Nevertheless, some iPad users are employing the tablet like a portable navigation device (PND) to map out routes while they are sailing, hiking and driving.

FORBES

An onboard system carries the map in your device.

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For the life of the product, users can download four or more full updates of the map on the device every year, which includes all updates to the road network, addresses and Points of Interest.

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For example, for Stanford University a device could eventually show you a 3D map of the campus with real-time traffic information, information about your lecture room and the class there, information about the subject there, such as biology in 3D, and so on.

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Compatible with any digital camera, the geologger device is bundled with software that allows users to map out their photo locations.

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The app doesn't seem to eat up much space (it occupies 4MB on the device), so it appears to be pulling map data OTA. That's a good thing if you're worried about filling up your G1, but bad if you need info quickly or you're not in a data-gettin' spot.

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You can give information about a street which is not necessarily in the map set because it's brand new -- this is something that no device was ever able to do in the past.

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Away from device sales, the company's location and commerce department had a difficult quarter, but the sale of map content licenses (to companies like Amazon) offset the dwindling popularity of standalone GPS units.

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