CompeGPS Launch TwoNav Aventura

Spanish company CompeGPS were displaying the TwoNav Aventura at CeBIT this week. The device is a neat dual purpose On and Off Road navigator aimed at the outdoor user who wants a device that can also be used in-car.

With a 3.5" touch sensitive screen and IPX7 certification the TwoNav looks to be well thought out. The lower front panel also has hard buttons and a joystick for use outdoors where gloved hands don't interact well with touch screens. The 530MHz processor seemed to make easy work of rotating a topographical map and the 3000mAh battery should give it stamina in the field. As supplied it comes complete with 2GB SD Card, car cradle and 12v charge lead.

On-Road mapping comes courtesy of TeleAtlas and CompeGPS are trying to secure licences for topographical data in a number of European countries.

Guide price is €600, for more info see the www.twonav.com

Article by Darren Griffin on Wednesday, March 04 @ 15:49:32 GMT

Handheld Europe release Nautiz X5 a rugged PDA with GPS

Handheld Europe release Nautiz X5: a new ruggedised PDA with GPS at Cebit. Unlike the Getac announced earlier this week the Nautiz X5 features wireless with 3G GSM/UMTS capabilities so it is really a Smartphone. Looking at the specs it is more like a Smartphone on Steroids...

The Nautiz X5 has an 806MHz PXA320 processor with 256Mb ram. There is and additional 512Mb integrated flash memory which can be expanded further with MicroSD cards. The device is based on Windows Mobile 6.1 and has a 3.5" VGA resolution screen.

Connectivity includes: USB, Serial, Infrared, Bluetooth 2.0, Wireless 802.11b/g, SiRF III, 3G cellular. If that is not enough for you then the unit also includes a 3MP camera and a barcode reader.

The Nautiz X5 can withstand a drop of 6 feet and is sealed from particulate to IP6X and water to IPX5 standards... A tough all round device.

Click here to read more...

Article by Mike Barrett on Wednesday, March 04 @ 14:23:04 GMT

Carcomm Cradle for TomTom x40 Range Available Soon

Carcomm have told us today that their new cradle for the TomTom x40 range will be available in the next couple of weeks. As well as a TMC extension it also features a stereo audio out to connect to, for example, the car head unit.

They have also launched passive versions of their entire portfolio essentially doubling their product range.

Article by maft on Wednesday, March 04 @ 13:23:44 GMT

deCarta announce real-time two-way connected navigation service

deCarta have announced a real-time two-way European connected navigation solution for next-gen PND's and smartphones.

Available to OEMs, mobile network providers, handset manufacturers and consumer brands from the end of March 2009 the NavSearch API and CNAV Service will allow applications to provide optimised routes, make internet searches and send addresses.

In addition,CNAV offers dynamic real-time traffic content from ARC, Speed Camera data and a low cost data tariff from Jasper Wireless as well as deCarta local search via the NavSearch API.

www.decarta.com

Article by Darren Griffin on Wednesday, March 04 @ 13:19:08 GMT

Blaupunkt Display TravelPilot 510 with Road Sign Warnings

Blaupunkt have been displaying their new TravelPilot 510 device with road sign recognition. Running on iGO MyWay software the TravelPilot 510 has a camera built into the back that constantly monitors for road signs and your distance from the car in front. The current speed limit is displayed on the map as well as warnings for sharp turns and no overtaking. Another unique feature is the real life lane guidance which overlays arrows onto a live view of the road ahead.

Article by maft on Wednesday, March 04 @ 13:12:53 GMT

deCarta - Partner with Apello to provide navigation for LG handsets

deCarta have announced a partnership with Apello, supplier of Wisepilot, to install navigation and locals earch services on LG feature phones world-wide.

Under the agreement, deCarta will supply Apello's Wisepilot navigation application, built on deCarta's Drill Down Server (DDS) to LG. The application will be tailored for target markets with initial availability in 40 countries world-wide. A free 30-day trial will allow users to evaluate the off-board navigation service with 6mth and 12mth subscriptions available.

www.decarta.com

Article by Darren Griffin on Wednesday, March 04 @ 13:07:25 GMT

deCarta Launch a Fleet Management toolkit

deCarta are the name behind a lot of "white-label" navigation solutions providing the toolkits for a number of companies to build their navigation systems on top of. deCarta WLNA focuses on the enterprise market with functionality such as 2 way communication allowing tracking and resource management.

deCarta's WLNA Fleet is a complete navigation application which can be branded and personalised to the operator's needs. It is designed to meet two primary objectives. It allows OEMs, manufacturers, and fleet management operators to quickly develop a full-featured, customised turn-by-turn navigation application suitable for the enterprise environment. In addition, WLNA Fleet provides a messaging interface that integrates a messaging and dispatching platform with the navigation solution. Fleet operators can use existing dispatch systems to send pick-up and delivery locations to their drivers or communicate via text messages using an intuitive text based user interface. This provides fleet operators with the ability to quickly and clearly communicate with drivers resulting in more efficient and better routes.

