What does cooking have to do with GPS navigation? A whole lot actually. If you want to get to a restaurant you’ve heard got rave reviews and you don’t know where it is, a GPS navigation device can help you get there quickly, before your stomach starts growling.

Alton Brown, chef extraordinaire and star of several shows that can be seen on the Food Network has found a GPS device to be essential to his mission. He has a new show where he is traveling around, tasting and sampling foods in restaurants, farmer’s markets, and even people’s homes. In the episodes that are airing now, he is traveling through the Caribbean. He and his crew don’t have time to wander around (as fun as that might be) so I have it on good authority that they are using Garmin products to help them find their way to their various destinations.

Since it is Alton Brown, you know he is likely wandering off the beaten path in his destination and his culinary choices. And the great thing about having a GPS device along for the journey is that you can veer away from downtown or well-used roads and still stay right on course. In one interview, Brown mentioned that is was good to have a GPS device to navigate on some of the islands that didn’t have roads.

Brown also said that his GPS device of choice is the Garmin Colorado. The Colorado is waterproof, making it perfect since Brown will be taking trips arounf 15 Caribbean islands for his current show. He also said that he like all if its marine functions and found the Colorado helpful because it calculates distance.

Even if you are not trekking around as many islands as Alton Brown, you will still find that your travels will be that much easier if you take along an Outdoor GPS device, like the Garmin Colorado. Visit ActionGPS.com to get one of your own.

Field & Stream, a publication whose tagline indicates that it is “The World’s Best Leading Outdoor Magazine,” has named the Garmin Colorado 400t on its list for the “Best of the Best: Top New Outdoor Gadgets of 2008.”  For Field & Stream to recommend a GPS device, it has to be really be able to go the distance.This is quite an honor and if you are looking for a GPS device to accompany you on your outdoor treks and journeys, consider the Garmin’s Colorado.

The Colorado has what you need for serious climbing or hiking. It’s map detail includes national, state and local parks and forests. The Colorado will keep you abreast of elevation, trails, rivers, lakes and other points of interest. The 3-D map view will make it possible for you to really get a feel for your surroundings. Plus, the sunlight-readable display will make it simple for you to get a good read on map details.

The Colorado’s trip computer provides odometer, stopped time, moving average, overall average, total time, max speed and more relevant information that you need.

It also has an electronic compass to keep you on track. It will give you bearing information, whether you’re moving or not.  Plus, its high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver allows you to locate your position quickly and precisely. Dense foliage and deep canyons are no match for the Colorado 400t: it maintains its GPS location in some of very hard-to-reach locations. The reliable Colorado is made to keep you from losing your way.

You can also keep track of your friends too. With the Colorado 400t you can share your waypoints, tracks, routes and geocaches wirelessly with other Colorado users.

The rugged Colorado is jam-packed full of great features. Visit ActionGPS.com to learn more about how one of the outdoor GPS devices from Garmin can give you a boost on all your hiking adventures.

Those wonderful geeky guys at Consumer Reports just put automotive GPS devices through their paces, giving Garmin’s Nuvi series its highest rating. I love the CR crew. They put products through their paces and don’t pull any punches when they tell you how they held up. CR is my Bible when I’m looking to invest in a new product, whether it’s a new car, a DVD player, laundry detergent or a GPS unit, I know I’m getting honest, accurate information I can trust. They haven’t steered my wrong yet, and they’ve kept me from plunking my money down on some well-advertised lemons. But enough about my favorite guys in white lab coats; here’s what they said about GPS devices.

After exhaustive testing, Consumer Reports awarded the Garmin Nuvi 760 its highest rating. Nearly identical are Garmin’s Nuvi 650, Nuvi 660 which is Bluetooth enabled, and Nuvi 750 widescreen. All of these outstanding GPS automotive navigation systems have nearly identical features and are available from ActionGPS. ActionGPS makes it easy to compare units. Just check the box next to items you want to compare and click the Compare Selected button at the top or bottom of the product list. Action GPS gives you an easy to read table that compares major features. At a glance you can determine the product that best suits your individual needs. When you choose the unit you want, make sure to check the product list for refurbished units. ActionGPS’ factory refurbished units offer you a considerable savings over our already low prices while still providing you with Garmin’s great one-year warranty.

Other GPS units that received CR’s highest rating include the Garmin Nuvi 660, TomTom Go 920T (very similar to the 910), and Garmin Nuvi 350. CR noted that consumers can realize a considerable savings with no loss in quality or major features by purchasing a slightly older Garmin Nuvi or TomTom Go model. Some of the new bells and whistles are fun, but primarily expand peripheral uses and do not increase the automotive GPS function of the devices. For a complete listing of features and specifications, visit the ActionGPS website.

