Archive for January, 2007

Asus has announced a new dedicated Portable Navigation Device, the Asus S102. The design as you can see looks nice, although I am not too sure about the lime green that they decided to use. The S102 features a 3.5″ full color TFT LCD touchscreen (65,000-color, 240 x 320 resolution), SiRF III GPS chipset, built-in antenna and an external antenna jack. The device offers turn-by-turn voice guidance and hand script and voice recognition technologies that according to the press release:

With hand script and voice recognition technologies, the S102 offers versatile input methods for different usage environments. Keyword search function further permits quick destination setup. The S102 is especially convenient when the user is busy navigating the road, but needs to reroute for a new destination.

Finally the other specs and features that are mentioned in the press release are:

• Memory: Built-in 64MB Flash ROM, 64MB SDRAM, SD card support
• Expansion: SD card
• Audio: MP3 playback support
• Battery: Inbuilt rechargeable Lithium-Ion provides more than 4 hours standard usage
• Dimension: 110mm(L) x 86.8mm(W) x 20.5mm(H)
• Weight: 183g (with battery)

You can read the entire press release here

It appears that Asus is preparing a new Pocket PC Phone with integrated GPS, this new gadget has the code name “Pegasus”. There are currently not a lot of information available other than the fact that it is extra slim (15.4 mm), it uses Windows, it has integrated GPS and what we can see in the pictures (digital camera, numeric keypad and jog dial).

Via Unwired View

Ricoh officially announced the release of their GPS-ready digital camera the Ricoh 500SE. The 500SE was developed for outdoor location-based photography and feature a rugged body and waterproof and shock-resistant shell that protects the high- resolution 8MP sensor. 500SE has an integrated precision GPS module that geo-coding of images at the time of capture. In addition to that it is capable of receiving NMEA data streams from external GPS devices via its on-board Bluetooth radio.

Finally according to the press release

Once the captured “geo-images” and “geo-video” files are transferred to a PC, they are automatically converted to shape files or merged into geo- databases for instant integration into Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Points representing each file’s position may be hovered over to display a thumbnail of the file, or clicked on to access the original image or video.

In addition to storing GPS data in the image and video files, the camera also utilizes a user-configurable “data dictionary” to tag files with workflow-related information. These attributes become part of the GIS layer table for automated database integration.

…….Additional features include GPS track log capability, GPS lock (to record the position of an object as opposed to the position of the photographer), and the ability to send images wirelessly to handheld devices via Bluetooth or WiFi.

Ricoh 500SE Product page

Yuer is a Chinese GPS manufacturer that has been criticised in the past for the*cough* not so original *cough* design and functions of their units. They have recently released a new GPS unit, the P710 that you can see in the image above. It has a 7″ touchscreen, 64MB NAND flash ROM, 64MB SDRAM and is powered by the Samsung 400MHz S3C2440A processor. Other features include:

• 20-channel GPS module with high sensitivity
• Dual-mode for map viewing and interactive POIs
• Dynamic route calculation and voice guidance
• Audio/video player
• Photo and E-book viewing function
• AV-IN supported
• OS: Microsoft WinCE 4.2 Core version
• Accuracy: within 10 meters, CEP without SA
• Cold start: less than 42sec
• Hot start: less than one sec
• Battery: Li-ion 1,200 mAh
• Work time: five hours
• Speaker: 1W
• Expansion slot: SD card
• USB connection for active Sync

Let’s see if any distributor decides to bring it to Europe and the USA or rebrand it.

Another new entry at this year’s CES was the Harman Kardon Guide + Play(TM) GPS-500. I may be a bit biased over this since Harman Kardon is one of my favorite brands but this looks like a strong entry in the GPS market. Obviously the Guide + Play as the name suggests is not just a plain GPS unit but also has multimedia capabilities (like almost all the latest GPS units). According to the announcement the GPS-500 will integrate seamlessly these two functions (Navigation and Multimedia) so that the user will be able to hear important navigational instructions even when the device plays music. The interface as you can see (click the thumbnail for a larger view) is touchscreen driven. The unit features a 4-inch widescreen WQVGA LCD with a resolution of 480 x 272-pixels. Other features of the GPS-500 include, support for multiple multimedia formats including MP3, MP4, WMA, ASF, WAV and OGG, 2GB of internal flash memory, up to 4GB optional external SD card flash memory, and a USB 2.0 high-speed interface. It is expected to start shipping this March with a suggested price of $499.95.

