May 31, 2007
Win a Garmin Nuvi 200
Garmin and their Garmin Blog are kicking off a contest for the summer which sounds pretty good and the ultimate prize is a new Garmin Nuvi 200. (More infor on the Nuvi 200 line - I reviewed the Nuvi 250.) The contest basically has you sending in a picture of yourself using a Garmin GPS while on a great summer adventure. Each week they pick the best who gets to move onto the final judging at the end of the summer. From among the best, they choose the ultimate winner at the end of the summer to win the prize.
More details at Garmin Blog
May 30, 2007
Battery Replacement on your Nuvi?
I have had a lot of readers write in about replacing their batteries on their Garmin Nuvis, including the 350, 360, 660, 680. I asked Garmin about this, and they came back indicating that while the battery on the Nuvi line is not consumer replaceable, it is serviceable by them. However, these batteries are expected to last up to 1,000 cycles, which could put you out several years before you encounter issues depending on usage. I have no doubt that they stand behind what they make, considering that they have been in the business a long time and are still servicing GPS units that are 10 years old. See if you can get other consumer electronics companies to service a 10 year old piece of equipment.
May 30, 2007
Garmin Nuvi 660 - Price Drop
It was only a few months ago that the Nuvi 660 crashed through the $700 barrier, and I am happy to see that it has broken through another milestone price, it's now on sale at Amazon for less than $600; $597.24 to be exact at this writing, with Free Shipping.
I still think the Nuvi 660 is the best all around automobile navigator that I have used, and am glad to see more people are going to get a chance to experience it at a new lower price. If you are unsure about the unit, you can read my review of the Nuvi 660.
Available at Amazon
May 30, 2007
Harmon Kardon GPS-300
Nice find on Amazon here, the new Harmon Kardon GPS-300 unit in a pre-order mode at the site. This follows their GPS-500 model that was previously announced. Keeping with the heritage, the Harmon Kardon units are geared towards audio capabilities, and offers a glimpse of album art when your MP3 is playing on its 4" widescreen.
The unit does spoken word direction sets and comes pre-loaded with maps of the US. It should ship in a few weeks for $399.
Harmon Kardon GPS-300 At Amazon
Via Engadget and GPSReview.
May 30, 2007
Garmin Announces Developer Toolkit for GPS
Garmin took a nice step up and released news that they are going to get cozy with website and other software developers by releasing and API library to allow developers to better "talk" to GPS units. So for instance, you used to have to download waypoints from Geocaching.com to your computer and then upload them to the GPS. Now by clicking on the Garmin logoed button, the website will talked directly tot he GPS and send the coordinates of the next cache directly to the unit.
There are six current API's, one of which supports location based services, so it's no surprise that these GPS enablers were announced in coordination with the Where 2.0 conference that is happening in San Jose.
Press release, including details of the APIs after the jump...
Continue reading: "Garmin Announces Developer Toolkit for GPS"
May 29, 2007
Free Inrix Traffic Data on your Mobile Phone
We’ve talked a lot about traffic feeds here at GPSLodge.com and I am looking forward to the future developments in traffic reporting to help make my life better by keeping me out of traffic jams and wasting time. Well, if you don’t have a traffic capable GPS in your possession you may still get high quality traffic feeds on your mobile phone.
Jim, one of our readers here at GPSLodge.com, pointed out the fact that Weather.com mobile has extensive traffic coverage that has Inrix written all over it. Weather.com is running a traffic service module by TCS, and one of their offerings is TeleAtlas traffic feeds.
In a spot check of a few cities, you can get some very good coverage (Boston is GREAT), and having it bookmarked on your browser-enabled mobile phone allows you quick access to current conditions. It’s not going to route you around traffic, but it will sure give you an idea of what’s up in your area.
To be clear, the regular internet site for Weather.com is running Traffic.com data, which has its own advantages, but for me in Boston, the broader coverage is essential.
So, Hit this link to Weather.com mobile and then enter in your own city to see what the coverage is and see if it can help you out.
Thanks for the tip Jim!
