Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Safe mode, huh? While we had previously assumed only our clearly cursed PCs could fall into such a dark, dark place, apparently we were badly mistaken. The recently launched Giove-B satellite, which is the second bird launched for Europe’s next-gen satnav network, was recently sent into some sort of “safe mode” after being “rocked by a surge of space radiation.” Reportedly, said mode halts the satellite’s mission activities and forces it to “concentrate on keeping its batteries topped up by ensuring its solar panels are properly aligned with the sun.” Thankfully, the poor Giove-B was able to resume its frolicking in outer space around a fortnight after being blasted, though we hear if it had been just a tad worse, ground control would’ve had a real mess on their hands with the Blue Screen of Death.

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Filed under: Gaming, GPS

You love free things, right? Well, we love giving away things — so that’s kind of a match made in virtual heaven — and let’s be honest, in these dire economic times, you probably need all the free stuff you can get. Right now, we’re in the extremely delightful position of being able to hand over a Magellan Roadmate 1400 GPS unit and a copy of the new Xbox 360 game Baja: Edge of Control, and all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. That’s right — so little effort for so much reward! Interested? Read the rules below!

The rules:

• Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, though we’d love to hear how you plan to put this GPS unit and game into play (we’re hoping not at the same time, of course).
• You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
• If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you’ll be fine.
  
• Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
• Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one (1) Magellan Roadmate 1400 GPS unit and one (1) copy of the Xbox 360 game Baja: Edge of Control. Approximate value is $310.
• Entries can be submitted until Monday, October 6th, 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
• Full rules can be found here.

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Filed under: GPS

When you’re cruising down the highway on your hog, wind in your face, hair trailing behind you, teeth covered with insects, you probably want a GPS unit that’s as rugged and unafraid of dying as you are. That’s where Becker’s Crocodile (AKA Traffic Assist Z 100) comes in. Nothing says “fearless badass” like a crocodile-skin satnav, replete with a 4.3-inch touchscreen, 2GB on-board memory, 3D terrain and city views, and 42 country maps pre-installed. The device is rubber coated and water resistant, and features turn-by-turn directions optimized for motorcycles, making it ideal for your cross country biker gang meet-ups, or just long weekends cruising the coastlines. The Crocodile will be released in October for €300 (or around $438).

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Filed under: GPS

Dying to get your eyes and fingers all over Mio’s GPS-incarnation of KITT? Can’t hardly wait to hear the voice of the voice of the original KITT barking directions at you? Well you’re in luck, friend. Radio Shack has apparently begun taking pre-orders for the Knight Rider-branded satnav, which they claim will be available to own come September 24th. Ready to go? Get your credit card out, then prepare to be $269.99 lighter and 40 percent nerdier.

[Thanks, Jason]

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Filed under: GPS

Believe it or not, the Berlin-based IFA trade show is nearly upon us, and Becker is more than prepared. Reportedly, the Z100 Crocodile will be making the journey, complete with a 4.3-inch display, an SD card slot, European NAVTEQ maps, a SiRFstarIII GPS receiver and RDS-TMC support. Furthermore, the unit will sport an ultra-rugged exterior meant to handle nearly any jungle excursion you set out on. Expect to hear more (a price and release date would be just fine, Becker) when IFA commences late next month.

[Via NaviGadget]

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Not content with dominating the PC and smartphone market in the realm of operating systems, Microsoft has apparently now set its sights on PNDs. Today the folks in Redmond announced a new OS aimed directly at GPS units, dubbed Windows Embedded NavReady 2009. The software is based on Windows Embedded CE, and combines navigation tools enriched with Live Search, MSN Direct, and Windows SideShow integration, coupled with an emphasis on Bluetooth connectivity. The company says that the system is shipping to OEMs and developers as we speak, which will yield consumer devices in time for the 2008 holiday season.

[Image courtesy of Jim Clark]

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Filed under: GPS, Transportation

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/gadgets/Japanese_super_thief_uses_GPS_to_steal_rental_cars’;
A criminal mastermind named Mitsuhisa Kobayashi has been arrested for a series of GPS-related car thefts in Japan. According to reports, Kobayashi was responsible for stealing eight cars in the Hyogo Prefecture, five of which he sold on the internet. The man — a former auto factory worker — used two ex-wives to rent the cars, and would then make copies of the keys and install GPS units or cellphones with GPS capabilities inside the vehicles. Kobayashi would use the devices to track the cars’ locations, then steal them once they had been moved from the rental firm. Unfortunately, his accomplices used ID’s which led the authorities right to his front door. Whoops.

