Juno not Juneau Rugged Handheld Pocket PC

Trimble has just released, or at least I have just found out about, a new not-rugged Pocket PC called Juno, pronounced like but not to be confused with Juneau, Alaska. It looks rugged, but Trimble seems to want everyone to know it is not - The Juno™ ST handheld is a highly productive yet affordable, non-rugged GPS receiver for field data collection and mobile GIS. The Juno ST handheld is Trimble's most compact, lightweight, fully-integrated field computer, providing 2 to 5 meter GPS positioning in real time or after postprocessing.

The Juno ST handheld is ideal for utility companies, government organizations, and agencies that are managing large deployments and tight budgets....but don't mind breaking their handhelds and buying replacements that cost more than buying a rugged one in the first place (sorry I added that).

Garmin and Navman have long had PDAs with integrated GPS, but this seems to be Trimbles first efforts to provide low end, field data collection devices. I like the idea, but Trimble's marketers seem almost apologetic.

Google Earth & Job Estimates

Have you downloaded and played with Google Earth yet? You can download the client and then see all kinds of very interesting maps, 3D buildings, satellite views, fly overs and more. In addition to all the fun and games, there are real business values you can gain from Google Earth. Let's say you are a Fencing contractor. You want to provide a ball park estimate of a job without spending the time and money to drive to the other side of town. Google Earth enables you to enter a home or business address and get a relatively new satellite view of the address. You can zoom in almost to ground level and see the exact yard, driveway, parking lot etc. Next in Google Earth you can select the ruler tool and measure the length and width of the yard, parking lot, roadway, etc to learn the dimensions. You can then provide a ball park estimate based upon the satellite view and measurements you took from the air. Very Cool!

I entered the address of my in-laws house. Google Earth quickly flew me to the address and I zoomed in to their driveway. I could see their horse trailer and their truck trailer parked in the driveway. I zoomed in further and could take exact measurements of their property lines, roof dimensions, length of driveway, yard size, distants to street, etc. This information could be used by:

1. Roofing Contractors
2. Asphalt Contractors
3. Cable Companies
4. Phone Companies
5. Fence Contractors
6. Landscape Contractors
7. Lawn Maintenance Contractors

These are just a few of the contractors that could save a great deal of time, fuel and other resources by studying the close-up satellite photos of their prospective jobsites early on in the sales process. These maps and satellite photos can also be printed off and added to the job estimates with drawings.