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Pioneer AVIC-X920BT brings Pandora streaming music to your satnav via the iPhone
Your car's dash just got a tad bit more interesting with the introduction of Pandora music streaming in Pioneer's latest navigation unit. The double-DIN in-dash device exploits your iPhone's cellular connection to glean tunes from the ether and comes with a 6.1-inch display, Bluetooth, 3D video accelerator, and 4GB of built-in memory expandable by MicroSD. Coming out in March for $1,200, this is slated to be a direct challenge to satellite and old school radio services, and for more on the greater market impact of its introduction, you can see the WSJ coverage below. For the full specs of this new flagship device, as well as a new AVIC-U220 add-on nav unit, hit the source link below.
Cydle P29A spices up mundane spec sheet with Mobile TV capabilities
Well, it seems like South Korean companies aren't fooling around when it comes to getting us riding that newly minted Mobile TV bandwagon. In the wake of LG announcing its first Mobile DTV devices this morning comes Cydle with the P29A PMP. It sports a 2.9-inch touchscreen (see what they did there?), an accelerometer for automatic reorientation, a world clock, and voice recording via a built-in mic. That's a somewhat disappointing goodie list, considering the currently available HD radio-playing P29H (pictured for illustration purposes) also has GPS onboard. Still, you can snap up the A model in Q2 2010 for $199, which seems like a keen price when compared to the $499 Mobile DTV car tuner we've seen before.
GPS leads couple into Oregon wilderness, snow and lack of common sense keep them there 3 days
So you're cruising along, in your GPS-equipped SUV, taking your dear wife back home to Reno. The trusty onscreen guide instructs you to "turn right" and you follow its typically reliable instructions. At what point in the next three days of plowing deeper and deeper into snow-covered Oregon do you start suspecting that maybe something is amiss? Alright, so this isn't quite on par with others driving buses into low-clearance tunnels, dipping their cars into rivers, or jamming heavy load trucks into unsuitably tight farm lanes. But we don't discriminate here, all instances of idiotic GPS dependency deserve their moment in the sun, so here's to Mr. John Rhoads and his tastefully named wife, Mrs. Starry Bush-Rhoads, who are now safe and sound after their phone pinged out its coordinates to emergency services when it began losing signal.
Vexia Econav GPS nags you about your driving
If the folks at Vexia are to be believed, green transportation is not about fancy electric vehicles or, heaven forbid, riding your bike -- nope, it's about having a GPS that offers advice on your driving. Both the Econav 480 (4.3-inch) and 380 (3.5-inch) can be configured for your specific automobile make and model, after which your usual calm, solitary driving experience is replaced by the cold mechanical voice of a satnav as it admonishes you for excessive acceleration, breaking, driving past the speed limit, and so forth. With other Econav models out in Spain for a while now, these guys are finally available to environmentally conscious Britons at prices starting at £149 (depending on model and map collection). And what about the states? It looks like you'll be stuck taking driving direction from Homer Simpson for the time being.
Audi A8 MMI adds handwriting recognition to list of 2011 features
The A8's Multi Media Interface (a fancy name for a nav unit with media player attached) is already a pretty sophisticated piece of tech, but Audi has opted against resting on those laurels and has pushed out a new feature for the luxury saloon's next iteration. The 2011 A8 (available in Spring 2010 -- crazy, we know) will benefit from the same handwriting recognition as promised for the next-gen R8, wherein the user is able to scribble his destination all John Hancock-like and then use the touchscreen to complete his instructions. With Cyrillic, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean character support, this could be a particular boon for gadget lovers of a more Eastern persuasion. And just in case you're fretting that the rest of your gear won't get as much love, there are further plans afoot for connecting the car via UMTS and distributing WiFi goodness to the devices inside it. The only thing this is missing is a Snoop Dogg voiceover for the ultimate in convergence tech. Video after the break.
