The Garmin Nuvi 50 is an entry-level GPS navigation system
with a 5-inch touchscreen that has text that is large and easy to read. It also
has text-to-speech and detailed maps, so don't count it out just because of the
cheap price. Garmin did, however, forget to include a dashboard mount and USB sync cable in the box.


The Garmin Nuvi 50 is a bare-bones GPS navigational system that
has everything you need to get you from point A to B without all the added
features (or gimmicks) like Bluetooth calling, traffic data or Wi-Fi
connectivity. The design of the Nuvi 50 is very slim and sleek, so most users
shouldn't find a problem with the unit's design. It has one lone physical button
to turn it on and off and everything else is done via the 5-inch resistive touch
screen.


On the back of the GPS is a small loudspeaker for turn-by-turn
spoken directions, a microSD card slot for uploading map data and a mini-USB
port for charging and syncing the unit.


Included in the box is a 12-volt to USB charging cable to use in
your car's power port. There is also a suction cup mount with cradle that's easy
to use and works well. If you want to mount your Nuvi on your dashboard (and
your local laws allow it), you cannot do it...at least not without requesting a
plastic dashboard mount for free from Garmin's Web site. They also do not include a
USB sync cable in the box for syncing with your computer, but you can use any
mini-USB to USB cable that you might already have.


Garmin has kept their interface relatively the same with the
Nuvi 50 model, and we aren't complaining. Garmin's GPS interface has been one that we've always
been pleased with and is definitely a strong selling point with all of their
units. They did increase the size of the on screen QWERTY keyboard, which makes
it easier to type with and less error prone. Everything is icon based, but each
icon has a text label too, so that helps when icons seem ambiguous in meaning.



Because the Garmin Nuvi 50 lacks cellular and Wi-Fi
connectivity, it does take longer to acquire a GPS lock without the aid of these
wireless connections. Once locked on, however, it was
very accurate and kept up nicely while moving briskly along a freeway. While
navigating downtown Detroit with skyscrapers all around, the Nuvi 50 never lost
signal and kept things moving nicely.


Garmin pre-loads maps and a point-of-interest (POI) database for
the United States (all states minus Alaska). They also have a database of
red-light and speed cameras too and alert you when approaching one
with an audible chime. The POI database was decent, but fairly incomplete as we
found it to be lacking quite a few small businesses and restaurants.


While planning a trip, it didn't take the Nuvi 50 too long to
make our route. For close distance trips, it took only about 3 seconds to do so and
longer trips about 8-10 seconds.


In navigation mode, you get turn-by-turn directions that can be
spoken if you desire. We found the text-to-speech to work decent and provided
well-understandable for most street names except for ones that are difficult to
pronounce. There is also a speed limit graphic in the lower right corner that
shows you the road's current speed limit if known. It also has
freeway lane assist, which guides you into the correct lane at major freeway
interchanges. A "Where Am I?" feature lets you find the closest hospitals, gas
stations, police stations as well as nearest address and intersection for your
current location.

