TomTom rolls out Go Live 1000 series navigation units

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We got an early look at TomTom’s Go Live 1000 navigation unit back in April, and it looks like you’ll soon finally be able to get your hands on it as well — if you’re in Europe, that is. The company’s just announced that the 4.3-inch GPS will be available this month, and will soon be followed by the Go Live 1005 in October, which adds a larger 5-inch screen. One of the big selling points here is that both screens are of the capacitive variety (complete with TomTom’s so-called “Fluid Touch”), and you’ll also get a nifty new magnetic windshield mount that lets you easily remove the device when you leave the car. Otherwise, you can expect to get a year of free “HD Traffic” information with each, along with TomTom Weather, IQ Routes, and Local Search with Google, among some other standard fare. Still no word on a release over here, but you can look for the 1000 and 1005 to run £250 and £300, respectively, in the UK (or roughly $385 and $460).

TomTom rolls out Go Live 1000 series navigation units originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 09:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nike+ App Ditches Dongle, Gains GPS

Remember the Nike+ run-tracking dongle for fitness nerds? Well, remembering it is pretty much all you’ll have to do from now on, as it just became obsolete: Nike has all but replaced it with software.

Available now in the App Store, the big change in Nike+ GPS is right there in its name. The new app uses the GPS radio in compatible iDevices to track your runs and plot them on a map, and also uses the accelerometer in the iPhone to record your pace. Because it uses the accelerometer to track your steps, it also works with the iPod Touch, although no maps will be displayed as you run. You could even use it on the iPad, although you’d look pretty stupid.

One of the best parts of the whole Nike+ setup is the online tracking of your progress, and that now comes to the local app, letting you browse previous runs and then also sharing them with the existing Nike+ site. In fact, the only possible reason you might still spend $29 on the Nike+ shoe-dongle is to use it with the iPod Nano (the new, squared-off Nano still works with the Nike+, despite being shorn of many other functionalities).

The price for this software-only solution? Just $2. I suggest you take the $27 you just saved and spend it on beer and burgers. You earned it.

Nike+ GPS [iTunes]

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Samsung’s Orion is the 1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 we’ve all been waiting for

We still consider Samsung’s Hummingbird application processor to be among the very best for mobile computers, but this morning Sammy itself is stepping up the charge to make it look real old real fast. The freshly announced dual-core Orion promises to whip us all into a frenzy of geek lust with “5 times the 3D graphics performance over the previous processor generation from Samsung,” 1080p video encoding and decoding at 30fps, embedded GPS, a native triple display controller, and on-chip HDMI 1.3a interface. Those last two bits mean you can drive two displays on your mobile device while feeding a third, such as a HDTV, all thanks to the one all-powerful chip inside. Availability for “select customers” is coming late this year, with mass production set for the first half of 2011. To say we’re looking forward to it would be a massive understatement.

Continue reading Samsung’s Orion is the 1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 we’ve all been waiting for

Samsung’s Orion is the 1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 we’ve all been waiting for originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin’s nuLink! 1695 attracts high-end GPS buyers, nuvi 2200 and 2300 mop up the rest

Looks like Garmin’s cellular nüLink! service was something of a success — it’s now become the brand of the company’s new top-tier GPS. The Garmin nüLink! 1695 replaces the nüvi 1690 with a model nigh-identical on the outside but for a larger, 5-inch touchscreen, but imbued with the traffic trending features of the 3700 series — in other words, pretty much just what we expected. Unfortunately for spendthrifts lusting after its connected search functions (including traffic, weather, Google, fuel prices, flight times and more) and new integrated services store, the price is about what we expected as well, starting at $450 for the unit with a year of nüLink data and $5 a month thereafter. However, if that’s out of your price range Garmin’s not going to let you go without a fight — it’s also introduced no fewer than eleven new nüvi 2200 and 2300 series PNDs with a wide variety of features at nearly every wallet size. Press releases after the break, and find the full lineup at our source link.

Continue reading Garmin’s nuLink! 1695 attracts high-end GPS buyers, nuvi 2200 and 2300 mop up the rest

Garmin’s nuLink! 1695 attracts high-end GPS buyers, nuvi 2200 and 2300 mop up the rest originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rydeen hopes to cash in on tablet fever with Android-based, Armada-powered PND

You may never have heard of auto electronics provider Rydeen Mobile, but it certainly knows of you — or more specifically, your desire to obtain a slick new tablet PC — and has thus created an 7-inch Android tablet that integrates the dedicated map functionality of its GPS machines. The “gPad” GCOM701 won’t be a terribly high-end device, mind you, with an 800MHz ARMADA 166 SOC, 256MB of RAM, bring-your-own-microSD-storage and what we’re led to believe is a resistive touchscreen, but it sounds like at least Rydeen isn’t being stingy on the software front. You’ll find a full suite of Google Apps, Adobe Flash Lite 4 and AVI support, not to mention 4 million points of interest thanks to the integrated Navteq client. Connectivity include GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, both mini and full-sized USB ports, plus a front-facing camera for video chat, and there’s a 2400mAh battery the company claims will provide six hours of solid use. Find it this November at an unspecified price, no doubt alongside the pictured (but not mentioned) car dock.