Google Maps Navigation hacked for extra-American use
Guess what, prospective Milestone owners, the Droid's one major advantage over its Euro cousin has just been coded out of existence by those proactive, un-American XDA Developers. The free Google Maps Navigation service, whose US announcement was so shocking as to decimate the stock prices of satnav purveyors Garmin and TomTom, has now been ported to work outside the land of the free as well. Not only that, but you can use the app on other Android devices, meaning your old G1 can get a breath of fresh air for absolutely free. That is if you don't count the time it takes you to learn how to insert all the code properly and the risk of bricking your device in the process. But we know our readers eat iron nails for breakfast and fashion elegantly optimized code before lunch, so we expect all of you to be using this by day's end, you hear?
Garmin EcoRoutes ESP module turns your GPS into car sentinel
Get ready to tech up your driving experience, as Garmin has unveiled a new accessory for its nuvi line of GPS devices that lets you add a number of customizable gauges and monitoring utilities. The new ESP module tucks into the OBD-II diagnostics port on your car and communicates (via Bluetooth) all-important data like intake air temperatures and the fuel efficiency of your driving to the nuvi up top. Yea, it's been done before, but Garmin is (for the time being) a major force in navigation devices and could truly popularize this should there be enough interest. For our money, it's both a neat and geeky way to expand the functionality of the now threatened satnav species. The full dish on price and availability can be expected at CES 2010 this coming January.
Mio MiBuddy GPS units to trade Windows CE for Android
If you're keeping tabs on Mio Technology's GPS happenings, you'll be interested to dip into some facts that PC World has uncovered about the company's upcoming offerings. According to the mag, the next version of the electronics-maker's MiBuddy satnav unit will dash the underlying Windows CE architecture for Google's newer and far more suave Android platform. The new device will be pushing into MID territory, boasting a 4.7-inch touchscreen along with a hardware slider keyboard, the ability to browse the internet, and WiFi and Bluetooth onboard. Call us crazy, but it seems possible that devices like dedicated PNDs running Android could easily adapt Google's new turn-by-turn system as their primary mode of operation. Alternately, you could switch between Mio's proprietary version and Google's variation... or they could axe the big G's altogether, though that awkward situation makes far less sense to us. No word on timing or price just yet, but we'll keep you posted. [Via NaviGadget] Update: Seems this is all just a great big mixup, and the whole Android thing is just untrue. Bummer.
TomTom Car Kit for iPhone review
Boy, TomTom sure has chosen the worst possible time to release its Car Kit for iPhone, and to make matters worse, its decision to not include the iPhone app is now set in stone. That's right, the hardware alone will set you back the cost of a TomTom ONE nowadays, and the $99.95 app works on the iPhone 3G and 3GS without it. So here's the question: is the car kit worth the extra $119.95? To find out, we got hold of a review unit for a sunny road trip around London. Surprisingly, the car kit uses Bluetooth to connect the GPS receiver and the hands-free function to the iPhone, even though there's a dock connector for charging. Bluetooth connectivity does have its advantages: according to TomTom it can work as a generic Bluetooth GPS receiver for any satellite navigation app -- including Google Maps -- on the iPhone, or any smartphones at all for that matter. TomTom even confirmed that the car kit could potentially compensate for the first-generation iPhone's lack of built-in GPS, but since its app won't run on anything but a 3G or 3GS we'll have to wait and see if that's actually useful. Meanwhile, the company is cooking up a compatible app for the original iPhone and the iPod touch, which could make the car kit more worthwhile. [Update: the app has now been updated to work with the iPod Touch and the original iPhone, but you'll need to get a separate (and slightly cheaper) model of the Car Kit for the iPod touch. Thanks, Philippe!] Read on for our hands-on impression and test videos. [Thanks for being our driver, Sam] %Gallery-76686%
TomTom Go I-90 integrates into any dashboard, brings radio 'infotainment'
TomTom has been on a mission to keep itself relevant as smartphones increasingly start to overstep on its territory, and the GO I-90 is another move in its counteroffensive plan. Capable of slotting into the double DIN slot usually reserved for in-car radio / music players, its big selling point is that it integrates into your dashboard yet is still capable of being moved around like a discrete nav unit. You wouldn't be left decrying the loss of your radio either, with the GO I-90 sporting FM (with RDS support) and AM reception, USB support for MP3 players including iPods, and a promised compatibility with an "extensive" list of phones for handsfree calling -- unfortunately, the poorly worded PR makes no mention of Bluetooth so we're not sure how they'll pull that off. Throw in a guarantee to receive the latest maps, TomTom's Map Share for crowdsourced routes, and a Help-Me! emergency menu, and you get a pretty comprehensive product. Shame about that €599 (about $893) sticker then. Available in Europe in December.
