Filed under: GPS

It’s been a hot minute since we’ve seen anything fresh from FineDigital, but the firm has just introduced the slim and seductive FineDrive X700 over in South Korea. Humorously, the company is asserting that this particular unit is the first of its kind to offer voice recognition, but even a light amount of research would help it understand such a statement is far from being true. Nevertheless, the unit does look to offer a spacious screen and a bundled remote, but details beyond that are unfortunately absent.

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Filed under: GPS

We aren’t suggesting that these problems are widespread or anything, but a fair number of users over at AVIC411 seem to be having all sorts of issues with their (admittedly pricey) F-Series navigators. According to owners, the issues range from complete lock-ups to distorted voice commands to quirky iPod interactions — and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Have any of you taken the plunge only to find a litany of problems after installation? Or is your unit humming along just fine? Chime in below and let us know what’s up.

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Filed under: Cellphones, GPS

As if the iPhone 3G launch could really have any more misinformation floating around, we’ve got yet another tidbit that needs clarification. Shortly after Apple’s second iPhone was announced, out flew a report from Reuters suggesting that TomTom already had iPhone navigation software ready to go. French site Mac Generation was able to get ahold of TomTom spokesperson Yann Lafargue, and here’s the gist of what he had to say. First off, the aforementioned Reuters statement was said to be inaccurate, though he did affirm that an iPhone version of the software was running in the labs and working “pretty well.” Unfortunately, the question of “will you guys ship this for the iPhone?” was answered with a “We don’t know” style response, but he did clarify that the questionable SDK verbiage we saw wasn’t an obstacle at all. Check out the full interview in the read link below — hope you’re fluent in French and / or machine translation!

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Filed under: Robots

It’s not like DARPA hasn’t been trying to miniaturize unmanned aerial vehicles already, but its Nano Air Vehicle program is yet another attempt to find tiny, ultra-lightweight devices that could theoretically “perform indoor and outdoor military missions.” More specifically, it’s looking for something less than 7.5-centimeters and under 10-grams, and the overriding goal is to “explore novel, bio-inspired, conventional and unconventional configurations to provide the warfighter with unprecedented capability for urban mission operations.” Reportedly, AeroVironment already has an idea in mind for such a drone (pictured), but as these type things always go, we’ve no idea how soon we’ll see critters like these take to the skies with a thumb-sized American flag plastered on the side.

[Via BoingBoing]

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Filed under: GPS

If you’ve ran smack into any flavor of foreign object while waiting impatiently for your navigator to “recalculate,” you’ll likely be salivating for Sanyo’s latest duo. The NVA-MS1280DT and NVA-MS1180DT each feature a 4GB SSD drive (though the former adds a 4GB SD card and DVD support), a 7-inch QVGA display, 43-watt x 4 internal amplifier, MP3 / WMA / AAC playback, a 1-seg TV tuner, 3D maps, FM tuner and iPod support. In all seriousness, the SSD is bundled in not so much for its speed, but for its reliability — either way, we can’t help but be enamored. Both units are slated to land in June for ¥181,650 ($1,761) and ¥155,400 ($1,506), respectively, so it’s fairly easy to see those solid state discs aren’t being thrown in gratis.

[Via NaviGadget]

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Filed under: GPS

Chances are, you didn’t really need another option for a pink travel guide, but if that rosy nüvi just isn’t as sparkly as it once was, Medion’s lookin’ out for you. The outfit has just released its GoPal E3215 Glamour Edition, which reportedly features a perfectly average 3.5-inch color touchscreen, 1.7-centimeter thick frame, speed camera database and maps of Western Europe. Of course, a pink GPS wouldn’t be a pink GPS without a matching carry case, but all things considered, we still can’t see spending £149.99 ($296) on a cute-but-ho hum piece such as this.

[Via TechGadgets, thanks Yossi]

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Filed under: Cellphones

After a pleasingly brief public beta, Nokia’s glazing its Maps 2.0 navigation app with a thick coating of gold and sending it off into a waiting world of S60-toting fiends to fend for itself. The new version underpins the GPS receivers in Nokia’s 2008 smartphones but is also available as a free download for a variety of existing devices, offering key improvements that make it a totally viable nav system — satellite view, traffic data, and a significantly retooled UI, most importantly, plus the addition of a dedicated pedestrian mode for those times when geographical confusion strikes while on foot. Optional packs add goodies like city guides and the all-important voice guided car navigation and ultimately make Maps 2.0 a non-free venture, but really, no full-featured nav system is — and the initial download does quite a bit out of the box. Hit the read link to kick off the download.

