NAVIGON 2.0 Navigation App for iPhone

A couple of months ago, Garmin acquired Germany-based navigation provider NAVIGON to extend ther footprint in Europe and in the mobile applications space. Just like Garmin, these guys develop great products and we’re excited to work with their team.
Now, NAVIGON announced a broad overhaul of its popular iPhone navigation app that includes a couple of major improvements, so we wanted to make sure you’ll be able to check out the details.

Like Garmin’s StreetPilot OnBoard app, NAVIGON for iPhone is an onboard navigation app that saves the maps on the device to stay independent of cell phone coverage. This is really helpful when you lose your data connection, since you’ll still be able to navigate and calculate new routes. But it also means that you have to save large amounts of map data on your phone. NAVIGON 2.0 is the first onboard navigation app that solves this issue by allowing users to download maps by state. You can simply pick the maps you need and download additional ones at a later point (WIFI connection required).

Navigation systems have become more complex over the last years, so NAVIGON has also rethought the way the app interface is structured. As a result, the new version is more intuitive and easier to use than ever before. In addition, NAVIGON 2.0 also includes an in-app purchase option for quarterly map updates.

Watch the video below to see the new features in action.

The great Football resources in Google Earth

 

With NFL and NCAA football both in high gear, we thought we’d take a look at various football-related resources in Google Earth.

A few years back, Google showed off all of the 245 NCAA football stadiums, many of which are in 3D. You can explore them yourself using this KML file.

 

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Another way to see them is by viewing some of the stadium collections on EarthSwoop, which allow you to fly from stadium to stadium via the Google Earth Plug-in: ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, PAC 10, SEC and the entire NFL.

Speaking of the NFL, it’s worth checking out Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. It hosted the Super Bowl earlier this year, and it’s an amazing model. If you’re looking to play some football, you can check out the Google Earth-based football game that I created a few years ago. I’m sure it could be done better with the Google Earth Plug-in now, but it’s still pretty fun.

“Proud to call Garmin a great workplace”

 

 

In my job, I get to talk a lot. To customers at expos. To journalists at trade shows. To fellow runners at races. To fellow cyclists at rides. To geocachers at events. To the camera in a tutorial video. To you in this blog. Usually I’m talking about our newest products, their coolest features, and how they can help all of you get a little (or a lot) more out of your favorite activities. But recently a local news crew wanted to talk about how great it is to have Garmin as part of the Kansas City area. The weekly “Proud to Call it Home” segment showcases local businesses and organizations, what makes them unique and what they add to our community. So that day, my job was to talk about how much I love my job. After Jon, our VP of Communications, shared his perspective on our company’s local start and global growth, I gave the camera crew a tour of our facilities. You can watch the video and read the story here, as what started as a 20-minute chat lasted more than two hours. Partly because I like to talk, but mostly because I had great stuff to talk about.

 

I discussed our vertical integration, and how engineers and salespeople and writers and designers all have a voice in product development. But it’s not just our brilliant, creative, energetic people who make Garmin a great place to work. It’s that we’re encouraged to pursue our passions and live a healthy, active lifestyle. And as a leader in the outdoor and fitness industries, that just makes sense. So I enjoyed showing off our fitness rooms full of folks on exercise equipment and colleagues playing table tennis and foosball. I invited them to my office, which has my bike perched against the wall while waiting to hit the road before or after work or over lunch. And when the tour wrapped up and the cameras were packed away, I realized that it’s not hard work talking about a great workplace.