Press Release

Audiovox presented at the CES the Jensen NVXM1000, a GPS unit with XM radio. This GPS unit looks very promising with an 8GB hard drive, a 4″ inch screen, turn-by-turn voice guidance in twelve languages, US and Canada maps, 11 million POIs and of course a slot for the XM Mini-Tuner. A couple of the accessories that will be available include an FM modulator that allows users to hear navigational instructions through your car’s speakers and a rear view camera. It is expected to start shipping this spring with a price of somewhere around $1000.

Via Orbitcast

According to a press release by MSI (Micro Star International), they were showcasing at the CES a new GPS device with a 4″ inch display. This new unit will have an integrated TMC receiver that will be picking up real-time traffic information. Like almost all of the latest GPS units it will be able to reproduce music (MP3/WMA songs) and will also feature an image viewer. Finally the two last bits of information currently available are that it has SD/MMC card expansion slots and a USB port. (Not much I know). I guess we will have to wait for more information. Overall the design looks nice (and a bit familiar but I can’t remember which device it reminds me).

MSI Press Center

Since the ViaMichelin X930 started shipping to the USA at an extremely affordable price of just $199 I thought it would be useful to gather all the reviews that I could find in one place for easy reference. We have previously posted about the ViaMichelin X930 Review by pocket-lint, but since then more reviews have been posted and to be honest they leave me a bit confused overall.

Let’s start (please note the ratings within the brackets are added by me in order to calculate the average rating).

Pocket Lint awards the X930 with an embarassing 2/10 rating (20/100)

French Tom’s Hardware rates it with four stars out of 5 (80/100)

Italian Tecnozoom rates it 7/10 (70/100)

ComputerActive gives it an overall rating of 3 out of 5 (60/100)

French site Les Numeriques rates it with 4 stars out of 5 (80/100)

ZDNet.co.uk rates it 7.5/10 (75/100)

PC Magazine Gives it a rather low 2.5 out of five (50/100)

Average rating is 62/100
Please keep in mind that here are just the editorial reviews that I was able to find, at the URLs you will also come across consumer reviews.

Intellinav is a company that produces Navigation software that if I am not mistaken it was rebranded and distributed as iGuidance by iNav and Routis by Deluo. I appears that they also decided to enter the GPS market with the Intellinav All-in-one Navigation. This unit uses the SiRF Star III GPS module (20 channels, WAAS enabled) and has a 3.5″ color touchscreen with a resolution of 320*240 pixels.

Features and Specifications

• Processor: Samsung 2410A 266MHz
• OS: MS Windows CE.NET 4.2
• Memory: 64MB NAND Flash/ 64MB SDRAM
• Turn by turn voice guidance
• MP3 playback and Photo Viewer
• 1.2 million POIs
• Day and night modes for optimized viewing
• Preloaded with maps of USA, Canada, Puerto Rico and U.S Virgin Islands all in 1GB SD card
• Expansion Slot: SD Card
• PC Interface: USB 1.1
• Battery: Lithium-Ion 2000 mAH (5+ hours of battery life)
• Dimensions: 112×91x30 mm (LxHxD)
• Weight: 7.5oz (Approx)

Pricing and Availability

The Intellinav All-in-one Navigation is currently available and retails from $379.99 (at Newegg the lowest price I could find)

Intellinav All-in-one Navigation Images

A new personal navigation device from Globalsat has been released in the US market, the Globalsat GV-370. The GV-370 has all the features that we have learned to expect from the latest GPS units. It provides door to door navigation with voice guidance, 2D and 3D map views, and an integrated mp3 player and photo viewer. The unit comes preloaded with maps of North America on a 2GB SD card (Maps from Navteq).

Specifications

• Processor: Samsung S3C2410-266MHz
• GPS Receiver: SiRF Star III
• OS: WinCE.NET 4.2 core
• ROM Memory: 64MB (NAND Flash Memory)
• SDRAM Memory: 64MB
• Memory Card Slot: SD/MMC
• Screen: 3.5″ with a resolution of 240*320 pixels
• Battery: Built-in Lithium-ion rechargeable battery 1400mAH
• Antenna: Active external antenna (MMCX)
• Dimensions: 110mm(L)*86.8mm(W)*20.5/25.5mm(H)
• Weight: 183g

The suggested retail price of the GV-370 is $499.99, however there is an introductory offer that is valid until 02/10/07 and until then it will be selling for $359.95

Product Page