GPS Tuner Atlas has the ability to import user created and custom maps. You can import topographical maps, hand drawn maps or any other map you have an image of. Right now GPS Tuner offers topo maps for Germany so for those of us in the US and elsewhere we can use the import function in the meantime. In this tutorial we will use a digital topo map from digital-topo-maps.com (DTM). First locate the area and zoom level that you want to use. In the I am zoomed all the way into an area of the Salt River just south of Saguaro Lake. Be sure to click the ‘MyTopo’ button on the map once you’ve located the area so you can see the topo map. Keep reading for the rest of the tutorial.

Now we will need three reference points to use during the import. DTM will show you the coordinates of the point, in the lower left below the map image, that your mouse is hovering over.

It’s easier if you choose points that are easy to find, apart from each other and are well defined. Many times on topo maps you will come across an X with a number next to it. That is the altitude of that particular point. You won’t need the altitude during the import but it’s nice to know. In the image above I have chosen two hilltops and the point of a ‘finger’ (circled in red). Hold your mouse over the points and right down the location information that is displayed.

The three points I have chosen above have the following coordinates:

• Hilltop 1 (top left):        33.5614232, -111.551957
• Hilltop 2 (bottom right):    33.5487271, -111.532216
• Finger (bottom left):        33.5479402, -111.554532

Next comes the ugly part for this tutorial. If you already have access to an image file of the map you are importing then by all means use that. Since most of us like free stuff that’s where this part comes in. Grab a screenshot of the topo map as above and crop out the unneeded stuff like the Google added buttons and zoom slider. Save it as a jpg. Since I chose the tip of that ‘finger’ as a point I won’t be able to crop out the Google zoom slider and it will show up as part of the map. Oh well J.

Now fire up Map Tuner and connect your Touch Pro2 (or other Windows Mobile touch screen device with GPS Tuner Atlas). Click on Maps > My Maps > then click on the Import Image Icon.

Navigate to and open the image of the map you saved earlier. Map Tuner will load it and tell you it isn’t calibrated yet. Map Tuner supports many different types of image files: bmp, jpg, gif, jp2, j2k, pcx, png, and tif.

Remember the three points we wrote down earlier? Right click on each point and select ‘add calibration point.’

A popup will show where we enter the coordinates we wrote down. Be sure to select the correct coordinate system. Since we are using the digital-topo-maps.com as a reference we will go with the d.dddd system as selected in the image above. I’ve already entered the coordinates for the first point I selected in this. Click on ‘Ok’ when done. Do the same for the next two points.

After you have entered the three sets of coordinates you should see crosshairs similar to the screenshot.

Once it is calibrated the info box in the top left should display the coordinates that your mouse is over and will change as you move your mouse.

Be sure to Save your newly calibrated map,

Make sure your device is connected via ActiveSync and click on Copy To Device > select Windows Mobile Device > Next > and then Copy. Map Tuner will copy your newly created and calibrated map to your device. Once done you can start up GPS Tuner on the phone.

Voila! That’s how to create and calibrate a custom map. Repeat this process for each section that you need. You can do this with virtually any image you have. This is especially useful if you want to import an old miners map and some other historic map. There are other sources for topo maps that require a few more steps but this should get you started. Enjoy!

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For awhile now some users have experienced a caching issue with the main page where the most recent posts haven’t been showing up. We’ve dug all through the back end and code to try and locate this issue. We’ve made a few changes just now that should alleviate this issue. From now on you should see the most recent posts instead of having to CTRL-F5 the page.

Thank you

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Dom2684 has put together a concise tutorial in the Android Forums on how to create more ‘internal memory’ for Android Apps on your G1, myTouch and other Android phones. Basically it involves creating an ext2 partition on a memory card that tricks Android into thinking it has more internal memory. Unlike a certain iPhone 3G, our Android devices give a wiser range of capabilities with hacks like this.

