It’s not as if there has been any shortage of conceptual contraptions conjured up to control computers with just the brain, but it has been increasingly difficult to find units ready for the commercial market. Enter NaturalPoint, who is offering up a new pair of SmartNav 4 human-computer interface devices designed to let users control all basic tasks with just their head. The AT and EG models are designed to help physically handicapped and health-minded individuals (respectively) get control over their desktops by using their gord to mouse around, select commands and peck out phrases on a virtual keyboard. The sweetest part? These things are only $499 and $399 in order of mention, so you should probably pick one up just to give your mousing hand a rest.

[Via EverythingUSB]

Read - SmartNav 4:EG
Read - SmartNav 4:AT

Filed under: Wearables

SmartNav units control PCs with just your noggin’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While the world waits for a tried-and-true navigation app from Apple, XRoad is taking advantage of the situation by offering up its G-Map app in the interim. Kicking Tires decided to take the new software for a spin, and while the map quality took a pretty harsh beating, the overall offering was highly praised. More specifically, not every street name was present during testing, meaning that you had to rely implicitly on the turn-by-turn instructions if you weren’t familiar with your surroundings. Outside of that, however, it seemed to nail all the important points. Accuracy, routing, ease of use and design were all smiled upon, and it seems critics gave the street name snafu a bit of a break with the hope of future updates solving the issues. If you’re still a touch hesitant to drop your hard-earned cash, give that read link a gentle tap.

[Thanks, Ronald]

Filed under: Cellphones

XRoad G-Map iPhone navigation map gets reviewed, patted on the back originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Mar 2009 23:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Researchers develop flying WiFi robots for disaster relief

Filed under: Robots, Wireless

Researchers develop flying WiFi robots for disaster relief originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As with Navigon’s booth yesterday, Garmin’s CeBIT showcase was overflowing with Earthlings. Many of which, as you could likely guess, were swooning over the recently announced nüvi 1200 and 1300 series navigators. Naturally, the flavors found here in Hannover were those with different variations of European maps, but aside from the routes, everything will be the same on North American versions. The hippest addition to these two are the public transit maps, which inform individuals on foot what subway / tube to hop on, where to get off, which bus to take from there and how long to stay on. Frankly, it’s a Euro-tripper’s dream come true. Check out the photo gallery below, and if you’re wondering, there’s evidently no “Engadget” within the confines of “Germany.” We’d argue otherwise, of course.

Filed under: GPS

Garmin nüvi 1200 and 1300 hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras, GPS

GPS-equipped Sony HDR-XR520V camcorder now available to order originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Mar 2009 20:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BMW’s latest iDrive system is actually rather remarkable, but even it will look aged compared to ILENA. Intelligent Learning Navigation, as it’ll be formally known, will reportedly pay attention to your daily driving habits in order to better predict routes and possibly even save a pinch of fuel. Details about the actual inner workings are still a bit vague (and German), but we’re also told that the system will include an intelligent feature that recalls driver preferences based on his / her Bluetooth cellphone. When driver A steps in and pairs things up, the seat will automatically move to their preferred setting, their favorite stations will queue up, etc; obviously, changes are automatically made when driver B steps in for the return leg. There’s no word on when this system is expected to leapfrog the existing navigation system, but you may want to hold back on that impending European Delivery trip if you just can’t live without a GPS that learns.

[Via BMWBlog]

Filed under: GPS, Transportation

BMW purportedly working on adaptive ILENA navigation system originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 07:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The GPS circuitry in the iPhone 3G could be used to do more — a lot more, in fact — than it currently does, and it looks like Apple might have an eye on an angle most people wouldn’t have considered (in other words, something other than turn-by-turn). Digging through iPhoto ’09’s innermost sanctums has apparently revealed references to some sort of asynchronous geotagging capability, whereby selecting locations from an app on the phone (or iPod touch, as the case may be) could be transferred directly to iPhoto and associated with events — perfect for shooting with, say, a real camera while toting your phone in your pocket. Of course, the capability is purely vestigial for now — no announcement has been made, and there’s no way for users to access this directly — so Apple could’ve spiked it or has it queued up for a future firmware update. Time will tell.

[Via iLounge and Ars Technica]

Filed under: Cellphones, Digital Cameras, GPS, Handhelds

Apple to use iPhone’s GPS to geotag locationless photos? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: GPS

GiSTEQ USB dongle makes trip logging quick, easy, and utterly heroic originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: GPS, Handhelds

ClarionMind MID / PND gets reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s not that hybrid GPS systems are all that new, it’s just that most are working totally under the radar. Skyhook’s hoping to get its rendition out in the open a tad more via a new partnership with Texas Instruments. The company’s XPS hybrid positioning system is now cleared for integration within TI’s NaviLink and WiLink mobile solutions, though there’s no mention made of who all is drooling to get this into their phones. In short, Skyhook’s XPS works by detecting WiFi hotspots, raw GPS readings and cellular IDs, and then comparing that information against a known database of geo-located points. In theory, this stuff could totally amp up the location abilities of most any handset, but in reality, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it get swept away and forgotten just like the eerily similar announcement between Skyhook and Broadcom. Full release is after the break.

Continue reading Skyhook XPS integrates with TI’s NaviLink and WiLink mobile solutions

Filed under: GPS, Wireless

Skyhook XPS integrates with TI’s NaviLink and WiLink mobile solutions originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After learning that TeleNav would be releasing dedicated turn-by-turn GPS navigation for one of our favorite devices — the G1 — we got more than a little excited. Thankfully, we’ve had a chance to take the software for a spin before its February 24th release date, and these are our findings.

