GPS Gazette - GPS Reviews

It appears that Navman is preparing 3 new GPS devices for it’s F series the Navman F30 F40 and F50. Let me first of all tell you how I found about these new GPS systems and why this isn’t just a rumor. From time to time I search using most big search engines for products that haven’t been announced yet. I guess the naming of these products by looking at the past naming trends of the company. Most of the times I find nothing but sometimes a company uploads information about the products and leaves these pages crawlable and search engines find them and if I am lucky I find them as well through the search engines. The pages where I found this information are no longer available but there is always Google cache (links at the bottom of the post).

UPDATE: Navman F30 F40 and F50 have been officialy anounced after just about 12 hours of this post :).

Now back to the point. The details about these new GPS Systems by Navman that I was able to find are:

Navman F30

The Navman F30 will be the lowest end of these three new units as the naming after all suggests. It will feature turn-by-turn voice guided instructions, 3D moving map and 2D Mini map view while the software will include Tele Atlas 2006 and SmartST™ navigation software for Navman F-Series.
The hardware specifications will be:
Processor: Intel PXA 255-200MHz
Screen: Anti-glare high resolution 3.5” (89mm) colour touchscreen
Memory: 32MB Flash
Weight: 200g
Dimensions: 116mm x 79.5mm x 24mm
GPS Receiver: SiRFstarIII™
GPS accuracy: Fix to 5 metres 95% of the time

Navman F40

I wasn’t able to find any information about the features and specifications of the Navman F40.

Navman F50

For the top of the line system of the F series the Navman F50 I was only able to find a list of features. Which are:
Subscription-free, real-time traffic updates
Bluetooth connection to pair compatible phones for safer, hands-free calling
Large 3.5” touchscreen
Reliable, accurate GPS navigation with SiRFstar III™ technology
Nearest Fuel and Park buttons to alert you to the nearest petrol station or car park
Advanced Motorway Navigation
Route Summary View and Pause Journey functions
Spare SD card slot for additional maps
POI import capability, so you can add your own places of interest (POI), such as safety cameras, using the optional connectivity kit
Drive-Away™ so it’s ready to use out of the box
Automatic re-routing with Back-on-Track™
Pre-installed regional map
Wide range of accessories

A bit more information about these new devices you can find at the links below and of course even more and images when they are officialy announced.

Navman F30 Google Cache
Navman F50 Google Cache

Holux will be presenting yet another new device at the 2007 CeBIT, the Holux GPSmile55. Very few information is currently available and the only image that I could find is the tiny image on the left. Something that a lot of people are probably going to like is the fact that it has a larger screen compared to the other Holux GPS Systems. The GPSmile55 will have a 4.3″ with with ultra-wide viewing angle and in addition to that it will also feature an automatic light sensor technology that will adjust the screen depending on the ambient light. From what I can see from the picture above Holux is definetely moving in the right direction as far as design is concerned.

Holux GPSmile54?

This is a bit of speculation but I wouldn’t be surprised if Holux also releases another device called GPSmile54. The reasons that I believe this is a possibility are two. First of all I don’t see the reason why after the GPSmile53 that was announced last month they would jump to 55 and the second reason is the picture on the left that I found on Holux’s website, of GPS unit that doesn’t seem to be any of the known Holux’s GPS systems (at least from what I can tell from the tiny image. I guess we will have to wait until the CeBIT to find out.

Source

Intellinav One, the GPS system that I have posted about in January has received it’s first review by PC Magazine. The Intellinav One GPS Review is more positive that I would have guessed when I first came across this unit. Overall, the PC Magazine editor rates it four stars out of five anf his biggest gripes with the unit are that it’s multimedia functions are rather basic and that it doesn’t support bicycle or pedestrian routing profiles. Nonetheless, it sounds like Intellinav One is a very good value for money (costs about $350). Lets hope that more reviews will be published so that we can get more opinions about it.

