| Columbia's GPS Pal app for Android and iOS logs your hikes, geotags memories (video) Apr 26th 2012, 06:13  Move over, My Tracks -- you've got serious company. Google's own adventure tracking app just got majorly one-upped by a company that also happens to make heated jackets. Columbia's just-launched GPS Pal app is not only available on both Android and iOS, but it's actually designed to be used with a user account so that activity logs are neatly housed in a searchable, organized portal. It's free to download, and aside from monitoring your hikes and treks via GPS, it also syncs photos, videos, and trail information to a web journal automatically, complete with pinpoint geotagging information on each piece of media. As for data points? It'll keep track of elevation changes, current speed and distance traveled, and it makes sharing said trips to social networks quite the lesson in simplicity. Naturally, you'll need a data connection in order to upload media while on the trail -- something that's often hard to find -- but at least the app tells you how poor (or great) your GPS signal is at all times, which is all that's required to keep track of your actual steps. Head on past the break for a promo video, or hit the links below to grab it for your platform of choice. Continue reading Columbia's GPS Pal app for Android and iOS logs your hikes, geotags memories (video) Columbia's GPS Pal app for Android and iOS logs your hikes, geotags memories (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 02:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink |  Columbia (1), (2), App Store, Google Play | Email this | Comments | | Dolby's Atmos technology gives new meaning to surround sound, death from above Apr 26th 2012, 05:17  Psst, did you hear that? Apparently, the folks at Dolby Laboratories are no longer content with scaring the bejesus out of moviegoers by simply funneling those horrific audio cues from today's standard theater setup. Instead, the mad audio scientists claim they can recreate a more lifelike and sensory audio experience by pushing sound from even more directions -- a feat made possible by the company's new Dolby Atmos technology. By leveraging up to 64 speaker feeds and 128 simultaneous audio inputs, for example, Dolby says it would be possible to more accurately recreate the sound of creepy footsteps coming from the floorboards of a higher floor. Yes, you could use the system to better simulate stuff like rain, too, but that doesn't sound nearly as fun as making hapless moviegoers pee their pants. Combined with Dolby's foray into 3D, it looks like the company's really focusing on kicking up viewer immersion. Dolby plans to debut the Atmos tech in 10 to 15 theaters showing Disney/Pixar's Brave this year, followed by a larger rollout by 2013. For more on the potentially bladder-busting technology, scope out the PR after the break. Continue reading Dolby's Atmos technology gives new meaning to surround sound, death from above Dolby's Atmos technology gives new meaning to surround sound, death from above originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 01:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  Bits (New York Times), The Hollywood Reporter | Dolby | Email this | Comments | |