This year’s Summer Olympics are over, but it is never too early to get a head start on the next Olympic Games. Well, maybe you haven’t set your sites quite that high. Perhaps you just want to improve your level of fitness for overall health. Or maybe you are involved in athletic competition, on the state or local level.

A fitness GPS device like the Garmin Forerunner 101 GPS Fitness Trainer can help you get ready no matter what your fitness goals. It measures speed, distance, pace, and calories burned. The Forerunner 101 is a great GPS device for those who are just starting out. It stores up to two years’ worth of lap history in memory, so you can use it to get started and look back to see your progress.

And don’t forget, the Forerunner 101 is still a GPS device, which means it is still in the business of navigation. So if you decide to hit some new trails or work out somewhere new, you can still make your way back home.

If you want a fitness device to keep up with you and your heart, pick a GPS fitness device like the Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Fitness Trainer with Heart Rate Monitor. This versatile GPS device helps you train in your optimal heart rate zone. As an added benefit, you can plan, analyze and store data from your workouts using free Garmin Training Center software, which lets you analyze data with interactive graphs that chart your pace, time, distance and heart rate. The analytical capabilities that the Forerunner 305 provides will help you to make the most of your workout time. With the data it provides you really can optimize your workout and improve your performance.

Visit ActionGPS.com to learn more about these and other great Fitness GPS devices.

GPS geocaching has added a new dimension to Flat Fred. If you have an elementary school aged child in your house, you’re probably familiar with Flat Fred. Flat Fred is a popular school program where children mail a cardboard person on a journey. Aunt Sue and cousin Sam cart Flat Fred off to the local sights, take a few snapshots and write about his adventures in a logbook, then mail him to another friend or relative. Eventually Flat Fred returns home and the children get to see and read about all the amazing places he has visited on his journeys.

Bellevue High School students have put a modern techno spin on Flat Fred by turning him into a geocache travel bug. Travel bugs are special “dog tags” printed with a unique PIN that is registered on an internet site. Often travel bugs are attached to an object like a small figurine or toy. When a geocacher finds a travel bug, he logs onto the designated website and enters the PIN to access an online log. There he posts the position where he found the bug, adds a comment, and receives instructions on where to take the bug next. Some travel bugs have missions to travel to a specific location. For others, the goal is to see how far and to how many different places the bug can travel. 

“Most travel bugs have a goal, like, ‘I want to get to the Indianapolis Speedway,’ so it will eventually work its way over to Indiana, get its photo taken at the racetrack, and work its way back home,” explained Seth Leary, founder of the Washington State Geocaching Association, who helped guide the Bellevue project. “The process can take something like two years, but if they get back home, the owner can keep it on his desk, knowing all the places it went to.” The fun, said Leary, is in seeing where the bugs end up.

In connection with a community sculpture project, Bellevue High School students created small papier mache sculptures, registered them as travel bugs and sent them on journeys in the nearby Seattle, Washington area. One travel bug directed finders to take it to the Seattle Space Needle. Another, dubbed Larry the Loch Ness Monster, asked finders to photograph it at local lakes. A sealife sculpture was photographed with fish at the Seattle Aquarium before finding its way home.

If you want to start your own travel bug on a trip, you can register your bug on geocaching.com. For a great selection of geocaching GPS devices, visit ActionGPS.

Last night, I left a pre-Labor Day cookout after it was dark. The hosts’ home was on a private driveway in a cul-de-sac that was tucked into a housing complex. On the e-vite they mentioned how one would not be able to get directions right to the house using online mapping programs. Those programs were only able to direct a driver to the top of the hill where their street began. This housing complex was built many years ago, so it was not new or unchartered territory. Yet somehow, online mapping software hadn’t quite caught on to the fact that there was a cul-de-sac and a private driveway at the bottom of the hill.

This is where a GPS navigation device can come in very handy. Relying on the mapping prowess of online sources has its limits. Try as it might, this excellent resources cannot always be up to the minute because things change so quickly with highway and road construction. Or as was the case with this cul-de-sac, some locations haven’t changed at all. They are simply beyond the navigation capabilities of online mapping software.

A GPS device like the Garmin StreetPilot C550 GPS Automotive Navigation System comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps, including a hefty points of interest (POIs) database with hotels, restaurants, fuel, ATMs and more. It even announces the name of exits and streets so you never have to take your eyes off the road. In addition, the c550 accepts custom points of interest (POIs), so you can have information about how to get to your favorite spots at your fingertips when you need it.

