New Tools Tie Garmin's GPS To the Web

New Tools Tie Garmin's GPS To the Web
By Bryan Gardiner
On Tuesday, Finnish navigation and communications device manufacturer, Garmin International, announced it would be launching a new developer Web site for third party software developers who want to tie their data content, Web sites, and applications into Garmin's own GPS systems.


Known as the Garmin Developer Network, the site will provide both free and licensed Garmin resources, as well as a library of APIs (application programming interfaces), toolkits, and Web services for six of the company's products, Garmin said. These include: the Garmin Communicator Plugin, MotionBased Web Services, the company's Content Toolkit, the Garmin PeerPoint Messaging System, the Garmin LBS (location-based services) Toolkit, and the Fleet Management Interface.

Not all of those APIs are entirely new to developers. Garmin actually released its Location Based Toolkit last November, which allows business customers to use the GPS data in certain applications to manage delivery fleets and other mobile workers.

But Garmin said it wanted to offer a broader array of APIs so more developers could make full use of the company's GPS technology.

One such API is the Garmin Communicator Plugin, a browser plugin and JavaScript support code that allows developers to transfer information about a user's location between a Garmin GPS device and a Web site.

Developers can use this plugin to swap waypoints, track logs, maps, and other points of interest, which the company says will be particularly useful for sites like MotionBased.com and Geocaching.com. Customers can now upload their activities from a Garmin GPS device or easily transfer waypoints to the device, via a Web site.

"Until recently, third party Web sites have been unable to communicate easily with Garmin devices," said Charles Morse, Garmin's director of mobile and PND market, in a statement Tuesday.

"This announcement is a win-win for developers and Garmin, and it paves the way for more innovative applications," he added.

Morse says that by opening up the company's technology to developers, he hopes to create new markets for the programmer's content and services, while also generating a grassroots movement that will in the end benefit the Garmin brand and technology. The new developer tools are currently being shown at the Where 2.0 conference in San Jose, California.

Garmin, along with TomTom, is currently one of the largest manufacturers of GPS devices in the world.


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