: David J. Henson
Cost: Free
Category: Travel

Features
+Price Timestamps
+ All Grade Prices Displayed
+Sort by Distance or by Price
+Locate stations by device location (default) or by postal code (in Settings)
+Interactively search by Postal Code
+Distance to station displayed
+Ability to refresh stations without restart
+Ability to update grade pricing through GasBuddy.com.

Free Wi-Fi Finder
By: JiWire Inc.
Cost: Free
Category: Travel

JiWire's Global FREE Wi-Fi app uses your iPhone's GPS and network triangulation capabilities to locate free Wi-Fi Internet access. Features:Over 10,000 locations worldwide- "Near me" search based on your current location- Search specific geographic regions- Filter by location type (Cafe, Library, etc..)- Phone numbers and address info- Bookmark your favorite locations

KAYAK Flights
By: kayak.com
Cost: Free
Category: Travel

KAYAK Flights has a succinct description for its app:
KAYAK Flights brings the fast flight search functionality of the KAYAK web site to an app specifically made for iPad.Experience the best flight search in the world, right in your hands.

SitOrSquat: Bathroom Finder
By: Densebrain
Cost: Free
Category: Travel

Quickly find a nearby restroom...and a whole lot more.

Features: * View nearby restrooms on a map or in a list sorted by distance.* See which are open NOW.* Read reviews, rating, and pictures of the toilets before you go!* Learn about additional features: which have changing tables, which are handicap accessibility, which have condom or tampon vending machines. SitOrSquat is the world's first wiki for recording and accessing bathroom information globally. We currently have 65,097 toilets worldwide and we need your help in growing that.

Trapster
By: Trapster.com
Cost: Free
Category: Navigation

Trapster is a free app that alerts you as you approach speed traps, red light and speed cameras, police check points, and other wallet hazards.

Over 5.5 MILLION USERS world wide and submit the location of traps in your area.* Cnet #1 automotive iPhone app* WIRED Magazine #1 of apps that make the most of location*

Travel Survival Kit

" Better safe than sorry."

~Rory O'More

There are many things to consider when traveling: who to bring along; what to wear; when to go; and, most importantly, how to pack. In today's blog entry we will be discussing how to assemble a travel survival kit to prepare for any and all possible contingencies that can occur while traveling.

It's a fact of life: things don't always go as planned. Travel plans get altered and often occur when we least expect them.

While most business travelers are a technologically savvy bunch, it is still beneficial to have low-tech options at your disposal. A classic brown briefcase, for example, can complement and carry a bunch of items; such as maps.

^^ A sturdy briefcase is an essential element ^^

If you have access to a computer, you have access to maps. One great product -- Google Earth -- offers maps and satellite images for complex or pinpointed regional searches.

Airports

In light of increased security measures, old survival staples -- bottled water, food, etc. -- are no longer allowed aboard the aircraft. Therefore, prior planning is crucial to ensure you are properly hydrated and fed.

Once your basic physiologically needs are met, you should make sure you update your communication channels to ensure access to information from the outside world. One way to accomplish this goal is to be plugged into a social media outlet -- facebook, twitter, blogs, etc. -- so your loved ones are updated on your plans.

If you are stranded at an airport with nothing to do you may as well make the best of the situation. Take the time and sign up for a frequent flyer program with a major airline.

http://www.aa.com/AAdvantage/aadvantageHomeAccess.do?anchorLocation=DirectURL&title=aadvantage

The next link is a list of hotels near major airports. If you click on a city -- Washington DC has DCA, IAD and BWI -- an array of hotel listings pop up.

http://www.airporthotelguide.com/

Need a Rental Car

If you are stranded at an alien airport and need access to an automobile, the following links may be advantagous:

Hertz Rent-a-Car

http://www.hertz.com/rentacar/reservation/gaq/index.jsp?bsc=t&targetPage=reservationOnHomepage.jsp

Budget Car Rental

http://www.budget.com/budgetWeb/home/home.ex

Enterprise

http://www.enterprise.com/car_rental/home.do

These three companies --Hertz Rent-a-Car, Budget Car Rental, and Enterprise -- are some of the largest rental car agencies in the country.

Reservations

Expedia is an Internet-based travel reservation website. The neat thing about this website is that it allows you to obtain vacation packages -- flight + hotel + car -- all in one location.

http://www.expedia.com/

Orbitz, a similar site, is designed in the same way.

http://www.orbitz.com/

FareCompare allows you to "Find Cheap Flights Fast"

http://www.farecompare.com/

Remember, taking a few extra precautions does not make you paranoid, it only proves that you do a bit of premeditated planning.

A Google Earth photo showing our corporate location at 4915 St. Elmo Ave. Stop by for a visit!

Maps -- both low-tech and high-tech -- can help you find your way.

For the entertainment of our frequent airlines fliers, a trailer of "Up in the Air" is below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7k6FwXJhNk