GPS Angel Protects You from Speed Traps

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Finally, a GPS device that does what the others don’t: It warns drivers about red light cameras and speed traps. Unlike a radar detector, this is completely legal.

The GPS Angel sits on your dashboard and monitors your car’s position via GPS. When you approach an area it knows contains a red light camera or speed camera, it gives off a warning. You can update the stored locations anytime by connecting it to your computer and downloading current information from the Web site.

With a SiRF Star III GPS chip inside, it should be just as reliable as any GPS navigation system. It even lets you create your own alert areas for places where you know there’s a problem. The $129 list price is a little high, but so is the cost of a ticket.

Nokia E71 and E66 owners get free Ovi Maps navigation

Nokia’s new Ovi Maps software just made its way to the venerable E71 and E66 business handsets. While Nokia was constrained from offering its premium nav services like Guide Michelin and Lonely Planet on these legacy S60 3.1 handsets, owners are nevertheless being treated to free walk and drive navigation with turn-by-turn guidance. So really, you can’t complain… unless of course you picked up a US-flavored E71x which isn’t eligible for the free update. Check the full press release after the break for download instructions and a list of compatible devices.

Continue reading Nokia E71 and E66 owners get free Ovi Maps navigation

Nokia E71 and E66 owners get free Ovi Maps navigation originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ICD’s Tegra 2-powered Gemini is the most feature-complete tablet we’ve seen yet

Built around the 1GHz Tegra 2 SOC, the 11.2-inch ICD Gemini should provide comparable endurance to Apple’s A4-sporting iPad, while besting it in the grunt stakes with its glorious ability to chew through 1080p video when required. If that wasn’t enough, the rest of this thing’s spec sheet reads like a wishlist. Headlined by a 3G connection that allows cellular voice calls (crazy, we know!), it also includes a user-replaceable 40Wh battery, an SD card reader, FM radio, GPS, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth, MicroUSB connectivity to PCs and USB peripherals, stereo speakers, and dual webcams — a 2 megapixel front-facing unit and a 5 megapixel autofocusing snapper on the back. Multitouch displays will be available in both resistive and capacitive flavors, with the 1,366 x 768 resolution being filled by Google’s snappy Android OS. Oh, and did we mention it will run Flash? Because it will. Full specs and a comparison to its direct competitors await after the break, though we’ve yet to find out when this JooJoo killer will be making its arrival or at what price.

Update: We’ve come across a couple of real (i.e. not rendered) pictures of an earlier prototype for the Gemini, which looks generic as hell but should give you a good idea of the dimensions and scale of the device in question. Yours after the break.

Continue reading ICD’s Tegra 2-powered Gemini is the most feature-complete tablet we’ve seen yet

ICD’s Tegra 2-powered Gemini is the most feature-complete tablet we’ve seen yet originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Apr 2010 02:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola’s Motonav TN765 navigator gets reviewed: a widescreen PND done right

Motorola doesn’t exactly have a huge foothold in the portable navigation market, but it’s not like the TomToms and Garmins of the world really need to keep on keepin’ on sans any legitimate competition. Originally revealed at CES (and once again at MWC), the Motonav TN765 is one of the most bizarrely designed GPS units we’ve ever seen, taking on a Philips 21:9 Cinema type of layout in order to provide an ultra-widescreen view that can’t easily be found elsewhere. Now, the 5.1-inch device is on sale in the US for around $270, and we’ve collected a number of reviews from those who’ve had the ability to whiz around town with one adhered to the windshield. For the most part, critics were duly impressed with the wide variety of features (Bluetooth handsfree calling, text-to-speech, voice dialing, auto map zooming and a litany of live data reports informing you of the local weather forecast, gas prices, etc.). Previously, Motorola’s PND efforts weren’t exactly lauded, but this guy’s different — most everyone found the robust feature set and stunning user interface to be more than satisfactory, with the main detraction being the intermittent MotoExtras service and dodgy reception in dense, urban areas. Hit up the links below before pulling the trigger (or switching on the safety, as it were).

