Archive for January, 2006

After tagging blogs and photos now it seems that it’s the time to start tagging earth. How are we going to do that? Simple by using our GPS devices and the new service of geotagging from Navizon. This new service allows users of the Navizon Network to post information about a specific geographic location and tag that area. People using this service can post anything about a specific location like for example reviews of the restaurants of the area. This information is stored and when other users enter that area, they will automatically be notified about the existing geotags through their wireless device like for example their wifi enabled Pocket PC. According to Navizon this feature reinforces the idea of information submitted by the people and for the people. To be honest it seems like an excellent idea to me.

Navizon’s website

Technorati Tags: geotags, geoblogging, gps, navizon

3dtracking has just announced that they are offering a range of free GPS services through their website. They offer you the opportunity to record and view your movements on Google Earth or on Google maps just by using your cellphone or PDA, along with your GPS receiver. Live tracking as well as an archive of previous activities are included with this free service. To take advantage of this free service you must download the software created by 3dtracking. You can find more information and the links to download the required software at 3dtracking’s website.

Globalsat has introduced the Globalsat GV 201 at CES. Some of it’s features and specifications are:

Complete car navigation solution in one box including car mount
266MHz ARM920T processor
SiRF® StarIII High sensitivity chipset
Microsoft Windows® CE.NET 4.2 CORE Version
32 MB SDRAM
32 MB Flash ROM
Simple touch-screen operation
4.0” screen, 65536 color, Bright, TFT LCD
Clear, high quality voice-guided instruction
Built-in antenna and support for active external antenna
SD storage card expansion slots
MP3 player
Photo viewer
Bluetooth Car Kit for hand-free operation

Rakon a New Zealand based company has announced that they have created the world’s smallest GPS receiver. This new receiver has the size of a baby’s fingernail and seems ideal for PDAs, cell phones or even watches. According to Racon, several GPS manufacturers have already aproached them in order to use this tiny chip in their devices. Brent Robinson, Rakon’s Managing Director says that they are already working on further developing the unit to provide up to three times greater sensitivity in its next generation.

For more information visit Rakon’s site

Sanyo has released a new cell phone in Japan the A5520SA with built in GPS and a loud buzzer for emergencies. The loud buzzer is activated in order to draw the attention of nearby people by a long press of a button. In addition to that if your phone has been matched with another phone it will send an alert to that phone. Location tracking is simple using the built in GPS module and the GPS locator service provided by Sanyo (subscription based).

Via Slashphone

Hewlett-Packard in association with ViaMichelin just launched the HP iPAQ rx1950 Navigator. This isn’t exactly a new product but a bundle of the HP iPAQ rx1950 PDA, a GPS car cradle and ViaMichelin navigation software. This new navigation solution bundle promises accurate turn-by-turn visual and voice guidance to any address in the UK (other maps are available from ViaMichelin’s website). Some of the features of the HP iPAQ rx1950 Navigator include, integrated Wi-Fi (802.11b), Simple 3-step installation – just plug in the power supply, insert the navigation SD card and go, compatibility with WMA, MP3 and WMV media files, exclusive POI available for download from ViaMichelin’s website.
And here are the technical specifications of the HP iPAQ rx1950 Navigator:

Processor: Samsung® SC32442 Processor 300 MHz
Operating System: Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC, Premium Edition
GPS:CarCradle with integrated SiRFstar III GPS receiver, built-in speaker, built-in windshield-mount suction cup
Screen: 3.5″ transflective TFT QVGA, 64K colours
Memory: 96 MB total memory (64 MB ROM and 32 MB SDRAM)
Battery: Removable/rechargeable 1100 mAh Lithium-lon
Pointing Device: Touch Screen and Stylus
Slots: SD Slot: supports 4-bit SDIO and 4-bit SD/MMC type memory standard

This bundle from HP and ViaMichelin costs 299 GBP (About 530$)

You can read the Press Release here

Amsterdam, 12 January 2006
TomTom NV (‘TomTom’) announces that it has reached agreement to acquire Applied Generics Limited (‘Applied Generics’) based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Applied Generics has developed technology that makes it possible to generate real time road traffic information based on the analysis of mobile network usage and cell-switching. The technology is commercially deployed and has the potential to deliver high quality traffic information at a fraction of the investment normally required to generate traffic information.

Continue Reading »

About a week ago JVC announced that it’s entering the GPS market with a compact, portable system that combines GPS navigation with audio/video playback and data storage. This new GPS device is called KV-PX9. The KV-PX9 besides a navigation system is also a multimedia player, offering both audio and video playback features. Some of it’s main features are:

20GB hard disk drive
3.5-inch TFT screen
2d and 3D map views
13GB of navigation maps
13 million points of interest
Voice guidance system
Compatible with WMA, MP3, WMV, ASF, AVI and JPEG files
Touch-screen controls
3.6 x 3.4 x 1.8 inches (W x H x D)

KV-PX9 is expected to hit the market in March with a price of 800$

About a week ago Alpine introduced a new portable GPS receiver the Alpine Blackbird PMD-B100. The Blackbird PMD-B100 will be running on the Microsoft Windows CE platform.

Blackbird includes comprehensive NAVTEQ”™ map coverage for the United States and Canada with full turn-by-turn voice instructions to virtually any address. As a portable device, the unit can be moved easily from car-to-car, yet it also can connect to a wired docking station (PMD-DOK1), available March 2006, allowing it to be fully controlled through one of Alpine’s touch screen based AV head units. Blackbird’s mapping, driving instructions and traffic alerts can then be viewed on the in-dash AV head unit, letting Blackbird serve as the main navigation “brain” in a complete audio/video/navigation (AVN) system. All controls and functions then can be managed from the larger touch-screen in-dash monitor or with an optional remote control.

For more information you can visit Blackbird’s site

Garmin, one of the leaders in the GPS market announced yesterday they will start working immediately in order to make their full line of GPS products and mobile electronics devices compatible with Mac OS X version 10.4 “Tiger.” In their press release they state that their goal to make their whole product range compatible with MAC OS X by the end of 2006. The first Mac compatible products should be expected by spring. These are some good new for Mac fans.
You can read the whole press release at Garmin’s Site