NaviGadget

Sony just officially announced the release of their GPS add-on for PSP. If you’ve been following Navigadget then this shouldn’t be a surprise as we announced this a while ago. We went through the trouble of translating the specs for you:

• Product name: GPS receiver
• Model name: PSP-290
• Sale day: 2006 December 7th
• Desired retail price: 6,000 Yen ($50)
• Reception frequency: 1575.42MHz
• Reception method: Channel 20
• Reception sensitivity: - 153dBm
• Capture: - 140dBm
• Determination renewal time: Approximately 1 second
• Determination precision: 5m (2DRAMS, - 130dBm)
• External size: Approximately 45 x 10 x 7mm (width x height x depth)
• Weight: Approximately 16g
• Contents: GPS receiver, private case

Now you may wonder what software will be using this GPS receiver? Can you use it with a game, could your PSP become a full featured GPS navigation system? The auto-translation isn’t perfectly clear but it sounds like Sony will let other software companies use their creativity with the GPS add-on and possibly something will be released on September 22nd.

The PSP private GPS receiver you can enjoy in the Kousei detail and the large picture only of PSP due to the combination with the corresponding software. We propose the entertainment of the new genre which makes life pleasant presently at software manufacturer each company and this corporation navigation and the action which are in the midst of developing, with, the software of wide genre such as planetarium and golf from the real practical tool to the game.

The PSP private camera and the “GPS receiver” with the corresponding software this year September 22nd (the gold) from with Makuhari is held displays in the SCEJ booth of Tokyo game Show 2006.

press release also via

This GPS device with brushed aluminum frame is called HT-SGPS007 and is manufactured in China by a company called Hi-ET. Now we’re sure the device has many many features but they didn’t feel like listing them. Instead they provided a link called “click product list to feel the product” which took us to a page with lots of pictures and well-translated (and honest) captions such as:

• Choose a Car & Install our GPS Navigation
• Open Car Door & Install Sucked Bracket Pre-plugged with Docking Station
• Oh, a Little Mistake! Charging Cable should not be Plugged in
• In Order to Browse the Contents Carefully, I hold it in My hand
• Picture Viewer, but No Contents in ,Sorry for Having not Cut the One

Two weeks after the release of TomTom ONE North America, TomTom introduced European version of ONE.

There will be two versions available for Europe. One containing all the maps of Western Europe (£ 269), the other containing only regional maps (£ 199). From the outside they both look the same but keep in mind the maps of Western Europe is provided by Navteq, the regional maps by TeleAtlas.

With the renewed ONE, TomTom has succeeded in producing the unit at a lower cost, without sacrificing any quality. The ONE New Edition is an excellent entry-level model navigational system, sold at a very sharp price. The device excels at it’s primary function: guiding the driver from A to B. Important elements for this are: the big and clear screen, loud and clear vocal commands and ease of use. Add the beautiful design, the manufacturing quality and the quality of the GPS reception to that and you’ve got a clear winner.

Things we didn’t like were the limited charging possibilities and battery capacity (only 2 hrs on average), and also the lack of a home-charger. Besides that, the lack of an upgrade possibility with an external TMC antenna was also not a good idea in our opinion.

You can read the full introductory review here.

The PetsCell from PetsMobility is a GPS enabled cell phone that will help you locate your dog (or anything that can carry this collar) or even talk to it by calling a special phone number. If your pet doesn’t feel like talking to you you can always track it online using PetsMobility’s tracking service. Now you may wonder; GPS is no use if my dog is hiding in a parking garage with no clear view of the sky. You are right, but don’t worry, PetsCell is capable of utilizing CDMA technology and tracking algorithms to diminish the GPS Drift and for the most accurate GPS tracking in the industry today.

The PetsCell ™ has the ability to program a Geo-fence around a given area, that will notify you if your pet has left that specific area. If your pet is lost, there are three ‘call owner’ buttons on the unit that can be pre-programed to contact you directly. Anyone finding your Pet can simply call you directly and let you know your dogs whereabouts. The PetsCell™ is the only waterproof GPS device to offer that service in the world.

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PCMag published a review of Pharos Traveler GPS 525 yesterday. In their review the device got a ‘good’ rating.

Bottom Line

• A decent combination of GPS and PDA
• small screen will turn some people off

Pros

• Small and light
• Sensitive SiRF Star III GPS receiver
• Fully functional Windows Mobile 5 PDA with Wi-Fi

Cons

• Small, reflective screen
• You have to load maps manually from CDs for locations other than the 50 preloaded cities

A usable two-in-one device, the pocket-size Pharos Traveler GPS 525 harmoniously combines a Wi-Fi-enabled Windows Mobile 5 PDA and sensitive GPS navigator into one handy device. As long as you have sharp eyes to handle the small screen, it could really lighten your load on long trips.

Measuring just 0.7 by 4.3 by 2.3 inches, the GPS 525 features a 240-by-320 resolution, 2.9-inch touch screen. Below the display are quick-access buttons to activate voice notes, GPS, and the home screen, plus two soft keys. There’s also a little joystick that’s much easier to use than the standard PDA cursor pad. With its 300-MHz Samsung processor, the device is on a par with the midrange HP iPAQ rx1950 in most SPB Benchmark tests.

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Long before we were able to send any kind of satellites into the space (forget global positioning satellites) or even have long range radio communication pilots needed some guidance from the ground. This article on Air & Space magazine is a good read talking about the solution government came up with: Painting rooftop with names and arrows!