Motorola’s Motonav TN765 navigator gets reviewed: a widescreen PND done right originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Apr 2010 11:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceT3, GPS Review, CNET  | Email this | Comments

The Wi-Fi iPad’s Dealbreaker: No GPS

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After several hours with an iPad today, the app I was most mesmerized with was Maps. One word: Wow.

When showing off the iPad to others, the Maps app consistently made people’s jaws drop (even more so than the Marvel Comics app, which I also find pretty magical), and rightly so. Never have I seen such a fast, intuitive piece of technology for geographical navigation. That’s exactly how mapping software should be: immediately responsive and easy to use to keep up with you on the road.

For that reason alone, to me the lack of GPS in the Wi-Fi iPad is a dealbreaker.

When writing Wired.com’s iPad buyer’s guide, I highlighted the 32-GB iPad 3G as our top pick, listing the inclusion of GPS as one of the key points. But now that I’ve spent a good deal of time with an iPad, I’m confident to say that that distinction alone should be enough to get you sold on the 3-G iPad, especially if you’re the type who travels or commutes, even if only occasionally.

You might think, “Just how would an iPad fit in as a navigator? It’s way bigger than most GPS devices.” That’s why it’d work. You’ll no longer have to pan all over the place and squint at a map to get a clear visualization of your route: It’s all nicely laid out in the map on the 9.7-inch display.

The fact it’s so easy to use is another big factor. Imagine going on a road trip and handing the iPad to a person in the passenger seat and asking him or her to look up directions. I’m willing to bet that even without ever using an iPad, any passenger will be able to launch the Maps app and look up directions within a few seconds.

The Street View mode is even more impressive. Tap the marker of a location and it immediately zooms in and shows a panoramic view (as pictured above), which you can rotate 360 degrees, giving you a visual of your destination.

Speed, ease of use and comprehensiveness: These elements add up to the convenience we’ve always wanted from a GPS device that no one has delivered until now. Today I bought the Wi-Fi iPad for the Wired office — but for me personally, I can wait for the 3-G iPad, which comes out late April.

See Also:

Photo: Brian X. Chen/Wired


GPS pioneer Roger L. Easton inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame

Well, it looks like it’s the season for pioneering inventors to be honored, with Chuck Thacker’s recent Turing Award win now followed up by Roger L. Easton’s induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Pictured at left above, Easton started working at the Naval Research Laboratory in 1943, and later helped develop MINITRACK, the very first satellite tracking system, which in turn led to the concept Easton dubbed TIMATION (short for “time navigation”). That was used to aid in the launch of four experimental satellites over the course of the 1960s and 1970s, the last of which was the first satellite to fly in the GPS 12-hour orbit and the first transmit GPS signals. In fact, the relativistic offset correction Easton applied to that satellite is still used by every GPS satellite now in orbit, and it also helped to experimentally verify Einstein’s theory of relativity for good measure. Easton didn’t call it quits when he left the lab, however, and eventually served two terms in the New Hampshire State Assembly, and even ran for Governor in 1986.

GPS pioneer Roger L. Easton inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dont Get Lost, Says Mio GPS

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Remember that Mio Knight Rider GPS from last year? The one that featured the real voice of KITT and that attracted a lot attention before completely disappearing due to lack of interest? Well, Mio is back with a more timely tie-in: a Lost-branded navigator.

The Mio Lost will offer a 4.3-inch screen, a 10 million points-of-interest database, voice commands, and Bluetooth connectivity. It’s the Lost special features, though, that will attract the most attention. For starters, you can have your favorite character read your directions (as long as your favorite character is either Jack, Kate, Sawyer, or Locke). Can’t believe they didn’t include Ben.

