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Lexus nav systems are acting up nationwide (updated)
As upgraded systems bring cars closer to other connected devices, it's inevitable that they suffer from some similar issues. Today many Lexus owners were afflicted by a problem that saw their head units stuck in some kind of reboot loop. Derik Gutowski posted a video of the sequence on YouTube, showing it start to boot before showing a purple screen and then beginning the cycle again. On a Lexus owner's forum, posters suggest (as apparently directed by dealers) pulling the battery cable for ten minutes, which forces a manual reset and gets things working again.
TomTom rolls out Start 2, XL IQ Routes edition 2 nav units for the UK
TomTom's already announced some new lifetime map and traffic options for its navigation units in the US today, and it's now followed that up with a pair of new nav units in the UK. That includes the 3.5-inch Start 2 (pictured after the break) and 4.3-inch XL IQ Routes edition 2 (above), both of which support TomTom's IQ Routes technology, along with RDS-TMC traffic data, and the usual features like spoken street names and advanced lane guidance. The Start 2 model also mixes things up a bit with some interchangeable StartSkins covers, which are sold separately for £14.99 (or $22) apiece. Look for both to be available next month, with the Start 2 running £119 (or $180) and the XL IQ Routes edition 2 setting you back £139 in the UK and Ireland and £159 in Western Europe ($210 and $240, respectively).
Magellan SE4 navigation unit turns up at Best Buy
Well, Magellan doesn't seem to be doing much talking about this one itself just yet, but Best Buy has a fresh listing for a new SE4 nav unit from the company, and it seems to be available right now. Better still, Best Buy also looks to have knocked a full $60 off the MSRP right of the bat, bringing it down to just $119.99. That'll get you a 4.3-inch touchscreen, NAVTEQ maps of the 48 contiguous states, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, six million POIs, and text-to-speech and turn-by-turn voice prompts, but seemingly few other notable features to speak of -- not even so much as a memory card slot or MP3 playback, if Best Buy's listed specs are right. [Via GPS Review]
7-inch Magellan RoadMate 1700 slips out to retailers
Well, Magellan itself may not be saying much about it just yet, but it looks like company's new RoadMate 1700 nav unit is doing its best to make itself known, with it now showing up for order on at least a few retailer's websites. The big selling point with this one, as you might have surmised, is its spacious 7-inch widescreen display, which gets paired with a number of other features right in line with Magellan's other recent RoadMate offerings. That includes complete maps of the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, built-in AAA TourBook listings, six million points of interest, text-to-speech, and a microSD card slot for expansion, among other standard fare. No firm word on a release date, but Best Buy is estimating availability between September 14th and 21st, and currently has it listed for $299.99.[Via GPS Review]
Panasonic in-dash HD nav system & Blu-ray player ready to ship, are you ready for the price?
Don't think you can sell the kids short anymore, keeping the Blu-ray copy at home and taking DVD rips on the road, now that Panasonic is ready to deliver its in-dash Blu-ray player and 7-inch HD screen packing nav unit in September. We got a good peek at these back in April and the specs haven't changed, with the Profile 1.1 Bonus View compatible CY-BB1000D taking care of Blu-ray duties and featuring the same UniPhier guts as the company's line of living room Blu-ray players. The CN-HX3000D is a WXGA 1280x720p 7-inch LED backlit widescreen display ready to play back media via standard HDMI, iPod connector, SD card or its digital TV tuner, powered by Windows Automotive with navigation duties assisted by Google Maps and Yahoo! Japan. The CY-BB1000D is ¥99,750 ($1,057) and the CN-HX3000D is ¥365,400 ($3,872), and both arrive September 10 in Japan. We'll let you decide if around 5 grand is a good price for the in car HD experience (might want to look at custom mounting a DMP-B15, $800 and you can take it with you.)Read - CYBB1000DRead - CN-HX3000D
Mio S401 and S501 nav units leak out, due in May
It's been a while since we've seen a new Mio navi hit Stateside -- Mitac seems to be concentrating on the Magellan brand here -- but it looks like there's still some kick left in those boots: say hello to the Moov S401 and S501. Baby brother 401 will sell for $129 and has a 4.3-inch screen and four million preloaded POIs, while the $169 501 bumps it up to 4.7 inches and 12 million. Both have Mio's newish "Spirit" interface, but we're most intrigued by the repeated mentions of gas price searching and Google Send to GPS in the docs we were leaked, which suggest integration with a service like MSN Direct. We'll find out soon -- these are set to land in Radio Shack in mid-May.Update: Mio just pinged us to say that these prices are wrong, but they didn't tell us anything else, so stay tuned.[Thanks, Anonymous]
Navigon's 8110 PND coming in March?
For all you PND fans (and we know you're out there) hanging around waiting for a hot new piece of navigational gear, you might want to turn your attention to Navigon's 8000 series. Specifically, focus your laser beams on the 8110, a high-end portable GPS unit that boasts a slew of nasty features like a gigantic (by nav standards) 4.8-inch WQVGA screen, a 533MHz CPU (with a graphics accelerator), 128MB RAM, 512MB ROM, Bluetooth, an RDS/TMC receiver (for traffic information), and an FM transmitter. The unit will sport the company's new MobileNavigator 7 software, which features a more realistic, enhanced 3D road view, as well as new "lane assist" functions. The 8110 is rumored to be available around March in Europe (in time for CeBIT), and will be hitting shelves with a €499 price tag.[Via Navigadget]
Pioneer AVIC-Z2 adds "smart routing algorithm" and not much else
One year ago, the Pioneer AVIC-Z1 debuted at CES 2006, with its in-dash navigation setup. You know the one -- it's got a 7-inch touchscreen, a 10GB hard drive, voice recognition, CD/DVD player, FM, XM and an iPod interface. This year Pioneer's taken things to the next level, by raising the model number by a single digit. That's right, the AVIC-Z2 does everything its predecessor did, except that this time around it apparently can "learn" roads that the driver takes frequently and uses that data to influence suggested routes. Although, as we mentioned last time, we're not really sure that anyone who drives the same route on a regular basis needs a GPS device to tell him/her how to get there. The new "smart routing algorithm" also apparently takes into account things like speed limits, number of turns and even "lane information" for 50 different spots around the nation. In short, if you already have a Z1, it may not be worth spending the $2,200 you'll need by April to get this one for your car. But if you don't already have one, and you really, really need a piece of gadgetry to tell you how to get to work every day, by all means, put in an order.
