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GPS No Longer Just for Getting You to Your Destination 6

by Will Safer on January 20, 2009 at 02:00 PM



In the not-so-obvious-but-brilliant GPS-enabled device category are three of Sony Electronics' camcorders, all announced at the show. The HDR-XR520V, HDR-XR500V and HDR-XR200V all include a GPS chip including NAVTEQ maps. You can "geotag" your video or still images, making it easy to show other people exactly where you were on that hiking trip.

These camcorders go a step beyond another GPS-enabled device introduced last year: the Nikon P6000 digital still camera. That camera has a GPS chip, but is limited to embedding your location information in the digital file. This is fine if you want to post your images to a Web site that utilizes geotagging information, but the Sony units actually display the maps on their LCD screens. This means that you can review where you've been right on the device instead of having to wait until you upload your image or video files to a computer or Web site. (Note: we don't suggest using these camcorders to plan driving routes or to get "unlost" during a camping trip.) The HDR-XR520V, HDR-XR500V and HDR-XR200V will begin shipping in March for about $1,500, $1,300 and $1,000 respectively.

(Editor's note: if you want to try geotagging with your digital still camera and aren't ready to drop big bucks on a new GPS-enabled camera or camcorder, maybe a GPS-enabled memory card from Eye-Fi is a way to get started.)

Tags: camcorder, geotag, GPS, Sony, trends

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