Archive for February, 2006

This isn’t exactly news but a rumor. FirstLoox has published a rumor that Fujitsu-Siemens is going to present a dedicated GPS device at the CeBIT 2006, the Pocket Loox N100.
According to FirstLoox, the rumored specifications of the Pocket Loox N100 will be.

OS - Windows Mobile 5.0
GPS - Integrated SirFStar III chipset
Storage - 256MB, 1GB, 2GB or 4GB built in flash
Dimensions - 90 x 60 x 15mm; 70g weight
Screen - 2.8″ QVGA (240×320), TFT touch
WMA, MP3, AAC, MPEG4 player
Powerful built in speaker
USB 2.0 Host and Client
TMC
Expansion - SDIO slot
changeable cover in 5 different colors
Included - Headset, carrying case, car mount, car charger, ac adapter, USB cable
Available - Q2 2006
Price - €299 - including Navigon MobileNavigator|6

I repeat however, that this is just an unconfirmed rumor, I guess we just have to wait and see if it comes true.

Technorati Tags: gps, Pocket Loox N100, Fujitsu-Siemens

Kanwar Chadha, founder of SiRF Technology Holding predicted on Wednesday that most mobille phones will have GPS chips in five years. Read more here.

Technorati Tags: SiRF, mobile, phones, GPS, chips

Global Locate and Freescale have announced at the 3GSM World Congress, that they are going to Develop 3G A-GPS Mobile Phone Reference Design.

Press Release:

BARCELONA, SPAIN — 02/16/2006 — 3GSM World Congress– Freescale Semiconductor Inc. (NYSE: FSL) and Global Locate Inc., plan to create a reference design, featuring the Global Locate Hammerhead® single-die CMOS Assisted GPS chip and Freescale´s 3G MXC300 platform. This high performance, cost effective A-GPS reference design is expected to enable operators to comply with government regulations and meet consumer needs for safety and convenience.

Read the rest of the Press Release

Technorati Tags: A-GPS, GPS, 3G, Global Locate, Freescale

Garmin Nuvi is one of the most talked about GPS receivers, and a number of reviews have been written over the past few months.

PC Magazine Review: PC Magazine has give the Nuvi 350 a rating of 4,5/5 and named it Editors’ Choice as the best in it’s class.

GlobalPositioningSystems Review: Global Positioning Systems in their review conclude “Take my word for it – this is quite simply the greatest in-car GPS you get at the moment.
It’s just brilliant.”

Signal Vs Noise Review: Signal Vs Noise review title is “Garmin Nuvi 350: Insanely recommended” I think the title says it all.

Walter S. Mossberg Review: Walter S. Mossberg concludes in his review “As slick as the Nuvi is, I consider it too expensive for the value it delivers, at least for mainstream, casual users.”

GPSInformation Review: GPS Information writes: “It is not the least expensive, but overall it performs very well. NuVi is ideal for a portable unit for a traveler.”

BusinessWeek Review: The review over at BusinessWeek is titled “The Easiest, Smartest GPS Yet”. Once again the title says it all.

Neowin Review: The reviewer writes “The Garmin Nuvi 350 is getting closer to my ideal GPS device. If you can afford it, this is the best GPS unit I have found and suites most of my needs.”

ZDNET Mini Review: The editor concludes “The Garmin Nüvi 350 is the ultimate traveler’s tool, and if it weren’t for its high price, we’re sure the gadget would appeal to a large number of travelers.” There are also 19 user opinions that rate the Nuvi 350 8,6/10.

Amazon User Reviews: There are already 26 users that have reviewed and rated the Nuvi 350. The average customer review is 5/5

PopGadget Review Another review of the Garmin Nuvi 350, this time by PopGadget.

The conclusions are yours.

Garmin Nuvi 350 Images

Technorati Tags: garmin, nuvi, 350, GPS, Receiver, reviews

Simcom, SiGe Semiconductor, and CPS collaborate on breakthrough multimedia handset that optimizes performance, cost and battery life

(3GSM World Congress Barcelona, Spain February 14, 2006) CPS, SiGe Semiconductor and Shanghai Simcom (“Simcom”), a wholly owned subsidiary of SIM Technology Group Limited (SEHK:2000), today announced the world’s first Enhanced GPS (E-GPS) multimedia handset solution for GSM. The S788 handset solution, designed by Simcom, is a lightweight, palm-sized device delivering advanced multimedia features including high accuracy location based services (LBS), while optimizing performance, cost and battery life.

