TomTom unveiled today its new logo that in about a month will be used on all TomTom products. The logo isn’t that different from the previous version but it has a more fresh feel.
The logo is an evolution of the current logo and consists of the word ‘TomTom’ spelled in black, capitalized letters and features TomTom’s famous red hands embracing a transparent ball.
Altina A680 is a new GPS navigator by the Taiwanese manufacturer Altina (Union Rich Development). (Everyday, when I search for new devices I constantly stumble upon new 3.5″ SiRFStar III, TomTom lookalike devices, so it’s nice when I find devices that at least have something to differentiate them from the pack). Altina A680 has a really solid set of specifications and features and although it’s definitely not the first, it is one of the few GPS units that have an integrated digital camera (2MP). Photographs taken with the on board camera are geotagged. Some of the other features of the 4″ A680 include an mp3 and mp4 player and an FM transmitter that allows you to hear the navigation directions or your music through your car stereo. There is optional support for a rear parking camera and for DVBT.
There is currently no information about if or when it will reach the USA and European markets and obviously no information about the pricing. However, since some of Altina’s lower end models are currently sold in the US my guess is that the A680 will be distributed in the US as well.
Aving reports that Dae Kyung is about to release a new 7″ DMB navigation unit called XPIN CX700. The highlight of this device is that it features a technology called NIP(Navi in Picture). NIP allows users to split the screen and use the device both as a DMB and for navigation simultaneously. The 7″ screen with a resolution of 800×480 pixels should provide enough real estate for that as you can see in the screenshot (click to enlarge). Other features of the device include AV in/out, rear monitor camera connection, FM transmitter, and SD&CF card slot. Pricing has not been announced yet.
More pictures and information at Aving
Wonde Proud GPS-BT760 is yet another bluetooth GPS by a Taiwanese manufacturer. To be honest I have never heard about this brand in the past but after some searching it appears that its products are distributed under the XAIOX brand in Europe. This latest GPS device is a standard bluetooth GPS receiver that is equipped with the 20 channel SiRFStar III GPS chipset. However, its biggest selling point is battery life. According to the manufacturer a single charge of its built in 2400mA/h battery can give you up to 55 hours continuous use to stand-by time up to several weeks. No word on pricing or availability yet but since Wonde will be at this years CeBIT we may be able to learn a bit more.
Haicom released a new Bluetooth (v1.1) GPS unit with an SD interface. The unit features a standard miniSD to SD adapter that allows users to use a miniSD card of any size. The unit is equipped with a 20 channel, high sensitive SiRF StarIII GPS module and doesn’t need a battery since it is powered by the device it is attached to. This hybrid of Bluetooth GPS and SDIO GPS has the benefit that it doesn’t tie up the SD slot of your device. The main disadvantage that this unit might have is the fact the it main drain the battery of the device that is attached to very quickly. Of course that is just speculation and we will have to wait for the first reviews to see if this is a better format than the traditional Bluetooth and SDIO GPS receivers or not. Finally, the device with the use of some optional cables can be transformed to regular GPS mouse.
For more information you can visit the Product Page
The Haicom HI-505SD is expected to start shipping mid-February with a price of $109.95
Amaryllo Trinity is a stylish Bluetooth GPS receiver that can also receive real time traffic information as broadcasted via TMC same as the Globalsat BTT-100 that we have posted about before. Trinity was introduced mid January and it features the 20 Channel SiRFstar III LP (Low Power) chipset and has a built-in patch antenna while its removable lithium-ion rechargeable battery (1000mAh) allows it to operate for about 11 hours on a single charge. Of course the reason that sets it apart from the current competition is the fact that it receives real time traffic information. However, if you want to take full advantage of this feature you need to have a compatible navigation software installed. At this time the Amaryllo Trinity is compatible with the Smart2Go software by Gate5 that was acquired by Nokia last year. The suggested retail price of Trinity is 129 Euro and it should now be available in Europe. Amaryllo products are not distributed in the USA but according to their website they are looking for distributors, so it isn’t unlikely for Trinity to make an appearance in the USA as well.
Map-Star is a new GPS device and a new company entering the increasing competition of the navigation products market. It is powered by the Samsung 400MHz S3C2440 and uses Windows CE 4.2 as an operating system. The navigation software used is Odyssey by Infogation and it uses probably the most popula GPS chip in the market today, the SiRF star III. Some of the other notable features and specifications include the 4.3″ color touch screen, voice guidance in 6 languages (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Korean), preloaded maps of the US and Canada with 1.65 million POI on a 2 GB SD card and of course the multimedia capabilities that are present in almost all the latest GPS devices that allow you to play your favorite music, watch movies, and view photos. Finally the unit dimensions are 158.8mm x 84.2mm x 30.3mm, it weights 300gr and uses a Li-ion 1540 mAh battery.
The Map-Star GPS is expected to start shipping this month (February) with a price of $499.99
Akihabara has posted about a new PMP with DMB and GPS features the Fusion soft 7star ODD-I. The unit features a 7″ Wide display (QVGA), a SiRF III GPS, WinCE 5.0, and a 40 or 80 GB hard disk. The processor powering the 7Star is the MAGICEYES MMSP-2 (Dual Core). Some of the other specifications are:
u-blox the Swiss manufacturer of GPS chips has announced that they will present a new GPS chip at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, the u-blox 5. This new chip will be Galileo-ready and will feature acquisition and tracking sensitivity of -160 dBm, a 50-channel engine and a power consumption of less than 50 mW. According to the press release the u-blox 5 features an acquisition performance of less than one second. The specs look really good, I guess we will have to wait to see the first devices that will be using it.
