Google Navigation to shake up mobile GPS market.

Well that was fast. Just yesterday we were talking about the possibility of Google releasing their own map app. And wouldn’t you know it, those sly folks over in Google land did just that. Dubbed “Google Navigation”, the real reason you should care is that it has two very promising, prominent features. First of all, it’s Free. Second, it features turn-by-turn, spoken directions complete with up to date, live traffic info. Those aren’t the only notable features. Another nifty thing you can do with Google Navigation involves searching along your route. It’s really pretty self explanatory. You’re driving along and have a craving for Taco Bell so you fire up Google Navigation and select “search along route” and wallah, up pops the Taco Bell(s) along your preset path. Of course, coming from Google means the superb satellite imagery and highly useful Google Street View will be along for the ride.

Regardless of what TomTom and Navigon among others claim, they should be scared. And they are. Take for example the a blurb from PC Mag’s article on Google Navigation:

…maker Garmin had no comment. TomTom did not immediately respond to a request for comment, as did Magellan.

They didn’t respond because PR is working overtime on damage control. They’re trying to figure out a way to cleverly word how they’re going to continue ripping people off because their programs have “added value”. Now, I’ll give them some benefit that there will be some features in Google Navigation that aren’t as robust as those from other GPS app developers. Although, I see that gap and shortfall quickly closing. Google is offering a service that in many cases will match or exceed similar offerings from said companies with absolutely $0 cost to the end user. Who do you think the typical end user is going to go with? That’s right, the one that costs them the least.

I completely understand that gathering map info and developing a worthwhile mapping app costs money. But at anywhere from $10-$100 for the app alone plus another $5-$10/month for mobile subscription costs means something has got to give — and it isn’t the consumers that are going to budge. We want more affordable options. The prominent mobile GPS app developers can sit back and say Google Navigation is a bad idea and that their own bottom lines are perfectly fine. I highly disagree, especially if/when Google Navigation spreads to more devices. I guess we’re just going to have to keep a close eye on this one.

For now, only those lucky enough to have a new Moto Droid will be able to take advantage of Google Navigation. With as much potential and media attention this is and will garner, I can’t imaging it staying locked on Verizon or the Droid for too long. Look for other Android 2.0 devices to soon get the same functionality and watch a whole new battle on the mobile GPS front unfold.

PC Mag

Google Chrome OS (beta) now available! [Update: FAKE!]

**Update
Damn, seems like that was a short lived sucker punch, as a matter of fact, no such surprise existed. This isn’t an official release. John Gruber was able to look past the instant wave of geekery that claimed me as a victim and noticed a couple glaring issues with the most apparent being a bunch of installed software on an OS supposed to be based on the cloud. Some clever scammer is responsible for the link now appropriately struck through below which leads to the fake download page. Worth noting though that it is hosted on Google’s site. That surely won’t make them too happy…

Anyone else get too excited?

Talk about a sucker punch! With Chrome OS has been a might tight secret with only a few screenshots here and there to alert us that there even is such a thing is now an official *beta* release. I’m downloading it as we speak and will give some more impressions later tonight.

Download Google Chrome OS beta: Google

{Image Source}

Microsofot Store PC’s free from crapware.

Purchasing your computer at any retail location or online is hardly the same PC once you actually get a working model back to your house. When booting up your new PC for the first time, you go through normal set up with accounts and such. But one thing that has been a pain for years is the pile of crapware that comes pre-installed on your PC. Anything and everything you can think of has at some point taken the role of crapware. Such junk is called crapware because the only thing it excels at his slowing down your computer all around as well as adding a million extra steps in removing each piece of software.

Microsoft however has a rather nice surprise up their sleeve. All PC’s resold through through their Microsoft Stores will come void of any such junk. 99% honest to goodness, **clean PC’s. These new “Signature PC’s” as they’re labeled are a high point of Microsoft’s retail strategy as I would easily pass up on buying PC sold by any number retailers and save myself the time and headache and instead purchase a crapfree version directly from Microsoft.

**I’m going to have to backtrack just a bit. You see, they won’t be exactly 100% clean. But pretty darn close. Microsoft’s Signiture PC’s will in fact come with some form of pre-installed software. I know you’re thinking “Oh great, there goes that bit of happy info”. But wait! It isn’t what your’re thinking. Turn that frown upside down because Microsoft’s in-house software installs will be full featured software, meaning you can actually use the software on your computer further setting it apart from the trial versions from hell/crapware that plagues most PC’s for sale to date. Not to mention, Microsoft isn’t just going to slap any piece of crappily coded junk on their Signiture PC’s. In case you’re little noodle is interested, the list of Microsoft approved, pre-installed software includes (per Ars Technica):

Microsoft Security Essentials, Bing 3D Maps, Zune 4.0, Playready PC Runtime (for WMC), Adobe Flash Player for IE, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Windows Live Sync, and Windows Live Essentials (which includes Windows Live versions of Messenger, Mail, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Writer, Family Safety, Toolbar, as well as the Office Live Add-In and Silverlight).

