Geotagging Imagery and Video


IsWHERE is a log of my thoughts, reflections, and news/blog links on the emergence of image and video geospatial tagging. On May5th this year, I opened a second blog to deal with more detailed aspects of tools for FalconView and TalonView can be found at RouteScout. Trends I want to try and follow are the various disruptions resulting from spatial smart-phones, how many GPS devices are out there, smart-cameras, and other related news. And yes, I have a business interest in all of this. My company Red Hen has been pioneering this sort of geomedia for more than a decade.

So beyond a personal blog, I also provide a link to IsWHERE a shareware tool created by Red Hen Systems to readily place geoJPEG or geotagged imagery and soon GEM full motion media kept on your own computer(s) into Google Earth/Map from your File Manager media selection. Works great for geotagged images from Nikon, Ricoh, Sony, iPHONE, Android and all geo-smartphones that can create geotagged images. IsWhere - read about it

IsWhere Free Download (XP and VISTA)

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Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Tablet Computers vs. Smartphones: Whi...

Tablet Computers vs. Smartphones: Which Is the GIS Tool of the Future?

October 20, 2010By: Eric Gakstatter


Although tablet computers have been around for more than a decade, without a doubt, 2010 is the Year of the Tablet Computer. Interestingly enough, 2010 is arguably the Year of the Smartphone. Which one will come out on top?

Most authors would tease the reader and have the audience read the entire article before revealing the answer. Nope, not me. I think that smartphones are going to take the GIS prize. But...it doesn't mean that tablet computers are on their way out. On the contrary, tablet computer sales are going to continue to substantially  increase. Here is an interesting fact that I read in the past couple of days. Sixty percent of Apple Computer's sales are from products that did not existthree years ago according to a blog post at www.asymco.com. Check out the following chart:

The blog author, Horace Dediu, notes that prior to 2001, the orange band (Mac computers) was all that Apple had to sell. The iPod was introduced in 2001 and, of course, that changed Apple forever, but look at how relatively insignificant iPod sales are today.

Also, take a look at the iPhone (green) and iPad (dark blue) sales on the chart. I think that summarizes the growth of tablet and smartphones not only for Apple, but for the industry in general.

Both smartphones and tablet computers will be used widely for GIS, both for data collection and deploying GIS apps. But at the end of the day, the mobile phone is such a ubiquitous device. Of course, not everyone has a smart mobile phone, but that's changing. International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that worldwide smartphone shipments will increase to 269.6 million in 2010, up 55.4 percent from 2009.

To offer some perspective, smartphones shipments are still less than one quarter of all mobile phone shipments. Global mobile phone shipments in Q2 2010 were 308 million units and growing at about 13 percent over Q2 2009, according to Strategic Analytics.

 

 

Twice this week I've had readers e-mail me with questions/comments regarding smartphones for GIS data collection. To me, there are two issues that hinder GIS data collection using smart phones.

1. The smartphone operating systems. There are two many of them. Symbian, iOS, Android, Windows Mobile, RIM (BlackBerry), PalmOS, etc.

The software developers can't afford to support every operating system. You can say what you want about Microsoft, but the Windows operating system for desktop computers has really made it easy (and relatively cheap) for software developers and has been a tremendous benefit to society in the last 15 years.

Too many different operating systems on smartphones makes it difficult for GIS software developers. They end up supporting one and it is usually the one they think has the best chance of success in the future (or is easiest to support). At this point, Windows Mobile is the platform of choice. Ironically, Windows Mobile only accounts for  about 10 percent of the market share. Take a look at the chart below from Canalys.

Granted, the chart is dated, and I bet the iPhone, Android and Windows numbers are a bit higher now, but you see the problem.

If you're a software developer and you have to decide which operating system(s) to support, which one(s) do you choose?

2. Limited GPS and Bluetooth support.

If you've ever used the GPS functionality in a smartphone, it's very convenient. I don't always have my PND (Portable Navigation Device) with me, but I always have my phone with me. If I need directions, I just crank up the Sprint Navigation software, type in the address, and viola! Granted, the GPS chip takes a few minutes to fire up and its responsiveness isn't what my PND delivers, but it gets me to where I want to go and it is super-convenient.

Given the convenience, it's not surprising that, when geospatial people find out their smartphone has GPS capability, they start thinking about how it can be used for GIS data collection. At that point, accuracy becomes an issue. For citizen reporting such as City Sourced app, the smartphone's internal GPS chip is just fine. But, for someone wanting higher accuracy GPS data such as 1-3 meters or even sub-meter accuracy, the smartphone internal GPS chip can't do it, not even close.

Ok, no problem. Just connect via Bluetooth to a separate, high-performance Bluetooth GPS receiver, right? Not so fast.

The smartphone makers don't do a very good job of supporting Bluetooth. Typically, they provide Bluetooth support for hands-free ear buds and other common accessories, but not general-purpose Bluetooth devices like a GPS receiver. What a pain. So close, yet so far. Imagine being able to run your favorite GIS data collection program on your smartphone and having high-accuracy GPS receiver bluetoothed to your phone? That would be a pretty cost-effective solution.