Click here for the full deCarta press release...

Article by Mike Barrett on Wednesday, March 04 @ 13:06:26 GMT

Garmin Introduce nuvi 1200 and 1300 with Pedestrian Navigation

A selection of new devices (details below) have been launched by Garmin to make up the new nuvi 1200 and 1300 ranges. These are the first nuvi devices capable of using CityXplorer maps which allow for pedestrian navigation either by foot on on public transport. At the moment only "select tourist destinations in both North America and Europe" are covered by CityXplorer maps but as more devices offer this feature then map providers will no doubt extend the information. CityXplorer maps cost from $9.99 and $14.99 depending on the city. A list of the cities will be available around the time of release (2nd quarter 2009)

Main features of the two series are as follows:

The 1200 series:
- 3.5inch touch screen
- Text to speech
- Bluetooth (on selected models)
- TMC traffic (on selected models)

The 1300 series:
- 4.3inch touch screen
- Text to speech
- Bluetooth (on selected models)
- TMC traffic (on selected models)
- Lane assist (on selected models)
- Junction view [see realistic images of upcoming junctions] (on selected models)

Article by maft on Wednesday, March 04 @ 10:52:10 GMT

Navigon Launch three new devices in Europe

Following the announcement by Navigon USA of three new models on Monday, Navigon have launched the new models for the European market at CeBIT. The 7300, 43xx max (4310 and 4350) and 33xx max (3300 and 3310).

All offer MyRoutes, a new feature which adapts to your personal driving style, day of week and time of day. MyRoutes also calculates two additional alternative routes giving you a choice.

The 3300 has Reality View Light, the 3310 adds full Reality View, the 4310 gains TMC, the 4350 adds Text To Speech and Bluetooth Hands-Free and the 7300 adds Real Roadsign Pro, Voice Command, Panorama View and Landmark View.

Article by Darren Griffin on Wednesday, March 04 @ 10:43:17 GMT

Nav N Go Announce Igo Amigo

Nav N Go have launched a new navigation product, iGO Amigo. This is a separate product line to iGO MyWay and is aimed more for the technophobic userbase. The software is markedly easier to use and also shows of some nice graphical touches when moving between menu items. There will be a video later to show this.

Each menu page has a 'Demo' / help button that gives guidance on the features and options for that page and, true to form, iGO Amigo also features Nav N Go's impressive 3D mapping with buildings, POIs and terrain. All Amigo devices will be able to use the naviextras.com service for map updates, safety camera downloads etc. Amigo also makes it easier to access features such as quickly comparing alternative routes like shortest, fastest, easiest etc.

iGO Amigo devices will be available from March in Eastern Europe and April for Western Europe but we have no expected prices at the moment. A review will be forthcoming!

Article by maft on Tuesday, March 03 @ 16:00:46 GMT

CoPilot Live 8 'Due Out This Year'

There are no official dates but ALK have told us to expect CoPilot Live 8 sometime this year. Already a relatively mature product, ALK are till putting extra features and finishing touches to the software.

As well as an updated user-interface and 3d POIs on the map, version 8 also has more connected services such as live search, live weather, live fuel prices and live 'buddy tracking'. It might also feature the long awaited text to speech that was lacking from version 7...

ALK also confirmed that there will actually be no text to speech or live search in version 7 although some customised O2 versions will have live search. This was due to financial restrictions imposed by Microsoft.

Article by maft on Tuesday, March 03 @ 15:49:44 GMT

Sygic Launch Sygic Mobile 2009 (But not for iPhone yet...)

Slovakian navigation company, Sygic, have launched Sygic Mobile 2009 software for Windows Mobile, Smartphone and Symbian (touch screen & non-touch screen). With worldwide mapping available it comes on a pre-programmed SD card (with adaptors) and DVD.

Mapping is provided by TeleAtlas in most cases but with other companies for Eastern Europe and South America. The software can use accelerometers present in recent mobile phones to automatically switch between landscape and portrait modes. You can phone POIs from directly within the software as well as add your own custom POIs using the Sygic Converter (as McGuider users already do). The software also warns of speed cameras and railway crossings etc. PC software is included for updates and map management.

Sygic happily mentioned the iPhone version of Sygic Mobile 2009 but when questioned about Apple's AppStore limitations they refused to answer anything. They also said they were "working with Apple on this" - now, we need to remember that Sygic are Slovakian and that English is not their first language so as to whether they are actually 'working with Apple' or 'working around Apple's SDK to get into the AppStore' could make a world of difference. We have seen the software running on the iPhone and it does work well and we may be able to illicit some more information, however I'm not too hopeful...

Article by maft on Tuesday, March 03 @ 15:44:44 GMT

NAVIGON choose Amaryllo TMC technology for their latest series of PNDs

NAVIGON are to utilise Amaryllo Dynamics, a technology platform that manages the reception of real-time traffic information on the FM band.