May 26, 2007
Review of GPS Reviews by GPSLodge.com
This Memorial Day weekend, I thought I would offer a quick listing of the hands on reviews that I have done here at GPSLodge. Thought you might want to take a look at some of the units you may be considering. I have personally tested all of these. Generally I use the units for at least 2 weeks while taking weekend trips commuting or running test routes.
Sure I have my favorites, but that might not suit what you need in the way of price, or features. Anyway, I will still say that I like the Garmin Nuvi 660 the best out of all the GPS units I have used. The price has come down dramatically and is only around $600 at this writing. So while it’s a premium priced unit on the market, and it's an excellent unit worth consideration.
Update - more additions 11/18
Garmin
Garmin Nuvi 200/250/270
Garmin Nuvi 200W/250W
Garmin Nuvi 360
Garmin Nuvi 660
Garmin Nuvi 680
Garmin Nuvi 750/760/770
Garmin StreetPilot C330
Garmin StreetPilot C340
Garmin StreetPilot C550
TomTom
TomTom ONE
TomTom ONE XL
TomTom GO 720
TomTom GO 920/920T
Mio
Mio C230
Mio C220
Mio C520
Mio C320
Mio H610
Mio C310X
Magellan
Magellan Maestro 3100/3140
Magellan RoadMate 2000
Others
Navigon 2100
Nextar C-3
Via Michelin X-930
V7 MyGuide Navigator 1000
Jensen NVX227
Delphi NAV-200
Bushnell NAV500
Lowrance iWay 350
Cobra NAVONE 4500
NASCAR Garmin Commercial
Just in time for the Memorial Day weekend, Garmin has posted their lastest commercial which is just great. Very fun and very cool.
Via Garmin Blog
May 25, 2007
Angelina Jolie's Latitude and Longitude Tatoos
So you think you're into Geotagging/Geocaching, etc? How about Angelina Jolie and her recent Tat' that gives the coordinates of the countries where her four children were born.
Via O'Reilly
More at The Daily Mail
GPS Text Message; Emergency Beacon
This little wonder allows you to pre-program emergency numbers into the unit and then in case of emergency, it will text message those numbers your location (Lat/Lon coordinates). Simple enough and easy to use. I wonder if this thing gets activated when it's stuffed into a backpack full of pens, books and such like a mobile phone without a key lock engaged?
Via Gizmodo
Another Geocache, another Bomb Squad
This chapter of the same book takes place in North Carolina where a geocache was attached to a Starbucks sign. The cache was being hidden at the time when some "Muggles" came by and noticed the activity, got nervous and called the police. After the police learned that there were no explosives, they logged into Geocaching.com and recorded their visit...... well maybe they did everything right up until that last part.
ReadMore
May 24, 2007
TeleNav Traffic for Mobile Phones
Telenav recently did a survey of drivers and they found that 72% don’t check traffic before hitting the roads, and in many of the top metro areas, that sounds like they are ready to hit the proverbial brick wall once they get on the roads. Memorial Day weekend, people are going to suffer trying to get to their weekend away, and annually the average American commuter spends 47 hours in traffic each year!
Well TeleNav is one option to check traffic on your mobile phone while on the road.
"The benefits of providing a service to drivers that allows them to avoid travel congestion are immeasurable," said HP Jin, TeleNav president, CEO and co-founder. "With such a solution, not only can road warriors spend less time driving, but their lifestyles could also potentially be improved, both physically and mentally."
Continue reading: "TeleNav Traffic for Mobile Phones"
Rumor: New Garmin eTrex Legend, Vista HCx
Some nice "Rumors" are coming out on Garmin and their plans for an updated eTrex line. Garmin recently updated their RINO 530 HCx with high sensitivity GPS chips and it makes sense to roll that innovation in to the rest of the line that has not already been upgraded (The 60 CSx already has high sensitivity receivers in them).
No real news on when this upgrade would be announced, but the flier says a Fall 2007 launch.
A lot of discussion is going on about the inclusion of a SiRF star III chipset in these, but Garmin's mode recently is to go with "high sensitivity" chipsets which may be sourced from other vendors. In my usage I have not found a noticeable difference in regular usage when the SiRF star III chipset was swapped out.
