NaviGadget

world’s thinnest bluetooth GPS receiver

May 31, 2007 bluetooth, gps navigation 1 Comment

At 8mm’s Keomo’s MTK claims to be world’s thinnest bluetooth GPS receiver. It has the MTK 32 channel chipset on board and a powerful 1050mAh Li-Ion battery which they claim will stand-by upto 200 hours thanks to their patented Fuzzy Auto On/Off feature.

The MTK is pretty much compatible with any bluetooth enabled device out there but if you must see them listed here you go:

• All Qtek/HTC serie – S200, 8020, 8300, 8310, 9000, 9090, 9100, MDA Vario, P3300, S620, P4350, P3600, TyTN, S310, MTeoR
• Nokia N-series – E60, E61, E70, N80, 3230, 6260, 6280, 6600, 6630, 6670, 6680, 6681, 6682, 7610, 9300, 9500
• Palm – Palm Treo 650
• I-mate – I-Mate Jamin
• Mitac Mio – Mio A701
• Hewlett Packard – HW-6515
• Sony Ericsson – P900, P910(i)
• Blackberry – The Keomo GPS receiver is compatible with all Blackberry series
• PDA’s – The Keomo GPS receiver is compatible with all PDA’s

Satellite fix times for the Keomo MTK is as follows: cold / warm / hot : 36 / 33 / 1 second. It looks like the device will only be available in Europe… No word on pricing just yet.

Mio A501

Feb 17, 2007 gps navigation, mio 10 Comments

A few days ago we mentioned Mio’s new A501, a GPS enabled PocketPC phone. Today we some better pictures and few more details.

Compared to A701, the only downside of A501 is that it lacks Wi-Fi. Everything else seems to be a plus for the new younger brother. The A501 will come with 1GB of storage space and 64MB of RAM and have support for quad band GSM networks. Also from the picture we can see that A501 is using the new mapping software V3 from Mio.

We still have no info on pricing or availability… via

Mitac Mio A501

Feb 14, 2007 gps navigation, mio, phones 14 Comments

Mio is releasing another GPS-enabled Pocket PC Phone called the Mio A501. The device is expected to be released in March of this year. It is a bit shorter compared to their Mio A701 model, but it seems to pack same set of features, even a same size (240×320) screen. It’ll only weigh 135 grams with battery and run Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC Phone Edition AKU 3.5 on a TI processor.

The Mio A501 is a quad-band GSM phone with bluetooth support, with both USB port and SD/MMC slots. The system of course comes with an embedded GPS chip, namely the SiRF Star III. The battery’s capacity is 1050mAh. Don’t forget the 2MP digital camera.

HTC P3300 review

Oct 17, 2006 gps navigation, reviews 1 Comment

The French site GPSandCo did a very extended review of the HTC P3300 and we translated it for you.

Introduction

HTC is the number one on the market of PDAphones with its own Qtek brand similar to great names like HP and Orange in particular.

HTC had already launched a PDA with integrated receiver GPS, G100 but which was not marketed officially in France and which very was not successful in terms of sensitivity GPS. And HTC also manufactures PDAphones GPS iPAQ hw6515 and hw6915 for HP.

With P3300, HTC launches its first highly anticipated PDAphone GPS under its own brand.

Let us see what this P3300 is worth, especially on the level of sensitivity GPS and its performances for which it is awaited the turning, Qtek 9100 having a similar processor having disappointed on the level of its performances, even if it met success.

Design features

• Processor: TI OMAP 850 at 201 MHz
• Display: Touch screen TFT LCD 2.8 inches with 65536 colors and 320×240 pixels resolution (QVGA)
• Cellular module: Quad-bands GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), GPRS and EDGE
• GPS: Integrated GPS SiRF III instantSiRFfix (A-GPS) receiver
• External antenna port: Yes
• ROM memory: 128 MB
• RAM memory: 64 MB
• USB:1.1
• Infra-red: No
• Bluetooth: 2.0
• Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g
• Integrated camera: 2 Megapixels (1600 x1200) with x2 zoom,no flash
• Video: MPEG4 format with 128 x 96 or 176 x 144 pixels resolution
• Ports: MicroSD
• Battery: 1200 removable mAh
• Operating system: Mobile Windows 5.0 (AKU 2)
• Dimensions: 11 x 5.8 x 1.7 cm
• Weight:127 G

