NaviGadget

Linux based Sencio 4″ navigation from Ubistar

Nov 9, 2006 gps navigation, hacks

The Sencio 4″ navigation system is the latest from South Korea’s Ubistar. Its sharp TFT LCD screen can support upto 260K colors and lets you connect other external (AUX IN) video resources such as TV, DMB, VCD, or DVD. The screen ratio is 16:9 so widescreen DVD movies should look just fine on the touch screen.

The navigation system utilizes a SiRF Star III GPS receiver which can even get a satellite fix at signals as weak as -158dBm. No word on what kind of navigation software Sencio uses but here is what makes Sencio different than the rest: Instead of going with Windows CE Net, they decided to run Linux 2.6x on the device making it very hacker friendly (and probably cheaper too).

Sencio runs on an Intel Xscale PXA-255 (200MHz) and uses SD slots for memory expansion and even integrates 1/2 watt speakers. Here is something missing though: No rechargeable battery!!! For power you need to stay connected to your car’s charger which really takes away from complete portability. Other than lacking a battery, the rest of the specs look great even including a media player.