NaviGadget

We’ve had couple of posts about the new Novogo S series. Just recently Novogo made the S series official by putting the new models up on their website. They introduced three new models: S700, S700BT, and S900BT. They look exactly the same from the outiside measuring 115 x 81 x 34 mm and a weighing merely 240 grams. Also common on all three models is the 3.5″ anti-glare touch screen LCD, SiRF Star III GPS receiver, and the rechargeable 1800mAh Li-Ion battery.

The difference is models with BT at the end include bluetooth hands-free functionality. Also the 900BT comes with an RDS/TMC traffic receiver which is optional on the 700 and the 700BT.

All S series uses an Intel processor running at 400MHz and come with an SD card whose size depends on what kind of maps you are getting. For I/O you also get a mini-USB port which you can connect to your home computer with.

A neat feature on all the devices is based on the time and position given by the GPS device, NOVOGO S series can calculate when the sun rises and sets at your current location and changes the day and night colors automatically.

Also for certain regions the S series can provide speed limit warning which already includes the information regarding the speed restrictions of most roads. This feature is able to warn you if you exceed the current limit and save you from driving too fast and speeding tickets. You can also customize the parameters used by the speed warning.

Caliber P-3600 is a 3.5″ LCD touch-screen navigation system that can provide turn-by-turn voice guidance with its SiRF GPS antenna in the US or Canada. P-3600 also doubles as a music player and image viewer. The system comes preloaded with Navteq maps and millions of POIs in over 40 categories for restaurants, ATMs, gas stations, hotels, airports, shopping centers, amusement parks. P-3600’s native language is English but you can download 9 others from the DVD that comes with the box.

The software can display the maps in different modes such as day, night, 2D, 3D, and split screen. Integrated into the system is aan internal Li-Ion battery. In the box you’ll also find a suction-mount cradle that fastens to the windshield and an auto power adapter.

Some more features and specs:

• 3.5″ TFT LCD Display; 320 x 240 with 65,000 colors
• Touch-Screen Display
• SD Card Slot & Memory - 1GB
• WAAS-enabled, SIRF GPS Antenna
• Internal Battery: 1,350 mAh
• Speaker: 2-way
• AC Power Adapter
• Windshield Mount

Amazon sells this for $300 but the picture is actually a P-3500 not a P-3600. NewEgg sells a P3500 for about $250. So we’re not sure how much a P-3600 costs. Let us know if you can get one of these anywhere else.

Asian GPS manufacturer GlobalSat just unveiled a brand new navigation system called the “GV-307″. It is your basic 3.5″ system with MP3 player and image viewer with a SiRF Star III GPS receiver. It runs Windows CE Net 4.2 on a 266MHz Samsung processor with 64MB of RAM and 64MB of ROM. For I/O you’ve got an SD/MMC slot, 3.5mm audio jack, a mini USB port. The battery is kind of weak at only 1200 mAh which will get you a little more than 2 hours. Good thing they include a car charger in the box. On the front of the device there’s an internal mono speaker for voice guidance. GV-370T is quite compact measuring only 118 x 68 x 15 mm’s.

two more pics after the jump…
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Nokia today officially announced their navigation dedicated device called the Nokia 330 Auto Navigation that we first talked about couple of weeks ago. The 330 is a dedicated device just for navigation, so don’t think you are getting a phone as well just because it is a Nokia.

This first version of the device will include Europe-wide maps that promises seamless navigation while crossing borders with voice guidance and visual directions on the 3.5 inch color touch screen. The compact device uses the ROUTE 66 Navigate 7 application and NAVTEQ map data.

Nokia 330 Auto Navigation contains a 2GB memory card for the preinstalled Europe-wide map data and detailed travel information. The software on-board lets you customize the visual instructions to your preference with adjustable 2D/3D, day or night view, or alter the audio to your suitable language or volume, or simply request a repeat of the last instruction.

Like most other modern GPS systems the Nokia 330 Auto Navigation includes features such as music player, photo viewer and video player.

The Nokia 330 Auto Navigation is expected to be available in select channels in Europe during the fourth quarter 2006 at an estimated retail price of EUR 360 without taxes.

Mobile communications company Nokia (Espoo, Finland) is taking decisive steps to participate in the GPS handheld market, acquiring a mapping software company and striking a licensing deal with a GPS manufacturer.

Nokia is acquiring gate5 AG, a Berlin, Germany-based supplier of mapping, routing, and navigation software and services, with plans to add location-based applications to its cell phones.

