TeleAtlas
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Cobra to launch five-inch GPS device, another for truckers
While most of the recent attention pointed at Cobra has been in regard to its controversial red-light camera / radar detector, the firm is purportedly looking to bust out another navigation unit before the year's end. While the nitty gritty details are scant, the firm is slated to unveil a five-inch personal navigation device (PND) during 2007, but a concrete release date wasn't given. Additionally, a trucker-centric rendition that presumably offers up every truck stop in the continental US as a POI should follow suit once "new software from TeleAtlas" is available for use. Interestingly, the company insinuated that offering "niche PND products" was one way for it to avoid competing with the smorgasbord of other options strictly on price, but unless this elusive device packs some seriously off-the-wall features that we're not aware of, entering the already saturated five-inch GPS market won't be a cakewalk.[Via GPS Tracklog]
Quantum / AvMap's QTM 1000 Nav handheld touts DVB-H and GPS
Quantum and AvMap are teaming up to produce what they dub the "world's first" DVB-H capable Pocket TV with SAT NAV functionality, and while we've seen a touch of DVB-H in handheld devices before, it's good to see yet another creation joining the do-it-all fray. Announced at 3GSM, the Linux-based QTM 1000 Nav boasts a 4.3-inch WQVGA widescreen display, 400:1 contrast ratio, 80-degree viewing angle, DVR functionality, 128MB of Flash memory, 64MB of onboard RAM, an SD card slot, dual stereo speakers, a four-hour rechargeable battery, SiRF Star III receiver, Tele Atlas maps, and USB 2.0 connectivity. Aside from playing back DVB-H signals at 25 frames-per-second, it also allows viewing / purchasing of Pay TV channels, and it plays nice with H.264, MPEG4, AAC, MP3, JPEG / GIF / PNG, M4V, and AVI files when not tuning in to a broadcast. Unfortunately, there weren't any details regarding price or future availability, but those kicking around in Europe should give this one some serious consideration if you're looking to consolidate.
Mio C310 GPS receiver / MP3 player reviewed
Personal Tech Pipeline got a chance to tour around with Mio's C310 portable GPS receiver with built-in DAP that we first spotted at CES, and claim that although the unit is a pretty good value, its performance is a bit underwhelming. Rather than building a product from the ground up like the Garmins and Magellans of the world, Mio has assembled a Windows CE-powered unit featuring software from Destinator Technologies and maps from TeleAtlas -- which, while not necessarily a bad thing, means some of the features aren't as polished as they are on vertically-integrated products. For example, PTP found that many important options were buried under several sub-menus, which made simple tasks like changing to night mode or selecting a new destination while driving more difficult than they should be, and probably more dangerous. The C310 seemed to perform its navigation duties fairly well, though, and even ships with ActiveSync for loading up your Outlook contacts' addresses, but little annoyances like a cluttered 3.5-inch screen and awful built-in speakers might be enough to convince most folks to put their $600 towards a more expensive model that operates a little more smoothly.
