As the flood of new gizmos continues to pour out of IFA, a new GPS handheld has emerged for the European market. Merian's Scout Navigator touts a 3.7-inch VGA touchscreen, four to eight hours of battery life, NAVTEQ maps of Europe, and traffic notification support. Most notable, however, are the built in AudioGuides, which "automatically play when you pass by any one of more than 800 places of interest in Germany, be it in a vehicle or on foot." For those intrigued, watch for it to land next month for a staggering €779 ($1,047).

[Via Messe-Berlin]

The 1,000 hand-painted model rockets that Austin-area Cub Scout Pack 990 and Boy Scout Troop 990 are aiming to launch some 500 to 1,000-feet in the sky today aren't as technically sophisticated as some we've seen, but raising over $8,000 in an attempt to obliterate the current record of 399 is something to salute. Rather than pocketing the funds and heading off to Philmont or using this fine weekend to complete that 50-miler via canoe, these two crews have their sights set on deploying a full thousand rockets (shown again after the jump) within five seconds of each other in order to firmly establish a new world record. Interestingly enough, the event has drawn such buzz around the area that Congressman Michael McCaul and Austin City Council Member Lee Leffingwell will actually be speaking at the venue before watching the fireworks -- and if any of you just happen to be in the area with a few extra frames left on your digicam, grab a few shots, will ya? Oh, and we recognize that true Scouts already know the motto, but considering the pyrotechnics you're playing with on this one, we're really stressing that "be prepared" bit.

Following the oh-so-soft steps of its highly elusive Scout 420 brethren, the forthcoming Scout 355B is taking the quiet approach to bursting on the (admittedly crowded) 3.5-inch GPS scene. According to NaviGadget, the newfangled navigator has just been spotted in FCC filings, and looks to be a fairly respectable run-of-the-mill GPS with its built-in MP3 player, 266MHz Samsung S3C2410 processor, SiRF Star III receiver, and removable Li-ion battery. Additionally, the unit will boast NAVTEQ maps, a QVGA touchscreen, photo viewer, SD card slot, handsfree calling via Bluetooth, and will be powered by Windows CE .NET 4.2. As expected, there's no hints as to when the 355B will be headed to store shelves, but it will reportedly cost around three Benjamins whenever it does.

[Via MobileWhack]

It looks like Directed Electronics has switched more than a CFO in the past couple weeks, as its once self-branded NAV420 conglomerate has apparently been shifted to the Clifford brand, which typically holds down the remote start / security system side of the multifaceted company. Currently, all we truly know is that the Scout 420 has received a nod as a top honoree at next week's CES, that the website is currently nothing more than a JPEG teaser, and that it bears a striking resemblance to Sony's PSP. If we're to believe that nothing except the labeling has changed, however, it will purportedly include a 20GB hard drive, built-in GPS / navigation functionality, and music / video playback; judging solely by the control layout, we have to wonder if we'll see some sort of gaming / homebrew abilities bundled in as well, as the oddball (albeit very welcome) feature is its reported ability to tune into Sirius satellite radio broadcasts while navigating your routes. Sadly, there's no word on pricing just yet, but hopefully we'll get a clearer understanding of just what this do-it-all device is about in a few days.

[Via GPSLodge]

While the UMPC in general hasn't had the appeal manufacturers surely hoped for, they're still hanging in there, and apparently Azentek sees an opening in the less-than-attractive market. Diverting from its traditional "carputer" (i.e. in-car PC) offerings, the firm has announced a forthcoming UMPC built to military specifications to handle any dropkicks it may receive once the battery craps out after an hour or two, and will be based on its "Scout" platform. Beneath the hood, the device will be built around Intel's second generation "UMPC ultra low voltage platform," and feature up to 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 30 to 160GB standard / hybrid hard drives, and a rotatable webcam to boot. The 6.5-inch touchscreen will sport 500 cd/m2 brightness, and the battery will supposedly last "six to eight hours," which seems mighty liberal considering how pitiful most UMPCs are at sipping juice. Nevertheless, it'll also boast a biometric scanner, PC card / SD slot, and a pair of USB ports. While no concrete information was given on future availability, the outfit is aiming for a $1,500 pricetag at launch, which wouldn't be all that bad if the battery lives up to the admittedly lofty promises behind it.

[Via Carrypad]

It's been a while since we found anything worth covering on the golf beat, but that doesn't mean that labs full of green-vested engineers haven't been slaving over the next big thing in links technology. And it looks like they've come up with it. The BallFinder SCOUT works with ordinary white golf balls, and uses a scanning digital camera to track them down as long as at least 1% of the ball is exposed. The device can apparently scan 600 square feet per second, and works in almost any terrain. Of course, at a price of over $260, you could buy quite a few new balls, but where's the fun in that?

[Via Gizmag]