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Porsche Design's P9611 sat nav is real, coming November
The rumors that Porsche Design was contributing to the design of a satellite navigation system have turned out to be true (don't you just love it when that happens?) now that Navigon has shown off the device at the IFA. The specifications are almost identical to the rumor, with the device featuring a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 pixel 16:9 display, a 520MHz XScale processor, a dedicated graphics processor, 64MB of RAM / ROM, an SD / MMC slot, a Bluetooth hands-free kit, and a removable battery, all running on Windows CE. The system will warn the driver of radar speed traps and of traffic in the 37 mapped European countries, and will even play MP3s -- albeit on the undoubtedly tinny speakers. The only downsides appear to be the roughly $960 price tag and the weak USB 1.1 support, but if you can cope with these niggles then keep your eyes open during November, because that's when it's expected to ship.
PSP GPS add-on in the wild
You're probably getting pretty sick of toting around all those cables, adapters, and antennae required by the GPSP mod to get sat nav functionality on your PSP, so you'll be happy to know that Sony's official GPS add-on for its portable console has just been spotted in the wild. We've already seen pics (albeit crappy ones) of the wayfinding peripheral, but now we've got proof that it exists somewhere besides on a PowerPoint slide. Unfortunately there's really not much to see here (it's a little gadget sticking out of another gadget -- wow), and we've got no new info regarding functionality, pricing, or release dates. Still, when we come across something that we think you'd be interested in, we write a post about it -- that's how we do things around here. Sharing is caring, right?[Via DigitalBattle, thanks Tom]
Porsche Design working on a GPS receiver?
We've seen the Porsche Design team try its hand at radios already (both self-branded and in conjunction with Grundig), and now it's apparently looking to enter the GPS game with an upcoming receiver powered by Navigon software. Dutch site Pocketinfo is claiming that their mole contact inside Navigon has revealed a device known as the P9611 (supposedly standing for Porsche 911 + Mobile Navigator 6 -- seems like P9116 would make more sense, though) which features a 520MHz Xscale processor, 4.3-inch, 480 x 272 pixel display, built-in traffic update support, and even an embedded Bluetooth car kit from Parrot. Details are still pretty thin at this point, but Pocketinfo is reporting that the unit will start shipping in October, for a Porsche-like $950. Apparently the P9611 will also work in non-Porsche vehicles, but it'll be pre-programmed with the locations of all Porsche dealerships worldwide, and will beep like crazy every time you pass one until you finally cave in and pick up at least a Boxster.
LG intros LN710 in-car nav system for Europe
It looks like LG is poised to muscle its way into yet another product category -- in Europe, at least -- with the new LN710 in-car navigation system. Running on Windows Mobile CE.Net 5.0, the SiRF Star III-powered model features a 300MHz processor, 4-inch, 320 x 240 pixel display, 64MB RAM / 32MB ROM, and an SD slot for loading up maps from the included CDs -- not too bad, but nothing that Garmin, TomTom, and friends will lose any sleep over. It's not exactly clear who's getting this model or when they'll be getting it, but we did see it on a German website for about $467 (including a 1GB card; packages with 256MB, 512MB, or 2GB cards will also be available), so that should give you some idea of the pricing structure.
Land Rover nav system used to guide C-130 cargo plane
In a publicity stunt whose failure would surely overshadow the on-camera mishap experienced by Mercedes while demoing their Brake Assist Plus last year, the Land Rover marketing team loaded a 2006 LR3 onto a C-130 cargo plane and had the pilots fly from France to Corsica using only the SUV's navigation system. Luckily for Team Land Rover, the flight originating in Nice went off without a hitch, and the resulting three-minute documentary will be available online to showcase the nav system's ability to to guide drivers (or pilots) even off-road. Meanwhile, earthbound drivers in the UK, birthplace of Land Rover, are still unable to use their own GPS receivers to avoid driving over cliffs and into rivers.
