Everybody of you will be quite familiar with a GPS device. It allows you to easily go to places you have never been before. But actually is that what you want from this device…! If your answer is yes then I am sorry to say that you will soon get bugged up from this device and it will be no more than a brick lying on the dashboard of your car.

Harmon Kardon has something more in mind as the company’s new GPS device named GPS-500 is much more than a normal GPS device. Their new device comes with the ability to playback audio and video files to ensure that you remain entertained during your transit. The company touts the device as a Guide + Play system that comes with pre-loaded maps of UK. In addition to UK it also includes maps of Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Norway, France and many more places. If the place you want to go is not included in the device then you can always connect the satnav to a computer and get a map downloaded on to it.

The company has not released the price and the availability of this device, but stay tuned for more info.

Via: About-Electronics

This slim compacted device comes with the latest TomTom Map Share technology enabling drivers to develop their own maps and share latest information with others. So users will be provided with the latest info available. Given below are additional features of TomTom GO 720 GPS navigator, let’s take a look:

TomTom GO 720 specifications:

(1) Optimized integrated microphone and speaker for high quality hands-free functionality
(2) Maps of US and Canada pre-loaded on 2GB internal flash memory
(3) 4.3″ widescreen 16:9 format LCD (WQVGA 480×272) display
(4) RDS-TMC traffic information receiver (optional)
(5) Lithium-polymer battery (5 hours operation)
(6) High-sensitivity GPS receiver
(7) Dimensions: 4.7″ x 3.2″ x 0.9″
(8) Integrated FM transmitter
(9) Bluetooth connectivity
(10) Integrated MP3 player
(11) CPU 400 MHz
(12) Weight: 7.7 oz
(13) 64MB RAM
(14) SD card slot

Now why the GO 720 has been talk of the time within sort span of time is because of TomTom’s Map Share technology, which comes pre-installed on the 720. The latest or the greatest Map Share technology allows users to adapt maps to dynamically adjust with existing conditions. Such as, users are enabled to choose new street names, or temporary construction sites, blocked roads, and one-way streets to keep the TomTom maps as up to date as feasible.

The latest service can also be availed in the TomTom Home software, which is able to be downloaded to the majority of the existing TomTom devices. All users are allowed to post map changes, which are shared online and available to all and sundry. Other users are allowed to log on and confirm or confute reported road changes.

Owners of the latest 720 are allowed to report changes in real-time while going on the road, whereas other customers are just allowed to put in updates from a PC or Mac.

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The NX4 is specifically designed to deliver low-power and highs sensitivity and provide optimum performance in tracking and TTFF. With the NX4, users will have ability to select hosted or standalone A-GPS architectures within a single chip and migrate to 65nm RFCMOS and integrated baseband for multiwireless applications, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and FM. The new NX4 is coupled with the GSM baseband integration with the aspect of hosted arhiteture, so that one the new multiwireless solutions are designed, then it is hard to displace.

Eric Achtmann, vice chairman of Nemerix stated that GPS is silently changing the rules of mobile games. Suppliers who have GPS capabilities will hange this lurative development.

Image: Nemerix

Did you remember? Few days back, I told about the launch of TomTom’s new GPS PND model, One XL in Taiwan. TomTom is again back with its new high-end navigator models, the TomTom Go 920 and TomTom Go 920T in the US.

The TomTom Go 920T GPS comes pre-installed with complete maps of Europe, the United States and Canada on 4 GB of internal memory. TomTom’s new GPS device includes enhanced positioning technology to experience more continuous navigation. The enhanced positioning technology of TomTom uses movement and gravity sensors to calculate the position of driven, when there is no GPS signals because there is no direct line-of-sight connection to a satellite.

The Map Share technology helps customers to adjust maps and share corrections with other TomTom customers, so that users can always receive the most up-to-date information. An RDS-TMS Traffic Receiver provides up-to-date traffic information, while an improved Bluetooth remote control allows drivers to operate their device safely from anywhere in the car without touching the screen of device.

The company has also unveiled the TomTom One 3rd Edition along with the TomTom Go 920 series in North America. TomTom One 3rd Edition has an improved user interface that provides options for customizing the navigation screen as well as provides quick search tools.

The new TomTom Go 920 series would be available by the end of 2007 for $600, while the TomTom One 3rd Edition will be available by the end of this month for $250.

Image Credit: TMC Net

SiRFDiRect technology uses heading and acceleration data from the sensors to boost the accuracy of portable navigation systems when GPS signals are weak or blocked, such as in dense urban canyons and tunnels. Transitions between combined GPS/DR and dead-reckoning-only operation are seamless and accurate without operator intervention, and the closely coupled GPS/DR architecture of SiRFDiRect technology continuously auto-calibrates the heading and acceleration sensors.

The initial adapter of SiRF’s latest SiRFDirect technology is said to be Mio, which is likely to divulge some novel models at Computex Taipei 2007. Mio is said to call this technology by the name of Navsteadi.

