NaviGadget

i-station NetForce Navi

Dec 17, 2006 gps navigation Leave a comment

We’ve covered the T43 from i-Station before. They have a new model out called the NetForce Navi which uses the same GPS cradle as T43 but considerably shorter. The whole back side of the device is attaches to a 3000mAh battery pack and it comes with all the cables you may need to attach to another video source, USB drive, headset, etc… Also included in the box is the GPS cradle, windshield mounting bracket, car charger, T-DMB antenna and more.

The NetForce Navi can also be used as a portable audio player and it comes with a remote that can attach to your clothing and gives you the ability to control volume, FF, RWD, pause, and so on.

Here are some specs we could pull out from the all the Korean text:

• 4.3 WVGA (800 x 480) TFT LCD screen
• WinCE.NET 5.0 operating system
• Rousen Navi navigation software
• 3000mAh rechargeable Li-Ion battery
• 148 x 78 x 21.8 mm / 340g
• T-DMB receiver as H.264
• Supported file formats: MPEG 1/2, MPEG4, MP3, WMA, AC3, OGG, WAV, MSADPCM, JPEG, BMP, PNG, RAW

You should check out the product page for a longer set of features, however keep in mind that the site is in Korean – but the icons are pretty self explanatory.

Wouldn’t this be the ultimate Nuvi 660 killer if it were to come out in North America?

via pmpinside.com

Caliber F-5300 GPS navigation

Oct 27, 2006 gps navigation 1 Comment

Caliber F-5300 5.3″ TFT LCD Wide Touch screen navigation system. Priced at $430 at NewEgg this is one of the cheapest navigation system out there with a 5.3″ screen, in fact it may be the only one with this size screen. Most nav systems are at 3.5″, Sony’s PSP and the new Garmin Nuvi 660 are at 4.3″, and most in-car entertainment systems are at 7″. OK, enough with the 16:9 ratio touch screen. Caliber F-5300 is can give you turn-by-turn voice directions to any address in the USA or Canada which are pre-loaded into the 2GB CF card. The device also features integrated speakers and fold-out GPS antenna to get better reception when it is mounted on the windshield.

Other features include multimedia playing such as MP3s, pictures, millions of POIs, 9 different language support including Spanish-Mexican, French Canadian, day, night, 2D, 3D, split map display modes.

side shots after the jump…
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garmin nuvi 660 review

Sep 27, 2006 garmin, gps navigation, reviews 16 Comments

PCMag just released a review of Garmin’s new nuvi 660. It already received the Editor’s Choice status from them. It pretty much just talks about how wonderful this product is and just like previous nuvi’s this one is also very easy to use.

It’s really difficult to find fault with the Garmin nüvi 660. It’s the first shirt-pocket portable with a WQVGA, 4.3-inch screen. In addition, the integrated traffic receiver and Bluetooth speaker phone interface round out a set of features that is, once again, the best in the shirt-pocket GPS category.

We agree with the whole review about how high quality this product is but when there are GPS navigation systems out there for less than $400 do we really need pay $1000 for the nuvi 660? Is it really ~2.5 times better than the cheaper ones out there? It maybe Editor’s Choice because the editor probably didn’t pay a dime for the nuvi 660 :).

rikaline GPS-450 navigation system

Sep 8, 2006 gps navigation Leave a comment

Rikaline GPS-450 is your standard built-in-China GPS navigation system with some standard features such as voice guidance, automatic re-routing, and so on. You won’t find any text-to-speech (not sure if we want Chinese to do this anyways) function, hands-free bluetooth cell phone integration like you’d get on a nuvi 660.

One nice thing about the GPS-450 is its 5″ screen; bigger than most other GPS navigation systems out there. But there’s always trade-off; GPS-450 weighs half a kilo! It probably doesn’t matter if its going to sit on the windshield mount all day, but if you want to take it with you to prevent burglary it may become an issue.

GPS-450 uses SiRF Star III receiver chipset, a 200Mhz processor, 64MB of SDRAM, and a 32MB ROM. You can connect it to a VCD player using its video-in port to make extra use of that 5″ screen. But make sure you take the power cable with you, because it doesn’t sound like Rikaline included a battery in the GPS-450!

Rikaline uses Navteq maps for NA and western EU but we don’t even think it is for sale in North America or Europe. You can pick up GPS-450 for 5500 CYN (690USD) in China.

Sony NV-U81T and NV-U80 released same day as nuvi 660

Sep 1, 2006 bluetooth, gps navigation, sony 3 Comments

Sony today announced the NV-U81T and NV-U80, two widescreen GPS navigation systems the same day Garmin announced their widescreen nüvi 660 which makes it look as if Sony taking on the navigation system giant Garmin as competition.

Both NV-U81T and NV-U80 will feature what Sony calls POSITION PLUS technology which provides accurate positioning and route information when GPS signals are weak such as beneath a tunnel or bridge, between tall buildings or trees with dense foliage. The position plus makes predictions about the location of the vehicle by listening to its acceleration sensor and a pressure sensor to provide more stable, reliable positioning information, even when GPS signals are degraded or briefly unavailable.

Another feature unique to NV-U81T and NV-U80 is the Gesture Command which makes it easier for the driver to interact with the software. Gesture command makes frequently-used commands like “take me home” or “find the nearest fuel station” available with a quick, simple stroke of a finger on the large touch screen. Sony claims this unique Gesture Command will improve driver safety and concentration by reducing the need for fiddly option selection or scrolling through on-screen menus.