More news at GPSPassion and Groundspeak.
eTrex H - monochrome
eTrex Venture HC (24 MB internal non-expandable memory)
eTrex Legend HCx (+micro SD card slot)
etrex Vista HCx (micro SD + Barometer, compass)
Via GPSTracklog
May 23, 2007
Win $50 Bucks at Tool Snob
Thanks for being an avid reader of our blog which is published by Blogpire Productions. We'd like to share with you a new title just launched this week - ToolSnob.com. Blogpire Productions started ToolSnob.com to help homeowners, contractors, and hobbyists find, not only the tools that fit their needs, but to point out the ones that don't. The wrong tool can end up costing you time, money and hours of frustration. Tool Snob aims to be the most reliable and entertaining source for the latest power tool news and reviews.
Want a really good reason to visit? If you sign up for the Tool Snob newsletter by using the form below or on the Tool Snob web site, you'll be eligible to win a $50 gift certificate from Amazon.com. That's right, all you have to do is sign up for the newsletter and be on the list when we pick the winner at the end of June.
Sign up for the Tool Snob newsletter and win $50 bucks.
TomTom ONE XL Arrives for Review
UPDATE: I have posted my Review of the TomTom ONE XL
So with the new wider TomTom ONE XL sporting a widescreen and the new TeleAtlas maps, I thought I had to give the unit a try, and try it right away. I liked the TomTom ONE when I reviewed it last year, and only had a few minor complaints besides the lack of accurate maps. The TeleAtlas map issue has been broadly fixed in my point of view, having used the Mio C220 for the last couple of weeks which is loaded with the new maps.
The 4.3 inch screen should give a better overview of the road ahead with more streets and information on display. The TomTom ONE XL is also traffic ready and can receive traffic feeds via the TomTom PLUS services via your Bluetooth phone. It features QuickFix technology that allows it to find satellites fast (as long as you connect it to your computer once per week).
I look forward to checking this unit out over the next few weeks. Stay tuned for more impressions on the TomTom ONE XL.
more follows...
Continue reading: "TomTom ONE XL Arrives for Review"
GPS in Next Gen iPhone
So, while a true GPS chip isn't making the cut on the new iPhone, it is apparently slated for the next generation model being readied for announcement at Macworld or maybe a year from now. Too bad, I was hoping that an upgrade would come very quickly on the heels of the first release....
It's being reported that the unit will contain a high sensitivity chipset, which may include the SiRF star III of equivalent.
Via Apple Tech News
May 22, 2007
Garmin Biking Jerseys
Biking season is almost here and Garmin has some pretty cool (if you like Garmin) Bike Jerseys up on their site that are available for sale. So, if you have a Garmin strapped to your handlebars, why not wear the jersey too?!?! Three pockets across the back and made of breathable poly.
More at Garmin Store (scroll down)
GPS to Save Time and Money?
In a recent poll conducted by Circuit City, Americans are looking to GPS Navigation systems to save them time and money spent on gasoline. With prices breaking the $3/gallon threshold. I personally saw how the Nuvi 680, with its ability to show you local gasoline (sorry no diesel) prices through the MSN Direct network, can offer you ways to save a lot on gas. Read my Review on the Nuvi 680.
More than 3,000 people responded to the Circuit City survey, which was conducted in April. Almost three quarters (71%) of respondents said that having a global positioning satellite (GPS) navigation system helps motorists save fuel or time.
So about half of parents (53%) in the survey found that a GPS would be at least somewhat important for making the most of their family road trip. Looks like the GPS is going to be on a lot of people’s shopping list this summer.
Check out All Circuit City GPS Units.
May 21, 2007
Mio C520 Officially Announced
The Mio C520 was officially announced today with more details of its capability. I am looking forward to doing a review of the Mio C520 over the next few weeks after seeing this. Not only is the unit a widescreen GPS which is where a lot (all?) manufacturers are heading these days. The unit is listed at $399, but can be had already at some decent discounts, and I recently saw it at Circuit City for mid-$300’s.