The StreetPilot c550 is packed full of additional features that make it the perfect navigator. Its high sensitivity GPS receiver acquires satellites quickly and maintains signals even as you drive under heavy foliage or near skyscrapers.

We know you work hard and your GPS navigation device will work hard for you to to get you where you need and want to go.   Do you have a story about how GPS took you to a hard-to-find destination? Tell us all about it!

HAPPY LABOR DAY!

The Garmin Edge 305 GPS with Cadence Speed Sensor puts the “fun” in functional and when you choose it, you are getting a great ridealong partner to help you take your cycling to the next level. It provides state-of-the-art technology and it is rather good-looking too. It has a sleek look and easy-to-read display so you will never be embarassed to be seen with it.

As your partner in fitness, the Edge 305 works to help you achieve your personal best. Certainly, you do well on your own, but we all can use a little help.

Edge 305 comes packaged with a heart rate monitor and a speed / cadence sensor. These wireless sensors use ANT technology to send valuable workout data to the Edge.
Here are more reasons why you should bring the Garmin Edge 305 along for the ride:

Two- way Relationship The Edge 305 provides you with the information you need and also records information about your pedaling cadence and wheel speed. You can use it to train indoors as well as out of doors because the sensor can be attached to your rear wheel.

Ever-alert The Edge 305 features a high-sensitivity receiver that can retain a signal under a tree of near a tall building. The Auto Lap feature will automatically trigger a lap each time that you ride by a certain spot or cycle a pre-determined distance.

Racing Partner Those of you who get by with a little help from your friends (or enemies) will be glad to know that Edge 605 lets you race a virtual competitor.

Git along little doggies! In the not too distant future, a unique GPS device may help cowboys round up the herd. Now being tested at the government’s Jornada Experimental Range in southern New Mexico, the “Ear-A-Round” uses a GPS device to track and monitor a cow’s location and movements. A remote-controlled wireless headset transmits sounds directly into the cows’ ears, enabling cowboys to direct their movements from a distance. Researchers hope the device will allow ranchers and farmers to herd their cattle from afar, without hitting the dusty trail.

Developed in cooperation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the hat-like GPS device sits atop the cow’s head and is held in place by a “cap” with holes that fit over the cow’s ears. The units are powered by a small solar-energy panel affixed to the top of the rectangular device. About the size small shoebox, the odd looking “caps” make the test cows look like a herd that’s been invaded by Borg.

The purpose of the project is to improve animal distribution on the landscape to prevent overgrazing and animals overrunning sensitive areas. “It has the potential to give farmers a much finer control of pastures, finer management of where animals are and a better use of the land,” said Daniela Rus, MIT professor of electrical engineering and computer science. With the GPS device ranchers will be able to check on their herds by logging onto a computer. They’ll be able to direct them away from overgrazed pastures and into better food areas.

Researchers hope the devices will eventually enable techno cowboys to round up and herd cattle with the sound of their voice. USDA researcher Dean Anderson, a 30-year veteran of remote herding technology, has been working with the test herd, training them to respond to cowboy herding songs. If the project is a success, Anderson envisions a fenceless West with GPS technology keeping herds in a virtual paddock.

Gas prices have slid down a little and we all are so very grateful for this. But that doesn’t mean that gas still isn’t taking a bigger bite out of your wallet than it did last year. You still want to do what you can to limit costs. This is where GPS navigation come into play.

With a GPS navigation device you will, one daily basis, be taking the most efficient routes to your destinations. Of course you’ll see results immediately, and when you look at the cumulative effect of getting places quicker, without getting lost, you’ll have an even great appreciation for what a GPS can do for you. Little bits add up. Every wrong turn, every time you exit the highway at the wrong spot and have to get back on–these unnecessary actions utilize gas.

The most basic GPS devices will help you find the shortest route and now they come with even more advanced features to help you make that tank of gas last as long as possible. Some come equipped to access information on the way traffic patterns work in your area and help you avoid bottlenecks. Others allow users to input real-time traffic alerts, so that even unexpected traffic snags can be incorporated into your route.

A GPS navigation device like the TomTom ONE XL GPS Automotive Navigation System allows you to access traffic and weather information in real time. This is important because even with great directions, you can still hit s snag if everyone else is going where you are going.

Visit ActionGPS.com to see the TomTom One XL and other gas-saving GPS devices.