B.A.S.S. Reporter’s Notebook: November 29,
  2011
 
(Nov. 29, 2011 - Celebration, FL.)...
A more savvy Kyle Fox is ready for the Elites: It is somewhat ironic that
  after only one season in the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Opens,
  Florida-born and Southern-bred angler Kyle Fox made it into the 2012 Bassmaster
  Elite Series. The irony is sharper because his Northern success came after
  toiling four seasons in the closer-to-home Bassmaster Southern and Central
  Opens.
Although the Elites came to him from an unexpected direction, Fox sees his
  five years in the minors as necessary for an angler who wants to become a
  well-rounded pro.
"It was all a learning experience," he said. "I feel I’ve taken something
  from all the tournaments I’ve been in, things that will help me in the Elites."
And time, after all, was on his side. He was 19 years-old in 2007 when he set
  out on his journey to be an Elite. He’ll be 23 when he competes in his first
two  Elite events. Even when he turns 24 in April, he still will be one of the
  youngest in the field.
Fox can’t remember a time without fishing. He cut his angling teeth on
  Florida fisheries and became a Bassmaster Junior angler. When he decided to go
  for pro status in 2007, he elected the Bassmaster Southern Open circuit. From
  2008 through 2010, he fished both the Southern and Central divisions. He
  competed in dual divisions for four years, but each time fell short of the
  qualifying cut.
In 2011, he again went with the Southern Opens. But he made the decision to
  pass on the Central and try the Northern Open division instead. He says he
  wasn’t thinking that the Northerns would lead to the Elites. He was after only
  what he could learn from the Northern’s 2011 stops: vast and open Lake Erie, the
smallmouth factory of Oneida Lake in  upstate New York, and the tidal James
River.
He discovered that almost everything about the three Northern fisheries was
  foreign to him.
"I’d never had to target smallmouth, fish in open water, or fish a dropshot
  or a tube. I spent all my practice time before a tournament to figure out each
  new thing for myself," he said.
Becoming his own teacher, he proved to be a good student. He finished 30th on
  the James, 12th on Erie, and 36th on Oneida. That shook down to fourth place in
  Northern points, within the top-five cutline for an Elite invitation.
Achieving his goal was not, as some might think, redemption for his missed
  chance in 2007. After his first Open season in 2007, he qualified for the Wild
  Card tournament, a "last chance" for Open anglers to advance to the Elite level
  that year. He finished 24th, not high enough.
Fox now sees he wasn’t ready at that age.
"I hadn’t had the experience I needed," he said. "I would have jumped into
  the Elites and probably got my butt whooped, and never tried it ever again."
Boat giveaway marks 50 years for Rebel: Avid angler George Perrin of Fort
  Smith, Ark., did not like to fish with minnow baits made of wood. They tended
to  run to the right or to the left. A lure made of wood also absorbed water,
  dulling the action.
What he wanted was consistency. Owner of a factory that made plastic parts
  for refrigerators and air conditioners, Perrin decided he could make a better
  minnow bait out of hard plastic.
He designed a 3 1/2-inch prototype, and took it to Lake Ouachita for
testing. Several versions later, he  hit on the right shape, size and action for
his ultimate plastic minnow bait.  Perrin named his creation after the mascot of
his daughter’s high school - the  Rebel - and began to sell the lure.
That was in 1962. Today, the Rebel F10 Minnow is still being sold, alongside
  many other Rebel products as well as parent PRADCO’s 10 other lure brands, from
  the venerable Bomber and Cotton Cordell names to the more recent Booyah and
Yum.
In 2012, PRADCO Fishing will mark the 50th year of the F10 and decades of
  making many other fishing products under the Rebel brand.
No small part of the celebration is the Rebel Lures 50th Anniversary Boat
  Giveaway, a contest that will end with a drawing on Feb. 26 at the 2012
  Bassmaster Classic in Shreveport, La.
Wrapped in Rebel Lures 50th Anniversary graphics, the boat is a Skeeter FX21
  powered by a Yamaha SHO 250-hp engine. Top-line features include a Minn Kota
  Fortrex 36-volt trolling motor, Humminbird 1197 electronics with side scan
  technology at the dash, a Humminbird 997 mapping unit on the bow, and a Power
  Pole on the back. The dual-axle trailer has surge brakes and a Toughcoat
Trailer  Protection surface.
Entries are now being accepted at Lurenet.com’s Facebook page. All that’s
  required is to "like" Lurenet.com, complete the entry form, and answer a few
  questions. No is purchase necessary to enter. One entry per person is allowed,
  whether made online or in person at the Classic.
The winner does not have to be present at the Classic drawing to claim the
  boat, but if the boat winner is on hand, he or she will also take home a $5,000
  bonus package of fishing tackle.
A ’who’s who’ of the Red: The Red River, fishery for the upcoming 2012
  Bassmaster Classic, has hosted 10 other pro-level Bassmaster events since 2000.
That doesn’t mean that most of the 49 qualifiers for the 2012 Classic are on
  familiar ground - er, water. But many do know their way around the Red. And
many  can look back now at past tournaments and see how they’ve got some good
Red  karma going for the Feb. 24-26 Classic out of Shreveport-Bossier City, La.
Two of the 49 anglers, Brent Chapman and Davy Hite, have earned Red River
  trophies in Bassmaster events. Chapman won the Louisiana Central Invitational
in  May 2000. Hite got it done on the Red in a November 2001 Louisiana
Bassmaster  Tour event.
Michael Iaconelli is the de facto Red River defending champ because of his
  runner-up finish in the 2009 Red River Classic to Skeet Reese, who didn’t
  qualify for the 2012 Classic. Toss in the good Louisiana vibes for Iaconelli’s
  Classic crown won on the Delta in 2003, and Iaconelli has a good thing going.
Several other current qualifiers turned in notable 2009 Classic performances
  on the Red: Edwin Evers, fifth; Aaron Martens, ninth; Casey Ashley, 13th; Alton
  Jones, 14th; and Kevin Wirth, 15th.
Evers, by the way, rolled all over the Red earlier in the decade. He was
  seventh in the 2000 Invitational won by Chapman; 11th in the derby Hite won in
  2001; and 25th in a 2002 Central Open.
In that same 2002 Open, three 2012 Classic qualifiers hit the top 10: Mark
  Tucker was third; Greg Hackney (the only 2012 qualifier who lives in Louisiana)
  was fourth, and Chapman was 10th.
For Keith Combs, a 2011 Bassmaster Elite Series rookie who has now qualified
  for his second Classic, the 2010 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open on the
  Red River was at least good practice. Combs finished fourth in that Open,
which,  incidentally, was won by Chad Brauer, son of 2012 Classic qualifier
Denny  Brauer.
And although it can’t be counted as being on the professional level, Brandon
  Palaniuk’s Red River history is so positive, it can’t be discounted either.
  Palaniuk won the 2010 B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Championship on the Red River,
  an accomplishment that sent him to 2011 Classic, and launched his Bassmaster
  Elite Series career.
Plan for it with a Planner: The 2012 B.A.S.S. Daily Planner and
  Fishing Guide is now available to purchase online at the Bassmaster website.
The 2012 edition comes with a nice bonus: a $10 coupon good for a Bass Pro
  Shops purchase.
With its colorful antique fishing lure photographs, the Daily Planner is easy
  on the eye. The planner also contains useful features such as peak fishing
  times, best fishing day of the week, fishing log pages, and ample writing space
  under each day’s entry.
*About B.A.S.S.*
For more than 40 years, B.A.S.S. has served as the
  authority on bass fishing. The organization advances the sport through
advocacy,  outreach and an expansive tournament structure while connecting
directly with  the passionate community of bass anglers through its Bassmaster
media vehicles.
The Bassmaster brand and its multimedia platforms are guided by a mission to
  serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-leading publications - Bassmaster
  Magazine and B.A.S.S. Times - comprehensive Bassmaster website, ESPN2 and
  Outdoor Channel television programming, Bassmaster provides rich, leading-edge
  content true to the lifestyle.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass
  Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, B.A.S.S. Federation Nation events presented
by  Yamaha and Skeeter Boats and the ultimate celebration of competitive
fishing,  the Bassmaster Classic.
B.A.S.S. offers an array of services to its more than 500,000 members and
  remains focused on issues related to conservation and water access. The
  organization is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala.