Maybe someday. Actually, I think that day will come. Hurry up!

 

Thanks, and see you next week.

Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/GPSGIS_Eric


The True Size of Africa

The True Size of Africa

The True Size of Africa

Kai Krause illustrates how big Africa really is by cramming the shapes of other countries into it — a lot of other countries. Why do you people hate Mercator so much? Via MetaFilter


Monday, October 18, 2010

Mobile nav usage up 57% to 44 million

Mobile nav usage up 57% to 44 million
Oct 18, 2010

Mobile nav_generic2.jpg
According to a new Berg Insight report, the number of mobile subscribers using a turn-by-turn navigation service or application on their handset increased by 57% between H1-2009 and H1-2010 to reach 44 million worldwide.
 

The global subscriber base is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.1% to reach 195 million users in 2015.

Broad availability of GPS handsets and attractive pricing are key factors for widespread adoption of mobile navigation services.

In the US, where GPS handset penetration is above 70%, nav services for mobile phones has already reached about 8% of the total mobile subscriber base. For a large percentage of these users, navigation is part of a service bundle together with a voice and data plan from their mobile operator.

In response to the launch of free nav applications for smartphones by Nokia and Google, more and more operators worldwide are now introducing bundled navigation services to offset the cost for end users.

Navigation service providers and mobile operators are also trying to monetise services by introducing various feature and content up-sells that allow users to customise navigation applications to suit their personal needs.

"Mobile operators and service providers are now accelerating their efforts to create differentiated navigation experiences with unique local content to compete against free services", said André Malm, senior analyst at Berg Insight.

He added that integration of nav services with other applications to stimulate usage will become increasingly important for mobile operators seeking additional revenues from location-based advertising. Since relatively few subscribers need turn-by-turn guidance on a daily basis, complementary features such as social networking, restaurant and event guides improve stickiness.

To find out more about the latest trends in navigation, attendNavigation Strategies USA at the Sheraton in San Jose on January 25th - 26th, 2011

Saturday, October 16, 2010

best GPS digital camera

best GPS digital camera


Since we can not stop sharing about our whereabouts and what we are doing, we need to connect instantly and stay connected always.

Facebook, twitter, foursquare and so on, let us announce the world all the great stuff we are doing, amazing stuff that we have seen.

Just like our phones got smarter, so did our cameras. Especially with GPS capabilities, cameras are helping us stay connected. Now we have GPS digital cameras. So we can keep sharing.

Some of these GPS cameras not just record where exactly you took that picture, but they also will let you connect instantly. You can also synchronize with Google Maps and get a bird eye view or from the direction in which the photo was taken (Sony HX5V).

The internal clock will be adjusted to the local time of the place where the camera is (Sony HX5V and Panasonic DMC-ZS7).

GPS enabled cameras will let you them as fully functional GPS device (Casio EX-H20G). You can upload your picture to Web, to the selected photo sharing sites ( Picturetown for Nikon Coolpix, Picasa for Samsung).

Some cameras (Ricoh G700) will need optional GPS unit to be attached. They may also have WiFi, Bluetooth capabilties (Samsung CL65, Ricoh G700).

With all the ones we reviewed Nikon Coolpix has the heftiest price tag of $1000 at Amazon.com. Panasonic DMC-ZS7 is the most economical one; $249. Samsung is the easiest to carry around, it weighs only 5.5 oz. For most detailed pictures are offered by Panasonic thanks to its 14.5 MP and 12X optical and 4X digital zoom.

Panasonic with its technical capabilities and price is a standout on our review. Apparently we are not the only one who likes it, it is #26 on Amazon.com’s best selling list on electronics.

Here are the links to Amazon where available:

Brought to you by your GPS navigation site NaviGadget.


Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Sony opens Android developer site for...

Sony opens Android developer site for Google TV devices

There's not much there at the moment, but Sony's just opened a new Android developer site for its Google TV devices -- a possible hint that Sony's offerings will have some unique and different features from the Logitech Revue. Our interest is definitely piqued -- we'll let you know everything that happens during our Sony Google TV event liveblog starting at 530PM ET!

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

nternet Explorer falls below 50 perce...

Internet Explorer falls below 50 percent global marketshare, Chrome usage triples

Internet Explorer falls below 50 percent global marketshare, Chrome usage triples
Oh, IE, it pains us to do this to you. You who once so mightily won in the battle against Netscape Navigator now seem to be losing your war against a battalion of upstarts, relatively fresh faces like Firefox and Chrome. According to StatCounter, IE's global usage stats have fallen to 49.87 percent, a fraction of a tick beneath half. Firefox makes up the lion share of the rest, at 31.5 percent, while Chrome usage tripled since last year, up to 11.54 percent. Two years ago IE had two thirds of the global market locked down, and even if Internet Explorer 9is the best thing since ActiveX, well, we just don't see the tide of this battle turning without MS calling in some serious reinforcements.

Update: If you needed more proof of Chrome's increasing popularity, we got a tip on this report from Softpediaconfirming that Chrome is the fastest growing browser of the moment. Firefox is more or less flat and, well, you know all about how IE is faring.