The Mio C520 has a widescreen format that can either offer extra map display capabilities, or it offers you the ability to use the extra real estate to display information about your upcoming turns along your route. The Mio C520 is a text to speech model that speaks street names. This is definitely a step up from the Mio C310x or the Mio C220. The C520 also has Bluetooth capabilities for a handsfree conversation using your Bluetooth enabled phone. The press release also talks about the ability to push audio to Bluetooth headphones for watching/listening to media played on the Mio C520.
Also available at Amazon or more information at the Mio Website.
Press Release Follows….
Continue reading: "Mio C520 Officially Announced"
Review: Mio C220 Review
CNet has a review up of the Mio C220, the latest from Mio and a unit clearly set at the value end of the market. It will essentially replacing the Mio C310x at the $200 price point (list price is higher, street prices can be lower). The unit is a small, flat form factor unit that has US maps pre-loaded from TeleAtlas. I am happy to say that the maps are updated and don’t appear to have any big outages (I am also using the Mio C220 for a review).
Right out of the gate, Bonnie Cha of CNet offers praise for the features and price for the Mio C220, but admits that they can’t recommend it due to the low screen brightness. I’ll tell you that the screen is not as bright or rather vivid as the Mio C310x, but I would have to disagree with Bonnie Cha on this one, and say that for the price, the unit is a good value. I see it this way. For about $200, you can buy the C220 and get a solid unit with up to date maps and an interface that is very easy to navigate once you familiarize yourself with it. The unit acquires satellites fast and gives good navigation cues that are easy to follow. The screen is not as vivid as I would like, but that is only a problem in bright sunlight directly on the unit. For 50% more (an extra $100), you can move up to the TomTom ONE, but I recognize that $299 not in a lot of people’s price range. In the end, the C220 is a very good entry level GPS.
Read Bonnie Cha’s full review at CNet for more information on the Mio C220. Look for my review of the C220 in the coming days.
May 19, 2007
GPS Steals and Deals - 5/19
A few stories from this week:
I wrote up my review on the Garmin Nuvi 360 this week as well as the Magellan RoadMate 2000; one has aged beautifully and one was a little old before its time.
CNet has reviewed the NOVOGO S700 GPS - another iGo interfaced GPS
TeleAtlas has announced their Historical Average Speeds product that combines mapping and historical average speeds into one product that will speed the development of a new generation of GPS units; expect models by the end of the year.
Yao Ming has a new commercial out for the Garmin Nuvi.
Highlights
The new TomTom ONE XL is NOW SHIPPING - $398 for this Widescreen beauty.
$50 off TomTom at Circuit City - Free Shipping
The TomTom ONE - Special at Circuit City - $50 off the $299 Price ( enter coupon code 7UATPXBAGZ at checkout). Free Shipping for a limited time. See my Review of the TomTom ONE.
Circuit City also has the TomTom GO 510 for $349 after you put it in your cart, and the TomTom GO 910 for $449 after you put it in your cart. Again FREE SHIPPING for a limited time.
Wide range of prices - Compare TomTom Prices on the Web
The Mio C220 is selling around $195 through Amazon sellers.
The Nuvi 680 is selling at Amazon - $727 - see my hands on Review of the Nuvi 680.
Garmin Nuvi 660 - Price around $601 at Amazon Down over $60 recently. See my Hands on Review of the Nuvi 660 - Also check out the GPSNow site for what has been often a lower price, and Order by 5PM weekdays, you get same day cheap shipping.
The Nuvi 650 offers the widescreen and no Bluetooth or traffic at almost $75 less than the Nuvi 660.
Very solid Garmin Nuvi 350 dropped to $380, and it's the #2 seller in electronics at Amazon. More info on the Nuvi 350.
Haven't used the Magellan Maestro 3000 series yet, but Best Buy has the Magellan Maestro 3100 for $249.
Garmin Nuvi 360 adds Bluetooth to the Nuvi 350 capabilities and is now around $434.
The 
Mio H610 is available for $299 (put it in your cart to see). Free Shipping. Diminutive GPS; see my Review of the H610.
