Every time you fly in a commercial jet plane, a blackbox records everything the plane does. In case of an accident, recovering this blackbox lets authorities determine what the plane was doing up to the time of the accident.

With the DRS 1100 you can add similar blackbox features to your car. The DRS 1100 consists of a video recorder with a Secure Digital (SD) card reader (and an included 4GB SD card), a mounting bracket, and a lengthy power cord for plugging the unit into a cigarette lighter.

The idea is that you fix the mounting bracket to your windshield using its adhesive backing, attach the video recorder to the mounting bracket, and plug the power cord into the cigarette lighter and video recorder.

To allow you to mount the recorder on the windshield or dashboard, the camera lens swivels up or down, allowing you to aim the lens forward no matter what odd position you mount the device. When you’ve mounted the device, you’re ready to start driving.

The moment the video recorder detects a sudden impact such as rapid deceleration from braking or a jolt from getting hit (or running into an object), the video recorder automatically kicks in and starts recording video footage, approximate car speed, and GPS (Global Positioning System) coordinates on to its SD card.

Pop this SD card out, plug it into any Windows PC, and run the X-Driven program that lets you access and view the saved video footage. Now you can view data that shows the speed of the car and location, which can help clarify exactly what happened at the scene of an accident.

Rather than wait for a car crash to start the video recorder, you can also press an On button to start the video recorder manually. This can be useful to track where a vehicle has been and how fast it might have gone. Anyone in charge of commercial vehicles (or teenagers borrowing the family car) can appreciate having this information available to review at a later date. This lets you verify not only where the driver went, but how fast and whether he (or she) drove carefully or recklessly.

The included 4GB SD card can hold a surprising amount of video, but you could easily substitute a much larger SD card if you wish, up to 16GB. The video camera isn’t top of the line (just 1.3 megapixel), which captures VGA (640×480), QVGA (320×240), or Mega (1280×960) video resolution. Such a variety of video resolutions lets you capture the quality you like best.

Now here are the drawbacks. According to the manual, turning on the unit and waiting a few minutes will allow the device to start capturing GPS coordinates, but my unit never managed to do so, even after 20 minutes of driving around.

Beyond this flaw, which might have been limited to my particular unit, another problem is that you need to use the company’s X-Driven software to view the recorder data, which gets stored as a proprietary .ub1 format. Unfortunately, the X-Driven program only runs on Windows so if you’re using Linux or a Macintosh, you can’t use the X-Driven program and thus you can’t view any recorded data from the recorder.

While useful and interesting, the DRS 1100 is definitely not a must-have product, but more of a gee-whiz product. Still, if you don’t mind spending $299, the DRS 1100 can be invaluable when you need it the most. With its ability to capture video immediately during and after an accident, the device can capture crucial video evidence to protect you legally.

Leave the device running continuously may not always be practical due to the storage space long video recording sessions would gobble up, but doing so could also help you prove your case in court if stopped by a police officer for running a stop sign or traffic light. With video evidence supporting your case, you could spare yourself a traffic ticket and higher insurance rates, which could make the device pay for itself.

Ultimately, the DRS 1100 is a luxury item, but an extremely useful and desirable one. After seeing the DRS 1100 in action, you may want one just for the novelty, but also because you recognize its potential for capturing video footage when you might need it the most. You might never need the DRS 1100, but you’ll certainly want one.

Pro:

• Captures decent-quality video at various resolutions
• Captures GPS coordinates
• Automatically turns on when jolted during a car accident

Cons:

• Requires Windows, can’t view recorded data using Mac OS X or Linux
• GPS coordinates didn’t seem to work on my unit
• Recorder stores video in files only readable by the X-Driven program

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If the prospect of spending north of $200 on a GPS add on (aka TomTom) for your iPhone or iPod touch has you little shaken fear not, for there is a semi-reasonable solution.  Arriving in stores  later this month is the Dual Electronics XGPS300 GPS Cradle for the iPod Touch.