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According to the article, during the first six months these units would be made available only for Mercedes. Later, it will be made available to other car manufacturers. Isn’t it really exciting?

Well, till then we can only wait for its arrival! I am also waiting for its arrival with baited breath, to install it in my car. Let’s see whether GPS unit with Apple branding would be able to make it by 2009 or it is just a rumor?

Image:fastmatt
Via:about-electronics

In other words, the GPS mobile market will record more than ten times growth in contrast to what it is today. The sky-high growth is mainly due to constant fall in average selling prices of GPS handsets, says iSuppli.

The leading mobile giants, China Mobile and China Unicom Ltd. have entered into GPS market this year. They are charging a monthly fee of $2.5 for mobile navigation service providing 5MB of data.

With the increase in the sales of GPS handheld devices, the demand for GPS chipsets, processors and other IC chips will grow up, predicts iSuppli while asserting that the pricing for GPS chipsets will drop constantly during the first half of 2008. It will cause sheer competition in the Chinese market.

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Whenever I think about Nokia, portable mobile phones come in my mind rather than GPS devices. Nokia has unveiled the Nokia 500, second in-car navigation system for convenient in-car navigation and communication.

The Nokia 5500 Auto Navigation device has integrated GPS and competitive in-car navigation features as well as complete Bluetooth handsfree system for your compatible mobile phone. The Nokia 500 is featured with 4.3 inch color screen, which makes it easy for you to search through contacts and make and receive calls. The handsfree speaker system with Digital Signal Processing (DSP) provides you excellent audio quality. The Nokia 500 is equipped with high-sensitivity GPS and Nokia Maps navigation software, which gives you clear voice and visual directions. The device comes with pre-installed regional maps and detailed travel information, including your points of interest like hotels, police stations and tourists sites.

The device has an intuitive Nokia interface, featuring a split screen, which provides you additional information like your next turn, estimated time of arrival and distance remaining alongside the main screen to help for your navigation. The Nokia 500 Auto Navigation system allows you to listen music from the integrated music player, view photographs or watch videos. The device also plays music through your car’s FM radio by using the in-built FN transmitter.

It is expected that the Nokia 500 Auto Navigation to be available in selected regions of Europe in the fourth quarter for a price of EUR 300.

Image Credit: Tech Shout

Via: About Electronics

Netherlands based company, TomTom International BV has launched a new model of its ONE series GPS portable navigation devices (PND), named TomTom ONE XL in the Taiwan market. The TomTom ONE XL is available at NT$12,900 in the market.

The company has launched the second GPS PND model in Taiwan. The company had launched the first TomTom ONE launched in May. The TomTom ONE XL is featured with 4.3-inch screen and voice navigation. TomTom One XL a mid-range model, while TomTom is an entry-level navigation. The company is planning to launch four new GPS PND models, including high-end ones.

Currently, TomTom is covering more than 15 percent market in Europe. The company has sold 150,000-180,000 GPS PNDs last year in Taiwan. TomTom is expecting to increase the sales around 170,000-190,000.

Image Credit: Top Deals

Via: Digit times

GPS or the global positioning system is a pretty handy thing to have. Why? Well, it will help you find your way back to wherever you want. Just key in some points and press some buttons and bingo! you are at your destination. An Indian company Bharti Airtel launched this service in collaboration with Sweden based Wayfinder systems.

Airtel will introduce the handy GPS system in the Blackberry 8800 smart phones. This system will transform the cell phones to a GPS receiver complete with all kinds of maps as well as points of interest. The points of interest will be based on number of Indian cities like Delhi, Faridabad, Navi Mumbai, Mumbai proper, Chennai and Kolkata.

I think this is a good endeavor from Airtel’s part. However, I seriously doubt how many of us will use the Blackberry phones. Maybe they should have thought about building this technology in other commonly used phones.

About the GPS service plan

Airtel is offering a 6month free trial to it’s blackberry 8800 users. According to the company, the customers won’t have to pay any charges whatsoever on the application initially.
There is a data download fee that is charged to the users. Users will have to download the GPS application on their handsets. In order to do so all they have to do is SMS ‘NAV’ to ‘3636′.

According to the Chief Marketing officer of the Airtel mobile Sanjay Gupta , the GPS is supposed to be state of the art:

We are now introducing in India a state-of-the-art GPS-based navigation system that will largely benefit all frequent travelers using compatible mobile handsets like the BlackBerry 8800

Hopefully Airtel will see an increase in users because of this latest service they have introduced. Irrespective of the number of users subscribed to the system, the best part about this is GPS service has started in India. At least you won’t have to ask for directions to random strangers.

Image Credit: Techshout

Source Link: Techtree

Now, the subscribers of TeleNav can send their current locations to any mobile phones. TeleNav Inc. has unveiled the latest version TeleNav GPS Navigator, the original navigation application for mobile phones.