The usual Steals and Deals
Garmin Nuvi 670 - Need to travel to Europe and navigate when you get there? Garmin Nuvi 670 comes pre-loaded with both US and Euro maps. It's the very capable Nuvi 660 base unit with the extra maps pre-loaded.
Garmin StreetPilot C330 – Now around $270 for this very capable, maps pre-loaded device.
May 18, 2007
JVC Exits GPS/PND Market
JVC has announced plans to quit the GPS market. After announcing their KV-PX9 at an outrageous $750 they appeared not to have sold too many. So, while price points are dropping, the big players, namely Garmin, and TomTom are finding some traction with their brands without deep discounting. These brands have recognizable benefit advantages and the ability and scale to price profitably versus the myriad of low brand recognition units hitting the markets daily.
JVC mobile entertainment VP Bill Turner stated, “Primarily because the portable navigation business has turned into a price-only market with numerous new competitors entering almost daily, we opted to focus our business on the in-dash market instead.” He added, “We continue to study the portable navigation market and may re-enter it once we identify stabilization with regard to price points. Right now, too much volatility exists with regard to pricing and brand recognition isn’t a key component.”
Via Twice
Engadget GPS of the Year
Engadget has awarded its GPS Gadget of the year to the TomTom GO 910. The unit won both the reader's choice and the editor's choice for GPS Gadget of the year. Congrats to the GO 910.
See the entire list of winning devices at Engadget
May 17, 2007
Advanced Features Coming to GPS
GPS with integrated traffic, as well as subway and train schedule reporting could be your all-in-one transportation center for traveling across the city. Well as TeleAtlas is busy mapping cities in 3-D for their rollout of true 3-D mapping, they are also considering how to include advanced features into the GPS that allow for smarter driving, like crash warnings when approaching a difficult turn at a high rate of speed. The Chief Exec of TeleAtlas was speaking about these possibilities and more at the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit in Paris.
ReadMore
GPS Umbrella
Yea, I know, weird and totally random, but I thought I would pass this on. Here's your future George Jetson umbrella that has a computer built in that shows a slideshow on the inside of the umbrella. It also has GPS and internet connectivity too. It's a prototype.
Via
SiRF and Openwave Team Up
SiRF announced a strategic relationship with Openwave Systems Inc. to bring the power of location to Web 2.0 mobile applications. The two companies will work together to integrate SiRF’s SiRFstudio location capabilities with Openwave MIDAS, a Mobile AJAX-based application development platform, enabling wireless operators, content publishers, and software developers to easily employ the context of location when creating mobile widgets, rich data services and online idle screen user interfaces on mobile devices. SiRF Technology and Openwave plan to jointly market the combined solution globally to wireless operators and mobile handset and device OEMs, enabling them to create the next-generation of innovative location-based mobile widgets and services for consumer and enterprise market segments.
Continue reading: "SiRF and Openwave Team Up"
Garmin Launches GPS Academy
Do you feel like you need to learn more about how a GPS works, or how to use their GPS units on the road. The animations and presentations are nice, and are obviously part of the Garmin marketing machine, but it certainly looks like it can help people get acquainted with what a GPS and how to use one on the road.
See more at Garmin GPS Academy
Via Garmin Blog
Garmin Summer TV Commercial
Garmin has posted their new summertime TV commercial featuring a towering Yao Ming. The commercial is well done and was being filmed in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl when Garmin featured their Maposaurus commercial. The summertime commercial below definitely hits on the main benefits of the widescreen Garmin Nuvi that is featured in the shot.
May 16, 2007
Novogo S700 Review
PCMag has a review up of the stylish NOVOGO S700 that runs the iGo software and does a good job of getting you out there, hopefully for a good price. The iGo interface is usually customized for the GPS maker, but its basic capabilities are best known from the Mio line of products, especially the Mio C310x. The Novogo S700 is a flat form factor GPS system that has a 3.5 inch screen; standard for the industry right now. The unit ships with Maps of the US and Canada, and boasts a relatively large database of 11 million Points of Interest (POI). All of this runs off the 2GB SD card that is included. Most GPS navigation systems of this type usually cram the US and less than half that number of POI locations onto a 1GB card. The unit runs on a SiRF star III chipset and includes an internal rechargeable battery.