Before radio navigation was widely available to pilots of small aircraft, they got around by flying by landmarks. In unfamiliar terrain, however, it was easy to get lost, so in 1926 the government set out to promote air marking, painting the name of a local airport on a nearby building’s roof with an arrow pointing in the airport’s direction, or simply the name of the town with an arrow indicating north. Though federal aviation agencies regulated every aspect from letter size (10 to 30 feet tall) to paint (Chrome Yellow Number 4 on a black background) to distance between markers (one every 15 miles was the goal), they never lifted a brush. Labor came from the Works Progress Administration, the Civil Air Patrol, the Civilian Conservation Corps, civic volunteers, scouting organizations, and the Ninety-Nines organization of women pilots. Along with the safety benefits of guided navigation, air marking was variously touted as a job program, a scout merit badge, a commercial welcome mat, and a boon to women in aviation.

TomTom just unveiled their latest from the Navigator series, TomTom Navigator 6. The new platform integrates TomTom NAVIGATOR 5 and TomTom MOBILE 5 into one product. The TomTom Navigator 6 is designed for people who would like to user their PDA’s or Smartphones as their navigation system instead of buying a whole new standalone GPS navigation system.

The new Navigator 6 platform has a long list of impressive features. First of all it integrates the TomTom HOME application (works both on PC and MAC) so you can easily manage, download, store and transfer content and services to your handheld. It also integrates TomTom Buddies service where you can locate other TomTom users (who are your friends) and send them instant messages.

TomTom Navigator 6 also works well with whatever OS you are using on your handheld device. They promise you won’t miss a single call or a text message when you are using the Navigator but still keep the driving directions visible so you don’t get lost.

Another nice feature is the pre-installed safety cameras database - not much detail on which regions they cover, or even which continent, but it’s there and we’ll take their word for it.

When you buy the Navigator 6 it will come with the software itself, a bluetooth GPS receiver, Mini SD memory card pre-loaded with maps of your region plus major roads of Western Europe, a car charger and an A/C adapter.

• Contact navigation: Navigate direct to contacts stored in your address book
• Arrival time planning: Plan a route based on your desired arrival time
• Expanded Points of Interest searching: Navigate to a POI near current driving location, near home, near destination or along route
• Speeding alert: Notifies the driver if they’re speeding, even if they’re not in navigation mode
• Pre-installed Safety Camera database: The most up-to-date available list of safety cameras is pre-installed
• Safety Lock: Disables a number of menu items before driving, ensuring that maximum attention is kept on the road
• Realistic visual instructions: Visuals replicate road signs, making them easier to follow
• Pedestrian navigation view: 2D map which is fixed in one position to allow better orientation when navigating on foot

TomTom NAVIGATOR 6 will be available from September 2006. It will cost £99 without the bluetooth GPS receiver.

Amaryllo is a new startup company from Europe that specialize in GPS trip tracking devices mostly for outdoors people such as trackers, back-packers, bicyclists, runners and so on… Their flagship product; the Amaryllo Trip Tracker is waterproof small form factor portable gadget equipped with integrated GPS and stopwatch. The Amaryllo Trip Tracker has multiple uses for various sports:

• Trackers and back-packers can use the device to get their exact co-ordinates to find their position on a map, they can use the device as a compass and can use the system to see how long they have been walking and with what average and maximum speed. The device can also navigate to way-points, so they can pre-plan their entire route in advance.
• Bicyclers can use the device to continuously monitor their exact speed (determined using satellite data), their maximum speed, their average speed, the driven distance etc… on the display.
• Wind surfers and sailors can use the device as real time navigation aid: position, waypoints, speed and compass. Furthermore, they can use the device for evaluating their route data (speed, location, etc…).

Amaryllo can also be used as a GPS data logger. It can store up to 20 routes each with 125 waypoints and it can store a maximum of 1000 waypoints in its built-in memory. There’s an SD/MMC slot if your needs are more than what is provided.

Another nice feature of the Amaryllo is that using the bundled software, you can convert trip tracker data to Google Earth format and see your trip on the globe.

It costs about 159 Euro’s with bluetooth connectivitiy and 129 Euro’s without.

We will be featuring many articles from the electronics show in Germany (Internationale Funkausstellung 2006 ) these days. Nav 3900 is one of these. It is a product of TREVI S.p.A. a company based in Italy.

The Nav 3900 comes with swivel bracket that makes it easy to install in various vehicles. It can easily be removed when you are not in the vehicle to save your car’s windows. It is small so you can even take it with you on foot (117 x 69 x 15.5 mm) but the screen is big enough (3.5″) making it readible from a distance.

Nav 3900 has POI support, providing useful source of information, such as the location of gas stations, railway stations, post offices, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, parking facilities and much more.

The package includes a 256 MB SD card with maps of Italy, a CD with the map of Italy (already preloaded on SD card), a CD with the map of West Europe that gives you the opportunity to choose maps of the desired country and then transfer it through a PC on a SD card and use it on NAV 3900 GPS.

Acer introduced E310 yesterday at the Internationale Funkausstellung 2006 (consumer electronics exhibition) in Germany. The device is quite small, measuring only 5.8 x 10.3 x 1.8 cm, and weighing only 130 grams. Despite its small size, the screen is pretty big covering almost the whole front side of E310; measuring 2.8″ diagaonally. It comes integrated with the SiRF Star III GPS chipset and a Samsung CPU at 300 MHz; very similar to most other GPS navigation systems in the market.

auto-translated from exhibition product page

Over the internal loudspeaker you receive a fast description of way from your travel companion not only in the car but also on the bicycle and to foot. Over the display you can be able to be indicated the putting process also in 3D and intermediate stops promptly plan. For the good maintenance on the journey the Acer e300 series possesses an integrated MP3 Player and photo a Viewer, with which you can regard on the return trip your vacation photos.

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