navigation

Google is solving a problem that many of us have, but that of few us suspected would be dealt with by a smartphone: It's taking its popular mapping platform indoors with interior floor plans of select buildings, among them major airports and large retailers.

Faced with intense competition from GPS-enabled smartphones with free navigation software, TomTom, the popular Dutch developer of portable navigation systems, announced Wednesday it is seeking to broaden its revenue base. But the announcement didn't offer much in the way of specifics.

Garmin (GRMN) is recalling 1.25 million personal navigation units because of the potential for fires caused by overheated batteries, the company said Wednesday. Nearly 800,000 of the affected devices were sold in the U.S., it said. Garmin, the U.S.'s largest maker of such navigation products, said...

GPS software- and hardware-maker TomTom slashed prices on its iPhone turn-by-turn navigation app, The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) reported Monday. The new price for the app providing directions in the U.S. is $49, well down from the original price of $99, as reported by Engadget.

Google (GOOG) finally launched its Chrome browser for Apple computers (AAPL), rolling out a beta version on Wednesday. I tried it. Chrome is really, really fast. Thus far, you can't use extensions -- programs that extend a browser's functionality -- which means I can't truly pass judgment on...

Lots of people claim that Apple's (AAPL) iPhone is the first smartphone to really unleash the potential of the Internet on a handset. And they are right. iPhone users suck up so much more Web time than Blackberry (RIMM) users (even though far more Blackberry units have been sold over time) that...