Navigator for laptop

Owners of small, but powerful laptops, unlike "tablets", with additional features are not so lucky. No one will add an accelerometer or GPS navigation in the factory to the laptop. But does this mean that it is impossible to make a full device from the "Nout" for the determination of coordinates? So I recently asked a similar question, I was interested in whether such gadgets as a navigator for a laptop are made. It turned out that in fact, there were GPS-flash drives that, when connected to mobile devices equipped with a USB-connector, can significantly expand the functionality of the latter. Now having a simple but functional laptop, and buying a GPS-navigator for a laptop, you get a hardware complex that determines your location with very high accuracy. And since the base device is equipped with a decent battery, your complex will have a good autonomy.

You will say why such problems, why should I buy a navigator for a laptop, if I can immediately buy a navigator. I agree, this question makes sense, but here's what to do if you do not have this device? Is it worth to fork out for quite expensive and not always convenient devices that are incapable of anything more than direct monitoring of the route?

Let's try to understand the pros and cons of both solutions and find out whether the device has the right to life, like a USB flash drive.

So, we have USB GPS - a pretty gadget that uses the famous SiRF III chipset. The main convenience is that the device itself takes up very little space, and thanks to the USB interface it is able to connect to any mobile or stationary PC. The accuracy of determining the coordinates of it does not exceed 2-5 meters. If the device detects 20 satellites in line of sight (which in practice happens very rarely), then it can reduce the error to 1 meter. Every second the receiver receives information from the satellites and changes the coordinates of the current position, determines the speed of movement, and also controls the accuracy of the time running in the system.

Now all we need to do is connect the device with the laptop. Then in order we have a program-navigator for the laptop, it must be installed (as a rule, it comes with any similar device). With this software it becomes possible to determine the coordinates and draw maps. Run it and get a working and very convenient solution. Thus, the multifunctional laptop becomes even more functional.

But if you, after reading all of the above, decided that this design has solid pluses, then I will disappoint you. Of course, there are some drawbacks. To fix the laptop on the car's glass, as we usually do with simple GPS receivers, you will not succeed. So get ready to either keep the laptop in the passenger seat, or get a navigator, on his lap such a design will look very even harmoniously.

But this is if you are traveling by car, but when there is no car at hand (for example, when traveling by bus), the normal GPS receiver will not be "powered" since it depends entirely on the battery and the mains. A laptop does not need constant power, in addition, USB-navigator for a laptop, like all other YUSB-devices, consumes very little power and does not burden the batteries at all. So with it you can get a few more hours of sometimes necessary autonomy.

So I recommend you look at these interesting devices - GPS receivers with a USB interface, they can be useful.