For $179.99 it not only adds GPS to your iPod Touch but includes NavAtlas’ turn-by-turn navigation app, a rechargeable battery, speaker, audio out, mini USB port and windshield cradle.  The app itself is free and available at the iTunes app store.  But before all you cheap skates rush off to download it, note that the application works exclusively with Dual Electronics’ cradle.

Or you could just hope and pray that Google releases their free nav app to the iPhone and some how Apple approves it.

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Remember how yesterday we were talking about tracking your children with a simple USB device from Insignia?  Well, apparently, the child tracker phenomenon is really taking off because another device has stepped up to challenge, the ET3500 GPS Tracking Bracelet.

It’s a bracelet that attaches to a child’s wrist–or anyone else’s, for that matter–and allows you to track at virtually any time where exactly the bracelet is.  It comes with an emergency alarm system, an emergency two way radio, journey logging up to one hundred thousand locations, and plenty more.

Basically, you can preset a route and see, at a glance, whether or not the route is being followed.  The bracelet will even point out the route for the wearer, showing them exactly where to go, stop, turn and not to go, stop, or turn on a handy LCD display.

Great for parents, a nightmare for civil rights groups, it’s the kind of thing that’s a bit tougher to misuse as it generally requires the wearer actually WEAR the thing, but still–one quick toss in an open car window and you know exactly where the car is at all times.

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None Found

Here’s a device that makes Big Brother look a lot more fun and accessible–the Driving Reporter Gadget.

It’s a USB device that’s also an in-car 16 channel GPS system that stores about 100 hours of your driving.  All the data, all the activities are routed into this thing so you know exactly where you were, where you turned, and where you went.  Not to mention your speed getting there.  It’s a lot like the black box on an airplane, just for your car.  Okay, granted, the Driving Reporter Gadget is also black in color, but that’s just a funny coincidence.

The device runs on a pair of AAA lithium batteries, and secures anywhere on your car via an attached magnet (doubly odd since this seems to at least have some limited memory right next to a magnet as part of the design.), and you can even watch your trip on Google Earth, which is awesome if you have a tendency to get lost and want to watch your own highlight reel to figure out how you got so abjectly butt-lost in the first place.

I’m a bit concerned about having a device tattle on you constantly, but for parents this may be a godsend.  They cost $229.95 each, so finding out where your car’s been is pretty easy.

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Many an Android device might soon have access to Google’s free map application, Navigation, but for those of you that can’t hold out until early November there is always the Garmin nüvifone G60 GPS Phone for AT&T.  During the initial launch AT&T was asking as much as $300 for the handset.  Now Amazon has it for a mere $99.99 (2 year contract required), which begs the question: is the Nuvifone G60 not selling well and how long will the GPS maker stay in the game?  After all, the company just lost (the grammar police got me!) $1.2 billion from their market cap after Google announced their own FREE GPS app.

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Sears, determined not to be shown up by OfficeMax, has just announced its own Black Friday deals, and they’re actually pretty awesome.  Even better, they’re actually pushing Black Friday ahead to HALLOWEEN.  That’s right, the deals start THIS SATURDAY, as opposed to Black Friday.

What’s on tap?  Well, how about a Magellan RoadMate 1200 GPS system for $99.99, or maybe a Sony  1000-Watt 5-Disc home theater system with a 1080p upscaling HDMI DVD player for $249.99?

But that’s not where the deals end over at Sears, only where they begin.  There’s also a whole slew of deals on televisions and digital cameras and everything in between.  Sears is clearly desperate for a sale, and is doing everything short of giving it away to get their deal.  I don’t think I’m exaggerating that “desperate”, either: when you start offering Black Friday deals in October, and especially given the financial condition of Sears, it’s not too much of a surprise that they’re pulling out all the stops.

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It’s…um…about ten thirty AM.  Do you know where your children are?

If you can’t answer yes to that, and even if you can, you may still want to get your hands on a Little Buddy Child Tracker from Insignia.