After that, the Lost GPS seems mostly targeted to super-fans. Enter a certain string of mysterious numbers (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42) into the map coordinates section to open the time travel mode, where the screen will occasionally flash white while navigating and then guide you to an entirely different destination. Apparently the name is accurate: this is one GPS that can truly get you lost.
[Note: Yes, this was an April Fools’ jest. Guyang Chen made the amazing graphic.]

TomTom rolls out Start 2, XL IQ Routes edition 2 nav units for the UK

TomTom’s already announced some new lifetime map and traffic options for its navigation units in the US today, and it’s now followed that up with a pair of new nav units in the UK. That includes the 3.5-inch Start 2 (pictured after the break) and 4.3-inch XL IQ Routes edition 2 (above), both of which support TomTom’s IQ Routes technology, along with RDS-TMC traffic data, and the usual features like spoken street names and advanced lane guidance. The Start 2 model also mixes things up a bit with some interchangeable StartSkins covers, which are sold separately for £14.99 (or $22) apiece. Look for both to be available next month, with the Start 2 running £119 (or $180) and the XL IQ Routes edition 2 setting you back £139 in the UK and Ireland and £159 in Western Europe ($210 and $240, respectively).

Continue reading TomTom rolls out Start 2, XL IQ Routes edition 2 nav units for the UK

TomTom rolls out Start 2, XL IQ Routes edition 2 nav units for the UK originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceTomTom XL IQ Routes edition 2, TomTom Start 2  | Email this | Comments

MapQuest iPhone gets free voice navigation; TomTom lifetime map and traffic PNDs now available (update: Navigon MobileNavigator 1.5 too)


Chalk up another two wins for cheap consumer GPS. Like Google Maps Navigation before it, the MapQuest 4 Mobile iPhone app has just now added gratis turn-by-turn voice directions… and ahead of schedule, TomTom has begun bundling its new 2010 Personal Navigation Devices, including the XL 340S and the XXL 540S — with lifetime traffic and maps subscriptions. The latter are now available on Amazon for a $30-per-lifetime-subscription premium in a variety of increasingly feature-filled flavors, with helpful T (traffic), M (maps) and TM (traffic and maps) suffixes so you know which TomTom is which. If you prefer buying from brick and mortar, TomTom expects retail availability beginning in April. Full list of supported TomTom models and expected MSRP after the break.

Update: The 1.5.0 iPhone update to MobileNavigator from Navigon that includes MyRoutes, Facebook and Twitter integration, and Panorama View 3D is finally up on iTunes as well.

Continue reading MapQuest iPhone gets free voice navigation; TomTom lifetime map and traffic PNDs now available (update: Navigon MobileNavigator 1.5 too)

MapQuest iPhone gets free voice navigation; TomTom lifetime map and traffic PNDs now available (update: Navigon MobileNavigator 1.5 too) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 02:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceTomTom (Business Wire), MapQuest  | Email this | Comments

Garmin’s Forerunner 110 GPS watch handles just the basics, please

Garmin has managed to do GPS watches right with its long-standing Forerunner line, but the vast majority of ’em have been useful only to nerds who aren’t deterred by lengthy setup procedures. The new Forerunner 110, however, changes all that. Designed to provide just the basics to runners and other fitness freaks, this SiRFstarIV-infused timepiece provides near-instant access to distance, pace and time “within seconds of stepping outside.” Marketed as an entry-level solution for those who don’t need added complexity in their life, it can also be used in conjunction with heart rate monitors to display current thumps per second and heart rate-based calorie computation, both of which can be logged once you sync it to your PC via USB. The inbuilt battery will last up to eight hours in GPS / training mode or three weeks in power-save mode, and while there’s no mention of a price, we are told that it’ll be available in black / gray, charcoal / red and gray / pink color combinations. Good luck choosing the most badical one.

Update: Looks like it’s on sale now directly through Garmin for $250. Thanks, Dara!

Garmin’s Forerunner 110 GPS watch handles just the basics, please originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceGarmin  | Email this | Comments