In-carNavigation
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TomTom launches new hands-free dashboard mount for smartphones (video)
TomTom is busting out a pair of new smartphone cradles to ensure your handset sits snugly on the windshield of your whip. The Hands Free Car Kit is available in both iPhone or microUSB (for all other smartphones) versions and comes with a built-in two watt speaker, extendable microphone and fast charging. Both editions are available for £80 ($125), while an iPhone-specific bundle that comes with the company's navigation app will set you back £130 ($204).
Nokia patent filing uses steering wheel touch for media controls, turns your radio on with that lovin' feeling
Nokia has only ever had a fleeting involvement with cars, but if it brings a just-published patent application to fruition, the Lumia maker could be front and center for drivers. The technology it wants would detect vibrations in the steering wheel to let the driver control music, GPS and other components of the car's center stack just by touching particular spots on the wheel itself -- no overabundance of buttons here. Underneath, it would use temporal sensing to register input, and filtering would prevent the wheel from interpreting speed bumps as cues to turn on the stereo. Nokia's mobile know-how mostly comes into play through the option of using a mobile device like a smartphone to handle tasks rather than having to build something directly into the wheel. Given that the company is currently cutting everything back, it's more likely to license the patent out rather than trying to build anything itself, if anything happens at all. Should the patent eventually come to use, you could end up tenderly caressing the wheel for all your in-car media controls... just be sure to buy it some chocolate and roses first.
Toyota turns to Nintendo DS as in-car GPS remote, won't guide you to Princess Peach
Let's say you liked adding GPS to your Nintendo DS. How about adding a Nintendo DS to your GPS? Toyota is trying just that through a new Smart Navi GPS unit in its Estima Hybrid minivan that will let passengers control the mapping system. Load up the Bluetooth-equipped Kuruma de DS cartridge and you can enter directions from the back seat instead of waiting for the driver's next chance at a red light. The automaker is also hoping to cut the "are we there yet?" levels of ennui to a minimum by providing trivia questions, hand-drawn map notes and a surfeit of tourist info. Mii characters speak out text information, and you can even use the car as a speaker system in the event your Starfox game needs that much more audio immersion. Estima buyers can get the new Smart Navi and Kuruma de DS in Japan on June 1st, although the $2,586 equivalent price for the GPS, the $92 cartridge and the cost of the Nintendo console itself might be too rich when you don't need a navigator to tell you that the princess is in another castle.
Updated Hyundai app brings remote control to your Blue Link fleet
Hyundai Sonata and Veloster owners have had some level of remote access for a year now, but the latest version of the Blue Link app does even more. Along with remote start, door lock / unlock and control of the horn and lights, you can now run vehicle diagnostics, send POIs across from your phone for later in-dash navigation, and even locate and manage multiple Blue Link-equipped cars. Sound complicated? Not if you run a cab firm, or if you check out the twelve new instructional videos on Hyundai's YouTube channel below.
New Magellan RoadMate GPS units navigate by landmarks, steer clear of pesky traffic cameras
It's been a long while since Magellan comprehensively updated its RoadMate GPS mapping units, so the company's making up for lost time in style by introducing no less than seven new models in one shot. The RoadMate 2210, 2210T, 2220-LM, 2230T-LM, 5220-LM, 5230T-LM (pictured) and 5235T-LM all bring in a new Landmark Guidance option to give directions based on landmarks, not just those occasionally impenetrable street numbers. Traffic Camera Alerts are just as new and help you stay on the sunny side of the law when speed cameras and traffic light cameras are nearby, albeit at the cost of $30 a year after the first year is up. As Magellan is wont to do, the new GPS range is dictated by screen size and what features you'll get for life: the 2200- and 5200-series units carry respective 4.3- and 5-inch screens, while the LM and T badges signify lifetime map updates and traffic alerts. The range's prices start off at $100 for a RoadMate 2210 and scale up to $170 for a fully decked-out 5235T-LM.
Alpine's INE-Z928HD in-car DVD receiver goes 8-inches in a double-DIN
Alpine's just unleashed its stash of CES paraphernalia, and it's the INE-Z928HD that's taking the lead. It's an in-car DVD navigation device, christened as the first in the category to offer an 8-inch WVGA display that tucks neatly within a conventional double-DIN opening. Moreover, it's equipped with Pandora control and creation from iPhone, Android and BlackBerry phones, a built-in HD Radio receiver, compatibility with SiriusXM (separate tuner and subscription required) and iPod / iPhone playback. There's also Bluetooth and a newfangled 3D WVGA navigation platform, touting over six million points of interest and free lifetime traffic monitoring. It'll land this June, but mum's the word on price. Moving right along, there's the CDE-HD138BT Bluetooth CD / HD Radio receiver (replete with SiriusXM support via an optional adapter). For those who couldn't parallel park if life itself relied on it, there's the VPX-B104R VPASS (Visual Parking Assist Sensor System), which consists of a black box brain and four sensors that mount on the rear bumper, and it works with Alpine rear camera systems such as the HCE-C104 Universal Rear Camera. Head on past the break for the nuts and bolts.