Nokia announced today that their Smart2Go navigation software will be released for free. Smart2Go was originally developed by Gate5 that was acquired by Nokia last Summer. Smart2Go software is the navigation software that comes preinstalled with the Nokia N95.
From the Press Release

The
platform allows for mapping and routing in over 150 countries and has
support for full turn-by-turn satellite navigation in over 30 countries.
The application allows people to view where they are on a map, search for
points-of-interests (POI) around them and create routes to get them there
free of charge. Nokia plans to start offering the smart2go application for
free, on Saturday, February 10th, for selected Nokia S60 and Windows Mobile
5.0 devices initially and has plans to roll out support for most of the
major mobile OS platforms including Nokia S60, Series 40, PocketPC, Linux
and other Windows Mobile devices.

Read the entire press release here

SkyKap LLC presented at the PGA Merchandise Show a rather unique and interesting new Golf GPS accessory, GPS enabled Golf Caps and Visors that will help you improve your Golf game :). The name of this unique GPS Golf aid is Advisor. This new accessory is completely hands free operated and is controlled with voice commands. If you are afraid that during a windy day or in high noise spots the Advisor won’t pick up your commands or that someone might sabotage your game by shouting the wrong commands, fear not, since sound is picked up from bone conduction and as a result Advisor is unsusceptible to wind noise and side chatter as it only “hears” the wearer. The GPS data collected by the cap are continually tracked against the map of the selected golf course in order to calculate the distances to green leading/center/trailing, water bunkers and fairway boundaries and whisper them in your ear upon your “voice” command. In order to download course maps from Skykaps website you will have to connect your hat to your PC’s USB port. The product hasn’t been released yet as far as I can tell and there is no information about pricing for the caps or the course maps services.

GPSAndCo posted a couple of pictures and more information about the Asus P526 (or Asus Pegasus).

The specifications posted by GPSAndCo about the P526 are:

• Integrated SiRF III GPS chip and integrated GPS antenna
• Quand band GSM, GPRS and EDGE
• CPU: TI OMAP 850
• Screen: 2,8″ TFT LCD with 65 000 colors and a resolution of 320 X 240 pixels
• Memory: 128 MB ROM/64 MB RAM
• Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
• microSD Slot
• 2MP Digital Camera
• Weight: 130g
• OS: Mobile Windows 6 (Crossbow)
• Destinator 6 Navigation Software

Finally the post reports that it will become available sometime between April and May 2007 with a price of less than 600 €.

Taiwanese manufacturer Leadtek is about to release the LR 9752 Personal Navigation Device. Leadtek that is mostly known for its graphic cards had announced in the past another navigation device the Leadtek 9700 that I am not quite sure if it ever reached the market. The LR 9752 is equipped with the SiRF StarIII chipset and runs on Microsoft Windows CE .Net 5.0 and features a 3.5″ touchscreen TFT LCD with day and night views. Like any PND that respects itself today has an mp3 and a video player. Finally, the device features a Bluetooth handsfree kit and mobile media center functions. No information about the device has been posted yet on Leadtek’s website.

μPod by Locosys is a product that was announced at the CES but it didn’t attract much attention. Nonetheless, it’s a rather unique device that can transform your laptop or UMPC to a GPS receiver. It uses the Atmel Antaris4 chip and utilizes the industry standard NMEA protocol. Therefore, it is compatible with most navigation software currently in the market. Although the unit is powered by the device it is attached to it also features a micro battery that allows it to temporarily store data in order to achieve faster restart times. Not much more information is available yet about the μPod. You can read original press release from the CES here (scroll down) or read the pre-CES announcement here.

A bit off topic but anyone heading at the CeBIT this year might want to keep an eye for the Bluetooth GPS and the GPS Mouse by Locosys with TMC support. (I am guessing they will be similar to the Amaryllo Trinity that we have posted about a few days back).

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.

Press Release

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.

Specifications

• Display: 4″ Color LCD (480 x 272)
• GPS Module: SirFStar III
• Memory: 64MB NAND RAM/128MB SDRAM
• CPU: Samsung 2440, 400MHz
• SD Card Slot
• Battery: Rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery, 1350 mAh
• Dimensions: 132mm(Length), 78mm(Width), 23mm(Height)
• Weight: 250gr

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.