Garmin GPSMAP 640 Does Automotive and Marine

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: GPS, Transportation

Garmin has taken on a new line of devices with the GPSMAP 640 that not only has road navigation but a marine chart plotter as well. It comes preloaded with their BlueChart g2 data and City Navigator NT for North America. Of course, the case is waterproof and it has a 5.2-inch WVGA touchscreen and an intuitive interface. The 640 can receive XM WX satellite weather data in marine mode and XM NavTraffic information in automotive mode. Expect the GPSMAP in Q1 2009 with a MSRP of $1,199.99.

Read More | Garmin Shop

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Green Earth car cleaner, and the Bumper Badger - ridiculous?

Posted by Sparky Categories: Accessories, Household, Misc. Tech, Transportation

This post-Christmas morning brings two automotive products to our inbox, both wrought with utility and possible pitfalls. The first product promises to keep your car clean without the environmental impact of 40 gallons of water being used to wash the car, and the second promises to keep your bumpers scratch free at the cost of a more than slightly goofy look. Click through the jump for the full details on both new products.

Click to continue reading Green Earth car cleaner, and the Bumper Badger - ridiculous?

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SCiB Batteries: The next big thing in portable power

Posted by Sparky Categories: Handhelds, Peripherals, Science

Toshiba has announced that, as early as March, their new Super Charge ion Batteries will be launching for industrial use. The new SCiB batteries have roughly the same capacity as current generation Lithium Ion batteries, but are able to reach 90% charge in under 5 minutes. Once these filter down to consumer gadgets it will mean laptops and cell phones able to charge in mere minutes rather than the hours that both devices currently take.

The new batteries can be charged 5,000 times without damage (about 10 years of average use) and don’t have any weight or heat disadvantages that existing Lithium Ion batteries. While the new SCiB will be available in March their initial use will be industrial or automotive. It’s currently unknown how long it will be before Toshiba releases smaller form factors aimed at consumer electronics.

Read More | Toshiba press release via Engadget

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Making your Cellular Service More Reliable

Posted by Brian Viele Categories: Accessories, Cell Phones, Household, Peripherals, Transportation, Wireless / WiFi, Gizmatic

In today’s world, land line phones are becoming ancient technology.  More and more customers are leaving phone line systems for VoIP systems, while others, myself included, operate solely through their cellular service.  It never ceases to amaze me, however, that the quality of cellular service at home leaves something to be desired.  I have moved three times in the past two years, and haven’t been able to average more than a 2-bar signal in any of my homes. Excessive dropped calls, poor reception and sound quality, and the especially hated voice mail notice from calls that never rang. Sound familiar?  Well it may be time to invest in an amplification system to boost cellular signal while around the house.

The setup is simple, intuitive, and available for purchase from several manufacturers. It consists of a pair of antennas, one high gain and one low gain, and an amplification system.  The system works best if the large gain antenna is mounted outside of the house, but it is not necessary. The system improves your service by relaying the signals from the high gain antenna, through the amplifier, through a smaller antenna mounted somewhere inside the home and out to your cellphone . Transmitting works in the reverse fashion starting from the cell phone, to the small antenna, then through the amplifier and out the large antenna to the service tower.  The benefits to be gained here are two fold.  First, the antenna that communicates directly with the tower will have a much stronger response (higher gain) to the signals, both in and out, than the cell phone because of its sheer size.  Secondly, the signal is being amplified again through an in-line amplifier. The result is a serious increase in local signal to your cell phone resulting in better battery life, fewer dropped and missed calls, and just plain better quality service. This type of setup is not limited to the home either. There are also systems available for installation in your vehicle which operate on the same principle.

Popular Science has a full length article describing these setups and even points out some manufacturers and models of devices available today.

Images:
Home Configuration
Automotive Configuration

Read More | Popular Science

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