Also to help you keep your eyes on the road is the bluetooth hands-free calling (just like nüvi’s) which can connect to your bluetooth enabled cell phone so you can call any number in your phonebook using your navigator or just dial a new number on the intuitive keyboard.

Differences between NV-U81T and NV-U80:

Storage

• NV-U81T: 4GB hard disk
• NV-U80: 512 MB memory

Map Coverage

• NV-U81T: full European map of 37 countries
• NV-U80: country specific map

Extras

• NV-U81T: Traffic Message Channel comes standard
• NV-U80: Traffic Message Channel is optional

The new nav-u’s will only be available in Europe starting in November and there’s no word on pricing yet.

nüvi 660 finally on Garmin website

Sep 1, 2006 garmin, gps navigation 1 Comment

We saw the pictures, we know the specs already with our three previous posts on the nüvi 660. But today Garmin officially announced the longly awaited nüvi 660 on their website. The marketing point of the new 660 is its 4.3″ wide screen giving you lots more screen space than the older 360. Not different from the 360 is the hands free calling that integrate Bluetooth with a microphone and a speaker to let you make hands-free calls. You can dial the number with the nüvi’s touch screen keypad to make a call on a compatible Bluetooth phone. To answer calls, just tap nüvi’s screen and speak directly into its built in microphone.

FM TMC traffic receiver comes standard on the nüvi 660 by which you can receive alerts about traffic jams and constructions. With the touch of one button nüvi 660 will detour you around the congested area. If you’ve resisted this far to buy an iPod and bunch of accessories to make it work in your vehicle you may find the wireless FM Audio Transmission to be useful. You can transmit audio, voice prompts, MP3s and audio books, through your vehicle’s stereo. Other minor featurs include JPEG picture viewer, currency converter, and more.

The nüvi 660 includes an integrated traffic receiver that makes it possible to avoid traffic and road construction delays. The traffic receiver is integrated with the nüvi’s 12-volt power adapter cable, and will notify the driver of upcoming traffic or road construction delays and the delay’s severity. If the accident or construction delay occurred prior to the user programming the desired destination, the unit will automatically calculate a route around congestion. In the United States, three months of free Total Traffic Network™ service is included, after which the customer may subscribe to 15 months of service for $60.00.

Another new feature is the integrated FM transmitter that broadcasts voice guidance, MP3, audio books and phone calls over the vehicle’s existing speakers. The nüvi’s entertainment audio is muted when navigation instructions are given.

garmin nüvi 660 front pics

Aug 27, 2006 garmin, gps navigation 1 Comment

Garmin nüvi 660 is becoming more and more real everyday. For the first time today we saw what the new nüvi 660 will look like from the front!!! The wide 4.3″ (480 x 272 pixels) WQVGA LCD screen is a nice advancement over the nüvi 360 which only had a 3.5″ (320 x 240 pixels) screen.

via

garmin nüvi 660 not even FCC cleared but it is for sale?

Aug 22, 2006 garmin, gps navigation Leave a comment

Earlier today we talked about the nüvi 660 and said that it was seen on FCC site. Well, somehow multiple sites are offering (current status is “Temporarily Sold Out” or “Out of Stock”) the garmin nüvi 660 for prices ranging between $760 to $1000.

Features

• High sensitivity integrated GPS receiver
• WAAS enabled with flip-up antenna
• Built-in travel kit menu includes sample language guide, MP3 player with sample MP3s, audible book player with sample audio books, picture viewer, world clock, currency & measurement converters & calculator
• Handsfree Bluetooth® wireless technology interface
• Integrated microphone & speaker
• Simply tap the screen to answer calls & speak directly into the unit’s built-in microphone
• Personalized phone book with phone call history log
• 3D mapping perspective or 2D overhead view
• Preloaded with highly detailed City Navigator NT maps containing detailed road maps throughout the entire United States, Canada & Puerto Rico
• Features nearly 6 million points of interests including hotels, restaurants, stores, gas stations, ATMs & attractions
• Map data provided by Navteq
• 700 MBs of internal memory for storage of supplemental maps, MP3s & audio books
• SD memory card expansion slot
• Text to speech unit
• Audible & visual navigation instructions & warnings
• Includes 12V power adapter cable & suction cup mount with external microphone jack
• 4.3″ WQVGA LCD screen
• 480 x 272 pixels
• Bundled traffic receiver includes GTM 20 or GTM 21
• Built-in FM transmitter
• Pre-installed European safety camera database for speed tracking
• Suction cup mount has an 18-pin connector for
• Dim: 4.9″W x 2.9″H x .9″D
• Weight: 5.8 oz

future garmin nüvi 660 seen on FCC site

Aug 22, 2006 bluetooth, garmin, gps navigation Leave a comment

Engadget first reported today that FCC site had a picture of a new garmin device which could possibly be a new nüvi, perhaps nüvi 660.

The FCC site doesn’t reveal much but it does say:

The unit was designed to be mounted in an automotive application and the transmitter section allows for short-range communications to other Blue Tooth devices or the FM stereo receiver mounted in the automobile.

We actually went through the FCC test documents and came up with this about the nüvi 6xx:

• bluetooth capabilities
• fm receiver
• connect to GTM 20 TMC FM traffic receiver
• connect to microphone and headphones

That’s all we have for now…