“Maps and navigation are natural elements to be offered in mobile devices but this area hasn’t developed as fast as expected by the market,” said Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia’s general manager of multimedia.

In a related step, on October 2 Nokia and Trimble Navigation of Sunnyvale, California, struck a cooperative licensing agreement that gives Nokia the ability to use Trimble’s patented GNSS technology in its handsets.

As part of the deal, Trimble can use Nokia’s location patents in its products and services.

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French site mobinaute has an extensive bluetooth GPS receiver comparison article including Royaltek X-Mini-Xtreme RBT-2010, GNS 5843, GlobalSat (G-Sat) BT-359, Holux GPSlim 236, and TomTom SiRFStar III (this one for size comparison only). Of course it is all in French. But we were nice enough to translate the most important parts for you:

Which receiver GPS Bluetooth SiRFStar III to choose?

Marketed in various shops for a price close to the 90 E€uros including all taxes, except for GPS GNS 5843 receiver which is marketed for more than 200 €Euros including all taxes (function TMC obliges), these receivers GPS Bluetooth is all of good quality but is addressed to the public different ones.

For more technophiles which seeks before a whole the most powerful receiver GPS which is, Royaltek RBT-2010 will undoubtedly be most general-purpose combining sensitive chip GPS and endurance record 17 hour battery. For the remainder, the GNS 5843 also leaves the batch because of use of an adapter TMC out of standard, and this in spite of its relatively imposing dimensions.

PC part manufacturer Gigabyte recently entered the PDA market with the new g-Smart i300 which they revealed at the Asia 3GSM Conference. The g-Smart i300 has an embedded with a GPS receiver, bluetooth antenna and headset, 2MP digital camera. The Bluetooth headset that can also be used as a security device such that if the headset is activated during an emergency, it will prompt the phone to send a message with the last known coordinates to pre-assigned numbers that can be left with friends, family, even colleagues. The g-Smart i300 will run Windows Mobile 5.0 run by an Intel PXAA270 520MHz processor and will support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and USB 2.0.

• Triband with SiRF Star III GPS receiver
• Intel PXA270 520MHz processor
• 256MB ROM, 64MB RAM
• 2.4-inch QVGA touchscreen display
• 2-megapixel camera
• Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), Bluetooth 2.0 and USB 2.0
• miniSD card expansion slot
• Runs on Windows Mobile 5.0

g-Smart i300 is expected to be out in December.

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NVX226 from Audiovox is a 3.5 inch touch screen portable navigation system that features turn by turn voice prompts through its speakers integrated into its cradle. NVX226 comes with street level maps of the entire United States and if for some reason you need to find your way around Canada, you can download that from the included CD-ROM onto the 1GB flash memory. The system also features a built-in rechargeable battery.

You can find the NVX226 at Amazon for $285 even though the MSRP is $600. It sounds like a good deal. (fancy carrying case included)

Korean’s everyday are coming up with different ways to make their DMB + GPS units different than the rest of the manufacturers that do the same thing. Today we present such a unit that comes with one central unit with the battery and CPU and such that can be attached to either a 4.3″ or a 7″ touch screen. The point is, if you still need directions from the parking lot to the building you can take the smaller with you since it is more portable. It comes with a fold out SiRF Start III GPS receiver, an SD slot, AMD Au1200 processor, 128MB of RAM, 2GB of ROM. It runs Win CE 5.0 Pro as operating system and uses Citus Rousen maps for navigation.

It is expected to hit the stores in December in Korea and cost a lot of money.

two more pics after the jump…
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Earlier this week we introduced you GPS01 from Sunlike. Today we are looking at GPS02! Compared to GPS01, GPS02 is a bit simpler, lacking the tri-band mobile phone function. GPS01 has a 3.5″ screen at 320 x 240 resolution and runs on a 266MHz Samsung processor. There’s 64MB of ROM, and 64MB of RAM on board as well as a SiRF Star III GPS receiver.

Here are some other features, specs:

• Operating system: Windows CE NET
• PC connection: USB1.1
• Power: Car Adapter or AC/DC Adapter
• Sound: Internal speaker
• Dimensions: 133×80x23mm
• USB connection to PC for updates
• Rechargeable internal Lithium battery (last 5 hours)

Accessories

• AC adapter
• Car charger
• Car mount/ holder
• USB cable
• Carrying case
• Memory card