Of course if you take your memory card out this newly created ‘internal memory’ will disappear but it does open up a wide range of possibilities including the ability to just copy and paste data to a larger newer memory card when the time comes. To find out how check out the thread on HOW TO: Create an Ext 2 Partition MADE EASY w/ Pics

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Pictured above is the HTC Touch HD2 as it will appears on T-Mobile in the UK. It’s a shame we don’t get the exotic HTC phones over here States side. How hard would it be for T-Mobile to offer the phone even if they don’t have to advertise. I’m sure there’s several thousand that would buy it. Really TMo you don’t even have to support it, just offer it . There is a tiny rumor going around that it MIGHT come to the US but we won’t know for sure until the 9th or 11th. Keep your fingers crossed.

Quick Specs: 4.3 in touchscreen, 4.9MP camera, FM Radio and all the other goodies that come standard now a days.

Also, several sites, like TMoNews, are reporting that more cities are experiencing the 7.2Mbps 3G speeds that we talked about awhile ago. Chicago and New York are among them. Other cities that should be experiencing them soon would be major cities with high population densities like Philadelphia, Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles, etc. Please let us know if you are experiencing sudden elative 3G data speeds.

Perhaps if we can have a nice fat piece of the 7.2Mbps data cake along with our HTC Touch HD2 then we can avoid having more people going all Fort Hood…too soon? In truth I used to be stationed there and my thoughts go out to the families and individuals affected.

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Microsoft opened the doors to their new store here in Scottsdale, AZ today at Fashion Square Mall blending ‘high technology with high fashion’ as one speaker said. I was able to grab a press pass and sneak inside (along with hundreds of others) and see what’s happening and new. Microsoft had a wrap around projection screen (and I mean wrapped around the store) hooked up to various XBOX 360s, PCs, and Notebooks. The Microsoft Surface table was on display in various parts of the store showcasing the multitouch features including Microsoft Concierge, a product gallery and some cool games for parties. Too bad it’s dishing out at $30K for commercial use only right now, but they hope to bring that down for consumers in the near future. What you really want to know about though is Windows Mobile. That’s where I headed first.

The Windows Mobile, or ‘Windows Phone,’ station was meager and only offered up four phones and two mifi’s. I had my fingers crossed for a sneak at Windows 7 but the world doesn’t work that way. All four phones were sporting Windows Mobile 6.5 and none were from T-Mobile. By the way, there is an update for the Touch Pro2 to Windows Mobile 6.5 on the HTC website but it isn’t carrier specific so don’t count on tech support from T-Mobile yet. The MS employees told me what we already know about 6.5 on T-Mobile, that when T-Mobile is done with quality control and checking it will be released to us in an official ROM. Good news (sigh), Windows Mobile 7 will be out…’next year sometime’

Microsoft was giving away goodie bags and gift cards to everyone, and a free copy of Office to the first 1,000 PC/notebook/netbook purchases. Without further ado, check out the random pictures after the jump!

Anyone needing the original image file for any of these please use the ‘Submit News‘ page to contact me. Enjoy!

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Now that the CLIQ has been available for a few days we’re wondering who’s going to get one? The slide is a lot better than the G1’s but the placement of the D-pad on the keyboard will take some getting used to. Who else has one in the mail or in their hands? (I’m still waiting on mine to come). For those of you that don’t know it is available for $199 with 2 year activation or about $449 without the extension.

Here’s a quick rundown of the specs:

• Android (and all the great stuff that comes with the Android OS)
• 5 megapixel camera! (yes 5MP)
• MOTOBLUR – a socially integrated solution that blurs the line between Android and social networks
• Full QWERTY keyboard (slider)
• Touch Screen
• 3G, GPS, Wi Fi, micro SD, and Bluetooth of course!

T-Mobile is throwing in a car charger, I though these were standard issue now-a-days? You can check out a BLUR demo at t-mobile.com/cliq

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Need or want a quick and easy way to take screenshots on your Touch Pro2? You might see something on a website, or app that you want a screenie of and need a quick way to do it. Download and install ShakeAndSave from Extreme-Apps onto your TP2 and get crackin..er..Shakin..

