Garmin demos futuristic sat-nav display inside Mercedes S-Class concept

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In-car navigation HUDs may be safer than dash systems, but let’s face it, they can’t yet claim to be pretty. Enter Garmin’s modular K2 infotainment system, which has been specially modified to suit the futuristic look of Mercedes’ new 4.7-liter bi-turbo V8 Concept S-Class Coupé. Gone are the flat designs of old, replaced with Garmin’s advanced 3D city models, which include parks, rivers, textured buildings and, of course, navigable roads. We don’t know when or if Garmin’s in-dash system will make it into a production model but Mercedes says its S-Class concept provides a “concrete vision” of its next generation car designs.

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CoPilot comes to Windows Phone 8: free offline sat nav, £18 for premium features

CoPilot comes to Windows Phone 8 free offline sat nav, 18 for premium features

It can’t be easy, developing a Windows Phone sat nav app in the heavily publicized shadow of Nokia Here, but when we met the folks at CoPilot recently they were brimming with confidence. They’ve already counted 4.5 million downloads on Android and iOS, and today they’ve finally gone live for owners of WP8 devices too. The free app comes with CoPilot’s own, slightly different approach to laying out navigation info and options on a small screen, plus an offline map for the country of your choice, but you’ll have to scroll through directions manually. For the full works, which are only free for 14 days, you’ll need to spend £17.99 (the equivalent of $28) on an in-app upgrade that brings voice guided turn-by-turn instructions, a year’s worth of live traffic flow info, 3D maps and a few other features. You’ll find more screenshots and a growing number of reviews over at the source link.

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Source: Windows Phone Store

Garmin’s 2013 nüvi sat nav line-up detailed on company’s website (updated)

Garmin's 2013 nüvi sat nav line-up detailed on company's website

Yep, more Garmin stuff we haven’t seen before. The website for the 2013 range of nüvi GPS sat navs is live, and there are a ton of new models in “Essential,” “Advanced” and “Prestige” categories. As you can probably guess, models in the Essential series are the most basic, with standard navigation features and 4.3- or 5-inch screens. The Advanced series has slightly more to offer, such as traffic alerts and “Garmin Real Directions,” which uses “easy-to-see buildings and landmarks” to guide you; there are a couple of 7-inch models in the Advanced series. The nüvi 3597LMTHD is the most feature-packed model, and the only one worthy of the Prestige label. It’s got a 5-inch display, Real Directions, “HD Digital Traffic,” free map updates forever and more goodies. The most basic model in the Essential line is listed at $120, while the 3597LMTHD is the most expensive, at $380. The full breakdown of every model can be found at the source link below.

Update: We’ve added some press pics, and the CES announcement PR can now be found after the break. It focuses mainly on the Prestige offering, but gives more detail on features which are also found on some of the cheaper models, too.

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Source: Garmin

Samsung announces Drive Link, a car-friendly app with MirrorLink integration

Samsung announces Drive Link, a car-friendly app with MirrorLink integration

Until self-driving cars become mainstream, it’s best to keep eyes on roads and hands off phones. With this in mind, Samsung’s debuting Drive Link, an app that balances in-car essentials with driver safety, complete with approval from the no-nonsense Japanese Automotive Manufacturers Association. It’s all about the bare essentials — navigation, hands-free calling and audiotainment from your phone-based files or TuneIn. Destinations can be pulled from S Calendar appointments or texts without trouble, and the text-to-speech feature means you won’t miss a message, email or social media update. The best bit is that via MirrorLink, all these goodies can be fed through compatible dash screens and speaker systems. Drive Link is available now through Sammy’s app store for Europeans sporting an international Galaxy S III, and will be coming to other ICS handsets “in the near future.”

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Samsung announces Drive Link, a car-friendly app with MirrorLink integration originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 05:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin GLO Portable GPS and GLONASS receiver hit the FCC, get torn down for good measure

Garmin GLO Portable GPS and GLONASS receiver hit the FCC, attempt to pinpoint their own location

Hasty, no? Merely hours after being announced to the world, Garmin’s GLO Portable GPS and GLONASS receiver have touched down in the FCC’s database. Per usual, that’s a fairly solid indicator that the devices will be available for sale on US shores within a few weeks, and if you’re curious, there’s even a draft user guide tucked in the source link below. Truth be told, there’s not a ton here that wasn’t already made public — it’s obviously “Made for iPod / iPhone / iPad,” and Garmin asserts that the included battery will take three hours to charge but 12 hours to deplete. The manual also asserts that Android users “may need to use an application to allow the sensor to properly communication over Bluetooth,” and just in case you’re thinking of getting wet and wild, the outer casing is said to be “rugged, but not water-resistant.” For shame — we were totally looking forward to geotagging our next romp down the Gauley.

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Garmin GLO Portable GPS and GLONASS receiver hit the FCC, get torn down for good measure originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Jul 2012 07:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin GLO Portable GPS and GLONASS receiver: location refresh rate 10 times faster than typical GPS

Garmin GLO Portable GPS and GLONASS receiver location refresh rate 10 times faster than typical GPSMaps. Everyone loves ’em. But while plenty of companies are showing off some very fancy map updates, we’re still being left somewhere, staring at tall buildings, waiting for our location to update and lead the way. Garmin reckons it’s solved the problem with its first GPS and GLONASS-compatible receiver, which can connect to both iOS and Android devices. Initial lock-on times are apparently 20 percent faster than typical GPS, while GLONASS’ additional 24 satellites will make faring through canyons and urban sprawls less of a struggle for signal pick-up. Garmin has also upped its position refresh rate to 10 times per second: typical GPS receivers will update just once every second. It connects to devices through Bluetooth and will offer a 12-hour navigation boost on a single charge.

If you’re a pilot, there’s even a GLO for Aviation package, which throws in a mount, power cable and six-month trial for its Pilot navi app. The standard receiver will launch in August, priced at $99, while those with wings can skip the queue and nab their version now for $139.

Continue reading Garmin GLO Portable GPS and GLONASS receiver: location refresh rate 10 times faster than typical GPS

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Garmin GLO Portable GPS and GLONASS receiver: location refresh rate 10 times faster than typical GPS originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jul 2012 01:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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