The Little Buddy Child Tracker does pretty much what it says on the box, and it tracks your children.  Relentlessly.  Like non stop.  You can get the location of the unit at pretty much any time from your cell phone.

Yes, it’s a homing device.  For children.  Now, you may want to start getting cranked up about how children aren’t branded cattle to be tracked relentlessly, though you’d probably love to have this on hand if something happened to Junior.  My concern, however, comes into play in the “misuse” category.  Like instead of, say, tracking Junior someone decides to track Tammy Stalkerbait down the street by slipping it in her car.

Are we as a society ready for tracking devices?  I’m not sure.  But we’ll find out if you can shell out a hundred bucks for your very own Little Buddy Child Tracker.

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Wow, just wow.  Not even 24 hours has gone by and the Google Maps with turn-by-turn directions for Android devices rumor has become official.  As suspected this will be a free app and will be available when Android 2.0 launches sometime next month.

The feature set is robust to say the least and will easily rival, if not eclipse previous GPS applications and even some stand alone GPS devices. My favorite is that ability to view ’street view’ before the turn such that you can view landmarks before you change direction.  Much like most stand alone GPS devices, Google Maps Navigation offers voice guidance, turn-by-turn directions, 3D view and the ability to search by point of interest instead of just address.  And they’ve also added Google Voice Search.  There a few vids of the app after the ‘leap’, so be sure to check those out.

Right now the app is advert free, but given Google’s model I’d expect them to start plugging those in as we move closer to a nonbeta version.  So for instance, you’re taking a trip to San Francisco from LA. You might see ads for food stops, gas stations and such.  More local routes might show you coffee shops or stores that relate to your previous search history, and so forth.

Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll see this version of maps appears on the iPhone anytime soon, if ever.  This would supplant any paid app in the app store and cause Apple to lose out on potential earnings, something they seem to have a problem with.

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GPS has come along way in the last 10 years, so it’s really no surprise to see unorthodox products start to emerge around the technology.  Enter the GPS Navigation Helmet.  Instead of announcing your turn-by-turn directions, clips attached to each ear lobe tug on the corresponding ear to convey left or right.  While the technology is far from practical for the everyday communicator, the implications for the visually impaired are most certainly interesting.

[via Popsci]

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Today rumors emerged that Google is in the process of developing their very own navigation app for smartphones running the Android OS.  It’s not clear if the application would be more robust than the iPhone’s current Google Map application and offer turn-by-turn directions, but given that they own the Android OS, and can essentially do whatever they want, it’s more likely than not.

Providing greater credence to the rumor is that Google just discontinued their relationship with Tele Atlas earlier this October, which charged Google for use of their map info – Google has a contract with them until 2013 to work on International maps.  The break away from the map service provider indicates that Google has amassed enough map data over the years to go at it alone and in all likelihood offer an ad supported free version. 

How this will play out with US carriers is another story – they profit from charging for turn-by-turn directions – since they could very well stop offering phones with the Android OS.  But that would probably result in what will be perceived as business suicide, especially seeing as the Android OS is the #1 competitor to Apple’s iPhone OS, something only AT&T has access to at this point.  As to whether or not this will impact the iPhone’s Google Map offering is not clear, but since Apple profits off the sales of other map applications in their iTunes app store, it’s highly unlikely that well see a free Google Maps version in the app store with a turn-by-turn feature.

[via TFTS]

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Strap in and brace yourselves all over, kids, because I got a HOT list of deals here for the upcoming Black Friday sales!  Seems that Office Max dropped the dime a bit early on what they’ll be offering up for cheap the day after Thanksgiving (early?? It’s not even HALLOWEEN and they’re talking Black Friday!), but their incredibly gauche behavior brings you a whole lot of deals.  Check THIS out!

