Dual Electronics iPod touch GPS dock ships at long last
By Darren Murph 
posted March 20th 2010 6:13AM
posted March 20th 2010 6:13AM
[Thanks, Bridget]
posted March 20th 2010 6:13AM
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@futurerheza
Yeah. For that price.... I'd just buy a cheaper Garmin.
And you could lend the Garmin to someone without handing over your iPod.
WTF! Too expensive . The TomTom start is cheaper than this. Longer battery life and better speaker. Then there's the cost of the app itself. I love all that is apple but these prices don't justify the covergance at all. On another note I do use my iPhone as a sat nav more than my TomTom but that's because you don't need the cradle, here's a good idea, put a GPS chip in the next touch . Or is that too easy?
@WindowsPhone7Series
jeez is that your name? talk about fanboy...
@WindowsPhone7Series indeed , and sold it on. Use my PS3 now, not as good but not bad for free.
to be blunt, HELL YES!
oh wait, I just saw the price...
I think I'll just stick with roqyGPS.
@JD01JD I would buy one but I don't want to jailbreak.
@JimJam707 Good lord, man, why not?
@JimJam707
Jailbreaking isn't required. It's being sold through Apple.
@clarinetJWD
I don't no. I probably just scared it will f*** up.
So when this gets stolen from your dash it actually cost you more than an actual GPS? No thanks. It's smart on their part to market this as people are much less likely to jump off of the iPhone ship when they have spent tons of loot on overpriced accessories such as this.
@WindowsPhone7Series
Apple isn't selling this. -1
How about I just spend the same amount and get a phone that doesn't have such horrible GPS reception that it warrants the need to have an expensive GPS extender (That sounds dirty) just to get anything that comes close to usable navigation.
@insky
It is not for a phone in the first place, it's for the touch PMP.
And what phones available today have the GPS reception of a quality PND to begin with?
@insky It's not for the iPhone, it's for the iPod Touch which lacks GPS. The iPhone's GPS works fine.
@insky
Actually the gps reception on a 3gs using the Navigon app is pretty good. I've driven through Manhattan with it and it did surprisingly well, it does drop out for a few seconds here and there but if you're not an idiot you can remember the one turn you needed to take in the time it's getting the signal back. The important thing is making sure the battery is well charged, when it gets lower the reception goes way down even if the phone is plugged in (which makes no sense but not something I can fix, Apple needs to).
That said had you read the article you would realize this is for the iPod touch which has no GPS.
For $199 you can buy another iPod touch or a nice Andriod device :/
@MoonWalkerCTE or TomTom XXL 540-S with 5" screen. Which is even cheaper.
@futurerheza
You, obviously, aren't the target consumer.
Craziness. The cost of all of these cradles is ridiculous the Magellian and Tom Tom ones are $120 and factor in the cost of the app you are up to $200 anyway. So at least these people bundle their navigation software with their cradle. But $200? I'd rather buy a high end GPS for that prize and continue to use my iTouch as my in Car Music Player.
They Stole our name. I'm gonna sue them one day soon.
I'm the maker of xGPS and the xGPS module.
Whoever said something about roqyBT, Use GPSserial instead.
so uhhhhh yea.....
why not by a STANDALONE Device? you can get a pretty decent GPS for $99 or a mid-level one for $200 this is useless....
@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi
I can understand the desire to have one device rather than two. But not at that price.
Didn't the Droid have a car mount that charged the device and automatically switched it to navigation mode (or did I dream that)?
Seems like a much more logical solution, plus you take your phone with you when you leave instead of leaving the PND to be stolen.
@WindowsPhone7Series
If you're so big on WP7, Why are you so interested in this.
To cool
Guess interested touch owners will just have to wait for a while - it'll probably be right next to
Jupiter Jack & Sham Wow by next year.
Best of luck early adopters with a trusted name like dual elec - it'll be in kmart with there car stereos everyone buys :)
$199, lol.
A price only an apple fanboy could love.
It's useful, but it's the same price as the entry model...
@Mikeserena
How dare someone see what another company is producing.
Do the GPS things work with the google maps app?
@JimJam707 no, it wont.
@thehacker123 Oh well. Thanks.