Continue reading Rydeen hopes to cash in on tablet fever with Android-based, Armada-powered PND

Rydeen hopes to cash in on tablet fever with Android-based, Armada-powered PND originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Philips GoGear Connect is a legitimate Android-based iPod touch competitor (updated)

For all its success, the iPod touch has few dedicated media player competitors capable of matching its big-touchscreen, WiFi, and voluminous App Store. Until today. Philips just went official with its GoGear Connect featuring the full suite of Google Mobile applications pre-installed with access to the Android Market for pretty much everything else. Spec-wize we’re looking at a 3.2-inch display, WiFi, sound isolating earphones, built-in camera, and microSD slot. Sorry, no mention of the Android OS version though we’ve seen it listed at retailers with 2.1. Syncing your music is done over Bluetooth or a USB tether to your PC with Philips’ Songbird providing the software assist. The MP4 player also supports Maps and location-based services — presumably accomplished with the help of Skyhook and not via a GPS radio (though the Philips post is tagged “GPS”). Look for the GoGear Connect to land in Western Europe, China, and yes, the US, starting in late October with the price pegged at €249 (about $315) for the 16GB model.

Update: Philips got back to us with additional specs: on-board GPS and compass; 480 x 320 pixel LCD display; and support for .mp3, .wma, .m4a (AAC), .ogg, and .flac audio; .wmv, .mp4 (MPEG4 and H264 up to 720p), .avi (MPEG4 up to 720p) video; and JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF images. Oh, and it’s definitely Andriod 2.1.

Philips GoGear Connect is a legitimate Android-based iPod touch competitor (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How to Stop the Government From Tracking Your Location (Illegally!) [How To]

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals just decided that it was legal for the police to put a GPS tracking device on your car, sitting in your driveway, on your property. Here’s how to protect yourself. More »

Engadget’s back to school guide: Fun stuff!

Welcome to Engadget’s Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we’re here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. On the menu today are a handful of fun yet practical gadgets, but feel free to check out our Back to School hub for more recommendations in other categories.

It’s a tough road ahead for aspiring students like yourself (yes, you!), but that doesn’t mean one should abstain from any form of entertainment throughout the course. If anything, you’ll be needing a few fun gadgets from our Back to School guide to impress your schoolmates — it’s not like your Facebook page will be automagically adding friends any time soon. But as the old saying goes, “work hard, play hard,” so we’ve also thrown in a few picks that’ll aid your study. When you’re ready, click along for our latest list of awesomeness.

Continue reading Engadget’s back to school guide: Fun stuff!

Engadget’s back to school guide: Fun stuff! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin recalls 1.25 million navigation units due to potential fire hazard

GPS recalls haven’t been nearly as common as some other battery-related recalls in recent years, but Garmin has now been hit with a fairly big one — it’s voluntarily recalling some 1.25 million nuvi units due to an overheating issue that could pose a fire hazard. The recall affects certain nuvi 200W, 250W, 260W, and 7xx models that use batteries from an unnamed third-party supplier and a specific PCB design, which Garmin says can “in rare circumstances, increase the possibility of overheating.” While there’s still been no reports of significant damage or injuries, Garmin is nonetheless advising anyone with an affected unit to stop using it immediately and return it for service — hit up the link below to check if your nuvi is included in the recall.

Garmin recalls 1.25 million navigation units due to potential fire hazard originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab gets official teaser video

Whoa, now we’re talking. It’s short, sweet, and dramatic, yet the official Samsung Galaxy Tab teaser video still manages to reveal a number of features previously only rumored. We’ve got Android 2.2 running on a 7-inch display, video calling, Swype, HD movie playback, “Flash support,” GPS navigation, an e-reader, and plenty more. Now get ready to be teased mercilessly by the video embedded after the break — it’s as close as you’ll get before the official reveal in Berlin (at IFA) on September 2nd. Yeah, we’ll be there.

Update: here’s a few other things we’ve noticed from the trailer. In addition to the aforementioned details, the floating text also references augmented reality and video calling (perhaps indicating a front-facing camera as well). Speaking of cameras, you’ll notice in one shot what appears to be a LED flash bulb next to the camera. Must we really wait another 9 or so days?

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab gets official teaser video

Samsung Galaxy Tab gets official teaser video originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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