Advent intros the OTOCAM3 multimedia navigation system for Toyota Camry
Advent's new auto soundsystem team-up with Audiovox hopes to juggle enough other tasks to stand it out of from the crowd of infotainment offerings jostling for space inside your car. Alongside connectivity to Pandora through iPhones, the OTOCAM3 includes iGo Primo navigation software, Navteq US and Canada maps and a Parrot module built-in with an external microphone. The whole system is steered through an eight-inch touchscreen and can hook up with vehicle metrics like fuel mileage and tire pressure. While Pandora functionality will arrive in Q1 2012, any Toyota Camrys bought during the holidays or shipped before then will still get the feature through firmware upgrades. Navigate down for the full press release.
Navteq traffic to launch on Garmin devices using HD radio technology
The state of morning gridlock just got a little more real with the introduction of Navteq's real-time traffic via HD radio -- to be included with Garmin's nüvi 3490LMT personal navigation device. The service is said to be four to ten times faster than other similar offerings, updating details every 30 seconds for 270,000 miles of bumper-to-bumper goodness. Lucky for us, the feature will be available on other nüvi devices as well, using the Garmin GTM 60 adapter. Push past the break to check out the full PR.
Bert and Ernie TomTom voices tell you how to get, how to get to Sesame Street (video)
While some may seriously doubt their driving credentials, Bert and Ernie are the latest additions to TomTom's voice navigation library. The two muppets join the slightly more sinister likes of Darth Vader and Jeremy Clarkson, who've already offered up their distinctive vocal talents to the in-car navi. Grab your rubber duckie and see how the recording session went down after the break.
Garmin launches StreetPilot onDemand iPhone app, offers transit schedules
Garmin is best known for its in-car navigation systems, but today delved deeper into the realm of personal navigation with a brand new iPhone app for the eternally lost. For a dollar, you'll get standard walking, driving and public transportation directions, but go premium for $2.99 a month or $29.99 for the year, and you'll cop more add-ons designed to transform your iPhone into a full-fledged PND. Like the standard iPhone mapping system or HopStop, the subscription-based version of this app lets you integrate public transportation into your journey -- but the added feature here is the ability to view public transit schedules like you can in the Google Maps app for Android. It also has spoken turn-by-turn directions, Garmin's traffic routing and Google search, making it a handy alternative to a clunky navigation system. Check out the full PR after the break.
Navigon's Galaxy S car kit starts shipping in the US for $45
You know that familiar pattern: release something for the iPhone first, Android phones sold on T-Mobile next. After rolling out a car kit for the iPhone, Navigon has created a similar mount for the Samsung Galaxy S 4G and Samsung Vibrant, both indigenous to T-Mo. The kit, already available in the UK, includes the mount, an attachable suction piece, and 12/24V car charger. T-Mobile customers with wheels can snag one now for $44.95. The rest of you Android users are just chopped liver.
TomTom GO 920 on the way?
Whenever a manufacturer is rumored to be upgrading its top-of-the-line device, we wanna know about it, so GPS Review certainly had us intrigued with word of a successor to TomTom's popular, hard drive-equipped (and once-infected) GO 910 in-car navigation system. While perusing the manual on the recently-released GO 720 CD, one of the editors stumbled upon a set of files named go520.link, go720.link, and go920.link -- which besides the unit in question, most likely refer to a European-only product as well as what we now suspect to be an upcoming flagship model called the GO 920. Obviously no specs or details of any kind are available beyond this tantalizing clue, but now that we have an idea of what to look for, we're gonna be breathing down your neck for more info, TomTom.
Panasonic's high-end F-Class in-car navigation units
Shortly after launching its first US in-car navigation system, Panasonic is doing it big yet again across the seas with its "highest-end" F-Class lineup. This well-spec'd trifecta sports a seven-inch VGA touchscreen, a PEAKS processor, an integrated TV tuner, boosted sensitivity compared to prior models, a built-in graphics processor, hard drive, SD card slot, and the ability to map your route online via the Odekake Strada website and transfer the guidance via SD. Additionally, you'll find an SD Link function that nicely interfaces with your iPod, CD / DVD playback abilities, and the flagship CN-HDS965TD can even handle the ill-fated MD format. Users interested in adding Bluetooth streaming abilities can snap up the CY-BT200D module for a stiff ¥21,000 ($175), which actually pales in comparison to the ¥344,400 ($2,861) to ¥354,900 ($2,949) pricetags that you'll find on these luxurious devices.[Via Nikkei]
Dash Navigation launching secret consumer product
Silicon Valley start-up Dash Navigation has taken a few of the wraps off its super-secret in-car navigation system, also called Dash, although it looks like we're gonna have to wait 'till the DEMOfall Conference next month to get all the deets. The product that Dash says will do for driving "what TV did for entertainment" and "what the cellphone did for communication" is actually an Internet-connected in-car navigation system that can also communicate with other devices on the road to relay real-time traffic information -- exactly how it does all that is still a bit unclear. According to Dash CEO Paul Lego, it won't let you do things like check your email or browse the web (at least not yet), instead employing what he calls a "55 mph user interface" so you can keep your eyes on the road (they're still perfecting the I Can't Drive 55 interface).[Via CrunchGear]