 

You should take the occasional moment to remember one other thing about the gadgets we typically marvel at: These things can be used on us, not just by us. This has been a good week to do just that. The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday over whether the government can attach a GPS tracker to your car without a warrant.

Credit for this development goes to the same miniaturization of GPS hardware that's made our phones smarter and more useful: pointing us to useful tips from friends via Foursquare; locating lost devices using apps like Apple's Find My Phone and nearby pals with the likes of Apple's Find My Friends; and providing non-wishful-thinking estimates of our arrival at a meeting using the free Glympse.

BLOG: Naked Woman Captured By Google Street View

GPS tracking has become a consumer commodity in the form of items such as Garmin's GTU 10 (pictured above behind those app icons), which uses a wireless-data connection to beam up its location to its owner. The description on Garmin's site of this $199.99 device's utility, for example -- "Track your children on their way to school to make sure they arrive safely" -- is enough to make you wonder how any of us survived childhood without the option of satellite-linked monitoring.


DNEWS VIDEO: Gadgets and Gizmos But the law-enforcement community has taken notice of GPS tracking's possibilities as well. In Tuesday's Supreme Court case, United States v. Antoine Jones, the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C. left a GPS tracker on Jones's car for four weeks without renewing a warrant for that surveillance. The evidence it revealed led to Jones being convicted of drug trafficking before an appeals court threw out the verdict last September, sending the case to the Supreme Court.

The easy way for the court to dispatch this case would be to focus on the trespassing involved in sticking a GPS tracker on Jones's car; how is that not a Fourth Amendment issue? For an even starker look at this sort of conduct, read Kim Zetter's account on Wired.com of a San Jose, Calif., man who found one GPS device affixed to his vehicle, and then spotted a replacement after he removed the first one to show to Wired.

VIDEO: GPS Shoe Hot Foots Your Location

But I'd like to see the court look a little further ahead. If you already have security cameras on every street corner, would it be acceptable to use them to look for suspect cars by their license plates -- not just on one day, but for weeks at a stretch? What about remotely tracking people's phones? That's already a risk, one you can only eliminate by removing the phone's battery.

Here as in other areas, technology makes some unappealing prospects possible, and we should think carefully about them before signing up for the latest upgrade.

While we do that, two questions come to mind: Have you checked your car lately for any strange electronics? And if your city, county or state had an election Tuesday, did you remember to vote?

Credit: Rob Pegoraro/Discovery