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Sat Nav and The Science Behind It

The thought of travelling to a far-off village with a road map in tow has become antiquated in recent years, and that’s primarily due to satellite navigation. This remarkable tech is now so common that most of us carry a global navigation system in our pockets every day.

Sat nav was originally invented for the US military, and was based on primitive navigation systems that had been prototyped in the 1960s. Mapping as we know it was opened up to consumers after the US government decrypted its navigation systems and improved accuracy, which took place around 20 years ago. 

In the mid-2000s, the first commercially available sat nav systems were fitted to cars, and there’s now very little practical difference between the system on your phone and the system used by the military.
sat nav in car

How Sat Nav Works - the Basics


The GPS chip in your phone or sat nav system scans the sky looking for positioning satellites.
There are 24 of these satellites currently in orbit, although your sat nav only needs to be able to see three of them to get a location. In practice, most of our devices can see several at any time.

If your device can see four satellites, rather than three, it gets a little bit more information: it can also calculate your altitude. 

The phone in your pocket, or sat nav in your car, still requires the resources of the US military on the ground, too. Two ground stations in the United States ensure that the satellites are functional by tracking data from a global network of monitoring stations. There’s more information on the US government website.

Calculating location in this way is fraught with complicated problems. For example, although these satellites carry atomic clocks, the time stamps they generate can be slowed down by the earth’s atmosphere. Also, time ticks by at a slightly different speed in space, because the pull of gravity is different. So sat nav satellites have to be able to compensate for all of these small differences to give an accurate location.

Evolving Tech

Sat nav has evolved in the last few years, fuelled in part by the rise in 4G connectivity. Now, maps can be automatically updated when roads are closed, or when roadworks are in place, giving people more useful directions. Additionally, 4G is used in combination with self-driving technology to create driverless vehicle systems.

In theory, this will mean that self-driving cars will soon be able to avoid collision by constantly knowing the location of all the other cars around them.

This combination of GPS and two-way connectivity has also turned sat nav into a way to track and locate people. There’s still controversy over the use of location data by companies that track us to sell us things and serve us ads.

The one downside of all this clever tech is that it could be switched off or disrupted, and there are signs that sat nav signals are already being jammed by rogue states as a form of cyber attack. In fact, the humble sat nav is perhaps one of the most important advances of the modern world because most of us are so dependent on it being functional.

With the above in mind, there would be nothing worse than something happening to your trusty road partner. If it's a cracked screen or it's been stolen, we've got you covered.

*The information in this blog is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. Please seek a professional for expert advice as we can not be held responsible for any damages or negative consequences upon following this information.

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Best Smartwatch for Android Phones Revealed

Row.co.uk Blog

Best Smartwatch for Android Phones Revealed

Thinking about buying a smartwatch? Wondering what the best smartwatch is? What matters most to you? Having something that looks great on your wrist? Or a device that is packed full of features and connects seamlessly to all the apps on your smartphone?


Luckily, there are plenty of options out there these days that deliver both. If you own an Android phone, here are some of the best smartwatches for high quality, feature-rich, dangerously on-trend smartwatch.

Best Smartwatch For Android 1: Samsung Galaxy Watch 3


best smartwatch for android samsung galaxy 3 product photo on mans wrist


Techradar rates the Galaxy Watch 3 not just as the best Android smartwatch out there, but the best smartwatch full stop. It’s not hard to see why. We’re used to Samsung and Apple slugging it out at the premium end of the smartphone market, and the Galaxy Watch v Apple Watch debate pretty much repeats the more of the same. 


The first thing you notice about the Galaxy Watch 3 is that it looks every inch a classic designer wrist watch, the sort of thing you wouldn’t mind wearing with your smartest outfit. But it is smart in plenty of other ways as well, letting you connect to and control a wide range of Android apps on your phone, and boasting a phenomenal 8GB extra storage on your wrist to boot.

Best Smartwatch For Android 2: Samsung Galaxy Active Watch 2

best smartwatch for android samsung galaxy active watch 2 on womans wrist with floral background


Given Samsung’s apparent determination to dominate the smartphone and tablet markets with the number of devices it offers, it’s no surprise that it has plenty of high-quality smartwatches on the market too. Android Central likes the Active Watch 2 for its sportier range of features, including better battery life than the Watch 3, better battery life and better range of health/fitness tracking features. It also doesn’t look bad on your wrist in a sports-casual kinda way, plus it costs less than the Watch 3. 

Best Smartwatch 3: Garmin Fenix 6


best smartwatch for android product photo of garmin fenix 6

There is a whole area of discussion these days about when a fitness tracker becomes a smartwatch, and the truth is it’s a grey area that probably doesn’t even matter. A rule of thumb if you like making such distinctions, however, is that a smartwatch should at least look and function like a watch as well as a fitness tracker. The Garmin Fenix 6 straddles both camps beautifully, making a very attractive if heftily priced digital timepiece. But as this review in Men’s Health highlights, the Fenix 6’s real strength is as a premium accessory for fitness and running enthusiasts, coming packed with GPS tracking, pre-loaded route maps, heart and sleep rate monitors, training features, and much more.

Best Smartwatch 4: Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE

Finally, although many watches rely on linking to a smartphone for most of their features, there is a growing market for stand-alone devices that function just as well if you don’t happen to have your phone in your pocket. One of the key issues for these types of the smartwatch is connectivity. As the name suggests, the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE has this covered with high-quality 4G/LTE connectivity built into the device, which means you can keep streaming music on your run without having to carry your phone.


Smartwatches are great gadgets and are improving all the time in terms of cutting-edge features and functionality. But they don’t come cheap, so if you do decide to invest, make sure you look after it with our fantastic low-cost gadget insurance. Get a quote today!


*The information in this blog is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. Please seek a professional for expert advice as we can not be held responsible for any damages or negative consequences upon following this information.

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