NaviGadget

LG’s other new addition to the LN series at CES 2008 was LN845 which boasts a sharp 4.3″ screen, 5 hours battery life, and bluetooth phone pairing for handsfree calls.

It’s only difference from LN855 is that LG LN845 does not have an TMC receiver for traffic updates.

No word on pricing just yet but we just the word from Engadget that they’ve already got their FCC approval meaning they’re well on their way to hit the market here in the U.S.

Pioneer AVIC-F500BT - now known as NavGate 500 was just made official yesterday.

One of the main innovations with NavGate 500 is the size of the screen measuring 5.8″ - which we believe is a record as far as portable nav systems go. NavGate will have 800×480 pixel (WVGA) resolution, just like HP iPAQ 310, and Garmin nüvi 5000.

NavGate 500 integrates a hands free Bluetooth kit from Parrot, an RDS/TMC module for traffic information, voice commands, a processor running at 600 MHz and of the course the SiRF StarIII GPS chip.

It will ship with maps from TeleAtlas covering 30 European countries including Greece, Poland, the Czech republic, Slovenia, Croatia, Slovakia, Romania and Turkey.

Another feature with NavGate 500 will be the ability to connect to your car stereo through Mosfet 50 amplifier which should provide a very good sound quality. Also AV, USB port, iPod connection, and an SD card slot are standard with NavGate 500 allowing you to connect various external audio and video devices.

Pioneer NavGate 500 will hit the market in May and will sell for 699 €. read »

The two sided GPS phone from Mio which we spotted at CES 2008 earlier this month is apparently into two way traffic updates just like Dash - but probably not in the near future since it was only a prototype device even without a model name or number. Engadget reports that the new Mio GPS / phone will use Qualcomm’s QST1100 chipset.

Mio’s new connected PNDs will be based on the QST1100 chipset from Qualcomm, the first solution to integrate application processing, GPS and cellular connectivity for ubiquitous connectivity and sleeker form-factors. The QST1100 chipset leverages Qualcomm’s gpsOne technology for unsurpassed GPS performance. The fully integrated gpsOne solution supports numerous modes of operation - including Assisted-GPS, Standalone-GPS and gpsOneXTRA Assistance technology for enhanced Standalone-GPS performance - and is the most widely deployed position-location solution in the world.

Mio has been doing good in the GPS navigation market. We’ll see if they can combine the power of GSM networks into their GPS device seamlessly… via

Korean MediaCanvas had this GPS navigation system on display at CES 2008, simply called Pathfinder.

Pathfinder has a small body - even smaller than most PDAs. It only measures 2.3″ x 4.4″ x 0.77″ and has a 2.7″ TFT LCD touch screen with 320×240 resolution. Thanks to the small screen the Li-Ion battery can last upto 8 hours; something we’re not used to see on most sat nav systems on the market today.

Pathfinder comes with a built-in 2GB memory and uses a 12 channel GPS receiver.

We do not know if/when this will be available in the U.S. but if it did, it would definitely be popular among those who wants a GPS navigation system that would easily fit in a pocket.

Garmin introduced a new service at CES 2008 called 2nd Generation MSN Direct network that is available on the new nuvi 880 and nuvi 780.

This 2nd Generation MSN Direct is nothing but Spot, that was introduced by Bill Gates 5 years ago. It never became popular since its release but it looks like they’re making a few deals with names like Garmin (and Pioneer, Alpine, etc) to utilize their network which relies on FM radio broadcast channels in U.S. and Canada.

What’s really cool about the service is that this will allow you to send a location to your nuvi 880 or nuvi 780 from Live Search Maps without cables or internet - as long as you’re in the area covered by the FM transmission. Not only an address but you can even plan a vacation by making a collection of places you want to visit.

Of course everything comes with a price. MSN Direct service will cost you $50/year or $130 per lifetime of your device. And one more thing - the MSN Direct receiver is not embedded into the device but is embedded in the car charger. So you’ll need it to be plugged in if you want to receive addresses.

Magellan announced the new Maestro Elite 4370 at CES 2008 last week. The 4370 offers 4.3″ screen which they say is the most responsive out there and is the first true flat touch display since they’ve eliminated the plastic bezel housing.

Maestro Elite 4370 will feature text-to-speech technology that announces street names, Bluetooth capability for hands-free calling, pre-loaded maps of North America, Puerto Rico and Mexico and more than 6 million searchable points of interest (POIs).

It’ll be available first quarter of this year.

Clarion just introduced a next generation GPS navigation device called MiND which stands for Mobile Internet Navigation Device.

Clarion MiND is based on Intel’s Menlow platform which is pretty much an UMPC, allowing users to connect to the internet from their navigators using Wi-Fi, and play various kinds of multimedia files. Clarion MiND is also equipped with bluetooth which means you can pair up your bluetooth enabled phone with the device. Alternatively the same bluetooth connection can be used to connect to 3G networks when Wi-Fi is not available.

Here is the full list of those impressive specs:

• 5.2 inch WVGA (800×480) LCD Display with Touch screen
• Intel Menlow (Based on Silverthorne processor and Poulsbo Chipset)
• 256MB DRAM
• 4GB Flash Memory for Storage
• WiFi
• Bluetooth 2.0 EDR
• CMOS Camera
• 3G Data Module (Future Capability)
• Mobile WiMAX (Future Capability)

read »

Korean Zamm has a new model called SM400. Zamm likes to call such products ‘mobile infotainment system’ instead of just a GPS navigation system since these devices offer so much more.

SM400 has a 7″ screen at 800×480 resolution and uses Windows CE 5.0 OS on a 500Mhz processor. It has a 3000mAh battery that can last up to 2 - 3 hours depending on which function you’re using. And there are plenty: Blutooth, GPS navigation, DVB-T, 1-Seg, DMB, video player, audio player, photo album, games, and more…

The GPS receiver is from SiRF, has an SD card slot, and also offers a USB 2.0 host slot. Availability in the U.S? Nope. But we did see it at CES 2008.

Casio was displaying their relatively new G’zOne rugged GPS phone at CES 2008. The G’zOne comes standard with a location enabled 9-1-1 feature for emergency situations and if you activate the VZ Navigator from Verizon you can even have yourself a full GPS navigation system complete with turn-by-turn directions with access to 14 million POIs and detailed color maps.

G’zOne is equipped with bluetooth and supports headsets, handsfree, serial port, and dial-up networking profiles. Other features include voice commands, TTY/TTD capability, and a not so great digital camera.

Casio G’zOne is exclusively available at Verizon for $150 with a two year contract… read »

Magellan has a new addition to their Maestro lineup that is geared for people with bad vision and poor hand eye coordination… or ‘baby-boomers’ as they’d call them. Bad bad joke…

Maestro 5310 has a big 5″ screen, up to 35% increase in readability thanks to its larger map and font sizes, and a straightforward navigation experience.

Maestro 5310 offers built-in AAA Tourbook as a travel guide and roadside assistance, and is capable of receiving live traffic information (3 months subscription free with purchase). Maps cover the 50 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico and points of interest offer 6 million items in its database.

Magellan Maestro 5310 will cost $700 when it comes out first quarter of this year.