Call me a worrywart, but when my daughter and her roommate decided to hike the Vermont Trail, I insisted they take along the Garmin Rino GPS FRS/GMRS 2-way radio. They were planning a rugged week backpacking in the mountains of Vermont where the weather can change in an instant. It’s not unusual for afternoons to turn stormy and nights to drop to 40 degrees even in the dog days of August. But I was more concerned about the rugged terrain and my daughter’s relative lack of primitive camping experience. With a Garmin Rino GPS 2-way radio along, I figured they’d have a better chance of calling for help in an emergency.

The Vermont Trail is an ongoing volunteer project to build a multi-purpose four-season trail across Vermont. When completed it will make for comfortable hiking in the Vermont mountains. But it’s still a work in progress and, like the Appalachian Trail, in many places is no more than a deer path through the wild brush. My daughter had done some wilderness camping back in her college days and her roomie, a Vermont native, had hiked the Trail with friends as a teen; but that was years ago. Despite their assurances that they had everything under control, mom that I am, I envisioned crumbling rock ledges and vicious bear attacks. I felt much happier when they agreed to take the Rino along for the trip.

Weight is a big issue when you’re carrying all your supplies on your back, but at just 10.3 ounces, the Garmin Rino 520 HCx GPS 2-way radio didn’t weigh them down. They were able to add topographic and trail maps and plot their route to leave with friends. With the capacity to store 500 waypoints it was easy to mark overnight shelters, dangerous water areas and paths to nearby towns. With conservative use, the 14-hour battery life would see them through the mountains and safely home. The highly sensitive GPS receiver on the Rino 520 provides a whopping 5 watts of transmitting power, enough to locate your position even in heavy cover or deep canyons — and provide a 14-mile line-of-sight contact capability. In an emergency situation, I felt confident they’d be able to pinpoint their location and contact rescue teams.

Today is day 2 of their trek in the mountains and knowing they have the Garmin Rino GPS 2-way radio with them, I’m not really worried. (Well, not much anyway.)

Last month, a GPS navigation device helped a pilot and his wife to rescue a man who was near-death in Nevada’s Black Rock desert.

The pilot saw what appeared to be a person lying face down in the sand. This pilot was also a former police officer and he knew that people become stranded and die out in the desert. Still, he wasn’t certain that it really was a person. Unfortunately, pranksters can deter a Good Samaritan from helping because it is possible that no one needs help.

Still, the pilot decided to mark the spot where he saw the body as a waypoint on his Garmin GPS device. This helped the pilot later when the pilots wife saw some movement. She initially thought it was a dummy with clothes on. As it turns out, it was indeed a reala person who was in real need of medical attention.

You don’t have to have a story nearly this dramatic to appreciate the usefulness ofa GPS navigation device. A GPS device can help you get to where you need to go so that you do not end up stranded. A device that allows you to program points of interest (POIs) can keep track of favorite spots so you can spend your mental energy on other tasks.

Plus, a GPS device does not only have to be used to get you where you want to go in your car; it can get you where you want to go in ANY car. Think about it: you can get directional help no matter how you travel.

Visit ActionGPS.com to check out GPS devices made by Garmin and other manufacturers.

The Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx Portable Handheld Outdoor Color GPS is an exciting update of the GPSMAP 60CS. The GPSMAP 60CS was one of Garmin’s most sought-after GPS devices for outdoor and marine use and the 60CSx is just as popular.

The sturdy GPSMAP 60CSx is ready to go when you are. Garmin’s GPS devices for outdoor use are constructed to go with you wherever you go. When taking on Mother Nature, you need a GPS device that is to weather the elements.With its waterproof battery compartment, LED backlit display and built-in quad-helix receiving antenna, this unit is more than adequate for all of your outdoor and marine adventures.

Here are some of its great features:

-Built-in Americas autoroute basemap with automatic routing capabilities, including highways, exits, and tide data (U.S. only)
-Position formats include Lat/Lon, UTM, Loran TDs, Maidenhead, MGRS, user grid, and more
-Trip computer that provides odometer, stopped time, moving average, overall average, total time, max speed, and more
-Navigation instructions that can be shared with repeaters, plotters, and autopilots using NMEA protocols through the dedicated serial port
-10,000-point automatic track log; 20 saved tracks (500 points each) let you retrace your path in both directions
-Electronic compass and barometric altimeter

The Garmin 60CSx is a must-have for serious outdoor enthusiasts. This unit has a large color TFT display, which makes for comprehensive viewing. Your Garmin 60CSx will arrive with a blank 64 MB microSD card and you have option of getting new microSD cards. You can get new cards that come pre-loaded with MapSource Topo, inland lake maps, BlueChart marine cartography and City Navigator street maps.

Go the ActionGPS.com to purchase the Garmin 60CSx or another outdoor GPS device to guide you in your travels.

Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? The new ActionGPS Learning Center shows you how to easily convert your Bluetooth-enabled PDA or laptop into a GPS receiver. Except for the basic Bluetooth compatibility, no special equipment is required. All you need is a Bluetooth-enabled GPS receiver. Plug it into the serial port on your laptop or PDA and voila! — you have a functioning automotive or handheld GPS device. And, best of all, you pay no GPS service fee. Your only expense is the receiver.

This simple trick — one of many handy tips you’ll find at the new ActionGPS Learning Center – allows you to use your laptop to plan your next vacation, a cross-country road trip, even an international adventure. Using expansion slots, you can enhance your trip planning capabilities by adding useful maps and navigation aids. Take your GPS-enhanced PDA or laptop along on the trip for plotting spur-of-the-moment day trips and excursions to sight-seeing gems you learn about during your travels. The data logging function on the GPS receiver allows you to record your entire trip and mark new points of interest for return trips.

Of course with versatile, pocket-sized, Bluetooth GPS units on the market like Garmin’s Nuvi 360, you don’t have to lug a bulky laptop across country or through Europe. Navigator, translator, entertainer, tour guide — the Garmin Nuvi 360 is like having a personal travel agent in your pocket.

Wireless Bluetooth technology allows the Nuvi 360 to integrate with your compatible Bluetooth phone. Use the Nuvi’s touch screen keypad to dial calls. Answer calls by tapping the screen. The powerful built-in microphone and speaker allow you to talk hands-free and stay focused on the road. Handy one-touch dialing for points of interest allows you to call ahead for reservations or information effortlessly. Sleek and slim, Garmin’s Nuvi 360 fits comfortably into your pocket or purse and has a convenient rechargeable lithium-ion battery. You couldn’t ask for a better traveling companion!

Just the other day I saw an editorial cartoon that showed a couple in a car with a GPS navigation system that seemed unsure of how to point the driver in the right direction. In the word balloon, the system tells them to take and right and then tells them no it was really a right. And it gets worse—then the GPS device declares that it is most certainly not going to ask someone else.

Well, that makes for a funny cartoon, but it would not be an amusing situation in real life.
GPS devices really do not have personalities of their own. Instead, they can take on the personality and reflect the interests of the user. You can customize your GPS navigation device you fit your lifestyle and travel needs.

Action GPS does not sell GPS navigation systems that are unsure of themselves. Yes, GPS systems do come with voice prompts that sound just like human voices. But unlike the guy at the gas station who doesn’t want to admit that he doesn’t really know how to direct you to where you want to go, GPS knows. GPS devices employ state-of-the-art satellite technology with updates. Some GPS devices can even warn you of upcoming traffic snags.

A device like the Garmin Nuvi 650 will provide you with turn-by-turn voice directions. It even announces the name of exits and streets so you never have to take your eyes off the road. Plus, it is programmable, so it will also take input from you. Add your own points of interest (POIs) like restaurants, schools, safety cameras and sports venues. You can also set alerts so that the Garmin Nuvi 650 can let you know when you are getting close to POIs.

Tech-savvy adventurers around the world are flocking to the sport of geocaching. It’s a sport the whole family can enjoy, and the technology is a snap to learn. (See our Aug. 5 & 7 posts.) Once you’ve mastered the basics though, real enthusiasts want more. When you’re ready to take geocaching to the next level, you’ll want to upgrade your portable handheld GPS unit. Naturally, you’ll still want the solid features found in basic handheld GPS models: lightweight, compact, long battery life, waypoint storage, and screen readability (see our Aug. 5 post for details). But you’ll want to upgrade to a GPS unit that also offers the following advanced features:

• A WAAS-enabled GPS unit provides superior accuracy and can pinpoint waypoints to within 10 feet 95% of the time.
• A built-in compass is particularly convenient in tracking the cache in the final critical 100 feet.
• An altimeter shows you how high up to search for vertically-hidden caches.
• Mapping capabilities give you the big picture and make navigation a snap. They allow you to download maps to your unit that give you a picture of the terrain.
• An external antenna improves signal reception in difficult terrains and under heavy tree cover.

ActionGPS carries superior portable handheld GPS devices for the serious geocacher. The Garmin Colorado 400i handheld outdoor color GPS can track waypoints from the city to deep backcountry trails. WAAS-enabled with a built-in electronic compass, barometric altimeter and mapping capabilities, the Garmin Colorado 400i keeps you on track when you’re searching out even the most difficult geocaches. Visit Action GPS for complete details on the Garmin Colorado and other excellent geocaching GPS devices.