[Via GPS Tracking Systems; Thanks, Rich]

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Filed under: GPS

If Pioneer’s AVIC-F500BT satnav unit got you all hot and bothered, then big brothers NavGate AVIC-F900BT and AVIC-F700BT should totally wreck your lifestyle. The new units sport all kinds of funky functions, like a 5.8-inch WVGA touchscreen display, built in DVD player (CD for the F700BT), 3D mapping with text to speech, PMP functionality with playback of MPEG, DivX, MP3, and WMA files, plus Bluetooth support for cell phones and the ability to manage up to 300 contacts. The do-it-all units also feature SD card support and USB jacks. Both new models will go on sale in Europe, Russia, Australia, and the States sometime in June, no word on pricing yet. You can watch a demo of the unit in action in the video after the break. C’mon… you know you want to.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

Continue reading Pioneer intros the NavGate AVIC-F900BT and AVIC-F700BT GPS units

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Filed under: GPS

If you’ve been waiting on the edge of your seat for Mio’s new GPS satnavs to hit the States, it’s time to break out the party favors. The PND-maker has just launched its Moov 200, 210, 300, and 310 touchscreen GPS units in the US, all equipped with SiRFstar III chips (with SiRFInstantFix II technology), pre-loaded maps of the US and Puerto Rico, and real-time traffic reports (on the 310 and 210). Prices range from $179.95 for the 3.5-inch 200, up to $249.95 for the 4.3-inch 310, and all four should be available on April 1st.

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Filed under: GPS, Transportation

At first glance, we seriously assumed that we had mentioned this exact same story before. Turns out, one particular Maxi Haulage driver doesn’t tune into Engadget, as he pulled the exact same trick in (almost) the same circumstances. Reportedly, this timber haul was cut short as the driver followed his personal GPS system down a “farm lane” suitable only for (presumably small) tractors, and needless to say, the 45-foot vehicle has been wedged ever since. Additionally, the owner of the property is quite irate, as the mishap is forcing her to drive an extra two miles until rescue arrives. Still, the motorist did cruise right by a sign noting that the upcoming road was unfit for heavy goods vehicles, so at least the sat nav can’t take all of the blame this go ’round.

[Thanks, Carl H.]

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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: GPS

We’ve already seen plenty of evidence of the potential damage that sat navs can cause, but the UK’s Network Rail has now put a figure on at least some of it, saying that the devices are responsible for damaging some 2,000 bridges per year and causing 5,000 hours of delays. That, thankfully, is not from the satellites falling from the sky, but rather from over drivers relying a little too heavily on GPS units (in particular those driving trucks too large for the bridges), a problem apparently so bad that some places in the UK have taken to putting up signs warning of the dangers. That’s apparently not quite enough to solve the problem, however, and now , in addition to warning people to use a little common sense, Network Rail is also reportedly attempting to map all of the UK’s low bridges and level crossings so that the information can be added to GPS software.

[Thanks, Charles H]

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Filed under: GPS, Portable Video

We’re not going to pretend to fully understand the machine translated text we’ve been given. However, we know this, that’s one sexy SatNav and in-car entertainment device for S.Korea up there. In what looks to be TG’s first GPS device, the “El” (the “the”?) features dual-channel terrestrial DMB broadcast television, real-time TPEG traffic broadcasting, dual-SD cards for maps and media, an internal battery, and a biggie OLED display for taking it all in. We’ll update you with more details as they trickle in.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: GPS, Transportation

If you’ve balked at the prices automakers are charging for integrated navigation systems, you should really take a look at what ¥300,000 ($2,746) would buy you in 1981. That atrocity you see above was an actual option in Honda’s Accord during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, and while it didn’t sync up with any satellites, it did help to guide you along in some form or another. The Electro Gyrocator, as it was so eloquently named, accepted transparencies of maps and utilized a gas gyroscope that allowed the map to move with the motion of the car and plot your progress. Once a certain map ran out of road, you just popped the next one in and kept on cruisin’. And here we are kvetching about whether our portable navigator has 10 or 11 million POIs…

[Via Autoblog]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: GPS

The European Union’s next generation satellite navigation system has finally gotten to green light from all involved parties… except Spain. As we reported in July, the project had gotten the high five from US interests, but the works had been stalled as Spain fought to maintain a control center in Madrid. In the end, 26 of the 27 member states of the Union decided to move forward with the project, declining Spain’s request, and leaving them to bow out of the agreement. As of now, there will only be control centers in Germany and Italy, but the project will begin to move forward once again, with a launch slated for 2013. Says EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot, “Galileo will become the spearhead for European technology.” We’re all for the new system, but we hope a few satellites don’t spark another Thirty Years’ War.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: GPS

We’ve got two new SatNavs from Pharos for you: the Drive GPS 250 (pictured) and 150. The 250 lists for $300 and features a 4.3-inch touch-screen display and North American NAVTEQ map pre-load (on 1GB SD card) riding atop a WinCE OS, SiRFStarIII GPS receiver, and 7-hour battery. Expect the the Drive GPS 250 and $200 entry-level 150 to pop at the usual retail locations in “the coming weeks” ahead.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: GPS, Transportation

Every few months, we happen upon yet another story involving a motorist who simply believes that their GPS system would never, ever lead them astray. This go ’round, a Czech lorry driver continued down an incredibly narrow lane at the request of his sat nav, and even though his ginormous camion was clearly too large to make it around the 90-degree turn, he threw common sense to the wind and continued onward. Needless to say, his ride ended up wedged so tightly he couldn’t reverse his way out, so he decided to set up shop for three whole days rather than calling for “an expensive weekend rescue.” Interestingly enough, the fellow managed to acquire food after befriending a couple that lived nearby, and while we’re sure he uttered Michael Scott’s words in a different tongue, we’ve little doubt that “the machine knows!” was heard by nearby wildlife shortly before this situation turned sour.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!