NaviGadget

helio drift w/ google maps and GPS

Nov 12, 2006 gps navigation, phones

Helio just recently announced the launch of its third exclusive mobile device – the Drift – and custom-built service that goes with it which will utilize GPS technology; namely GPS-enabled Google Maps.

The GPS application is two folds, one is Google Maps for mobile, and the other is something called Buddy Beacon.

The hardware like we mentioned is called Drift and is manufactured by Samsung. It will come in two colors, gunmetal black and frost white. Drift features a 2.12 inch display, stereo Bluetooth, 128MB internal memory expandable via microSD, 2MP camera with 4x digital zoom and flash for shooting photos and video, MP3, MPEG-4 and VOD support.

In addition to getting Google Maps for mobile you also get real-time traffic information for more than 30 major U.S. metropolitan areas with color-coded traffic reports, detailed directions with routes displayed on the map itself, together with step-by-step directions.

The Buddy Beacon thing is just a new way of telling your friends where you are:

Helio members can switch on their Buddy Beacon and use satellite technology to broadcast their location to the friends they add to their Buddy List. When they turn on Buddy Beacon, their Buddy List friends can see their location on a map along with a nearby address. Members can add up to 25 Buddies to their Buddy List. When members change locations and want to let everyone know the party is on the move, one simple command refreshes the location. Want to hide out? Just leave Buddy Beacon off to enjoy a night of privacy or to slip out the back of the club into the VIP room.

The Drift is available for $225 but you better check how much the membership is before you get allo excited and invest in the hardware. With all this connectivity and the need for data transfer you probably should get the plan called “all-in” which includes unlimited:

• text messaging
• picture messaging
• video messaging
• mobile myspace
• web browsing
• HOT (Helio On Top)
• File Transfer
• High Speed 3G
• Buddy Beacon
• GPS-enable Google Maps
• Talk: Nights and Weekends

This plan costs $85 for 1000 minutes which is not that bad considering you current phone bill is probably around $50 anyways.