Mar 19

Marvell pitches $99 Moby Tablet as textbook alternative

Posted in: 1080p, Android, bluetooth, e reader, e-book, e-books, e-readers, education, flash, gps, tablet, tablet pc, TabletPc, Today's Chili, wifi, Windows Mobile, WindowsMobile

When chipmaker Marvell told us its technology would power $99 smartphones, we took the company at its word. We weren’t expecting a sub-$100, 10-inch tablet PC, however — and we definitely weren’t expecting Marvell itself to build it. Marketed at students looking to lighten their textbook load, the Marvell Moby will be an “always-on, high performance multimedia tablet” capable of full Flash support and 1080p HD playback — thanks to those nifty Armada 600 series processors — and supporting WiFi, Bluetooth, FM radio, GPS and both Android and Windows Mobile platforms for maximum flexibility. No release date has yet been announced; like the OLPC, Marvell will introduce the Moby in pilot programs at participating at-risk schools. While it’s far too early to say if the Moby will be the universal educational e-reader Marvell hopes (that depends on software), it’s certainly an intriguing device for the price, and we’ll admit we’re a touch jealous of those kids who’ll first get to try one.

Marvell pitches $99 Moby Tablet as textbook alternative originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink ARMdevices.net  |  sourceMarvell, Technologizer  | Email this | Comments

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Mar 18

AnyDATA to preview new embedded 2G, 3G wireless modules at CTIA

Posted in: cdma, ctia, gps, Today's Chili

It looks like Novatel isn’t the only outfit that’s figured out something useful to do with Qualcom’s Wearable Mobile Device module designs. In advance of CTIA 2010 the kids at AnyDATA have announced the new DTW line of embedded 2G and 3G wireless modules. At 21 x 22 x 4.5mm they’re smaller than a quarter, which means that your dream of having a wireless quarter might someday be realized! (But not a wireless Susan B. Anthony Dollar — that would be crazy.) All modules in the line include GPSs and accelerometers, and at least two of ’em — the DTW-200 (CDMA 1X) and DTW-500 (3G EVDO Rev A) modules — feature A-GPS as well. Check out the PR after the break for all the details juicy details — you know, except price and availability. Apparently those are still TBA.

Continue reading AnyDATA to preview new embedded 2G, 3G wireless modules at CTIA

AnyDATA to preview new embedded 2G, 3G wireless modules at CTIA originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 18

Texas Car Salesman Disables 100+ Cars, Gets Arrested

Posted in: gps, security, Today's Chili

Tow_Truck_Wikimedia.jpg

Police in Austin, Texas have arrested 20-year-old Omar Ramos-Lopez on the belief he remotely disabled over 100 vehicles sold through his former car dealership, according to Tom’s Guide.
Texas Auto Center apparently uses a Web-based vehicle immobilization system to remind customers late on their car payments that they’re delinquent. The dealership installs a small black box under the dashboard that communicates with a central Web site, the report said.
Ramos-Lopez is believed to have broken into the system via another employee’s account and disabled over 100 cars after being laid off. He also set many of the cars to honk their horns repeatedly. Many owners became stranded, or woken up late at night by the car horn and being forced to disconnect the battery.
Police tracked Ramos-Lopez to his home via his AT&T internet service IP address, according to the report. And here we thought car dealers were a shady bunch to begin with. (Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)
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Mar 17

Navigon chops MobileNavigator into three regions, pick any one for $30

Posted in: app, gps, maps, nav, navigation, Today's Chili

Even as the rise of free navigation apps gives most paid competitors pause (if not killing them outright), Navigon has managed to stay well ahead of the pack with a robust, oft-updated smartphone solution, despite charging over $80 for the privilege. But now, even that last bit can change. For $30, Navigon’s MyRegion gives you its premium MobileNavigator software at around one-third the price, with the simple caveat that you only get maps for one-third of the US (East, West or Central) to go with it. Should you drive out of your designated zone, Navigon will generously allow you to buy another chunk a la carte for $15; and all of Navigon’s other add-ons, including the new MyRoutes feature (customized route recommendations and alternate routes) are similarly available. It’s not quite as delectable as gratis, but we have to admit a certain admiration for Navigon turning software investment into impulse buy. Oh, and speaking of impulsive: Navigon’s offering MyRegion for the low, low price of $25 through April 12th.

Navigon chops MobileNavigator into three regions, pick any one for $30 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TUAW  |  sourceBusinessWire  | Email this | Comments

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Mar 13

TomTom iPhone app hits 1.3, gains real-time traffic and Google local search

Posted in: app, Apple, AppStore, Google, gps, iPhone, IphoneApp, nav, navigation, Software, Today's Chili, tomtom, update

Here lately, Navigon has been crushing it on the iPhone GPS front. Every couple of weeks, it seems that MobileNavigator is getting yet another fantastic update, all while TomTom’s lackluster offering hangs back in the land of complacency. Thankfully for us all, the outfit has just pushed out the v1.3 update, which adds real-time traffic (an unfortunate $19.99 add-on), Google local search, updated roadways, automatic music fading between text-to-speech instructions and the ability to add locations from other apps and websites. We’d still recommend Navigon’s software if you’re looking to buy into iPhone GPS for the first time, but this is certainly a boon for those already locked into the TomTom alternative.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

TomTom iPhone app hits 1.3, gains real-time traffic and Google local search originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 12

Just Mobile Releases Three Gadgets for iPhone and iPod touch Users

Posted in: charger, Gadgets, gps, ipod, ipod touch, portable, Today's Chili
JustMobile.jpg

Gotta love the gadgets. German company Just Mobile has released three accessories sure to be useful to the iPod touch or iPhone user on the go.

