Dedicated Golf GPS devices and smartphone golf GPS apps - which can tell you the distance to the hole, hazards, carries and more - are a rapidly growing product category. They are the next best thing to having a pro caddy by your side. But the dramatic increase of golf GPS and other electronic devices in competition caught the attention of the USGA and R&A Ltd., which write the global rules of golf. These organizations permitted use of GPS in competition beginning in 2006, but issued additional guidelines just this fall. Yes, you may still use golf GPS devices and smartphone apps, but heed the details I pulled together with the help of the USGA's top technical rules official, or risk a disqualification. Image © Golfshot

Google has asserted itself in the smartphone market with the release of its Android operating system, and more recently, a free, full-featured turn-by-turn navigation application. It now appears that the long-rumored hardware component - a Google-brand smartphone - may be set for release in early 2010. Alternatively, the prototype may simply be a test bed for Android products, with no intention of release for sale.

Reports of a capacitive touchscreen Google smartphone (with no physical keyboard) began surfacing very recently, as select Google employees were provided with Google-branded phones made by HTC (see photo), similar to the Android OS HTC Bravo/Passion (development name, Nexus One) to be released in the North American market in early 2010.

Google has now confirmed that the unlocked Nexus One phone it gave to employees is a prototype "mobile lab... read on for more. Image © TheUnlockr.com

Garmin's first entry in the phone-with-navigation market, the nuvifone G60, has had disappointing sales, Garmin admits, and was late to market. But Garmin recognizes the crucial importance of this type of device, and according to CFO Kevin Rauckman, quoted at a recent investors' conference, Garmin will be back with a new phone and additional, related products in the second quarter of 2010. At the same conference, Garmin reported $1 billion in operating cash, so it certainly has the war chest it needs to keep moving forward in the phone market.

Virtually all handheld and sports GPS devices are able to store digital files of your routes and trips. Garmin's free-download Basecamp software (available for PC or Mac) provides you with a powerful means of importing, exporting, viewing, and modifying standard-format GPS files. Garmin just announced an update to Basecamp that includes 2D and 3D map display, including elevation profiles; the ability to rotate maps to any angle, photo geotagging, and enhanced geocaching support. Route planning, and the ability to view and organize maps, waypoints, and routes make Basecamp a very useful tool for the outdoors and sports/fitness enthusiast. Image © Garmin