Review of the Forerunner 205

By Joseph Aaron

If you are a professional athlete, you will always certainly benefit from the Garmin Forerunner GPS 201 watch. It has a striking array of functions to offer. It contains a GPS sensor, an electronic map, session change and reversal capabilities, calorie tracker, lap info and information, performance archives, auto stopwatch with auto-lap and auto pause features, lap timer, pace alert, distance alert, free Training Center software, a bendy wristwatch strap, and an A/C desktop charging unit with a serial port.

The GPS 201 is the best choice for a professional as well as a more casual athlete. It mainly works to help you manage the rate and tracking facets of a workout. This device provides quite a number of advantages, but its major flaw is that it does not work predictably. This is the only reason you would not consider it excellent. Its dimensions of 3.3 ? 1.7 ? 0.7 make it appear more bulky than a normal fitness watch; in fact it is lighter than it looks, as it weighs only 2.8 ounces. The watch is safe for use in water and hence it may be worn by swimmers or by sports participants in rainy or wet weather conditions.

The GPS 201 can store a lap record history of up to 5000 laps and offers many more features that you should tinker with to match up with your own demands and personal requirements. One of the most important features the watch provides is the Training Center Software. This is the perfect feature for you to use to save your performance statistics and can also help you see ways in which they have varied along your path, particularly if you have worked out at different elevations. The Virtual Partner component helps you set goals that you want to reach. You simply have to compare your actual workout session with that of your virtual partner.

The GPS function of this 201 model is put down by many users because the signal can be fickle at times. In addition to that, they also tend to find fault with the irregularities in components such as altitude and pace readings. This model does not have a heart rate monitor. Currently, when most of the computer interfaces can work with a USB, this model falls to the back of the pack with a serial port facility.

The wristband of the Forerunner 201 GPS Fitness Watch is stretchy, enabling you to wear the watch by wearing it on your wrist or your bicep as you choose. Its LCD display screen is a joy to view in well-lit conditions as well as in the shadows. The rechargeable lithium alloy battery can remain charged for 14 hours before losing power. It appears to be just fine for runners, but may not be quite adequate for bicycling, etc.

Overall, the Garmin Forerunner GPS 201 is a watch with a lot of benefits. The training Center software and the Virtual partner features warrant special mention. Ultimately, its patchy GPS signaling is its only flaw.

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Visit Joseph's website for reviews, ratings and great deals on the Garmin Forerunner 201 Fitness Watch.

How do GPS Systems Works?

By Tony Bueler

Global Positioning Systems (known as GPS) like the Nuvi 350 are in thousands of cars, even as a standard feature. They have become quite portable and convenient to use and handheld models are more and more prevalent. But how do these little wonders work?

Well, first of all GPS stands for 'Global Position System' - 'Global' meaning worldwide and 'Positioning' meaning where on the globe your position is. The way it actually figures out where on the globe you are is pretty fascinating.

Working off of twenty-four satellites in orbit around Earth, the Nuvi 350 GPS will triangulate your position through transmissions from these satellites to your personal device. To get the accurace of your position, the satellites and the GPS need a very accurate time - atomic clocks at the United States Naval Observatory are what gives the clocks their precise time as the Observatory uploads this information to all of the satellites in the GPS satellite network.

The receiver in the Nuvi 350 knows the location of each satellite as this information is constantly being monitored by the GPS. When the signals from the satellites are received by the GPS, it will use 'triangulation' to determine your precise location. Where the signals intersect from each satellite is where you are. Armed with this information, the Nuvi 350 will give your position with an accuracy of 10 to 20 meters. At any given time, four of the satellites can be seen by a GPS as they are rotating around the earth.

The Nuvi 350 has a database of maps in its internal memory and because it always knows where its at, it can give you helpful travel tips and information, It can tell you how far you've traveled, how long you were on the road, how fast you've been traveling and your average speed. Oh yeah - and nearby stores, restaurants, banks and, a whole lot more.

The days of trying to figure out how to refold your road map are gone with the advent of the GPS. Travelers, soldiers, scouts, adventurers have much to benefit from owning a GPS. Hunters and hikers can use these devices, letting the old compass remain in their pockets. Sailors used to rely on the stars to navigate the waters and now the GPS can be put on that task. And your neighbors are using these every day to conveniently navigate around local traffic situations.

Now that's pretty impressive!

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Before you purchase anything, be sure to check our review of the Nuvi 350 GPS

Amber Alert Gps Because Millions of Children are Lost Everyday

By Sonja Schuyler

A parent's greatest fear is losing their child. Now there is a way to help calm that fear. Amber Alert Gps has created a product using the latest in GPS and cellular technology. The heart of the company, which is run by parents for parents, revolves around the President's initiative to protect children and give parents peace of mind.

The Amber Alert Gps is the leader in the US child location technology industry. Rated 4 out of 5 as the Editor's Choice by gsmagazine.com in their new "The Ultimate GPS Child Tracking Buyers's Guide and recently reviewed in MSNBC.com's article "A Good Find: GPS to locate the kids".

Here is how it works. A parent's phone call to a GPS unit, located on their child, will return a text within seconds to their cell phone containing the longitude and latitude coordinates of their child's whereabouts, along with a map pinpointing the location of their child.

This innovative technology also provides maps on your Mobile Phone. When you call your GPS to request a location, you will receive a map URL right back on your mobile phone. This will work if you have an Internet Data plan on your mobile phone or a Smart phone.

