Chet Davis - Your Technology Tutor

U.S. Consumers and Navigation Devices

More people use portable navigation devices (PNDs) than in-dash navigation systems, but users of in-dash systems use their system more often, according to a U.S. consumer survey released by Navteq:  Navigation Study: What's Driving U.S. Consumers

Since getting my iPhone I have used the Map function/s several times to help me find a specific location, find a store and even find my way when I needed to see where the closest freeway on-ramp is while coming back from the airport.  Check this previous post for some thoughts I shared about using the included Maps app on my iPhone.

You may also find some value in this post on the 'iPhonNess' website: http://www.iphoneness.com/iphone-apps/10-cool-navigation-apps-for-iphone/

At the Movies: Avatar - An Interesting Article About the Film & It's Director

When discussing popular movies this month, certainly James Cameron's Avatar is to be in the mix. Just  one month after it's release out, Cameron’s sci-fi adventure has drawn in $450.4 million at the domestic box office. Avatar is now #4 on the all-time domestic box-office chart (not adjusted for inflation or higher 3D/IMAX ticket prices). Alt Film Guide website predicts:  It’ll surely be #3 by Monday, ahead of George Lucas' Stars Wars ($460m). Avatar is currently trailing Stars Wars, The Dark Knight, and Titanic

I was catching up on my reading last evening and read an interesting article in the December 2009 issue of Wired Magazine.  Come to find out that the same article is available online here: James Cameron’s New 3-D Epic Could Change Film Forever (Article authored by By Joshua Davis - no relation to yours truly)

Director James Cameron reviews footage on the Avatar set with (from left) actors
Sigourney Weaver, Joel Moore, and Sam Worthington (Photo: Art Streiber)

Samsung launches Blu-ray and HDTV app store

Many folks have heard of the Apps store that you can download applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  As of January 2010, there are more than 115,000 3-party applications for these portable media devices.

Well, Samsung is launching their own App store for their Blu-ray. Samsung launching an application store for select 2010 Blu-ray players, HDTVs and home theaters.

The website MYCE (My Consumer Electronics) reported earlier this week that "Samsung’s store is an upgrade to its existing Internet@TV platform, which launched last year as a strip of widgets running along the bottom of the television screen. These included Flickr, Yahoo and others. The new app store will include offerings from Accedo Broadband, AccuWeather.com, The Associated Press, Blockbuster, Fashion TV, Netflix, Picasa, Pandora, Rovi, Travel Channel, Twitter, USA TODAY and Vudu. More apps will be added later this year."

You can see several applications running on the Samsung TV above - these will be available from the Samsung Apps store later this year.

Best of CES (Consumer Electronics Show)

The world's largest trade show for consumer technology just wrapped up it's annual showing in Las Vegas, Nevada.  This year the dominant news coming from the city of bright lights is/was 3D Television (or 3D Home-Theater as the industry is calling it)

You have likely seen the articles in your newspaper, seen news clips on TV and/or read news feeds on the internet.  I share today two different sources for you to receive your inoculation of Technology News. 

My favorite, is this concise summary of CES News is from CNET - they provide a nice 22-minute video sharing their awards, their favorites from CES 2010.  After (or instead of) watching the video - scroll down and you'll see the top picks, by category, of CNET CES Awards for new technology.  Click here to check out the CNET CES Page

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Now, if you wanted to see/learn about everything that showed at the 2010 CES, you would head over to Engadget.  They were named the official blog-partner of the the group that sponsors/puts on CES every year, the CEA (Consumer Electronics Assoc.).

Visit the CES section of the massive Engadget technology/gadget blog site here http://www.engadget.com/ces and you can scroll through copious quantities of technology reviews that were straight from the floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

It is helpful that you can view their posts by day (the show ran Tuesday through Saturday) or use the Engadget search tab at the top of the page to read something specific by manufacturer or gadget.