TomTom XL 335S: mostly the same, but slightly cheaper
Maps cost money, people -- and if you're TomTom and you're trying to shave a couple bucks off your latest nav unit, you can do it by leaving some out. Like, say, maps of Mexico. That's really the only difference we see between the $239 XL 335S announced today and the $249 XL340S announced back in April -- both have 4.3-inch touchscreens and the usual Map Share, IQ Routes, and Advanced Lane Guidance features, but the new kid won't go south of the border. We'd spring for the extra peace of mind, honestly -- but if you're willing to live dangerously, the 335S is on sale now.
TomTom Start wants to democratize GPS navigation: smartphones point, laugh
Paradoxically, most of the fuss surrounding TomTom of late has been associated with a certain smartphone -- a class of devices that signals the end to the dedicated SatNavs TomTom builds. Still, TomTom hasn't given up the fight yet as they've just announced the TomTom Start, a Є129 entry-level GPS navigator with 3.5-inch display and choice of six StartSkin covers costing €15 per -- you know, so you can change the look of your GPS unit every time you reupholster your car's interior. The device cost climbs to Є149 for a European map pre-load instead of the base, regional offering. Start features TomTom's IQ Routes and Map Share technology to find the fastest route benefiting from the aggregated map correction data fed by the hoards of local TomTom-ers. Look for it in the UK and Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway... someday, TomTom doesn't say when.
TomTom's iPhone car kit and navigation software priced overseas
TomTom told us that its long-awaited iPhone navigation app and in-car mounting kit would be landing "this summer," and at least on our watch, summertime is quickly drawing to a close. If a pre-order listing over at Handtec is to be believed, it looks as if the outfit is exceedingly close to finally having both the software and hardware ready for shipping. The £113.85 ($194) asking price includes a suction mount for your iPhone as well as the mapping software, though there's no indication of exactly how much the app and hardware will run by themselves. Of course, until the iPhone supports multitasking, using it as a dedicated PND is still a risky move; one stray call during a pivotal moment in your travels and you can consider yourself lost. Oh, and then there's the fact that this thing has a TomTom logo on it -- if the iPhone app functions anything like the company's high-end GO 740 LIVE, we'd say you're better off asking Mr. Gas Station attendant (or buying a different brand).[Via DaniWeb]
CSR debuts SiRFstarIV location-aware architecture, kisses slow fixes goodbye
Nary half a year after snapping up SiRF, CSR is already tooting its horn about an all new SiRFstar architecture. The predictably titled SiRFstarIV technology takes quite the leap over its three-pronged predecessor, all but promising to nix those annoyingly long location fixes that are all too common on existing PNDs. The new location-aware, self-assisted, micro-power tech enables devices to be continually aware of location without requiring network aide; furthermore, there's hardly any power drain to speak of, which ought to please smartphone owners who can literally watch their battery meter drop with GPS enabled. CSR's first SiRFstarIV product is the GSD4t receiver, which is optimized for mobile phones and "other space and power-sensitive consumer devices." We're told that samples of the chip are shipping out now, with mass production slated for October and device integration happening shortly thereafter.
