Recently in GPS Category

Sanyo has announced a couple of new in-car GPS navigation systems for Japan that replace the usual hard drive or DVD based storage with a SSD.

Both have 7" screens and a 4GB SSD and the more expensive version ($1750 instead of $1500) adds a DVD player and a 4GB SD card.

The main benefits of using the SSD are that maps should be displayed quicker and the systems will be more stable and heat/shock resistant.

I expect to see manufacturers of boat electronics following suit over the coming years as a major problem with boat electronics is failure due to the constant wave motion.

Sanyo GPS Navigation Systems with SSD via akihabaranews

The Toshiba Portege G710 is a smartphone for Europe that comes with Quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), GPRS Class 10 and EDGE, Integrated SiRF Star III GPS receiver, 2.4″ TFT LCD screen with 320×240 pixel resolution, OMAP TI processor at 266 MHz, 2MP digital camera with 8x digital zoom, 64 MB of RAM and 128 MB of ROM, Bluetooth 1.2 compatible A2DP (stereo), microSD card slot, MiniUSB 1.1, 1,050 mAh lithium-ion battery with 200 hours of endurance stand-by and 3 hour in communication, Windows Mobile 6.0 Standard.

Nothing special in my opinion: low resolution screen, very little storage, weak camera.

It was announced back in January and it looks like it will be available to buy any day now got about $450 (before any provider subsidies).

Toshiba Portege G710 via navigadget

Garmin has announced that you can get a lifetime Garmin GPS service subscription for your blackberry for $99.

That's the phone's lifetime not yours but it still seems like a good price considering there is no monthly fee and the service offers turn by turn directions, 6 million points of interest, constantly updated maps, gas prices, traffic delay rerouting, weather forcecasts, and more.

Seems like a great service for a crackberry addict who doesn't want a seperate navigation system in their car.

via Garmin blog

Convergence between phones GPS and PDAs is a really hot topic at the moment and the P560 is Asus' latest offering for Europe that claims to offer all three.

We don't like it: a 2.8" 320x240 LCD is useless for a GPS navigation system, and the lack of a physical keyboard severely limits it's functionality as a PDA. What does that leave us with? a bulky blocky phone.

If you are still interested here are the specs: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, A-GPS compatible SiRF Star III receiver, 2.8″ TFT LCD touch screen (320×240 pixel), TI Omap 2430 Processor (450 MHz), Quadband GSM, GPRS, EDGE, 3G dualband and HSDPA, 256 MB ROM, 128 MB RAM, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, 3.2 and 0.3 megapixel cameras , microSD card slot, and 1150 mAh battery.

Dimensions are 4.7" x 2.4" x 0.5" and it weighs 4.20oz. Cost is expected to be around 500 euros ($775) when it comes out in June.

So what's our idea of the perfect GPS PDA phone? something with the form factor and sexy looks of an iPhone, a VGA (minimum) touchscreen at least 3.5" but preferably 4.3"+ (if it would still fit in our pocket), and a slide out QWERTY keyboard (or support for a bluetooth keyboard).

What's your ideal combo phone? comment below (anonymously if you want) and let us know,

Asus P560 PDA Phone at Navigadget

The TomTom Go 930 GPS navigation system has been reviewed by trusted reviews. The main new features of the TomTom Go 930 are it's supposedly intelligent routing and lane assistance.

Here's what they thought of the TomTom Go 930:

"So are the additions worth the extra cash? For now, I'd have to say - surprisingly - no. The new x30 range undoubtedly maintains the 720's position as king of in-car sat-navs, with its improved route-finding abilities and lane assistance. But the changes, though innovative and useful, aren't the sort of major improvements you'd want to upgrade for, and while stocks of the x20 range still exist, the older models represent a better deal.

If you want the ultimate in-car sat-nav, money is no object, and you don't have one already, the 930 Traffic and its slightly less expensive brethren are most certainly the devices to beat. But I recommend you wait a while before buying one until the price drops by £50 or so."

TomTom Go 930 review at Trusted Reviews

Clarion has announced two new GPS navigation systems in Europe that feature a three-dimensional display of major buildings and points of interest.

Their other features include a 4.3" display, text-to-speech, TMC tuner, lane assistant, bluetooth, and multimedia player, all powered by a 400MHz processor.

The Map680 comes with 1GB of memory and 4 regional variations, while the Map780 has 2GB of memory and maps for 43 European countries.

(via navigadget)

Sprint has released a video comparing their Sprint Instinct GPS to using Google Maps on the iPhone. This video also shows off the nice slim look of the Instinct compared to the iPhone.

"Crazy Lenny" the Mad Mariner has stress tested a few portable GPS and VHF handhelds: the Garmin GPSmap 76c, the Lowrance iFinder H2O, the Raymarine Ray 101, the Uniden Voyager, and the Uniden MHS 350.

How were they stress tested? dropped them a few times, tossed them around in a cooler of ice and live fish, threw them overboard into a couple of feet of salt water, drove a trailer and boat over them, handed them to a bunch of kids with instructions to break them, and then finally flushed then down the toilet.

A week later he tested them and they all still worked.

(full review at madmariner)

MTI MicroFuel Cells has shown a prototype GPS that is powered by their mobion methanol fuel cell.

The fuel cell powers the GPS for 60 hours of continuous use and be can be refuelled. The GPS also includes a USB port to recharge other gadgets too.

No news on pricing or availability, but I can't wait for all out gadgets to me fuel cell powered.

Telefonica let the cat out of the bag in regards to HTC Touch Find specs:

Quad band GSM 850/900/1800/1900, GPRS, EDGE, 3.6 Mbps HSDPA connectivity, 2.8″ QVGA 240×320, 65K color display, 128 MB RAM, 256 MB of ROM, Qualcomm MSM7200, 400 MHz CPU, 3 megapixel camera with autofocus, front camera for video calls, Built-in GPS, Tom-Tom navigation software, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM Radio, microSD memory card slot

In other words the HTC touch find is a repackaged HTC Touch Cruise.

(via msmobiles)