Hasta La Gadget!

This week the folks at Nokia are bringing on the next generation of their hardware and software integration talks with none other than their own Floris Van-De-Klashorst speaking about the future of automotive. The Connected Car, as they call it, is one which is a futuristic concept – this meaning that though we’ve got cars at the moment that are relatively connected, we’ve not yet scratched the surface. According to Nokia, it’s Points of Interest (POI) search capabilities that are at the center of the future for vehicles that use what they call “Intelligent Technology.”

Built-in phone technology as well as data connectivity is at the center of this concept as well – as Nokia sees the future, anyway. They’ve presented a video showing off some concepts as they sit inside the concept known as the Ford Evos. This vehicle is a blue beast, with no less than cloud services and APIs, search technology, mobile connectivity, and build-in communication technology as well. Have a peek at this concept video and see what the future holds.

Nokia is announcing this week via their Conversations by Nokia blog – or perhaps re-announcing for those of you that’ve followed along with the Evos rather closely- that they’re working with Ford as one of its main integrators of futuristic tech. This partnership will use Nokia’s own Location Platform to support the vehicle’s in-car location-based set of systems. This vehicle will, thanks you Nokia, not only know where you are and what businesses and places of interest are near to you at any given point, it’ll know which kinds of music you like to listen to on certain commutes.

You’ll also be working with Satnav maps to bring on your ability to avoid locations in your city (or wherever you’re driving) with heavy pollution. With detectors and reporting devices such as what we’re seeing here with this vehicle and its connected services alone, we’re hoping for a completely world-environment-aware vehicle in the very, very near future.

Have a peek at our hands-on look at some Nokia Windows Phone mapping technology that we saw back at CTIA earlier this year as well to get deeper into Nokia’s love for knowing where you are at any time – and what’s around you as well.

First have a peek at Nokia Drive and Nokia Transport:

Then get in deep with Nokia Maps, the center of the whole Nokia GPS universe:

Finally check out Nokia City Lens – an amazing next-generation vision on Nokia Windows Phone devices which will allow you to see tags on every business and building of interest around you – it’s fabulous!

Stay tuned for more awesome Nokia location-aware technology, and get ready for awesome Nokia-embedded vehicles as well!

Nokia gets connected with automotive futures is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

As if George Lucas wasn’t already milking his money-printing franchise for all it’s worth, comes this GPS gem out of Japan. To the (presumed) delight of fanboys everywhere, navigation maker Dinos has inked a licensing deal with Lucasfilm that conjures up an all-out, Star Wars-themed car nav system. From the orchestral theme music at startup to the voice guidance performed by the original Japanese VO actors (Darth Vader and C-3P0 only), the 5-inch LCD mount is pretty much the memorabilia stuff of a grown-up, scifi geek’s wet dream. There’s even a mode selection option to let users pledge their allegiance to either the “Empire” or the “Rebels,” in addition to 20 different custom vehicle indicator icons. Sounds fluffy enough, but the unit also does double duty as a OneSeg TV tuner and can even be used as a standalone set. It’s on sale now for 39,800Yen (US$507), but unless you’re living in the Land of the Rising Sun, this import’s just kitsch for kitsch’s sake.

Filed under: GPS, Transportation

Star Wars-themed GPS steers Japanese geeks away from the dark side originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Jul 2012 00:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  AV Watch (Translated)  | Email this | Comments

Nokia is still taking its lumps in earnings, but CEO Stephen Elop has an idea as to how the troubled phone giant can carve out its slice of the smartphone market: like a real estate agent, it’s all about location, location, location. As he outlined in the company’s fiscal results call, the aim is to make Nokia the “where?” company — the go-to for location-based services, whether it’s Drive, Transport or anything else that locks in on our whereabouts. Facebook and Google are the “who?” and “what?” companies, Elop says. He also imagines that his own firm “could be a leader” in sensors as a whole, tracking subtler cues like the owner’s pulse rate. Whether or not Nokia puts itself in front through positioning, the executive gave a small tease of the future during the call — the next wave of Lumia phones will have “more differentiation,” and both Windows Phone 7.8 as well as Windows Phone 8 will make their way to budget Nokia hardware.

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia wants to become the ‘where?’ company, Lumias to become sensor masters originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jul 2012 10:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  SlashGear  | Email this | Comments

The Garmin Fenix GPS watch is perfect for you if you’re a hiker, mountaineer, mountain biker, or backcountry skier. The gadget offers a variety of advanced GPS functions, including GPS tracking system that records your journey. The Garmin Fenix also features ANT and Bluetooth capabilities to talk with external sensors and wirelessly share data. Other specs include an LCD display with a LED backlight, an altimeter, a barometer, a compass and a polyurethane wristband. Its battery provides enough juice for up to 50-hour of operating time in GPS mode, or 6 weeks in watch mode. The Garmin Fenix GPS watch retails for $400. [technabob]

The mapping scene has seen plenty of activity lately — what with Apple ditching Google to launch its own service while the latter continues to layer on improvements such as better walking directions and more Street View coverage for its maps. Now a new app called “Recce” is trying to elbow its way into the conversation by using a free, searchable 3D mapping system that not only serves up location-based services but also location-based games. Named after military slang for “reconnaissance,” Recce is the brainchild of former Psygnosis co-founder Ian Hetherington and Google engineering director Rian Liebenberg, who formed London-based developer eeGeo. The app works by pulling together a slew of data feeds from sources such as map providers and social networking services to provide an interactive 3D view of an area. It can also be used to update services like Twitter so your followers can know exactly where you were when you saw Justin Johnson, er, Bieber speeding away from the paparazzi in his chrome Fisker Karma. Do note that data is limited to central London at the moment, though San Francisco and New York are slated to get their 3D closeup next.

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Tablet PCs, Software

New Recce 3D map app offers location-based services and games, Sim City possibilities abound originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 09:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  TechCrunch, iTunes  | Email this | Comments