Thinkware kicks out 7-inch i-navi ES 100 navigator

Go on, prepare yourself for a letdown, because as totally sexy as Thinkware's i-navi ES 100 is, there's not much chance it'll end up on American soil. Nevertheless, those in South Korea can look forward to checking out its expansive 7-inch 800 x 600 resolution touchscreen, DMB TV tuner, 500MHz processor, picture-in-picture support, integrated media player and AV input. You'll also find a headphone jack, USB port, built-in antenna, SD expansion slot, stereo speakers and some form of karaoke game -- which is likely worth the price of admission alone. Speaking of which, expect to cough up ₩449,000 ($489) for the 2GB version, or ₩50,000 ($55) more for the 4GB iteration, and feel free to check out a few more pics after the jump.

[Via NaviGadget]

[rzlmlchm009 @ Nov 15th 2007 4:12PM]

Looking at that picture makes me feel like it should include SimCity. Oh wait, then you might get lost when it tries to give you directions in a nonexistent city. :O

[Jeff @ Nov 15th 2007 5:46PM]

I gotta say, anyone who's ever actually used a GPS device will tell you that the interface shown at the top looks like absolute ass. That's totally unusable. Now, maybe they're showing some weird secondary mode for when you're stopped and just want to play around with it a bit. But if that's the actual map screen, jesus! Could they make the icons any smaller (and less "iconic")? Could they make it any more cluttered? You'd have to squint to even see what's going on while driving.

GPS devices need uncluttered map screens with big, bold text for instructions and upcoming street names. They need icons that actually look like what they do.

The hardware may be great, but the software is just as important. And btw, there's no reason a GPS unit needs to be 800x600. You can't read or see details smaller than about 1/2" while driving anyway, which just means all that extra density is wasted. It's like saying someone invented a 1920x1080 bank ATM. It really doesn't mean anything because of the way people are actually using those screens.

[dv8reality @ Nov 15th 2007 7:27PM]

"or ₩50,000 ($55) more for the 4GB iteration" sweet!

[aron @ Nov 15th 2007 8:18PM]

Looks OK, but how the hell is this thing remotely sexy?