See, it’s not so bad now is it? Anyone thinking that a trip to the Microsoft Stores is looking a fair bit better?

Ars Technica > Image Source}

About the “revolutionary” Storm 2…

I haven’t yet touched and felt the new Storm 2 for myself. But I can assure you I will be heading to the local Verizon store today to give it a try. Am I going to buy one? No! But after reading Zdnet’s review, my initial excitement at hardware based improvements on the latest iteration have effectively been squelched. I already knew that save for the re-worked touchscreen and some good ‘ol WiFI, everything else in the physical sense was more or less the same. But I still hoped that those subtle improvements would give me a more favorable opinion on the 2nd version which were vacant from the first. The lack of any real physical advancments coupled with the fact that the software, OS 5.0, while new, is in reality anything but, means I will yet again find myself dissatisfied with RIM’s touchscreen attempts.

As Highlighted in Zdnet’s review, OS 5.0 for BlackBerry is “nothing revolutionary and barely evolutionary”. Ouch! I don’t say this with hate. I came from a long lineage of BlackBerry usage and still love the platform. I just with the software would catch up into 2007. That’s all. As the reviews trickle in and more people get to play with the device, do you think Zdnet’s and my opinions are going to be shared? RIM really needs to take a step back and rethink their touchscreen strategy. If the Storm 3 is already in development, I only hope they do something major. Because their current progress in touchscreen land is pathetic.

Zdnet

Image Source

Tmo 9700 decides to stay home a few more days. Not showing up until November 16th party.

Products release dates getting pushed back are never fun at all. Starting with a sentence like that, you know that something now so smile inducing is following. Word is that the much lusted after T-Mobile BlackBerry 9700 decided to hold of it’s coming out party until November 16th. You know T-Mobile better watch out. Starting a string of delays isn’t fun for anyone and this delay in particular is starting to remind me of the delay after delay style launch AT&T’s Bold suffered from. We can only hope this isn’t a Bold delay launch part 2.

The reason for the delay as well as official confirmation is still unknown. All I do know is that this is going to upset a few CrackBerry/Tmo users who were waiting for some 3G/UMA BlackBerry goodness.

And yes, I’ve sent the now standard email to T-Mo asking for some clarification. We’ll see how it goes.

BGR

So long Helio, we barely knew you…

Fall into the Helio craze did you? Better keep that Ocean/Ocean2 in tip top shape because it appears those will be the last Helio branded devices ever. As Engadget points out, it never made sense of Virgin Mobile to hobble along supporting two different brands. Whether the exec’s at Virgin Mobile finally stopped tapping that funny kool-aid or they just came to their senses is a moot point. The fact of the matter is Helio branded devices are being erased from Virgin’s memory save for two lonely survivors seen above. What’s sort of odd is that the Helio Ocean 2 which was hardware wise a newer (hello captain obvious…is that you?) and ultimately better than the original Ocean has been nixed. In it’s place is the older, original Ocean. Another blow to the face is that the few remaining Helio devices are being referenced by their manufacturer’s names. Ouch. No love.

In case you’re feeling a little directionless in life now that you can’t get that Helio 2 you’ve been eying for months, as long as your know some Korean (or know how to translate Google Translate’s sometimes not quite right translations), the Korean market of Virgin Mobile USA still has your fix. For how much longer though is anybody’s guess. If I were you and really wanting an Ocean 2, I’d get on it pretty fast as there’s no telling how much longer these devices are going to be available anywhere.

I don’t quite understand Virgin Mobile’s rationale on this one but hey, they pay important people to make important decisions. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.

Engadget > Mobile Crunch

Heat sensitive lights turn on/off with your presence

A few months back I wrote an article (for the love of god…I spent an hour looking for it…no dice.) about some cool light technologies. The lights you see were able to be turned on/off by text message. The reasons for such an action are easy to see — drastically reduced energy consumption being the prime reason. But the fine people of France are removing “manual” human interaction from the equation all together.

Just recently, a 500-meter stretch of the Allée Camille-Soula was retrofitted with heat sensitive lamps. Instead of having to text a certain lamp’s number of group of lamps’ numbers, all you have to do in France is walk into the proximity of said lamps and poof, instant light. Such uses of technology make so much sense it astounds me more communities don’t implement such things. If the pilot program along the Allée Camille-Soula in Toulouse, France proves successful (read: enough costs are recouped and further dollars saved), the heat sensing lights will be rolled out to the rest of the city and it’s 450,000 inhabitants.

Now if we could only get that flying car we’ve been waiting for…

GizmoWatch > PSFK > Guardian