You will be able to define a Safe Zone area in your neighborhood, school district or any where you choose and receive an alert when your GPS is carried outside that location. You receive a SOS Button. You can teach your child to press the GPS SOS button when they need help and you will immediately receive an alert with their location.

You will receive a Speed Alert so you will get notification when your GPS surpasses a specific speed and know immediately when your child is in a car. This is great for speeding teenagers!

The Amber Alert GPS units are about the look and size of a pager. It will fit in any pocket, backpack, purse, or jacket. The second generation of units will be launched February of 2009 and can be pre-ordered now. This next generation will include a new wristband model and a new belt unit to make it even easier to place the GPS unit on your child. See our website for images of the current and future units.

You may use this device in many other scenarios, such as pet tracking, vehicle tracking, special needs children and seniors, luggage tracking, and more. Only your imagination limits the uses of this amazing and efficient new technology.

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Children Are Lost Everyday! Click Here To Learn About New GPS Child Location Device. No competitor has anything close to the sophistication of its technology and simplicity. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service

Track the Trail: GPS Tracking

By Herbert Reich

Almost all mobile phones now have access to a GPS system. However, many people do not activate the service. There should be a word of caution here. GPS locating systems are really for your own good and protection. Suppose you were on a hiking trip, you did have your cell phone with you, but the GPS system had never been activated; all of a sudden, you have an accident, and you need someone's help. If you had have activated your GPS system, all you would have to do is call 911, tell them what happened and they could track your location through your GPS signal.

Once a GPS tracking system has been activated, you can type in your location and the location that you want to go, and the system will give you a trajectory of how far it is, and which is the best way to go. When there is more than one person in your hiking party, each person should have a mobile phone with an activated GPS tracking signal, just in case one of the party members accidentally gets lost. They can call for help or they can track the rest of the members of their own party, and vice versa.

They are a very big help in helping you keep track of the children, no matter what age they are. You can even have a GPS system installed on your favorite pet's collar. Or you can have a GPS system installed in your children's shoes, or on their clothing. So no matter where they wonder off to you can always find them.

Many of the most idyllic places in the world can only be reached by hiking. Even going on horseback can sometimes come to an end as the terrain becomes too rough to continue on horseback. Although most hiking is very easy and nature trails have been posted for almost all of the parks around the world. Even the safest hiking trail can turn in to a disaster in no time at all. Bad weather could suddenly appear, or the sun could become hot enough that you may get severe sunburn. Or you could accidentally walk upon a wild animal, and instead of it running away, it charges toward you.

There are several items that should be taken with you as you head off on that long planned hiking trip to the mountains. The first item would be to take along at least two canteens full of water. The second item would be to carry a first aid kit with you. Third is to always take along enough food for at least two hours longer than you plan to stay. A flash light and extra batteries, and just in case you do not smoke, some matches in case you need to light a fire. Also include at least a small knife. Take along a camera and some extra film to capture those special moments and show them to your friends. Enjoy your time hiking, but one thing that every hiker should always do is to "leave the area better than you found it" always clean up the area so that others can see the beauty that you saw. And always remember to use your GPS system. There are so many advantage of having a GPS tracking system that it is astonishing that not everyone uses it.

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If you are in the market for a powerful GPS tracking system, make sure you buy from a reputable GPS tracking manufacturer.

Crazy Cabbies: GPS Tracking

By Herbert Reich

Taxis, though long neglected or taken for granted, act as vehicles for hire, and transport people between locations of their choice for a fee. Unlike buses and trains, the passenger determines the pick up and drop off points, not the driver. There are four major kinds of taxicab, though they may not be called by these names, depending on location.

Hail a hackney carriage and get to where you need to be. Private hire vehicles are also available, and may be called minicabs. Private hire taxis are available only by pre-booking - you can't hire them on the street. Jitneys, or taxibuses, are a type of bus/taxicab hybrid that operate on preset routes like a bus. Limousines are also a kind of taxi, but are usually only available by pre-booking.

The customs and standards pertaining to taxi vary from country to country, and sometimes from city to city. The first hackney carriages started operating in the early seventeenth century in London and Paris. The first service we can document was started by a man called Nicolas Sauvage in Paris, and dates from 1640s. His vehicles were called fiacres, since the major vehicle depot in the city was near a shrine to St. Fiacre. In French, this term is still used to describe horse drawn carriages for hire. The Hackney Carriage Act was passed in London in 1635 and was the first legislated control on vehicles for hire in English. Eventually hansom cabs replaced older vehicles due to being faster and safer.

Taximeter set the taxi world on fire. This device, originally mechanical but now often electronic, calculates the fare in the cab. The first modern taxicab equipped with a meter was the Daimler Victoria, built in 1897. Gas powered taxicabs started operating in Paris in 1899, in 1903 in London, and in 1907 in New York. During the twentieth century, taxicabs became more and more common, partially due to the integration of two way radios into them in the 1940s. This worked more efficiently than the previous callbox method. In the 1980s, computer aided dispatching came into being, and was a significant innovation.

Though cabbies are expected to have a strong knowledge places, more and more taxicab companies are beginning to use GPS tracking in their vehicles. This augments the traditional printed map included in most taxicabs. Poorer countries generally still rely on the driver's memory and the map, since GPS is not always available. Despite the availability of this technology, some areas that have the option of using GPS tracking do not make use of it. London's black cab taxis, for instance, still rely on strict training of their drivers instead. Minicabs, on the other hand, are making use of this technology much more frequently.

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If you are interested in getting your hands on a GPS tracking system or device, be sure you by from a respected GPS manufacturer.