How about an Acer netbook for $150?  I know, you’re probably blinking rapidly and reading that again, but it’s true.  And it’s not where the deals end…but where they BEGIN, my friends. How about a Compaq Presario AMD Athlon II dual-core CPU for $240?  Maybe you like the DVDs…well, you can get a Memorex portable DVD player with seven-inch screen for $30.  Start hunting for couch change now and by Thanksgiving you should have enough for even a Magellan RoadMate 1440 GPS.  Just $70!

It’s enough to make even the most hesitant shopper think twice about clutching the wallet in a death grip.

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GPS devices have become so common place these days you can barely cross an intersection without seeing one mounted to a car’s windshield or a biker’s wrist.  The Satsports GPS, though, is like no other on the market today and can provide pertinent information to bikers, skiers, golfers and runners.

For those who frequent the fairway they’ll be able to take advantage of the device’s 700 stored golf courses, providing 2D/3D maps of the fairway as well as yardages to the front, middle and back of the green.  It can also guide Tiger Woods wannabes to where the ‘hazards’ lie and even provide information as to what club to choose according to the hole at hand.  When the match is complete golfers can sync their collected data with their computer, which should hopefully help lower their handicap.

Skiers will also find the Satsports GPS beyond useful.  Not only can it provide a virtualy unlimited amount of ski maps, but it can assist your recovery in the event of an avalanche by providing your exact coordinates.  Work up an appetite on the slopes?  No problem, stored in the device is a list of restaurants, lodges, bars and more.  And much like the golfer’s game, the skier’s runs can be downloaded to their computer and stored for review and comparison.

And like all GPS devices it can track speed (live, average and maximum), distance, time, and altitude (live and variances), making it an ideal choice for the hiker, runner or even walker – heck all types of athletes.  Once your activities are complete you can simply upload the data to a map or view it on a Google Earth flyover.  Toss in a special $65 SD card and the Satsports can perform turn-by-turn driving directions.

The Satsports GPS will be available at select ski resorts for the price of $490 US, with major retailers to follow soon after.

• Processor: Samsung 2440A 400Mhz
• Battery: 3.7V Li Ion 1050mAh
• OS: Windows CE 5.0
• Speaker: 1W internal speaker
• Memory: Built in Flash 256MB Samsung SLC RAM – 64MB
• Dimensions/Weight: 90 x 55 x 16 mm – 125g
• Display: touchscreen LCD – 2.7″, TFT QVGA (320 x 240)
• Color: Black & Aluminum
• GPS: SiRF Star III  Embedded Patch Antenna
• Applications: Satski, Pocket Caddy, Satsports Log (running & cycling), MP3 Player, Image Viewer, Video Player
• Micro SD
• Free silicon case with built in 6hr back  up battery

Satsports Ltd. Debuts World’s 1st Truly Multi-Sport Interactive All Weather GPS

Satsports GPS is the first to combine true real time interactive navigation for skiing, snowboarding, golfing, running, cycling and automotive enthusiasts in a portable, all weather device

Satsports proprietary mobile applications turns Windows Mobile and Android enabled phones into multi-sports GPS systems

London, UK – (October 15, 2009) – Satsports Ltd., global leaders in mobile navigation for outdoor athletes, proudly announces the North American debut of Satsports GPS, the world’s first truly multi-sport all weather GPS. By combining GPS navigation for skiing, snowboarding, golfing, running, cycling and automotive enthusiasts in one device, Satsports has created the most powerful, multi-faceted GPS system on the market. Satsports has also developed proprietary mobile applications that convert Windows Mobile and Android enabled cell phones into powerful, feature-rich GPS systems.

Included in Satsports GPS device, and also available for download on www.SatsportsGPS.com, are the following navigation applications:
Satski – GPS application for skiers and snowboarders
Pocket Caddy – GPS application for golfers
Satsports Log – GPS application for runners, cyclists, mountain bikers, runners, walkers and hikers
Satsports Street Navigator – Optional GPS application for street navigation, available via mini SD card

Satski
For skiers and snowboarders, Satsports GPS’ Satski application represents the ski map of the future. Satski users have access to an unlimited number of ski maps from around the world that can easily be downloaded and stored on the device. On the slopes, users can navigate from a live or fixed position to any other destination on the ski map, including restaurants, ski schools, bars or lodges. The scroll and zoom functions give skiers the ability to easily survey the entire map which helps in plotting courses.