Hyundai Provia A7+ GPS unit adds multimedia playback, looks irresistible
It's no secret that some of our US editors have been feeling a bit of tech-envy toward our cousins from the far East, who consider 7-inch PNDs commonplace. Doing nothing to allay those emotions, Hyundai has announced the Provia A7+, which is -- you guessed it -- a 7-inch GPS-slash-PMP soon to be available in South Korea. The device comes with an integrated TV tuner (DMB), 800 x 480 resolution, video and audio playback, Navi-in-Picture functionality, and USB and SD connectivity to expand its abilities to match your imagination. If this thing's routing abilities are even half decent, it should sell like hot cakes in the middle of a particularly cold winter.[Via Navigadget]
DeLorme kicks out waterproof Earthmate PN-30 GPS device
It was pretty much a year ago to the day when DeLorme released its Earthmate PN-40, and now the outfit is busting out a lower-end unit that could easily be mistaken for the PN-40 from 2008. Indeed, the PN-30 doesn't deviate from its roots, boasting a peanut-shaped waterproof chassis, a 32-channel Cartesio chipset, a daylight readable LCD and maps of the US, Canada and Mexico. It's also sporting a rubberized housing around the edges to keep it safe from minor bumps and bruises; nothing too fancy here, but it ought to bring a smile to the face of all the argonauts in attendance. You can get one headed your way next month for $299.95, and the full release is after the break.
Mio Spirit TV spotted in the wild doling out routes, serving soap operas
While we Yanks are stuck with overpriced PNDs that suck down weather forecasts and pretend to alert us of upcoming traffic problems, folks overseas are using their navigators to watch fresh episodes of Top Gear. Navman, better known these days as Mio, has just outed two new satnav devices across the pond, both of which sport a built-in Freeview TV tuner, Bluetooth, Google search, walking mode and loads of POIs. The Spirit TV will arrive in both 4.7- and 7-inch flavors, with expected pricing hovering in the £200 ($306) to £300 ($459) range. For obvious reasons, we aren't expecting this one to head Stateside anytime soon, but those camping out in a Freeview territory should feel free to hit the read link for more hands-on shots.Update: Slashgear got some hands-on video with the device, and considering that the TV tuner is modular, we could feasibly see a US-friendly one installed and shipped here. Yes, please. Thanks, Chris!
Cowon L3 officially announced (for Asia)
We saw this one coming quite a while back, but it looks like the Cowon L3 satnav / PMP is officially official now. We stil haven't got full specs on this baby yet, but the 7-incher's got a 700x480 resolution, an unnamed dual core CPU, 128MB of SDRAM, 4GB of memory, an SD Slot, and GPS, and a fuel consumption indicator. We don't have any specific information as to availability -- though it's unlikely it'll ever get anywhere near North America -- or pricing yet, but we'll let you know as soon as we do!Update: Full specs at the read link now on Cowon's site![Via Akihabara News, thanks Jeff]
TeleNav launches GPS navigation for the G1
They finally, really did it. Have you been lugging around that G1 and a GPS unit, grunting disdainfully every time you have to bust the latter out? Well it looks like TeleNav has heard your cries of disgust. The company is officially launching its turn-by-turn GPS navigation for the Android-powered device come February 24th. The software will feature full color 3D graphics, speech recognition, one-click rerouting, and traffic alerts, as well as weather updates, gas prices, and restaurant reviews (the PR claims over 10 million business and services). The service will launch with a 30-day free trial, after which it'll run you $9.99 a month. While we can't say we're too stoked on the price, it's still not too terrible of a fee to pay to actually put that GPS chip to use (and save some room in your glove compartment). Convergence: we're almost there. %Gallery-44496%
TomTom's GO 630 shows up at RadioShack
Love GPS'ing? Love TomTom? Well you're in luck, because the company has just sneaked out another iteration of its popular GO series -- the 630. The device boasts a 4.3-inch, 480 x 272 touchscreen, SD card support, Bluetooth functionality, and comes loaded with maps of US and Canada. We're not going to pretend that the 630 sports any features which are too outstanding, but with things like "points of interest," a "windshield mount," and included "USB cable," you can rest easy knowing this does... something. The satnav unit is available from RadioShack right now for an affordable $349.99 (a $50 savings off its list price).[Via GPS Tracklog]
