Hasta La Gadget!

TeleNav has already launched its subscription turn-by-turn navigation service for the G1, so it stands to reason that official myTouch 3G support would be close behind — and sure enough, the company has announced that its GPS Navigator app will be available for download to T-Mobile’s second Android device starting tomorrow, August 5. The app features all of the goodies that TeleNav users have come to know and love, including traffic and incident monitoring with automatic rerouting, gas prices, business information, and a choice between 2D and 3D maps; additionally, you’ve got automatic day / night coloration, carpool lane and tollroad avoidance, and speech recognition for destination input — a big plus when you’re on the road and you need to keep distractions to a minimum.

We’ve been playing with a cut of GPS Navigator on our myTouch recently, and it delivers a totally usable car navigation experience — a perfect complement to the comprehensive pedestrian capabilities of Google Maps. Most of the warnings from our G1-based review of the application carry over here — you need true GPS reception, not merely cellular triangulation, so your phone will need a view of the sky to have a shot at picking up satellites (this also means that getting a location lock is a more time-consuming process, though it typically didn’t take longer than a few seconds to do its thing). We’re not digging how the colored lines that convey traffic information on highways flash; we’d rather they just stayed a solid color, the way most GPS systems handle it. We also found that the menus are a little wonky — bringing your finger in contact with a menu item and swiping up or down to scroll would occasionally trigger the first item you touched, which ends up being a fairly annoying bug in practice. All told, though, if you can justify the expense, your $10 a month is going to net you a genuinely reasonable way to consolidate all of your help-me-I’m-lost needs — whether by foot or by car — into a single device.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Transportation

TeleNav GPS Navigator comes to T-Mobile’s myTouch 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s comes a time in every technology’s life when the envelope gets pushed just for the sake of getting pushed. For Audi’s already complex MMI, this is it. Right around this time last year, we were drooling quite profusely over the A8’s next-generation Multi Media Interface (which is basically a snazzy name for an in-dash NAV system), but this year, we’re wondering who exactly will take advantage of the R8’s next system. Aside from getting a much needed UI makeover, Autobild is reporting that said platform will include support for handwriting recognition. So far as we can tell, you simply pencil in your next address with your greasy digits and tag the correct word that pops up there on the right. We’re still waiting to hear why this is preferred over a decent voice recognition system, but hey, so long as James Bond approves, who are we to argue?

[Via German Car Blog]

Filed under: Transportation

Audi’s next-gen R8 MMI recognizes handwriting, probably increases your insurance premium originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And a tiny ray of light shines from Verizon’s cold, cold heart: the famously restrictive carrier has issued a software update for its Samsung Omnia SCH-i910 smartphone that unlocks the GPS radio.

That means subscribers can install third-party applications–either free or paid–that make use of GPS, and are no longer forced to pay $10 per month for VZ Navigator for location-based services. It’s a little later than a company rep had previously announced in Verizon’s support forum, but better late than never, right?

Of course, VZ Navigator still works on the Omnia. It’s a solid app for voice-enabled, turn-by-turn directions. But this latest software update for the Omnia lets subscribers install apps like Google Maps for Mobile or Windows Live Search and hook into the GPS radio, in the same manner that someone on Sprint, AT&T, or T-Mobile could already do with the Omnia and other smartphones.

If you’ve got a CDMA-based Omnia on Verizon, head to Samsung’s site to grab the CF03 update.

It’s no secret that some of our US editors have been feeling a bit of tech-envy toward our cousins from the far East, who consider 7-inch PNDs commonplace. Doing nothing to allay those emotions, Hyundai has announced the Provia A7+, which is — you guessed it — a 7-inch GPS-slash-PMP soon to be available in South Korea. The device comes with an integrated TV tuner (DMB), 800 x 480 resolution, video and audio playback, Navi-in-Picture functionality, and USB and SD connectivity to expand its abilities to match your imagination. If this thing’s routing abilities are even half decent, it should sell like hot cakes in the middle of a particularly cold winter.

[Via Navigadget]

Filed under: GPS

Hyundai Provia A7+ GPS unit adds multimedia playback, looks irresistible originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Say hello to your latest personal navigation device: a netbook. Dell plans to introduce a GPS and Wi-Fi card that can be integrated into the company’s netbooks to turn them into gizmos that can offer turn-by-turn direction as well as any Garmin or TomTom.

“Smartphones already have GPS capabilities,” says Alan Sicher, senior wireless product manager at Dell. “We are now bringning it to netbooks so the devices know where you are and can help you where you want to go.”

Customers will have the option to buy the $69 card called the Wireless 700 when ordering their Dell Mini 10 netbook.

Dell’s move comes at a time when navigation devices makers are looking beyond the traditional standalone GPS gadget and are offering their software on other devices.  Last month, TomTom announced that its turn-by-turn directions app would be available on the iPhone. TomTom will also offer accessories such as a car mounting dock and power charger. Meanwhile, Dell is hoping to capitalize on the explosive sales of netbooks.

Dell netbooks with the integrated GPS cards will allow consumers to pop open a netbook and get directions and also also make their netbook location aware. For instance, buyers can geo-tag photos on Flickr or check weather information customized to their current location. The Wireless 700 card combines Broadcom’s GPS technology and Skyhook Wireless’ Wi-Fi positioning solutions.

As for the navigation software, it offers 2D and 3D map views, save addresses for a trip and route optimization– pretty much all the things that a standard GPS devices does.

Netbooks are petite devices still it is difficult to imagine consumers carrying it around as a GPS navigation device or using it their car to find their way around–especially when smaller-sized cellphones could do the job.

Sicher says Dell’s GPS-capable netbooks will come in handy for international travelers. “If you are traveling to Europe romaing costs can be pretty pricey for your cellphone,” he says.

The GPS netbooks could also be handy in areas where cellphone coverage is weak, says Sicher. But there’s fine print to the turn-by-turn directions navigation software on the netbook. Though it will be free for buyers of the card and the netbook, the maps will be updated yearly and customers could be charged for the updates.

Dell plans to offer accessories such as car charger and a dock for the netbooks but they will be available later this month. The GPS cards will be available starting July 7.

See Also:

• Dell Mini 10 Netbook Review
  
• Dell Goes in for Plastic Surgery
• Dell’s Adamo Imitates MacBook Air’s Price, Not Its Profile
  
• Dell Introduces Rugged Netbook for Kids

Photo: (watchcaddy/Flickr)