  • The Lounge (left) gives your iPhone 3GS or 3G a place to recline, whether on your desktop or on a dashboard, so you can easily view the screen. Its main use is with GPS applications, but it’s also handy when you want to watch a video. It lists for $49.99.
  • The Xtand Go (middle) is also a GPS companion, but this offers a window mount. It can hold an iPhone, other smartphones, or even other GPS devices firmly in place. Devices can be positioned vertically or horizontally on windshields or dashboards. It lists for $39.99.
  • The Gum Plus (right; I don’t know what’s up with that name either) is an external battery for those times when you need a little more power. Use it with iPhones, iPods, or other smartphones or USB devices. You can get one for $69.99.
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Mar 12

Vodafone’s Wayfinder is first victim of free smartphone navigation services

Posted in: gps, maps, navigation, Smartphones, Software, Today's Chili, vodafone

Back in January 2009, as Vodafone was preparing to close a £20 million ($30 million) deal to buy Swedish mapmaker Wayfinder, it was seen as a bold move from a carrier intent on entering the apparently lucrative market for location based services. Fast forward to the present day — past the bit where free Google Maps Navigation destroyed TomTom and Garmin share prices, and past the introduction of free turn-by-turn navigation to Nokia’s Ovi Maps — and you’ll find Wayfinder gently sobbing into a handkerchief as it permanently closes up its doors. Vodafone’s Anna Cloke gives us the reason for it with devastating concision:

“We could not charge for something that others gave away for free.”

So there we have it, the paid navigation services deathwatch has its first fatality, and it’s the unfortunate nature of the beast that plenty of others will be following suit, unable to resist the destructive effects of the free and ubiquitous services now on offer.

[Thanks, Chris]

Vodafone’s Wayfinder is first victim of free smartphone navigation services originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 05

Motorola GPS Gets Data The Old-School Way – Via Voice Call

Posted in: gps, motorola, Today's Chili

oldmodem.jpg

Whoooo-eee! Whoooo-eee! Brgrgrgrgrgrggrgrgrgrgrgrrrr … Geeks of a certain age know the sounds of an acoustic, land-line modem. My first modem was the Atari 830 – a 300-baud device with big rubber cups that you slammed your rotary phone receiver down into once you’d manually dialed the right phone number. You then had to be quiet while accessing The Wizard’s Palace BBS, or your own ambient room noise would create line noise in the modem.
Data transmission via voice calls had its day with cell phones too, thanks to a protocol called CSD, or circuit-switched data. Back in the ’90s, I would connect CSD calls at 9600 baud to grab my e-mail with Eudora. Because CSD uses voice calls, it takes from your bucket of minutes, not from any Internet data plan. It’s just slow. CSD use pretty much died out with the introduction of much faster systems like EDGE and 3G.
I was amused and a little bit thrilled to find that Motorola’s new personal navigation devices, the TN700 series, use a form of data-over-voice to make Google searches and get Internet information. This isn’t old-school CSD, though, and you can’t make whee-ooo noises into your cell phone to confuse it. It’s a proprietary protocol developed by a company called Airbiquity with a very low transfer speed, only 800 baud. That’s lower than good ol’ CSD. But Airbiquity’s aqLink works on a range of different networks with different voice codecs, and it doesn’t require any involvement from the wireless carrier.
Airbiquity’s solution leverages one of the strange imbalances in cell-phone plans today – most people have a lot more voice minutes than they ever use, but carriers are ratcheting up data prices. Much like SMS-based info services (such as texting GOOGL to search), this is a neat way to get info over your cell while saving money.
Photo from the excellent Atari 800 article on oldcomputers.net
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Mar 03

Nokia, Alpine Bring Ovi Maps to In-Car Navigation

Posted in: gps, navigation, nokia, Smartphones, Today's Chili

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Automotive electronics manufacturer Alpine has teamed up with Nokia and NAVTEQ to integrate Nokia Ovi services with in-car infotainment systems.
Silly buzzwords aside, ‘Terminal Mode’ (whoops, there’s goes another one) will integrate smartphones running Nokia Ovi Maps with in-car electronics. The goal is to bring widget-based services like navigation, music playback, weather reports, and application stores to the car, in addition to the usual hands-free calls.
Once connected, the phone’s various services will appear on a larger, high-resolution Alpine LCD in the car, and play back through the car’s stereo system. It will also monitor fuel levels, engine status, GPS location, and more for location-based services, and could potentially hook into safety features as well. No word yet on a release date for any of this.
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Mar 03

Nokia and Alpine integrating handsets into cars, bringing Ovi Maps to your dashboard

Posted in: breaking news, BreakingNews, car, gps, maps, navigation, nokia, Today's Chili

What’s the one biggest hurdle to throwing out your dedicated GPS nav unit and going ahead with the free turn-by-turn navigation offered by your smartphone? If your answer was that most phones don’t have the great big screens or easy installation systems of some satnav devices, look out, because Nokia’s about to shake up your world all over again. Alpine has just announced its partnership with the Finnish giant aimed at integrating Nokia handsets — complete with free Ovi Maps navigation — into car dashboard systems. Yes, that means you can use your superb six-amp speaker system to boom out music or voice nav instructions from the phone, as well as your in-dash 7-inch LCD for showing you the right way home. There’s further interaction with widgets keeping an eye on your fuel levels and engine condition, leading to location-based services such as the phone notifying you of the nearest and cheapest petrol station. Connectivity is done over either USB or Bluetooth, and Nokia promises that this Terminal Mode will be showing up in its phones in the very near future. The sooner the better, we say.

Nokia and Alpine integrating handsets into cars, bringing Ovi Maps to your dashboard originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAlpine  | Email this | Comments

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