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BGR has a ton of new screenshots for Android 2.0, dubbed ‘Eclair.’ From what we can tell there is a lot of reworking of the interface while maintaining the look and feel of you love about Android. Below is a quick list of new features and improvements.

• Facebook integration
• unified email inbox
• Microsoft Exchange Compatibility built in
• Google Maps with Layers including Transit Lines, Wikipedia, My Maps and more
• Much faster browser with double tap to zoom in/out
• Youtube widget that gives you the ability to upload a video in two clicks
• Car Home application that shows an optimized interface for use while driving
• Better Contacts interface with quicker access to the link you want

Thanks to Anthony for sending this in and Back_Right for the original post in our Android Forums.
Source: BGR

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Think of it as GPS, Google Earth and more on your Windows Mobile Pro phone (like the Touch Pro 2). Recently, Tamas Frigyes, CEO of GPS Tuner, sent us the corresponding press release for this exciting announcement. There is even a PC side application to help you manage your maps and locations. For more screenshots, graphics and the full press release be sure to click on the read more link below. I’m installing this great piece of software now so next week I can give you a full run down and review so stay tuned! GPS Tuner is one of those highly developed applications that makes the Windows Mobile platform strong.

“GPS Tuner today announced the latest generation of its off-road navigation software, developed specially
for mobile devices. GPS Tuner Atlas is a must-have for anyone who seeks a flexible off-road navigation
solution for geocaching, biking, touring, extreme sports, and hunting or as part of their dayto-
day off-road professional activities.”

GPS Tuner Atlas is now available at www.gpstuner.com, with innovations including fast graphics, real
Satellite Imagery with a Global Coverage by DigitalGlobe, 3D Digital Elevation, Custom Map Calibration,
street level Basic Map Data by Tele Atlas and additional Detailed Maps, robust Trip Computer,
and many specialized functions. Close to 40 000 satisfied users and several awards of excellence testify
that GPS Tuner off-road navigation software is already a valuable and reliable companion for outdoor
explorers. Ease of use has been a primary drive in the latest developments. A simpler interface
will make GPS Tuner Atlas user experience irresistible to more users than ever. Compatible with a
wide range of mobile devices, GPS Tuner Atlas will revolutionize the experience of outdoor enthusiasts,
nature lovers, all fans of leisure sport activities, golfers, riders, sailors and off-roaders everywhere.
A free demo version of GPS Tuner Atlas is available at www.gpstuner.com.

As Tamas Frigyes, CEO of GPS Tuner explains, “After Windows Mobile, which is our native platform,
the next project is for the application to be fully operable on Windows CE, and plans are under way to
finalize the roadmap that will bring GPS Tuner to the hands of Blackberry, iPhone and other popular
mobile platform users.”

About GPS Tuner Ltd.
GPS Tuner Ltd. is a privately-owned rapidly-growing software development company, which has a
predominant presence in the off-road sector, where it aims to become the market leader. The company
is based in Budapest, Hungary and its products have a global presence through online sales and
partners around the world, from Sao Paolo to Saint Petersburg, and from Mumbai to California. Reliable,
constantly updated maps are supplied by the company’s strategic partner Tele Atlas, thus contributing
to the quality and usability of the software.
The company develops its own multiplatform-based off-road navigation software for mobile devices

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Enjoy!

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Resco just released the newest version of their Pocket Radio for Windows Mobile. Since the manufacturers that be are still failing to put FM radios into our devices it’s nice to know we can stream music from around the world. Resco makes this possible with Resco Pocket Radio 2.0 for Touchscreen.

New Features:

• Finger friendly navigation: optimized for ease of use
• Letterbar: Automatically creates quick links to your most used choices
• Streaming Quality Icons: color coded icons quickly denote the quality of the stream.