Satski also tracks and records real-time data like speed (live speed, top speed and average speed), altitude (live altitude and variances in altitude over the session), distance and movement around the ski area. Most importantly, Satski’s Emergency Feature provides crucial information for those in need of help from rescue services. Satski users are provided with telephone numbers of mountain rescue as well as your exact coordinates so emergency services can locate and assist users in times of need.

Once the skier has finished their day, they can sync their Satsports GPS device to their computer and the Stats Viewer program catalogues the day’s data. Stats Viewer gives users the ability to replay their day of skiing on Google Earth or Satsports Ski Viewer. All information can be shared with friends via email, so skiers can share and compare their data with other skiers.

Pocket Caddy
For golfers, no other golf GPS application offers as many features or as much mapping flexibility as Pocket Caddy. The applications “Flyover” feature presents a 2D and 3D flyover of the holes to give the golfer a realistic visual of the hole prior to teeing off. From anywhere on the course, Pocket Caddy gives live yardages to the front, middle and back of the green. Unlike most other golf GPS systems, Pocket Caddy defines the front as the nearest point to the live position, not nearest point to the tee. Additionally, the application provides yardages (or meters) to hazards which help with club selection.

Monitoring, recording and interpreting statistics is a critical component of golf and Pocket Caddy is an invaluable tool that will help golfers improve this aspect of their game. Pocket Caddy records critical information such as club used and lie of the ball during specific shots, fairways/greens hit, putts per hole and distance of each club. Once the golfer is finished with their round, they simply sync their Satsports GPS device to their computer and the Stats Viewer program catalogues the data. Stats Viewer also has an output to Google Earth so golfers can replay their round in 3D. This feature can be used to compare two rounds from the same or different players, instantly highlighting differences in play.

Pocket Caddy currently has over 700 golf courses available but with Pocket Caddy’s free online Pocket Caddy Membership, anyone can either download new golf courses or map and upload new golf courses to the database. With Pocket Caddy’s DIY Course Mapping software and Google Earth, members can easily map their local courses from the comfort of their home in about 20-40 minutes. Once a member has uploaded a new course, they will receive a credit that can be exchanged for a course that another member has mapped.

Satsports Log
Created for running, walking, cycling, mountain biking and hiking enthusiasts, the Satsports Log application provides key information users need during and after their outings. The primary statistics that Satsports Log captures are speed (live, average and maximum), distance, time, altitude (live and variances). Satsports Log splits the devices screen into two sections: the top section supplies the ongoing statistics while the lower section displays graphs, maps and additional statistics that can be viewed by scrolling the touchscreen display. Much like Satski and Pocket Caddy applications, Sports Log also gives users the ability to upload the day’s data to their computer and see the day’s activity on a map or as a Goggle Earth flyover.

Today, the influx of sophisticated mobile devices gives consumers the ability to use their devices in a variety of different ways. With this in mind, SatsportsLtd. designed all of the aforementioned applications (Satski, Pocket Caddy and Satsports Log) to be used with mobile devices that support Windows Mobile and Android. In some cases, the mobile application offers additional functionality, such as:
Satski: Receive both emergency, commercial text messages, weather forecasts
Satski: Track a second users location, who is also using Satski on their mobile device
Satsports Log: Map feature is only available on mobile application

Additionally, Satsports GPS can also act as a street navigator with voice commands through the addition of a SD card that can be purchased separately for $65.00. Both the Satsports GPS device and Satsports mobile applications include free updates via PC analytical software

Satsports GPS device has a MSRP of $490 U.S. / $540 CAD and is available at select ski resorts worldwide, www.Satsportsgps.com and additional mass market retailers to be named soon. Satsports Windows Mobile applications are available for download on www.Satsportsgps.com for only $8.00 U.S. / $9.00 CAD and Android applications will be available on the Android Market.

