NaviGadget

Garmin and VW show “click and ride”

May 23, 2009 garmin, gps navigation 3 Comments

Garmin and V-Dub just recently announced their “click and ride” integration solution which lets you get rid of your windshield suction cup and power cable.

The integration kit is simply a glued on power port that lets you easily mount and unmount a Garmin Nuvi 7×5 series GPS navigation system which has a 4.3″ touch screen, text-to-speech, traffic updates, and an SD card slot.

In the workshop of your Volkswagen Partner, the integration kit is positioned on the dashboard to the left (for right-hand drive vehicles: to the right) next to the steering wheel and glued in place. Advantage: if you are switching to another car, the integration kit can be removed and reused without leaving any visible traces. Fitting of the kit should always be carried out in the workshop by a specialist who will connect the system to the radio and route the cables under the dashboard.

We prefer the BMW and Garmin solution better but any integration is better than no integration.

volkswagen integrate connected PC

May 22, 2009 gps navigation 3 Comments

Volkswagen research lab has managed to integrated a fully connected PC to one of their vehicles. The project demonstrates the capabilities of Intel’s IVI (in vehicle infotainment) and is a fully functional self contained head unit that doesn’t require any space in your trunk.

Some features include digital music, 3G GPS navigation with online satellite imagery, ability to view pictures and videos from SD card or the HDD, AM/FM radio, online services; and for in-car connectivity USB ports, Wi-Fi, and bluetooth. Broadband internet connectivity is always on, and gesture based touch screen controls.

via

Pioneer NavGate AVIC-F9110BT

Apr 29, 2009 gps navigation 2 Comments

Pioneer in UK just announced a new in-dash GPS navigation + entertainment system called Pioneer NavGate AVIC-F9110BT. The unit is specifically designed for VW, Skoda and Seat vehicles.

AVIC-F9110BT has a high-resolution 5.8-inch WVGA touch screen, 2GB internal memory that stores maps of 44 European countries by TeleAtlas, and also includes 1.7million Points-of-Interests (POIs). The device has text-to-speech feature; not only for street names but even for traffic events that it receives via the TMC receiver.

Some multimedia features include the ability to watch videos from DVDs, CDs, SD cards, USB devices, control your iPod or iPhone using a special cable, and support for various audio formats. It also does bluetooth so you can relay phone conversations to your car’s stereo.

Another neat feature is the ability to customize the POI database from Google Maps using the SD card and their NavGate Feeds application.

Pioneer NavGate AVIC-F9110BT will be available starting July in 18 different vehicles:

Volkswagen
Caddy 07/2004
Eos 05/2006
Golf V plus 09/2003
Golf V 09/2003-2008
Golf VI 2008
Jetta 08/2005
Passat CC 03/2005
Passat 2008
Scirocca 2008
Tiguan 2007
Touran 03/2003
Polo 2009

Seat
Altea 05/2004
Altea XL 09/2005
Leon 12/2004

Skoda
Fabia 2009
Octavia 2009
Superb 2008

Beijing to utilize GPS to ease Olympic congestion

Jul 30, 2008 gps navigation, tracking Leave a comment

An article came out yesterday about Chinese goverment utilizing GPS receivers mounted inside taxis to collect traffic information data and transmit it back to public to help them avoid congestion.

As the Chinese government readies for next month’s Olympics, it is depending on GPS systems like Lu’s to avoid gridlock on the capital’s roads. When Beijing upgraded its taxi fleet to yellow-striped Hyundai Elantras, Hyundai Sonatas, and FAW-VW Jettas starting in 2004, authorities asked all taxi companies to install GPS systems in the new taxis. Since then, the government has been using GPS systems in Beijing’s 66,000 taxis to monitor the city’s traffic flow.

Check it out.

(decent) gps navigation systems $200 or less

Jul 5, 2008 garmin, gps navigation, magellan, navigon, tomtom 7 Comments

Here we have a (possibly incomplete) list of GPS navigation system for $200 or less. We decided to stick with most common brands. Let us know if we’re missing any.

tomtom one 130 – $150
tomtom one 3rd edition – $148
tomtom one 130s – $199

garmin streetpilot c550 – $188
garmin streetpilot c530 – $180
garmin streetpilot c340 – $156
garmin streetpilot c330 – $127
garmin nuvi 250 – $189
garmin nuvi 200W – $198
garmin nuvi 200 – $161

magellan roadmate 1412 – $189
magellan roadmate 1200 – $139
magellan maestro 3100 – $104
magellan maestro 3200 – $101
magellan maestro 3250 – $186
magellan maestro 3100 – $144
magellan maestro 4000 – $155
magellan maestro 4200 – $188
magellan maestro 4210 – $181

navigon 2100 – $118
navigon 5100 – $199

mio moov 310 – $196
mio moov 300 – $180
mio moov 200 – $141

C4OPS combat headset with GPS

May 19, 2008 gps navigation, misc news 2 Comments

Silynx Communications just revealed the first and only combat headset system able to provide GPS and force tracking capabilities to the dismounted soldier. With its built in GPS receiver the C4OPS locates the soldier’s position and helps them navigate to the target via voice prompt indications.

Their website makes you think you’re looking at an accessory for your PS3 or XBOX but in reality Silynx is a government contractor only selling to US government buyers or to US government primes who can provide a US government contract number – which explains why their shopping cart is not quite functional.