Gigabyte g-YoYo phone with GPS

Jul 7, 2006 gps navigation, phones Leave a comment

There aren’t that many options out there for a phone with a real integrated GPS chip (Mio A701 being one of them). News came out today that Gigabyte g-Yoyo will now include an actual GPS chip. The phone also features a 2 MP camera, and a SD slot for MP3 files. You can see the actual article in Chinese here.

via

Test of Pocket PC GPS SiRFStar III Fujitsu Siemens Pocket Loox N560

Jun 12, 2006 gps navigation, reviews Leave a comment

An extensive pictorial review of the new Fujitsu Siemens Pocket Loox N560 is available at this French site.

Coming to compete with the other models of currently available Pocket PC GPS SiRFStar III on the market whose Mio A701 and Asus A632/A636, Fujitsu Siemens Computers recently marketed a new terminal of this type baptized Pocket Loox N560 and having the characteristic to be equipped with a screen VGA.

Presentation of Pocket PC GPS SiRFStar III Fujitsu Siemens Pocket Loox N560

Pocket Loox N560 of FSC lays out, just like the N500 series of the company, a receiver GPS integrated SiRFStar III, thus supplementing the range of Pocket PC GPS of FSC Pocket Loox N500 and N520.

N560 has for its part an operating system Windows Mobile 5, of a given rhythm processor INTEL PXA 270 with 624MHz, of a screen VGA of 3.5 inches for 65 000 colors, of a function USB Host 1.1 via a cable, of a port for memory board compatible SD/MMC IO, of 128MB of ROMANIAN flash memory and 64MB of RAM/128MB of ROM flash memory thus of a double connector industry without wire Wifi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 1.2…

Typhoon Pocket Star to arrive before end of summer

Jun 8, 2006 gps navigation, myguide, phones Leave a comment

This PND (autonomous GPS) is characterized by its reduced size : it integrates a screen of 2,2 inches of size, PDA and PNDs having usually a screen of 3,5 inches. Its screen will be even smaller than that of PDAphones traditional (Qtek S100, Mio A701…) measuring 2,8 inches, and that of the PND measuring Garmin i3 2,4 inches.

It will be available two colors : black and blanche/alu brushed, the latter will be in the tendency iPOD, the size of Pocket Star making think of a walkman MP3. Moreover, the German mark positions it like a product being used of walkman MP3 and GPS.

Its principal characteristics :

· Receiver GPS SiRF II integrated with antenna dépliable.
· Touch screen 2,2 inches TFT LCD 262 000 colors and of 240×320 resolution
· Storage internal of 1 Gb of ROM
· Windows CE.net 4.2
· Port SD/MMC (up to 2 Go)
· Mini USB 2.0
· Battery Lithium-Polymer of 1 000 mAh with an endurance from 5 to 7 a.m.
· Software of navigation MyGuide 6 (provided by iGO) with TeleAtlas cartography the first quarter 2006 and stored on the internal storage.
· Audio reader MP3
· Viewer of photographs and vidéos MPEG4

auto-translated from French

Comparison of 6 PDAs and GPS

May 19, 2006 gps navigation, phones, reviews, wrist watch Leave a comment

The track we have chosen consists also of road in the countryside: the first requisite of having a vehicle capable of travelling in those roads is satisfied by the car above. For our tests we have used 6 different PDAs, ready for a very tough competition. Here they are, strictly in alphabetic order:

Fujitsu Siemens C550, the “multimedia PDA” , coupled with the GPS receiver Globalsat BT-338; N520, the entry level of FSC convergent devices; N560, currently the top of the Japanese-German vendor; HP hw6515, the first PDA-phone with AGPS; MIO A201, the budget model of the series; MIO A701, the PDA phone including a SiRFinstantFix system.