To request additional information about Satsports GPS, please contact PR Representative Brad Hobbs at (305) 576-1171 x19 or by e-mail at bradhobbs@maxborgesagency.com. To learn more about Satsports Ltd., go to www.SatsportsGPS.com.

Satsports GPS Technical Specifications

Processor: Samsung 2440A 400Mhz    Battery: 3.7V Li Ion 1050mAh
OS: Windows CE 5.0    Speaker: 1W internal speaker
Memory: Built in Flash 256MB Samsung SLC RAM – 64MB    Dimensions/Weight: 90 x 55 x 16 mm – 125g
Display: touchscreen LCD – 2.7″, TFT QVGA (320 x 240)     Color: Black & Aluminum
GPS: SiRF Star III  Embedded Patch Antenna    Applications: Satski, Pocket Caddy, Satsports Log (running & cycling), MP3 Player, Image Viewer, Video Player
Micro SD    Free silicon case with built in 6hr back  up battery

Whats in the Box:

GPS unit Ltd. Satsports software (Satski, Pocket Caddy, Satsports Log)    Car charger
USB cable    Spare battery
Euro /USA AC adapter      Free silicon case with built in 6hr back up battery
Car mounting bracket     Bicycle mounting bracket

About Satsports
Founded in 2006, Satsports Ltd. specializes in creating innovative mobile navigation systems for outdoor enthusiasts. With their flagship product, the Satsports GPS system, Satsports Ltd. has created the world’s first truly multi-sport GPS system for outdoor athletes. Driven by the ever-evolving mobile lifestyle, Satsports Ltd. has also developed numerous mobile applications that transform mobile devices into multi-sport GPS systems.  Today, Satsports Ltd.’s products are available worldwide through a global network of retailers and distributors. For additional information on all Satsports Ltd. products, please visit us online at www.SatsportsGPS.com.

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Well folks, believe it or not, but the wait for the Garmin nuvifone G60 is almost over. On October 4th AT&T Wireless well begin selling the handset for $299 after a 2-year contract signing and $100 mail-in-rebate. Garmin-Asus’ G60 is said to provide the “easiest-to-use location experiences available because it is the only phone to fully integrate the world’s best selling GPS navigator with voice, data and mobile web.” So it’s probably best to think about the G60 as a GPS with an integrated phone, and not the other way around.

The G60 will include a 3 megapixel camera with geo tagging, be preloaded with a ton of POIs, have access to AT&T’s 20,000 WiFi hotspots and come packed with a dashboard and windshield mount. When the G60 is removed from the in car mounts it will automatically…

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At first glance it would appear that TomTom wants to sucker you out of $120 for a car vehicle mount that at best sticks your iPhone to your car’s windshield.  Not so.

For $120 you not only get the aforementioned windshield suction cup mount, but a built-in microphone, speaker, stereo audio out, a USB port for charging and get this: built-in GPS for enhanced performance.  It’s not clear if the built-in GPS works in tandem with the iPhone’s, but it should provide faster and more efficient fixes on your location in either case.

Unfortunately, and I hate to trample on TomTom’s parade, especially after producing such a polished video (below) for the product, you’ll need to drop an additional $99 for their application, bringing the total price to $220.  Would you plunk down this kind of dough when you can buy a stand alone device for the same price if not less?

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The current undisputed king of the geeky gadget may well have just been found, folks–brace yourself for the iPhone Arider.

It’s still in the prototype stage, but one day we’ll all be able to enjoy the iPhone Arider.  And what does it do, you wonder?  Simple–it’s a portable navigation system that feeds to a display in a pair of glasses.  It follows your head motion, so if you want to pan the map to the right, you just look right.  Pan any other direction and you just look that direction.  Even better, it also can be used as a Bluetooth headset, PLUS it will handle Twitter updates.