C4OPS price tag is not revealed yet but we expect it’ll cost around $1000 to $1500 with the optional GPS add-on. Check out the video:

black friday GPS – BJ’s

Nov 21, 2007 garmin, gps navigation, magellan, tomtom 2 Comments

BJ’s has deals on GPS navigation systems for Black Friday, in fact one from each major manufacturer: Garmin, Magellan, and TomTom.

Nuvi 680 – $600: After a $100 coupon you can pick the nuvi 680 for $600 at BJ’s. You can also get the same deal on BJs.com. But Amazon already offers nuvi 680 for the same price. Moving along…

Directions and on-demand travel info from MSN Direct with nüvi 680. This widescreen, personal travel assistant is packed with preloaded maps, hands-free calling and FM transmitter — plus real-time local weather, traffic, movie times and gas prices. Like the rest of the wide nüvi 600-series, its large touchscreen display puts the world at your fingertips.

Maestro 3100 – $150: From Magellan BJ’s is offering Maestro 3100 for $150. Which means if you can’t pick up any at Office Max for $140, this should be your second choice. Maestro 3100 sells for $160 on Amazon.

Magellan Maestro 3100 offers simple GPS navigation that’s affordable. The most intuitive graphical 3.5″ touch-screen interface available makes navigation easy. Enter virtually any destination and get turn-by-turn voice guidance to locations all over the contiguous United States. Smart touch-icons and Magellan’s QuickSpell function enable error-free spelling, minimizing steps, so you get a customized route to your destination with just a few touches of the screen. Preprogrammed points of interest make it easy to find restaurants, gas stations, ATM and more.

Choose the 2D or 3D view and see your location, route, direction, next turn, destination and more. SmartDetour will help you find your way out of traffic jams or stopped freeway traffic.

TomTom ONE 3rd Edition for $130: TomTom ONE 3rd Edition for $130 sounds like a good deal – it sells for for $247 on Amazon. You can also read reviews from actual users on this page where almost all users gave it a 4 or 5 stars out of 5.

This entry-level GPS device is similar to the TomTom One but adds the Map Share technology and “Help Me” safety feature that was first introduced in the TomTom GO 720. Map Share allows you to make adjustments to your maps (such as noting blocked roads, updating points of interest, adding new streets, and so on) and then share the information with other drivers. You can make the changes right on your device, save them, and then upload and share them with other users via the TomTom HOME desktop companion. Meanwhile, the Help Me safety function tells you where you can find the nearest police station, hospital, or car service center, based on your current location. As a basic system, you don’t get text-to-speech functionality, but you do get the standard text- and voice-guided turn-by-turn directions as well as a 3.5-inch touch screen.

If you want to pick up a TomTom on Black Friday you may also be interested on TomTom ONE LE which will be available at Best Buy stores for only $120. You’ll have to get up really early to get one of these though.

Magellan Maestro now available on Amazon

Apr 3, 2007 gps navigation, magellan Leave a comment

Magellan Maestro 4040 and Magellan Maestro 4000 are now available on Amazon. 4040 costs $500 and 4000 costs $400 as we mentioned on a previous article. The $100 difference comes from the fact that 4040 comes with text-to-speech functionality as well as hands free bluetooth calling. Maestro 4000 don’t.

Hands-free phone calls – Bluetooth wireless technology and built-in microphone let you make hands-free phone calls using your compatible Bluetooth-enabled phone

Oh, and did we mention the Maestro’s are finally shown on Magellan’s website?

streetdeck demo on Wi-Fi and GPS enabled VW

Sep 28, 2006 gps navigation, umpc Leave a comment

If you’ve been following Navigadget you must’ve heard about StreetDeck. It is basically a car UMPC that’s a colloborative effort with Intel. Now they pimped up this VW Passat and equipped it with Wi-Fi capabilities that let drivers stream music and download directions. The video demonstrates almost all the functionalities, including GPS. Just like most other GPS systems, StreetDeck uses regular maps, but it can also overlay Google Earth like satellite images onto your map.

You can learn more about StreetDeck on their own website and for further geekier details you join the forums at mp3car.

a bluetooth gps receiver Paris Hilton would use

Aug 22, 2006 bluetooth, gps navigation 3 Comments

Called the BTS8i, these bluetooth GPS receivers are definetely stylin’. Now we are not exactly sure if these are faceplates that you’d change according to your mood or if they come fixed on your device but if I was driving a VW Beetle I’d want one of these in my car.

The BTS8i is manufactured by Overfly from China and they made sure their product wasn’t just a pretty face. They put in a solid SiRFstarIII chipset which can support upto 20 channels and a battery that can last you 13 hours with continuous use.

No word on pricing but you can get a quote if you plan to buy 200 of these units.

General

• GPS Chip: SIRF III GPS Module
• Frequency: L1,1575.42MHz
• C/A Code: 1.023MHz chip rate
• Channels: SIRF III 20 Channels
• Antenna: Built-in low noise
• Extral Antenna Port Active MMCX Antenna

Sensitivity

• 159dBm Tacking , Superior Urban Canyon Performance

Acquisition Rate

• Cold start: 42 sec, average Acceleration < 4g
• Warm start: 38 sec, average Motional Jerk 20m/sec
• Hot start: 4 sec, average
• Reacquisition: 1 sec
• Accuracy: 3m CEP (50%), 9m (90%)
• Velocity: 0.1m/sec , without SA
• Time: 100ns synchronized to GPS time

Power

• Built-in rechargeable 1000mAh Li-ion battery and 5V DC input
• Operation current: 80mA ( Typical )
• Operation time: 13hours, after fully charged, in continuous
• Charging time: 3 hours ( Typical )