@thehacker123
Yes it does.
@Callanish Apple doesnt let any apps work with the built in "Maps" app. I know this for a fact.
Am I missing something here?
"t took a little longer than expected, but the first major docking solution to transform ones iPod touch into a full fledged navigating machine is now shipping ...."
The TomTom and the Megellan Car Kits both work with iPod Touch also, and cost less!
@futurerheza Not really, it depends on your preferences, some people still uses their ipod touch and been wanting to have it with a gps capability.. On the other hand, I agree that there are other cheaper alternatives on finding gps devices, like the ones from garmin. A guide: http://bit.ly/gps-guide-examined-newbies
the best part is that suction cup on the front windshield is illegal in many states, I got pulled few miles from the airport in Pennsylvania for having toll papass on the front windshield (and yes, it was Hertz rental car).
Geez, $200 for a cradle!? What a rip...
@AltairDusk
I don't even know you but I'm willing to bet you didn't thoroughly read the post or you just happened to be out of it today; which is fine. One of the two. If not, your just stupid. No offense.
Breakdown:
-An navigation app cost roughly $70 in the app store
-The dock includes GPS, therefore no monthly data fees
-The dock charges and holds the iPod Touch
-The dock is equipped with an amplified speaker
Just my $0.02...
@G33K3d uP
No I'm fully aware of what it does and I still firmly believe it is a rip-off. You can get a good quality standalone from Garmin or Tomtom for less than that not to mention this won't get traffic updates due to lacking a data plan. Also for this to compare well to a good standalone they should have included either the Tomtom or Navigon apps. As for the quality of the unit itself Dual is not known for making quality electronics.
@WindowsPhone7Series It's not like this is apple's product, but I agree, plastic is plastic.
The price is a joke, standalone device can be had for as little as $70 USD.
@Astounding
True. That's why we as consumers can set the price by our demands!
So what do I play my music with? Why not buy a gps and use my ipod for music? Or should I just get a phone that allows multitasking.
"If you're smart, you'll tune in next week for our review before making any rash decisions."
Uh, even if the review is flawless, there's no possible way I can justify dropping 2 franklins on a freakin dock
I still don't get it, does this or the Tom Tom add-on enable the GPS for all location aware apps? That's what I really want, a fully GPS enabled iPod Touch, I don't need an iPhone. And I don't want to have to jailbreak.
I wonder when a non-3G iPad version will be come out?
There's way too many angry whiners out there these days. The price is too high!!!!! you can buy a separate GPS for this price!!!! Who gives a rats ass. If this product lives up to expectation, and does everything it says it does, then $200 isn't over the top, especially if A) You want an all in one device that doesn't require a lot of space without requiring something else to carry in your bag ( A.K.A another GPS device ) B) you can buy third party maps for it which will work if traveling to Europe or anywhere else in the world or work with other GPS apps at the app store ( Golf, hiking topographic map apps, etc. C) The abillity to charge the IPOD as well means I don't need to buy the all in one Morphie battery charger $100 to have extra battery life on the go. D) The whole unit can be removed from the suction device, taken with you for security reasons, and used as a walking around GPS giving you 10 hours of battery life with a built in amplifier for better sound than the built in IPOD speaker, or you can connect directions through your in car speaker system. E) I can listen to my entire music collection while receiving directions and it will pause and restart the music.
For someone like me that doesn't want another extra damn device to lose, that can take this out of the car with me for security reasons, that can connect it to my car speakers while listening to my music at the same time, that can be used also as a backup ipod charger, and can work in Europe while traveling, I'm willing to throw $200 at it. If it performs everything well, then for all this convenience for a convergence device, $200 isn't as obnoxious of a number as everyone is trying to make it seem.
I'm waiting for mine to be delivered and if the functionality lives up to expectation, then I'll have no complaints. If it doesn't, then it goes back to Apple, but at least I've got an open mind about this product unlike some that can only see the dollar sign cost and nothing else.
@futurerheza
FFS, If Apple opened up the blue-tooth receiver, you could buy a 30 buck generic portable GPS module and it would do the same thing, without that silly attachment too!
this will be like $ 80 after it goes out cause only two people will buy it at $199.