Garmin Introduces Portable GPS Navigators With Pre-Loaded Land and Sea Cartography
Mar 27, 2006 garmin, gps navigation
Garmin today announced the GPSMAP 378 and GPSMAP 478 – two versatile and portable GPS navigators that come pre-loaded with a comprehensive set of maps and charts.
The GPSMAP 478 features built-in Marine Detail Charts of the United States coastline, including Alaska and Hawaii – utilizing elements of Garmin’s new BlueChart ® g2™ technology. These charts provide integrated maps for a much smoother presentation. BlueChart g2 has all the detail of traditional BlueChart, but with richer detail and content. Chart features include shaded depth contours, port plans, wrecks, restricted areas, and more.
For inland boaters and anglers, the GPSMAP 378 boasts 10-meter resolution for more than 3200 lakes. The vast majority of these high-resolution lakes include depth contours. In addition, 50-meter shoreline resolution is furnished for lakes across the entire continental United States. Maps depict USCG lights and a wrecks and obstructions database overlaid on the map. These lake maps are seamlessly integrated with the 378’s street maps.
For road trips, the GPSMAP 378 and 478 come pre-loaded with MapSource ® City Navigator ® NT detailed street maps of the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The industry-leading database features more than six million points of interest — including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, marinas, attractions, and more. Map data is provided by NAVTEQ – a world leader in premium-quality mapping. Each unit comes with a marine mount and automotive kit (including an integrated 12V power supply and speaker) that makes it a snap to transfer the unit from boat to car…
GPS navigation and entertainment center from Korean Vique
Mar 27, 2006 gps navigation
The Korean company called Vique presents a car GPS system that is unlike the other systems on the market. You get the normal GPS system, but also a USB port, a DVD drive, support for DVD Video, DivX, MP4, MP3 and OGG, and there is also a DMB TV tuner. You get a touch screen adn the device runs on WinCE 5.0. It not only offers 3D cards but also sattelite guidance…
3D GPS for mobile phones
Mar 27, 2006 gps navigation, phones, software
KDDI is the Japanese company that offers under his AU brand a GPS service for their mobile phones, and they pioneered in this domain to offer GPS services on their phones that looked a lot like car GPS systems. KDDI pushes things a bit further now with a 3D version of their maps and the way to follow. The company behind this service is Navitime and the whole thing is in Java.
CNet video review of Google + VW navigation system
Mar 27, 2006 gps navigation, reviews, software
In case you haven’t seen it, CNet has a video of the new navigation system that is being developed by Google and VW. I specially like the 3D ‘play’ option of your route. We’ve had post about this loong time ago.
Google Earth navigation
To make GPS navigation more usable, VW worked with Google to incorporate Google Earth. Instead of looking at a flat, 2D map, the driver sees a 3D representation of the world with a photorealistic overlay. At the ERL demo I watched, an engineer entered a destination, and the point of view–which uses the entire globe as its default–suddenly started to fly in, getting closer and closer to the surface until streets and terrain were visible. In one part of the demo, I was shown the Grand Canyon, which has a complete photo overlay. The demo also included a destination in Manhattan, which showed how useful this system could be; having individual buildings represented on the map makes it easier for the driver to get oriented. ERL also worked an Nvidia graphical chipset into the system to make the maps look really good. On the business side, Google could use the system to sell sponsored positions in a point-of-interest search. For example, if a driver searched for hotels nearby, the system could highlight or offer more information for hotels that paid for position. The engineers at ERL anticipate that other Internet companies with mapping services would probably want to partner with other car companies.
Garmin iQue M4 GPS PocketPC Review
Mar 27, 2006 gps navigation, reviews
Garmin has for years had a PDA/GPS combination based on the Palm operating system. Now they have entered the Windows Mobile arena with three units, the M3, M4 and M5 PDA. This review covers the middle model, the M4.
The M4 is a good design, with a solid function as a Windows Mobile PDA, but also works well as an integrated GPS using the Garmin City Navigator North America NT software preinstalled and all maps already installed. Out of the box, this device is GPS ready! This image shows the M5 model, but all three are essentially the same size and shape, with the differences being in speed, maps installed and the availability of Bluetooth…
The Test
The box contained the Garmin itself, with an integrated screen cover, power adapters for wall charging and car charging, cables to connect it all together and a stylish windshield mount to hold it in place in view of the driver. The GPS is integrated into the PDA itself, contained in a flip up patch on the back of the PDA. You can see it deployed in the picture. As soon as you release the catch to allow the antenna to flip up, the GPS turns on and the City Navigator software starts. The software and maps are pre-installed in internal memory that is in addition to the typical PDA memory. On the M4, you get North America, including the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. The M5 also includes South America. European and Pacific Rim basemaps are available from Garmin.
Garmin has been in the navigation business for a long time, and the software maturity shows it. The user interface is easy to understand, and the map displays are beautiful… read
Loading ...