I couldn’t be happier about this one, folks–I’m eagerly awaiting the day I can buy Spider Jerusalem-style picture taking sunglasses, and every move like this brings me one step closer to my triangle-and-circle.

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All right, folks, if you’ve been waiting anxiously to get your hands on the Motorola Cliq, you should be happy to know that they’re looking to start taking orders October 19th.

Seems the company actually released this date in a brochure, which was then photographed and began making the rounds.  This handset will feature a touchscreen, and assures connectivity with your devices by both GPS and WiFi radio, and rumors suggest that Android 2.0 will come with the Cliq, so if you weren’t interested before, you might be now.

T-Mobile further threw some confirmation in by saying that they would start delivering product to their stores starting November 2nd.  Add this all up and it means, chances are, you’ll be able to get a Cliq right soon.

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Considering that NASA’s been whining about not having enough budget for the last couple years, it really makes them look bad to discover what a couple kids from MIT did the other day.

While NASA’s assembling teams have needed millions of dollars to launch one satellite, two guys from MIT put together a satellite of their own and launched it into low Earth orbit.  Here’s how they did it:

First, they took a styrofoam beer cooler and filled it with chemical hand warmers (to keep the thing from freezing in space), a cheap camera, and a prepaid phone with GPS so they could find the thing when it was all over.  They then inflated a weather balloon with helium and launched their “satellite”.  It got so far up that it managed to take a picture of the curvature of the earth.

Talk about your fantastic homemade gadgets–kudos to two schmoes from MIT for making NASA look like a bunch of whiny embezzlers.

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Here’s a shocker–apparently,for teenagers, driving and gadgets just plain old don’t mix.

The Brits did a survey and discovered that teenagers are likely to be distracted when they drive, especially by the gadgets in their cars.  Sure, the music system knobs were the biggest distractor (even the GPS and the air conditioner played roles in distraction), but there were plenty of other, more unnerving, surprises.

Twenty five percent of drivers aged seventeen to twenty four have texted while driving.  Interestingly, only three percent of those drivers thought it was acceptable behavior to do so.

Better yet, sixteen percent have put on makeup while driving.

The Brits, for their part (who are starting to look more like V For Vendetta with every passing day) have declared this a massive failure of government to get its message across.  Never mind that what this really should be is a massive failure of parents to make clear rules about what the kids can do in the car.

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Garmin kicked out a new GPS system today called the Edge 500.  Designed specifically for cyclists, it weighs just 2 ounces and can track speed, distance, time, GPS position, elevation, temperature, calories burned, climb and descent.  For accurate altimeter readings, Garmin has stuffed in a barometric altimeter and like their other devices includes their ANT+ technology for wirelessly transferring data from the device to your computer.  Toss on one of Garmin’s speed/cadence sensors as well as heart rate monitor and the Edge 500 can keep even closer tabs on your workouts.

The Edge 500’s battery is good for up to 18 hours on a single charge and comes bundled with a low-profile, quarter-turn mount that attaches to any pair of handle bars.  You can expect it to arrive this fall and start at $249.99 – add $100 for a bundled heart rate monitor and speed/cadence sensor.

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By now well aware of the perils of losing a child thanks to shows such as Nancy Grace.  Well, hopefully no more will that tail make headlines thanks to the Amber Alert GPS 2G.

It’s a small GPS infused tracker that you attach to your child and simply by sending the text message “WHERE” to the device will provide the child’s location. Parents can even set it to show a ‘bread crumb’ of their child’s movement as well as set a safety zone, voice monitoring, temperature alert, destination reached notification and the ability to monitor the speed of a vehicle the child is riding in.  If the child finds themselves in an unsavory situation they can hit a special button to alert their parents.

Much like the NuM8 that we saw this year – they offer a comparable feature set but in a watch format – the Amber Alert GPS 2G requires a $10/month subscription and an initial investment of $379.99.

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