Tag Archives: GPS

Wearable devices track people via wireless network

May 1, 2012   USAtoday.com

Several companies, including medical device manufacturer Boston Scientific, have struck deals with major wireless carriers to support a new generation of products that incorporate sensors, accelerometers, GPS and technologies that use cell towers to help triangulate positions and locate people.

ABI Research, a research firm, estimates the market for GPS personal tracking devices will grow 40% or more annually and exceed $1 billion by 2017.

Family members use them to track toddlers or parents with Alzheimer’s. And doctors and military medics have adopted the technology to remotely track the health conditions — EKG readings, body temperature, heart rate, and stress or dehydration levels — of recently released patients or soldiers on dangerous assignments.

Wireless carriers, looking for ways to make money beyond transmitting data along their networks for smartphones and tablets, are fueling the boom.

Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/3f64tDCSAEo/1

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Review: Baseball scores big with At Bat mobile app

April 21, 2012   USAtoday.com

For the past six years, I’ve satisfied my appetite with Major League Baseball‘s evolving offerings. What used to be a glitch-filled, clunky desktop-based system is now a robust experience that includes sleek, high-performing apps for iPhones, iPads, Android and other devices.

This year’s version of the software, MLB At Bat 2012, is the best yet. I’ve been using it on my iPhone throughout the budding baseball season, and I’ve found it to be smooth, easy to use and virtually indispensable when I’m on the go.

Although there are still a few kinks to work out, the league has a solid hit. This year’s version brings many behind-the-scenes software updates to enhance the experience.

Downloading the app on Apple’s iPhone or iPad won’t cost you anything, but be forewarned: The free version won’t get you very far. It doesn’t offer

Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/iAH6S9P8ZOo/1

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Designing With Audio: What Is Sound Good For?

April 18, 2012   SmashingMagazine.com

Designing With Audio: What Is Sound Good For?

Our world is getting louder. Consider all the beeps and bops from your smartphone that alert you that something is happening, and all the feedback from your appliances when your toast is ready or your oven is heated, and when Siri responds to a question you’ve posed.

Today our technology is expressing itself with sound, and, as interaction designers, we need to consider how to deliberately design with audio to create harmony rather than cacophony. The cacophony is beautifully captured in Chris Crutchfield’s video, in which he interprets the experience of receiving email, SMS texts, phone calls, Facebook messages and tweets all at the same time:

In this

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SmashingMagazine/~3/dJ07gG5hJ14/

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How to hail a taxi from your smartphone

April 18, 2012   USAtoday.com

Longtime readers might recall the start-up Uber we covered last year. It lets users book a Town car through a GPS-enabled app or by text message.

Now, the company has revealed it is launching a test program in Chicago to offer a similar service for taxi cabs.

Here’s how it works: the app on Android or iOS smartphones lets users input their location on a map. After a handful of texts alerting passengers of the car’s arrival, they hop in and head to their destination.

Once they drop off the passenger, drivers input the fare — gratuity and service fees included — and it’s automatically charged to the user’s credit card on file.

A select group of Uber users in Chicago will have the app enabled on their smartphones before it rolls out to more people in the coming weeks.

“We have been asking ourselves whether

Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/MAwEOvHlJFY/1

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Waterproof camera takes good pictures too

April 14, 2012   USAtoday.com

The Panasonic TS4 is a sturdy little compact camera with a 4.6x optical zoom, built-in GPS, altimeter, compass and barometer in addition to the ability to survive a short fall or a dunk in the pool.

When shooting with the hefty, rock-solid Panasonic TS4, it feels as though it would be equally capable as a blunt weapon as it is at capturing gorgeous shots in extreme environments. It’s a handy combination; you never know what you’ll encounter in the woods.

Sadly, we at DigitalCameraInfo.com don’t test cameras for their viability as weapons, but strong image quality and a slightly (very slightly) improved feature set over last year’s TS3 give us plenty of other topics to discuss.

Search as hard as you want for a better in-camera GPS than the TS4′s. You won’t find one. This, plus some improved manual control are the key improvements over 2011′s TS3. If you

Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/u8NVMsk6cK8/1

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