[Via All About Symbian]

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Filed under: GPS

Just two days shy of their one-year birthday, Panasonic is introducing a couple of successors in the Strada F-Class line. Announced in Japan, the June-bound CN-HX1000D and CN-HW1000D are both destined for gaping holes in dashes and possess a 7-inch 800 x 480 resolution display, built-in Bluetooth, iPod compatibility, AM / FM tuners, digital terrestrial TV tuner, DVD / CD player and an internal hard drive for storing map data and Sade jams. The only noticeable difference is the physical size; the former is a single-DIN unit while the latter touts a double-DIN frame. These two also allow for home control, so you can lock your doors, turn the heat down and flip off the porch light from the driver’s seat. Sure sounds pleasant, if only they weren’t ¥354,900 ($3,388) apiece.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

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Filed under: GPS, Wireless

No need worrying that as much as you’d like to change the Dash Express, you can’t. Because you can, savvy? Announced today, Dash Navigation has cracked its platform open for third-party developers and simultaneously launched the industry’s first dynamic API program at O’Reilly’s Where 2.0 Conference. Dash is hoping that eager devs will spend time crafting DashApps, which would theoretically provide web-based content to consumers while still in the car. The outfit also took the wraps off of the first five partner-created applications, which give Express owners Coldwell Banker Home Search, myFUNAMBOL Calendar, BakTrax Radio, Trapster and MyWeatherBug buttons. Unfortunately, details beyond that were slim, but you certainly tag the read link to learn more about the aforesaid few that are already created.

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Filed under: GPS

It’s times like these when holding our fingers back from buying that one-way ticket to Tokyo is so incredibly difficult. Just today, Pioneer has introduced the Air Navi AVIC-T10, a portable car navigation system that “supports communications modules and provides drivers with new communications services for the Japanese market.” According to the release, this bad boy is “clearly distinguished from conventional PNDs,” provides oodles of information about traffic, weather, local events, gas station prices, etc. and packs a pretty impressive list of specs. We’re talking a 5.8-inch WVGA display, 1-seg TV tuner, 4GB of flash memory, integrated gyro sensor and built-in Bluetooth to boot. Those lucky enough to be in the right nation can snatch this gem next month for a currently undisclosed price.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

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Filed under: GPS

Check it, Europeans — Clarion has just dumped a new duo of PNDs on the market, and they’re both geared up to route you all over your humble lands. It appears that the only major difference between the MAP680 and MAP780 are the actual maps loaded in; the former is available in four regional versions, while the latter features a full 43 European countries. Specs wise, we’re lookin’ at a 4.3-inch widescreen display, text-to-speech, built-in TMC tuner, 3D display of buildings / POIs, lane assistant, Bluetooth (with phone book transfer and audio streaming), a 400MHz CPU, multimedia player and 2GB (MAP780) / 1GB (MAP680) of internal memory. No word on a price or any of that good stuff just yet, but feel free to get more acquainted with the pair in the gallery below.

[Via NaviGadget]

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Filed under: GPS

Aw yeah, Navigon’s latest widescreen navigators are finally being assigned tracking numbers, meaning that you can get your roadtrip on for just $299 (US-based 2100 Max) or $329 CAD (Canada-only 2120 Max). For those needing a refresher, you can look forward to 4.3-inches of turn-by-turn guidance, optional FreshMaps service, branded icons, a speed assistant, 2D / 3D imagery and an integrated logbook to keep tabs on your joyrides. Take a peek at the read link for more detailed specifications, and head on down to your favorite retailer if it suits you just fine.

[Via I4U News]

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Filed under: Cellphones, GPS

Don’t lie — you thought they buried that PDA acronym years ago, didn’t you? Keeping the Personal Digital Assistant alive and well is Airis, which is readying its T482 GPS phone for release in France. The all black handset is set to be sold with or without navigation software and feature quad-band GSM support, GPRS / EDGE connectivity, a 416MHz Marvell PXA270 processor, 64MB of RAM, a 3.2-inch QVGA display, 2-megapixel camera and a microSD expansion slot. Furthermore, you’ll find a SiRFStar III GPS receiver, Bluetooth 2.0, 802.11b/g WiFi, FM tuner and a rechargeable Li-ion, natch. Better get set to break open the piggy bank, as this one will demand €424 ($671) for French maps, €478 for coverage of Europe as a whole or €399 ($631) without pre-installed routing software.