• The software is really snappy, snappier than a lot of dedicated GPS units we’ve used.
• Finding satellites can be a major pain sometimes, and the signal can drop while you’re driving (see video), which could be a major headache if you’re on a trip and you really don’t know where you’re going.
• The app doesn’t seem to eat up much space (it occupies 4MB on the device), so it appears to be pulling map data OTA. That’s a good thing if you’re worried about filling up your G1, but bad if you need info quickly or you’re not in a data-gettin’ spot.
• We experienced a crash while it was fetching satellites. The software is still being tweaked from what TeleNav tells us, so we’re going to assume that won’t be an issue once it’s on the market.
• The traffic, restaurant, and gas station services are top notch and pretty speedy (once it figures out where you are). Since a lot of GPS units aren’t pulling live data on surrounding businesses or traffic / weather info, this is a nice touch.
• The speaker volume on the G1 is probably a bit quiet if you’re cranking on a highway — that could be an issue if you’re really relying on what Stephen King calls “the GPS voice.”
• As expected, it’s a power hog, so plan on having an adapter in the car if you’re going to get any use out of this.

Continue reading An Engadget adventure with TeleNav’s G1 GPS software: hands-on, impressions, and video

Filed under: GPS

An Engadget adventure with TeleNav’s G1 GPS software: hands-on, impressions, and video originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 13:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Cellphones

Toshiba TG01 gets CoPilot GPS app, takes you to camp originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: GPS, Portable Audio

Cowon L3 officially announced (for Asia) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Small, right? That’s Epson’s Infineon XPOSYS chip, its next generation Assisted-GPS device set for mass production in late 2009. The chip measures just 2.8 x 2.9-mm making it 25% smaller than other A-GPS chips on the market, according to Epson, while consuming half the power. The sensitivity has also been improved for a more accurate location fix while indoors. Between this, Google Latitude, and the ever expanding lineup of Skyhook positioning devices, you can kiss your location anonymity goodbye.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Wireless

Epson’s tiny GPS receiver will make everything location aware originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 06:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, it looks like a few pesky patent issues weren’t enough to keep CSR, mostly known for its Bluetooth chips, from snapping up omnipresent GPS chipmaker SiRF, with the two companies today announcing that they’re set to fully combine their companies into one giant chipmaking operation. Under the all-share transaction valued at some $132.7 million, SiRF shareholders will get 27 percent of the newly formed company, to be known as CSR, while two SiRF directors will also get seats on the CSR board. Any further details are a bit hard to come by but, as CNET’s Business Tech points out, CSR has increasingly been focusing on all-in-one solutions combining Bluetooth, WiFi, and whatnot, so it would stand to reason that SiRF’s GPS know-how could be added to the mix.

Filed under: GPS, Wireless

CSR gobbles up GPS chipmaker SiRF originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Feb 2009 20:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Anyone’s who’s bought a car with a built-in nav system knows the pain of seeing their expensive accessory totally eclipsed by even the cheapest external GPS units just a year or two later — everything from UI to multimedia integration progresses so fast it’s almost not worth it. That might change soon, though — Harman and Mercedes are working on a “hybrid” nav system that combines the easy replaceability of an external PND with the integration and sleek looks of a built-in system. The goal is to build a standard design that can upgraded quickly — right now OEM systems have to be designed almost three years in advance — so the screen and controls will be mounted on the dash in a cradle, while a second hidden “processing box” will handle the actual GPS system, music storage and playback, and Bluetooth connectivity. Harman says eventually prices should fall to the point where automakers can compete with aftermarket GPS systems — we’ll see if that hold up when Mercedes ships the new kit in eight vehicles scheduled for the second half of 2010.

[Via Gearlog]

Filed under: GPS, Transportation

Harman, Mercedes working on modular built-in nav systems originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 Feb 2009 05:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: GPS, Transportation

Nissan turns to technology to keep folks from driving the wrong way originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If uPlay’s uPro was the “iPhone of golf GPS technology,” what then would you call this? Savant GPS has just come clean with what’s likely to be the most sophisticated GPS rangefinder to date. The simply-titled OnPar measures in at 4.17- x 2.8- x 0.63-inches and features full touchscreen (3.5-inch) operation. It’s also claiming to be the planet’s first “GPS rangefinder with a dynamic hole layout display and GPS positioning that provides instant distances to anywhere and remaining distance to the green, personalized club averages, and simple score and shot tracking.” The unit is designed to hold up to 300 golf courses with no membership fees or course map fees, and it’ll be available for the taking (er, purchasing, we should say) early next month for an undisclosed price.

[Thanks, Scoopster]

Filed under: GPS, Handhelds

OnPar’s touchscreen GPS rangefinder could almost be a phone originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 09:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If that ‘92 Riviera is getting a bit long in the tooth, Alpine’s got a trifecta of ways to simply spruce it up rather than take on an all-too-burdensome new car payment. Both the IVA-W203/P1 and IVA-W505/P1 are double-DIN head units with touchscreen displays (6.5- / 7-inches, respectively), support for iPods / sat ratio / HD Radio / Bluetooth, preloaded NAVTEQ maps of the US and Canada, a foursome of map viewing options and text-to-speech for good measure. For those with single-DIN gaps in the dash, there’s the all new IVA-D106, which offers up a slide-out 7-inch touch panel, 18-watt x 4 amplifier and support for navigation via the optional NVE-P1 drive. All three systems are available as we speak for $1,100, $1,400 and $350 in order of mention.

[Via NaviGadget]

Filed under: Portable Audio

Alpine delivers trio of new in-car navigators originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Jan 2009 10:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: GPS

Lowrance rolls out Outback, Safari, Sierra GPS units originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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