Friday, May 1, 2009

Global Positioning System (GPS)

By Alexis Kenne

Here is what you should know from the start:

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense. GPS was originally intended for military applications, but in the 1980s, the government made the system available for civilian use. GPS works in any weather conditions, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day. There are no subscription fees or setup charges to use GPS.

Satellite navigation dates back a lot longer than many people realize. The principles behind SatNav were first tested back in 1967, but it took nearly 30 years before the NavStar GPS System first began operation as a military application in the mid 1990s. Civilian use of GPS navigation was made available soon after the military launch, but the initial costs of using the system were very high, and required ongoing subscriptions to be paid. The first people who took advantage of GPS were pilots, and surveyors, who needed to be able to measure distances with pinpoint accuracy. In the early days , an affordable GPS auto navigation system was out of reach for the average car owner.

After years of operation of the GPS auto navigation system, the cost for the installment dropped reasonably making it more affordable for auto owners. Because of the lower cost of installing the GPS, people took advantage of this opportunity and made use of this in their travel planning, tracking of locations, and many other navigational purposes.

Do not think that auto navigation systems are application used only by those who do extensive travels. But the truth is, even people, who spend many hours in their car, truck, or SUV also need the benefits from an automobile navigation system or any device of the same value. Most prospect users like you might just be thinking of one concern. And that is the kind of system that will best suit the certain navigation you really need. What you need to know are the different auto navigation systems and determine which of these suites your needs more.

Here are some of the available auto navigations systems in the market:

1. Stand-alone auto navigation system

This stand-alone navigation system is able to give you clear verbal turn-by-turn directions without you being connected to any computers.

2. Multipurpose Handheld Navigation Devices.

Unlike the stand-alone system, this multi-purpose navigation device does not provide full detailed directions but it has other benefits not found in the former device.

3. PDA/PC/Laptop/Palm Based Systems

Using your laptop and other palm based devices you can navigate wherever you want when you turn them into a navigation system for your travel purposes.

Listed below are the different ways the auto navigation system and GPS technology can help you in any of your journey:

2. Keep track of restaurants, malls, or theatres. While you are in travel, there are some points that you might need to eat some or stop for a while to take rest. Doing these in a mall, theatre, or some restaurant is a great option.

2. Be familiar with the place by tracking significant structures that might help you along the road like restaurants, malls, restrooms, gasoline station, or theatres. It would be an addition to your journey to make it more memorable.

With the GPS auto navigation system, travelers can say so long to those days of endless driving, asking directions, gas guzzling and getting lost who knows where.

People are now free to travel anywhere they want to using the auto navigation system or GPS because the navigation already made a way to ease up the travel. With the help of the GPS, people can now visit far places without worrying of directions and travel guides, and since there are lots of route options as directed by the auto navigation system, people would not need to take long trips just to reach the place they want.

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