[Via NaviGadget]

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Filed under: GPS, Handhelds

Can’t say it’s likely that you’ll find MD Sound products on just any ole store shelf, but for those that look hard enough, they can procure the firm’s latest PND, the KO-GPS4, right now. Carefully watching his words, the outfit’s head of product development notes that “as far as [it] can tell, [this unit is] the first personal navigation device to include the popular e-book capability.” Beyond that, you’ll find a built-in MP3 / video player, photo viewer, Li-ion battery good for three hours on a full charge and a 4.3-inch touchscreen. Yeah, the $249.99 sticker may be tempting at first glance, but we’re pretty confident you can still do better for two and a half bills. Full release after the jump.

Continue reading MD Sound’s KO-GPS4 navigator includes e-book reader

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Filed under: GPS

Though it’s hard to see where Clarion’s NAX973HD fits in between in-dash units installed at the factory and portable navigators, we suppose folks already drawn to a dedicated display or totally infatuated with this thing’s software may be in love. Marketed as a nav system that will churn out directions in Europe much quicker than those disc-based systems, this unit features a 30GB internal hard drive, 12-channel GPS receiver, built-in gyro sensor / RDS-TMC tuner for traffic information, pre-loaded NAVTEQ maps of 30 countries, voice recognition / text-to-speech capabilities, 2D / 3D map views and a VGA output to boot. Unfortunately, word on the street pegs this thing at £795 ($1,579) without a display, so we’d probably steer clear unless you’re crazy about automotive installations.

[Via Tech Digest]

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Filed under: Gaming, GPS, Handhelds

Well, well — what have we here? Apparently, this PSP (developer’s edition, we’re told) was spotted at the Game Developers Conference in California attempting to showcase how well the gaming handheld could handle navigation. Unfortunately, the underground nature of the booth resulted in a slightly inaccurate reading, but we’re sure it’ll do quite alright under normal circumstances when it’s (hopefully) loosed in the not-too-distant future.

[Via NaviGadget]

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Filed under: GPS

We’re not exactly sure what makes a navigator one that women swoon over, but hooking it up with a pink or zebra striped faceplate is probably a good start. The Carrera S350 is pretty neutral right out of the box, sporting just a white frame, a 3.5-inch LCD, integrated MP3 player, camera alerts and 2D / 3D maps of the UK and Ireland. But this piece gets all kinds of wild when the aforementioned fascias take over. Furthermore, Binatone even asserts that a stylus is included “for those with nails to protect,” and just in case you aren’t up to speed on your technobabble, the firm informs you that a stylus is simply “a wand for pressing the screen.” Don’t be too insulted, ladies — it’s only £99.99 ($197).

[Via Pocket-lint]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Transportation

No question about it, the N78 and the N96 are the heavies in Nokia’s Mobile World Congress announcements, but there are a couple gems on the lower end, too — if you can really call a navigation-ready handset and a 5 megapixel smartphone “lower end.” Taking advantage of the company’s newly-introduced Maps 2.0 app, the 6210 Navigator succeeds the 6110 by adding pedestrian navigation and an accelerometer to make it more responsive than AGPS alone. The 6220 classic, meanwhile, is an S60 candybar that slots in beneath the Nseries lineup, but still manages to clean up in the photography department with a Carl Zeiss lens, 5 megapixel sensor, and xenon flash. Check out the full rundown of the announcements over on Engadget Mobile!

Read - Nokia 6210 Navigator
Read - Nokia 6220 classic
Read - Nokia Maps 2.0

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Filed under: GPS

Quite frankly, we were a touch overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of new nüvis announced for CES, but apparently, Garmin has managed to recuperate from its own outpouring and is dishing out yet another newcomer. On the docket today is the nüvi 850, a Bluetooth-less navigator that attempts to compensate for its lack of handsfree support by featuring a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 resolution touchscreen, a rechargeable Li-ion good for around four hours, a microSD slot, speech recognition, a 3D map view, support for MSN Direct and a built-in media player. Additionally, you’ll find an FM transmitter, audio out and an internal (read: non flip-up) antenna to ratchet the style factor up a notch. According to Garmin, this fairly potent device will be up for grabs in Q2 for upwards of $800.

[Via NaviGadget]

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Filed under: CES, GPS, Transportation

Sure, Microsoft’s Sync isn’t a half bad addition to the motorcars equipped with it, but this inclusion really gets the saliva glands working. Debuting at CES, the Sirius Travel Link system will enable owners to obtain “up-to-the-minute information and entertainment content through the vehicle’s navigation system.” More specifically, motorists will be able to fetch current gas prices from a database of stations, local, real-time traffic information in 78 markets, coast-to-coast weather information, sports scores and even movie listings. The system will officially launch in the 2009 Lincoln MKS, and while specifics (like pricing) aren’t mentioned, we do know that it’ll be offered in “multiple” Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles by the year’s end.

[Via AutoblogGreen]

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