Customers can also share addresses of their businesses, including restaurants, hotels or movie theaters. Even users can send information on local gas stations with the cheapest prices for that day. The company has launched the GPS navigation system for mobile phones, which has following features:

Voice and on-screen turn-by-turn driving directions: TeleNav GPS Navigator computes the routes automatically. Users get up-to-the minute guidance, including street names, and will automatically be re-routed if a turn is missed while driving.

My TeleNav” Web site access: It allows you to preplan your trips, save addresses and manage your account, all online at Telenav. Subscribers can save locations in their “My Favorites” folder and they will automatically download on their phone next time they launch TeleNav GPS Navigator.

Location sharing: Now users have the ability to send their current location or the location of a nearby business to one friend or many friends all at once. This information can be sent from a mobile phone or from the “My TeleNav” account on Telenav. TeleNav GPS Navigator users can quickly navigate to locations they receive using the service’s turn-by-turn directions. Mobile users not subscribing to TeleNav GPS Navigator will receive a link to view a map and static directions on their phone.

Local search: Customers can look up more than 10 million businesses and services, including ATMs,restaurants, hotels, Wi-Fi hotspots and gas stations, and easily navigate to them with the click of a button.

Business reviews and ratings: Users can sort by highest to lowest rating to help them make a decision, or view all of the search results on a map. TeleNav GPS Navigator also allows customers to rate restaurants themselves directly from a mobile phone.

Real-time traffic alerts and one-click rerouting: TeleNav GPS Navigator monitors each specific route and will proactively search every five minutes for traffic congestion or incidents. Customers will be alerted, both audibly and on-screen, and can choose to find a faster route to their location by pressing just one button.

Fuel Finder: TeleNav GPS Navigator includes updated gas prices for local gas stations, and provides driving directions to the station with the lowest gas prices. Now, with just one click, friends and colleagues can share locations of these stations with each other as well.

Full-color 3D moving maps: Just like an in-car navigation system, the 3D maps turn, move and stop along with the driver, while also displaying a realistic image of the streets the driver is approaching and passing. Users can also pan and zoom around the map to view surrounding streets.

Spot Marker: Users can mark waypoints to help find their way back to a location or to record points of interest.

Pedestrian Mode: TeleNav GPS Navigator can also be used while walking, to help guide customers through crowded downtown streets or back to a parked car.

My Favorites: Customers can save as many addresses as needed for easy access and directions later.

Image Credit: CDMA TECH & Navi Gadget

Via: Gizmodo

GPS industry will soon get pretty crowded as more and more manufacturers are launching devices with different and of course different tag lines and brands. This one has been developed by Wiley and Maylog Group.

This new GPS system dubbed FD-35 is being marketed under a brand “GPS Navigation for Dummies”! (What does this mean…?)

The manufacturers claim that the GPS comes equipped with the maps of U.S. and Canada and the screen shown in the picture above also shows some of its multilingual capabilities!

The complete specifications and the price are not yet released but we surely will keep you posted on that.

Via: About-Electronics

The recent mid-range product, which has recently been approved by the FCC features a 4″ touchscreen, handsfree Bluetooth compatibility, and 2GB of storage space that holds maps of North America. Not just that, the users are also provided with an integrated FM transmitter, live traffic updates through TMC, and a 2400mAh rechargeable battery.

So, if you are keen to grab it, the Sanyo NVM-4070 has been priced at $600 on being available.

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Soon, Sprint customers would be able to find out exact location of their friends through their mobile phones. A Mountain View based Loopt has signed a deal with Sprint to launch its social mapping service on selected Sprint and Nextel mobile phones using its Global Positioning System (GPS) capability.

Under this deal, the service allows Sprint mobile phone users to share their locations and status messages to their friends. Even they can send proximity based messages and their geo-tagged photos to their family. Loopt’s social mapping service can find private network of friends and display the locations of friends on a map on the phone. The service also features geo-tagging with its journaling features, so that mobile phone users can capture their experiences and share them with their friends.

The service is 100 percent permission based, which allows users the location-sharing function on or off at will for select friends or for everyone. The service allows you to leave little notes and pictures, which are related with a location for your friends. Even you can receive alerts, when your friends are nearby and allows them to meet up at specific location. Users need to pay $2.99 a month to activate this service.

According to Loopt CEO and cofounder, Sam Altman, the most common question on mobile phone is ‘Where are you?’. Now Loopt would be able to answer this question for Sprint customers, who whish to participate.

Image Credit: Mad 4 Mobile phones
Image Credit: SF Gate

It does not matter where you go if you have Bushnell NAV500, an auto GPS device. It thoroughly guides you in reaching your destination.
The inclusion of In-Car Navigator with full-color mapping capability, touch-screen controls and MP3 player along with the following features make it a perfect in-car GPS device.

Features:

1.SiRF GPS chipset

2.A 3.5-inch QVGA color LCD touch-screen

3.MP3 player

4.SD card slot

5.Road maps of US, Canada and Puerto Rico

6.Photo display mode

7.Turn-by-turn voice prompts

8.Sleek and compact design

9.Rechargeable Li-Ion battery

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