Overall Craig Ellison of PC Mag thought that the unit did a respectable job navigating and I like the idea that supports dynamic volume where the volume increases with speed. They used the NOVOGO S700BT which supports Bluetooth handsfree. Unfortunately, Mr. Ellison was unable to pair the GPS with his Bluetooth phone.
ReadMore at PC Mag
May 15, 2007
TeleAtlas bundles Historical Average Speeds
Today TeleAtlas set the stage for a step change in GPS capability. Today TeleAtlas announced that they are bundling historical average speeds in with their maps as one package that can speed implementation of this next generation capability. Back in February I wrote about the 3 technologies required for the coming changes in traffic reporting, and the TeleAtlas announcement today is a major step in delivering on truly intelligent traffic reporting.
I confirmed with TeleAtlas that the historical average speed data is indeed data from Inrix, a company we've been following for about a year now. The clues were in the press release details about the capability: historical average speeds derived from a commercial fleet covering over 500,000 miles. (See more on Inrix and the Dust Network.) So, this basic historical average speeds data combined with TMC Traffic feeds, will give you a better solution than is available now because right now, your GPS most likely assumes that you can travel at the speed limit on highways when computing your travel time through traffic (MSN Direct on the Nuvi 680 and SOME TMC markets don't make this mistake right now), but with historical average speed data, your GPS will know and will be able to predict travel times in the future for much more intelligent travel planning.
I previously reported also that I expect GPS units with historical average speed data by the end of the year this year, and with this announcement, I think that it marks a big step towards that goal. I expect (hope for) new GPS units with Historical Average Speeds in time for Black Friday and the big holiday shopping season.
Press Release Follows...
Continue reading: "TeleAtlas bundles Historical Average Speeds"
Delphi NAV200 Traffic Kit Now Available
Delphi Nav 200 Owners can rejoice, as Delphi has started offering their Lifetime Traffic service. The
TMC-based traffic service has a different offering versus the rest of the GPS world, as they offer a one-time fee instead of the pay as you go monthly fee. The price is $200 for the traffic kit and the lifetime subscription. At their site they have a list of cities that are covered.
Included in the kit are:
Lifetime Service
Antenna
Lifetime Traffic Kit with RDS Receiver
SD Card with Software Upgrade
User Manual for Real Time Traffic
More at Delphi
Google LatLong Blog
Google is good for a lot of things, including a big wave of Google sponsored blogs. Well, a new one has popped up over the last week or so called the Google LatLong blog, a blog written about maps, and how to use Google Earth as well as Google Maps. Pretty good subject if you ask me. What's impressive is one of the posts the other day that shows Greensburg Kansas, the small town that was wiped out by an F5 tornado, with before and after side by side satellite pictures. It's pretty amazing to see the rresults like this. The imagery is also available as a Google Earth overlay if you go read the post and check out the story you'll see how. Here are a couple of the pictrues, before and after. There are more at the Google LatLong blog.
Greensburg Kansas - BEFORE
Greensburg Kansas - AFTER
ReadMore at Google LatLong Blog
May 13, 2007
Garmin Nuvi 360 Review
- Hands on Review by GPSLodge.com -
The Garmin Nuvi 360 has been out on the market for a while, actually quite a while, but I wanted to get you a first hand review of the product including its Bluetooth Handsfree capability considering that this unit is one of the lowest priced units where you can get a solid map set, optional traffic capabilities and handsfree Bluetooth features. The downward trend in pricing on GPS systems has this unit priced right in the middle of the pack, and increasingly affordable for the mass market. The Garmin Nuvi 360 is an excellent choice for people who are considering models in this price range.
Continue reading: "Garmin Nuvi 360 Review"
May 12, 2007
GPS Steals and Deals - 5/12
A few stories from the past week:
Garmin and TomTom Pricing Predictions for this Summer - I take a critical look at where pricing is on key models and where it should be.
New Garmin RINO 520HCx and 520HCx - Two Way Radio GPS units with expandable memory.