The platform can receive and process both free and encrypted TMCPro data streams and is compatible with world-wide TMC transmission standards.

Traffic information is forwarded to the NAVIGON navigation application where it is processes to display traffic on the map. NAVIGON, Amaryllo and SiRF have worked together to tightly integrate this system in NAVIGON products. Shared code was developed that provides optimal communication and performance and therefore offers superior en unprecedented reception of TMC traffic information in the PND.

Article by Darren Griffin on Tuesday, March 03 @ 15:32:09 GMT

TomTom are not exhibiting at CeBIT this year...

Two years ago TomTom did not exhibit at CeBIT, but had a presence with TomTom Work. Last year they were back in force again. Now this year they have decided to pull out of CeBIT and concentrate on the Geneva Car Show which is happening at the same time. I have been reliably informed that some executives from TomTom are at CeBIT having meetings.

The official TomTom response to my query was:
"We have decided that exhibiting at CeBIT would not bring us enough value this year. We have chosen to be at the Geneva Motor Show instead which takes place at exactly the same time. In addition, we have some compelling new launches for our automotive business, and it makes more sense to demonstrate those at Geneva than at CeBIT. Obviously, there will be colleagues present at CeBIT and we will host a series of business meetings there, but we don’t have a stand at the show."

Article by Mike Barrett on Tuesday, March 03 @ 13:48:09 GMT

Maylong FD220SL - GPS Navigation for Dummies

Maylong will likely be new to you but have been in the GPS Navigation business since 2007. Based in Michigan they already have products in Australia, North America/Canada and Mexico; now they are launching their GPS Navigation for Dummies in Europe. Oh, and yes, 'for Dummies' is officially licensed by Wiley.

Maylong have a handful of devices of various sizes with navigation powered by Destinator. The devices vary in extra features including Text to Speech (available as an optional extra on some devices), Traffic and screen size.

CeBIT 2009 sees the launch of the FD220SL, a slim version of the FD220 (their best selling device in the States) with an expected price range of around €120 (nothing confirmed as yet). They are in negotiations with various distributors and suppliers including Halfords, Maplin, Carphone Warehouse and Dixons. Perhaps the 'for Dummies' link will aid sales?

The FD220SL features 3.5inch touch screen, custom points of interest, mapping by Navteq, optional Text to Speech, easily switch between USB mass storage mode and ActiveSync mode, a replaceable battery and an 'Easy-To-Understand for Dummies' user manual.

We are hoping to get hold of a sample device to give it a thorough testing but in the mean time we will be posting some short videos in the coming days (probably after we return!)

Article by maft on Tuesday, March 03 @ 12:11:26 GMT

Getac introduce a rugged PDA with GPS

At Mobile World Congress last week iMate launched a ruggedised PDA, this week for CeBIT Getac announce a ruggedised PDA. Is this becoming a trend, or have they just seen how I handle my test devices :P

The new Getac PS535F is a PDA rather than a smartphone, but is a product from the Mitac stable. This devices is targeted at outdoor surveyors, and comes complete with 3MP camera, altimeter, and an electronic compass. From a wireless point of view it has bluetooth and WiFi (b/g). Storage is 128Mb main flash with an additional 2Gb flash onboard, and the device runs Windows Mobile 6.1

Click here to read more including the official press release...

Article by Mike Barrett on Monday, March 02 @ 18:30:19 GMT

Attendance figures for 2009: Managing expectations

Just over a week ago I received a Press Release from the organisers of CeBIT saying that the numbers of companies attending would be down on previous years, but he was optimistic suggesting that the more than 25% drop was good in the face of the current economic climate.

We have seen significant drops in both exhibitors and attendance at both the CES (22%) and MWC (15%) tradefairs so far this year. With all the bad financial news being circulated these drops in attendance could be viewed as a success.

Quote:
Ernst Raue, Managing Board Member at Deutsche Messe. 4,300 companies from 69 nations are going to be represented at the event, compared with 5,845 in 2008, he said. 'Given the depth of the world economic crisis, this number represents a success. In view of the overall business environment, we are extremely satisfied. 4,300 enterprises will demonstrate they are in solid shape and want to put the recession behind them quickly,' he continued. 'At CeBIT 2009 the goal is - now more than ever - to develop new business and act boldly and with confidence vis-à-vis the future.'

Article by Mike Barrett on Monday, March 02 @ 17:41:36 GMT

Sneak Peak

Well, I have arrived safe and sound at CeBIT 2009 in Hanover. I've just had a quick wander around the halls where most, if not all, of the company's are still setting up their stalls. Many of the usual players are here; Garmin, Nav N Go, Navigon, CoPilot, Holux and Sygic with a notable lack of TomTom this year. So, here's a taster (in photo format) of what to expect over the next few days as myself and Darren become roving reporters for PocketGPSWorld.com.

Article by maft on Monday, March 02 @ 16:47:01 GMT