The Smartphone edition is still at 1.71 and both are available from Resco. Once we get the new version in our store we’ll let you know! Both versions are available for $19.95

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Microsoft does throw the love around for students. Granted this isn’t the deluxe version but if you’re sporting Vista or XP you might want to check out this Win 7 upgrade. Additionally there is the option to go for the Professional version. Yes XP has been fantastic to us over the years but it’s time to embrace some newness. Obviously you have to be a qualifying student. To get your deal on go to www.win741.com. Enjoy!

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It seems Google had something to do with Hitler losing the war. Thanks to krazyconejo for posting this in the Android Forums

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Thanks to krazyconejo for sending this in. In this letter, Google addresses why they had this exchange with Cyanogen, without saying his name! Anywho, here it is for you.

A Note on Google Apps for Android
Posted by Dan Morrill on 25 September 2009 at 2:31 PM

Lately we’ve been busy bees in Mountain View, as you can see from the recent release of Android 1.6 to the open-source tree, not to mention some devices we’re working on with partners that we think you’ll really like. Of course, the community isn’t sitting around either, and we’ve been seeing some really cool and impressive things, such as the custom Android builds that are popular with many enthusiasts. Recently there’s been some discussion about an exchange we had with the developer of one of those builds, and I’ve noticed some confusion around what is and isn’t part of Android’s open source code. I want to take a few moments to clear up some of those misconceptions, and explain how Google’s apps for Android fit in.

Everyone knows that mobile is a big deal, but for a long time it was hard to be a mobile app developer. Competing interests and the slow pace of platform innovation made it hard to create innovative apps. For our part, Google offers a lot of services — such as Google Search, Google Maps, and so on — and we found delivering those services to users’ phones to be a very frustrating experience. But we also found that we weren’t alone, so we formed the Open Handset Alliance, a group of like-minded partners, and created Android to be the platform that we all wished we had. To encourage broad adoption, we arranged for Android to be open-source. Google also created and operates Android Market as a service for developers to distribute their apps to Android users. In other words, we created Android because the industry needed an injection of openness. Today, we’re thrilled to see all the enthusiasm that developers, users, and others in the mobile industry have shown toward Android.

With a high-quality open platform in hand, we then returned to our goal of making our services available on users’ phones. That’s why we developed Android apps for many of our services like YouTube, Gmail, Google Voice, and so on. These apps are Google’s way of benefiting from Android in the same way that any other developer can, but the apps are not part of the Android platform itself. We make some of these apps available to users of any Android-powered device via Android Market, and others are pre-installed on some phones through business deals. Either way, these apps aren’t open source, and that’s why they aren’t included in the Android source code repository. Unauthorized distribution of this software harms us just like it would any other business, even if it’s done with the best of intentions.

I hope that clears up some of the confusion around Google’s apps for Android. We always love seeing novel uses of Android, including custom Android builds from developers who see a

Source: Android Forums and ADB

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Sometimes using your voice to record a reminder is quicker and easier than typing out a note. If you don’t use the Jott service for notes than you might be glad to know that the Shadow (and other Windows Mobile phones) has a voice recorder. Using it is a lot easier than it might seem. There are several ways to go about this:

On your Shadow go to Start > Settings > Shortcut Key. On the ‘07 Shadow you will have fewer options when it comes to the Shortcut Key. So you will want to assign the Shortcut Key ‘Short Press’ to ‘Voice Command’. You can do the same on the UMA Shadow (’09) or assign it directly to the Voice Recorder app. I prefer assigning it to Voice Command because I can use it to launch other applications as well as telling the phone to call contacts.

Once your Shortcut Key (the one on the top right side of the phone) is assigned, simply press it, wait for the beep, and say ‘Open Voice Recorder’. Voice Recorder should open up. From there you can press the Left Soft Key to record. Use the Right Soft Key to access the Menu to Play, Rename, Send, Delete or set Voice Recordings as a ringtone.

Are there any other tips and tricks for using your voice on the Shadow? If so, we’d love to hear them in the comments!

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