The S788 multimedia handset solution offers an MP3/MPEG4 player, touchscreen, and two megapixel camera in a slim, lightweight case. The handset’s E-GPS location capability is enabled by SiGe Semiconductor’s SE8088L Global Positioning System receiver and software, and CPS’ Enhanced-GPS software. The combination of SiGe’s and CPS’ technologies provides unparalleled performance, including accurate location fixes with a sub-four second time to first fix, in even the most challenging environments. As a result, consumers can enjoy new location services in indoor and dense urban areas, where satellite-based positioning systems tend to fail.
Continue Reading »

TeleNav announced that they are launching the TeleNav’s GPS Navigator, a GPS application that will provide voice, turn-by-turn navigation and mapping for the BlackBerry 7100i.

Here is the press release:

SANTA CLARA, Calif. & WATERLOO, Ontario–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Feb. 13, 2006–TeleNav Inc. today announced the availability of TeleNav’s GPS Navigator, a Java-based GPS navigation application that offers visual and audible, turn-by-turn driving directions and mapping, on the BlackBerry 7100i(TM) from Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq:RIMM).

TeleNav GPS Navigator first launched on the BlackBerry 7520(TM) in May 2005 as the first GPS navigation application available on the BlackBerry(R) platform. TeleNav, which is similar to the in-car GPS navigation systems found in luxury vehicles, displays maps, graphical driving cues, speed and direction, and provides audible turn-by-turn directions to help drivers get to their desired locations.

Continue Reading »

We talked yesterday about the HP iPAQ hw6900 Series making an appearance at the HP UK store. Today, HP made the official announcement of the hw6900 Series. This latest HP iPAQ handheld, will be able to receive email wirelessly using new “push” email functionality from Microsoft, a feature that will also be available by it’s competitor the Fujitsu Siemens Pocket-LOOX T Series.

Some of the features and specifications of the hw6900 are:

Intel® PXA270 Processor 416 MHZ
Microsoft® Windows Mobile™ 5.0
High sensitivity GPS receiver with HP iPAQ Quick GPS connection utility
Quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
Wi-Fi (802.11b)
Bluetooth® 1.2
IrDA SIR 1.2
3.0″ touchscreen TFT display, 240 x 240 resolution, 64K colors

The hw6900 will be available at Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa regions this spring and at North America in the summer.

Via PhoneArena

Technorati Tags: HP, iPAQ, hw6900, Mobile, Messengers, gps, pda

Fujitsu-Siemens has officially announced the much anticipated Pocket Loox T810 and T830. Both these new, all-in-one handhelds are powered by a 416 Mhz Intel PXA270 CPU and both have integrated GPS using the powerful SiRFstar III GPS module. Some of the other features include 2.4 inch (240×240 pixels) 65k colors TFT touchscreen, 128 Mb Flash ROM, 64 MB system RAM, Bluetooth v2.0, WiFi (802.11b/g) and an ergonomic QWERTY keyboard. The T830 has two cameras one (640×480) for video calls and another 2MP auto focus camera for picture capturing, while the T810 doesn’t have one.
The T830 and T810 are expected to arrive at shops in July.

You can find Pocket Loox T-Series Data sheet here for more information about the specifications of these new handhelds. You can also read Fujitsu-Siemen’s press release.

Technorati Tags: fujitsu, Siemens, Pocket Loox, T830, T810, GPS

SurfSki.info has posted a review of the Garmin Forerunner 305 and reports:

The unit really looks the part of a new generation – the case feels far more robust and the screen has a far higher resolution than that of the 301.

The heart rate monitor strap also has the appearance of much better quality; it’s softer and more comfortable too.

Almost every aspect of the unit has been improved. Major changes are:

The positioning and sensitivity of the antenna. The unit is designed for runners and the antenna is placed at an angle below the screen so that it faces upwards when worn on a runner’s wrist. Of course when you mount the unit on a surf ski, the antenna faces the floor. But this didn’t seem affect reception on the two occasions that I tried it.
Removal of the USB port.
The addition of “Course” functionality that allows you to record a particular downwind run for example and to compare subsequent runs against it (or against each other).

Read the whole review at SurfSki
Technorati Tags: review, GPS, Forerunner, 305, Garmin

HP iPAQ hw6910 and hw6915 Mobile Messengers, the successors of the iPAQ hw6500 Mobile Messenger series have made an appearance at the HP UK store. They are both powered by an Intel PXA270 416MHz processor and have 192 MB of total memory (128 MB ROM and 64 MB SDRAM). Some of the other features they share are:

3.0″ transflective TFT QVGA, 64K colors
Integrated quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
WLAN 802.11b
Bluetooth® 1.2
IrDA
Integrated high sensitivity GPS receiver with HP iPAQ Quick GPS Connection Utility that according to HP will provide “accurate turn-by-turn visual and voice guidance”

The only difference that I was able to spot between those two models, is that the hw6915 has an integrated HP Photosmart 1.3 MP Camera, while the hw6910 doesn’t.

Via MobilitySite

Technorati Tags: HP, iPAQ, hw6910, hw6915, Mobile, Messengers, gps, pda