NaviGadget

ViaMichelin X970 now available in the U.S.

Oct 4, 2007 gps navigation 3 Comments

We had talked about the European version (X970T) when it first appeared. Today we got the news that X970 is now available in the U.S. for $350 (pre-order).

X-970 uses the very common SiRF Star III GPS receiver, comes with maps of U.S. and Canada, and even has bluetooth connectivity for hands free calls. The device is also traffic information but you’ll need to buy a separate accessory for that. However text-to-speech, Michelin Green Guide which lets you plan your trip at home are standard.

gps navigation systems for $200 or less

May 11, 2007 gps navigation 11 Comments

Lately we’ve been seeing a lot of GPS navigation systems going below the $200 mark. Most of these are from manufacturers you’ve probably never heard of before but that’s not necessarily bad. The hardware is usually standard and the software is sometimes identical in these machines. Here is our roundup:

Magellan Maestro 3100 for $200

Evesham Nav Cam 7700 for $160

InVion GPS-4v106 for $200

Aytobe for £100

PIVA PNS350 for $190 or L100 for $175

JVC KV-PX9 for $180

Mio C220 for $180

UPDATES:

ViaMichelin X930 for $198

NaviBlue NBC3500 for $155

Navman F20 (refurbished) for $158

FineDrive 400 for $190 or $99

Holux GPSmile 52 for $170

Sanyo NVM-4030 for $200

MORE UPDATES:

Lowrance iWAY 250c for $190

Jensen NVX-225 for $190

Nextar HGPS35 for $156

Navman iCN 330 for $130

Evesham NAV-CAM 7000 for $181

Are we missing anything? Even if it’s after rebate, let us know. We’ll update the list.

UPDATE: July 2008 – We now have another list cheap GPS navigation systems.

ViaMichelin X-960

Mar 13, 2007 gps navigation 3 Comments

Another new GPS navigation system that will be revealed at CeBIT tomorrow is ViaMichelin X-960. X-960 is an entry level model with a screen size of 3.5 inches and it is planned to replace X-950 and X-950T. It will be delivered with maps of separate European countries at an aggressive price of 229€. It will be also available with complete maps of Europe for 299€.

X-960 will also be available at the end of April.

Here are the main features of X-960 :

• SiRF III GPS receiver
• 3.5 inch touchscreen
• Samsung Processor at 300 MHz
• 2 hour battery life
• Dimensions : 10 X 7.7 X 2.1 cm
• Weight : 136 G

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the new ViaMichelin X-970T

Mar 13, 2007 gps navigation 4 Comments

ViaMichelin will reveal X-970T GPS navigation system at CeBIT tomorrow. The X-970T has a screen size of 3.5 inches and it is capable of receiving RDS/TMC traffic information as well as pairing up with your bluetooth phone to give you hands free calling (and receiving). The version for each European country will retail for €329 and the full European version for €399.

Main features of the X-970T :

• SiRF III integratd GPS receiver
• External receiver RDS/TMC with information Premium traffic
• Hands free Bluetooth Kit
• Touch screen of size 3.5 inches (9.2 cm), supporting 65K colors and 320 x 240 pixels (QVGA) resolution
• Samsung Processor at 400 MHz
• 3 hour battery life
• Dimensions : 10.8 X 8.0 X 2.1 cm
• Weight : 155 G

The X-970T integrates a speaker just like its big brother X-980T and use Windows CE.Net 5.0 with 64 MB of RAM and 128 MB of ROM. It uses ViaMichelin’s navigation software with a new version of TeleAtlas maps. Like the X-980T, X-970T makes it possible simultaneously to post the route as well as a zoom on the next change of direction.

X-970T will be available at the end of April… via

Via Michelin X-930 review

Feb 12, 2007 gps navigation Leave a comment

The Via Michelin X-930 got reviewed by editors of PCMag and only got a “fair” grade. It lost almost all its points due to the poorly designed user interface which required extra clicks / touches to do what you want. They try to compare the $300 price tag of Via Michelin’s user interface with other systems that have an easier to use menu – however they fail to realize that it costs $200 and not $300. That’s a huge difference.

Since most entry-level GPS devices are based on similar hardware platforms and use mapping data from one of two sources (Navteq or TeleAtlas), the real “secret sauce” that differentiates these products is in the user interface and menu system. Though Michelin’s brochures claim that the X-930 is easy to use, I found the menu system fairly difficult to figure out, even for someone like me, who has tested many, many GPS devices.

You can buy the Via Michelin X-930 from Amazon for only $200.

ViaMichelin X930 now in US

Dec 7, 2006 gps navigation Leave a comment

ViaMichelin is now availabe in the U.S. Today we got the word from their PR people that the first model they’re offering in North America would be the X930. The X930 is a pocket sized GPS navigation system that only measures 4.8″ x 2.8″ x 0.7″ and weighs 4.7 ounces. The 3.5″ screen can give you directions in either driving mode or pedestrian mode and supports 2D or 3D display. Other nice touches are the ability to save your favorite destinations (why would you need directions to your favorite place is another question), auto saving of your last 10 locations, speed warnings, and the anti-glare screen. ViaMichelin X930 supports English, Spanish, French, German, Italian for both the user interface and voice guidance and comes with a 1GB SD card that includes maps for the entire U.S.

The package contains car mounting bracket, stylus, car & wall charger, and some navigation DVD. It is already for sale on Amazon for $300.

UPDATE (Feb 2007) : Wow, now it’s only $200.

Via-Michelin X980T finally arrives

Sep 20, 2006 gps navigation 2 Comments

The arrival of the new navigation system X-980T from the French manufacturer Via-Michelin was soon, and it finally happened. Some of the new exciting features is the hands free bluetooth kit, 4.3″ screen with 16:9 ration at 480 x 272 pixels.