These devices are not the only electronic companions of our tests. We also have some newcomers, but we are not going to publish the results for them, due to obvious reasons. An example is the T830 by Fujitsu Siemens, still in a preliminary phase, that is expected to be available on the market by next July/September. The firmware it implements is at a too early stage to ensure an active participation to the tests and to guarantee reliable results. Side by side to this UMTS PDA phone we have included other devices: JasJar, the “king” (review); Globalsat GH-601, the wrist receiver; SD-502, the Secure Digital with a GPS antenna inside; some Nokia smartphones, and a long list of Bluetooth GPS receivers of old and new generation.

full review

yet another Mio A701 review

Apr 25, 2006 gps navigation, mio, phones, reviews 3 Comments

It looks like whoever can get their hands on a new Mio A701 is doing a full review. This one is from infoSync.

With the A701, phrases like the above are – for the most part – a thing of the past. A latest-generation SiRFstar III chipset and AGPS support offer precise positioning and quick multiple-satellite fixes without the need for an external antenna. The sleek device also benefits greatly from its bright 2.7-inch touch screen, which can be used in both portrait and landscape modes, striking a near-perfect balance between resolution and size to minimize the need for panning and zooming – the latter of which is an automated process in navigation mode. Outdoor viewing could be better, however.

Moving to actual navigation, easily distinguished hardware controls are joined by an informative interface in the Navigon Mobile Navigator 5 based Mio Map 2 software which could benefit from larger text and icons but is otherwise quite user friendly. Its horrid 20-second start-up time and a slightly anemic 3D interface aside, map detail is good, information is up-to-date, voice prompts are clea and concise, the points of interest database extensive and performance impeccable both with regard to route calculation and recalculation. Furthermore, favourites are easily stored and retrieved, while itinerary support is present and flexible.

Nice touches beyond required functionality include the ability to poll the Windows Mobile contacts database for routing, while the ability to route to and from map-selected locations (as opposed to addresses) and select profiles for pedestrian, biking and driving use are also appreciated. Speaking of driving, the A701 also comes with a windshield car mounting kit and charger. Maps of the entire European continent are delivered on a DVD; a bundled 512 MB SD Card easily holds at least one country at a time and often up to three, while the Navigon software also supports TMC data reception to allow for automatic rerouting around congested roads in countries where present.

another CNet review: Mio A701

Apr 20, 2006 gps navigation, mio, phones, reviews Leave a comment

Bottom Line
This is one from is CNet.uk. They reviewed the Mio A701 and gave it 7.5 out of 10. They say it is a decent GSM/GPRS/GPS handheld with some nice features, although it lacks Wi-Fi.

Design
The Mio A701 is slightly taller than the average small-format connected Pocket PC thanks to its built-in GPS receiver, whose antenna is located above the screen. It’s also thicker than many similar devices, such as the i-mate JAMin and Orange SPV M600. Although these differences are small (the A701 measures 59mm by 117mm by 22mm and weighs 150g), they do mean that the Mio A701 feels a little large both for the pocket and when held to the ear to make voice calls.

Styled in silver and shiny black, the Mio A701 looks distinctive, although it follows the general Pocket PC design, with buttons below the screen and dotted around the sides. The buttons beneath the screen are separated by a small, round navigation key. Call and End buttons form the top button pair, while beneath them there’s a button that starts the Windows Media Player, and another that starts your navigation software.

The flash memory slot, which accommodates SD and MultiMediaCards (MMCs), is located on the right-hand side, as its more usual spot on the top edge is occupied by the GPS antenna. The slot is covered by a rubber protector, which looks susceptible to breaking off. The right-hand side also houses the reset button, a 2.5mm headset connector and a button for starting the built-in 1.3-megapixel camera.

The camera software is well implemented. One of the softmenu keys allows you to choose the image resolution (120×120, 240×320, 480×640, 768×1024 or 1,024×1,280 pixels), set up to 8x zoom, switch between burst, timer and normal modes, and change the brightness of the captured image. The White Balance settings are automatic. Other changes, such as image quality and a setting to run a slide show when the A701 is connected to a PC, require a little more effort to configure.

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