TomTom Company History with Corinne Vigreaux - Chief Commercial Officer of TomTom - Video
Highlights
The Mio C220 is selling as low as $179 through Amazon sellers.
The Nuvi 680 is selling at Amazon - $739 - see my hands on Review of the Nuvi 680.
Garmin Nuvi 660 - Price around $604 at Amazon Down over $60 recently. See my Hands on Review of the Nuvi 660 - Also check out the GPSNow site for what has been often a lower price, and Order by 5PM weekdays, you get same day cheap shipping.
Very solid Garmin Nuvi 350 dropped to $374, and it's a HOT seller at Amazon. More info on the Nuvi 350.
Haven't used the Magellan Maestro 3000 series yet, but Best Buy has the Magellan Maestro 3100 for $199.
Garmin Nuvi 360 adds Bluetooth to the Nuvi 350 capabilities and is now around $439.
TomTom ONE - around $299 See my Review of the TomTom ONE.
The Mio H610 is available for $299 (put it in your cart to see). Free Shipping. Diminutive GPS; see my Review of the H610.
The usual Steals and Deals
Garmin Forerunner Rebate - $50 back on a Forerunner 205 or 305, which drops the prices down significantly. See my Review of the Forerunner 205.
Garmin Nuvi 670 - Need to travel to Europe and navigate when you get there? Garmin Nuvi 670 comes pre-loaded with both US and Euro maps. It's the very capable Nuvi 660 base unit with the extra maps pre-loaded.
Garmin StreetPilot C330 – Now around $270 for this very capable, maps pre-loaded device.
Woman Follows GPS onto Railroad Crossing
This out of the UK; woman follows her Sat Nav/GPS onto a railroad crossing at night and gets car hit by train. She's perfectly fine; the car is a mess. The circumstances aren't quite as clean cut as blindly following the GPS to a railroad crossing and getting hit, but it's another example of people checking their common sense at the door when they use a GPS. There were a few signs that should have told her that she was in trouble.... like the fact that she had to open a train gate by hand (she thought it was a farm gate), there were rail tracks under her feet when she then moved her car into the crossing, and got out to close the first gate and open the second gate.
The woman said, "People should be more careful with them - you never know where they might lead you." Chief Inspector Paul Richards of British Transport Police said "We would advise people to use sat navs with due caution," he added.
Yea, that and a bit of common sense.
More at BBC
Via
May 11, 2007
Garmin RINO 520HCx and RINO 530HCx
Garmin introduced the Rino 520HCx and Rino 530HCx, the latest in Garmin's RINO line of two-way radios integrated with GPS technology. If you haven’t seen these RINO’s in action it’s pretty cool – not only are they a high caliber GPS, but they have built-in two way radio capability (FRS/GMRS) and the ability to see others in your party right on your screen if they are using a RINO too. Great for hunting and general outdoors work where you want to see where others are. The new units feature a high- sensitivity GPS receiver for faster acquisition, improved accuracy in challenging outdoor environments, and the addition of a microSD card slot for detailed mapping data. The RINO 530HCx is a very capable outdoors unit with a seven channel weather receiver that has weather alert capabilities as well as an electronic compass and barometric altimeter.
Contrary to what you read elsewhere, the new RINO's do NOT use the SiRF star III chipset, but do have high sensitivity chipsets that will pull in satellite signals in tough conditions.
More from the Press Release...
Continue reading: "Garmin RINO 520HCx and RINO 530HCx"
New York City Taxis to get GPS and TV Screens
New York City Taxis are not exactly excited to have a GPS on-board as they think that it will be an invasion of their extra long break time privacy. Well, the 13,000 city taxis will be outfitted with a GPS, a passenger television and a credit card debit system by January. Unfortunately the system will cost up to $7,400 each, which will come out of the driver's pocket.
Via at NYSun
GPS Technology Gets Son New Heart
From the "Wow" department, a mother was located via the GPS enabled call phone in her purse so that her son could get whisked off for a heart transplant. She was apparently at a concert with her cell phone ringer turned off when news of the available heart came out. The Police contacted the mobile phone company who then traced her to the concert at Slippery Rock College. The police shut the concert down, stood up on stage and called out her name and got her and her son to the Pittsburgh hospital where they did the operation. The mother apparently told CBS's "The Early Show" that he was in critical but stable condition.