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But it is not all, as with accustomed for each new PND ViaMichelin, it inaugurates a new version of the software of guidance: ViaMichelin Navigation 6. With the menu of the innovations : the voice synthesis allowing to vocally state the street names, the panels road as well as the messages of Information Traffic. One awaited this functionality for a certain time : one can from now on avoid tolls. One can also from now on create routes with stages.

Also large mode ways posting the crossed cities and the places of interest.

Another innovation, the screen separated into two with a part with a zoom 2d on the next intersection.

An innovation that many users waited : one can from now on use it in free navigation (without programming routes) with possible activation of the messages of information traffic and access to the functions telephones.

New interesting functionality : one can import an address since the ViaMichelin site towards the PND through PC and software provided Content Manager.

The X-980T manages with information traffic in RDS/TMC Premium making it possible to have access to information traffic as well on the paying motorways as on the large axes and in the large cities as Paris will intra muros like its peripherals and its expressways. Beyond the borders, the X-980T can receive information traffic in 13 country of Europe.

Main features:

• Screen 4.3 inches (10.9 cm) tactile TFT 65 000 colors in 16/9 and of resolution 480 x 272 pixels (WQVGA)
• Processor 416 MHz
• Receiver GPS Integrated SiRF III
• 256 MB of ROM
• 64 MB of RAM
• Connector mini USB for loading and connection to the PC
• Autonomy : 3 hours, according to the manufacturer.
• Dimensions : 15 X 8.3 X 2.7 cm
• Weight : 260 G
• Software of navigation ViaMichelin 6 with TeleAtlas maps

From its screen large size, the X-980T is more imposing than the family of X-950. Its design is pleasant with plastics of good completion and very pleasant to the touch. Innovation : it has a removable frontage and one will be able to thus harmonize it with his vehicle. One liked the form also which enables him to hold upright, with the manner of a book or certain external hard disks.

It will be available as from mid October to the price of 699 Euros ($880). This price is in phase with that of competition, in particular TomTom GO 710 with the accessory Info Traffic RDS/TMC.

Dangaard Telecom launches Aytobe, a new PND SiRFStar III

Aug 27, 2006 gps navigation 12 Comments

The Danish company Dangaard Telecom, up to now known to distribute mainly mobile terminals of various marks whose products HTC in Europe, launches out in the GPS with Aytobe, a new PND SiRFStar III which wants to be to be proposed at a rather competing price.

Rather than to market PND of other marks within its network European of distribution of mobile products, the company Dangaard Telecom preferred to conceive itself a model of recent PND which should be soon available to the sale to compete with the equivalent models suggested by Navman, TomTom, Viamichelin, Mio or Garmin.

Technically speaking, this PND which bears the name of Aytobe has the dimensions rather reduced (130×76x23 mm) and has a tactile screen TFT LCD to the format 4:3 of a size of 3.5 inches, a processor INTEL PXA 255 given rhythm with 300 MHz, 64MB of internal storage, a port USB 1.1, a system Windows CE net, a port for memory board SD (upto 2GB), of a loudspeaker 1×1.5W and finally of a receiver GPS SiRFStar III with foldable antenna.

For the remainder, via its software of navigation assisted by GPS provided by Smart2Go and with its numerical charts Tele Atlas, the PND Aytobe has a mode of navigation in 2D and in 3D with a possibility of passing from a posting of the day mode to the mode harms to optimize the reading of its screen in dark environments. The autonomy of the PND is announced at 6 a.m. of use continues before requiring to reload it.

Marketed at the price of approximately 250 Euros including all taxes with an infra-red remote control in more of necessary usual to connect it to the avoid-catch of a car, the PND Aytobe de Dangaard Telecom will be available in two versions, the first with a chart SD of 512MB containing a chart of area, the second with a chart SD of 2GB containing the totality of the charts of Europe of the West.

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Extended review of HP iPAQ rx1950 Navigator

Mar 23, 2006 gps navigation, reviews Leave a comment

PocketPC Italia did an extended review of the HP iPAQ rx1950 Navigator with lots of pics.

The iPAQ rx1950, already recensito between the pages of Pocket PC Italy, it is the new PDA thought from HP for the segment entry-level of the market, product that has gone to replace the rz1710. As the previous model also the new one rx1950 has been chosen from HP for a new one bundle of street navigation, once again, studied for it wrap more lowland of the market. But the analogies with the past are not finished. The choice of HP on the technological partner for the management of functionalities GPS has fallen on ViaMichelin, company with which the American colossus it has already realized numerous bundle, included rz1759 the Navigator. The iPAQ rx1950 it is the directed evolution of the previous one bundle, from which one differs, beyond that for the new PDA, the last version of the software of navigation ViaMichelin Navigator.

CeBIT 2006: GPS X950T from Viamichelin

Mar 16, 2006 gps navigation 1 Comment

Another translation from French. Fun to read…

CeBIT 2006 is the occasion to introduce new navigator to you GPS of the French company Viamichelin. Newcomer on the sector of the autonomous GPS for car, Viamichelin presented the X950T which comes to enrich the line of goods. The related one with X930 is obvious since only some very light aesthetic final improvements are to be noticed. Side of the innovations, one finds especially the information management traffic via TMC and integration owing to lack of a number of contents resulting from the other production from the head office. Thus, the X950T is provided with the addresses and descriptions of the green guide as well as famous guide of the restaurants and hotels. Ergonomics was somewhat re-examined for a greater facility of use, especially with the addresses of the POI. The diponibility is announced for May and the price should be at the neighbourhoods of the 599 €. via