May 10, 2007
Discrete GPS Vehicle Tracking
Need to track your cheating husband or wife? How about tracking those teenagers? A lot of tracking solutions are out there, but the Super Trackstick is noteworthy in that it takes a pair of “AAA” batteries and the Super TrackStick can last up to 6-8 weeks when equipped with a vibration detector that puts the unit into a sleep mode when the vehicle is still. Like Ron Popeil says, you’ll be able to “Set it and forget it”, go about your business and check in every month with a fresh set of batteries and download the results. At 4 1/2” X 1 1/4” X 3/4”, you can fit it just about anywhere.
The data is logged on 4MB of memory and is downloaded to your computer via the USB port and quickly viewed on Google Earth’s model of the planet. You'll be able to see routes traveled and times that were spent at different locations. No monthly fees are required and all software needed to run Super Trackstick’s technology is included.
More at TrackStick
Garmin Nuvi 350 - Most Popular GPS
In researching an article the other day on pricing, I noticed not only that the Garmin Nuvi 350 is the most popular GPS selling at Amazon, but also the most popular electronics device at Amazon. More popular right now than all the digital cameras, SD cards, flash drives and iPods. Check out their Popularity Rank
for yourself (may change; updated hourly).
Personally I think that it is the amazing price on the thing, dropping a fair amount below $400 for the first time recently. It's $374 at this writing.
What's the next most popular GPS? The Garmin Forerunner 305 which with its $50 rebate, drops its price down to about $200.
Garmin Nuvi 350 at Amazon
Garmin Forerunner 305 at Amazon
Background and History of TomTom
Coming to you from the TomTom blog, Club TomTom, we find a quick 5 minute discussion on the history of TomTom. It's an interesting start way back in 1991 when they were developing software for handhelds, and now they ship over a million units per quarter.
Click the image above for the YouTube video.
Via Club TomTom
May 9, 2007
TomTom and Garmin Pricing This Spring/Summer
Pricing is about to take a big change as new models hit the market and the driving season is upon us. I have been seeing a few dynamics going on over the last year that has spurred me to take a look at the prices going forward, and I thought that I would share my speculations with you.
1) Value Models are starting to compete and bring new users into the market, while setting a price point for comparison sake. Not only are people discovering the GPS market through brands like Mio but they are influencing how people decide what to buy; “Unkown Brand at $169, Mio C220 at $199, or a TomTom ONE at $279?” This $200 price point will be the gauge to which all others are measured directly or indirectly. In other words, for now, the market will be driven by the $200 level and TomTom will price premium versus this level; Garmin in turn will price premium to TomTom.
2) TomTom has decided to gain market share through very competitive pricing. The TomTom ONE has dropped precipitously in price over the past six months, making it quite possibly the best value on the market; high quality interface at a reasonable price. See this pricing study about market prices and follow the link to the write-up to see a pricing study by brands. You'll see how TomTom went from premium pricing to lower overall pricing in the last six months. Partially driven by older models, but certainly by a pricing only move.
3) Conversely Garmin has decided to make money with price premiums to TomTom, while using their size to segment the market as only the market leader can do. If you have a huge share of the market, retailers are tolerant of your “few dozen models” approach, whereas if you have a small share of the market, retailers won’t tolerate proliferation of models such that each model moves one unit a month…. It just doesn’t pay out for them to stock you. Garmin knows this and is starting to leverage their scale with the smart segmentation of the market, and the launch of the Nuvi 200 series, and the additional Nuvi 650 unit to the Nuvi 600 series.
In the scenario below, I give you some important features, then current or list prices (in the cases where the units aren’t shipping yet), and finally the expected prices for the coming months. I may be wrong about this, but maybe this is where the prices SHOULD be.
Continue reading: "TomTom and Garmin Pricing This Spring/Summer"
May 8, 2007
TomTom Shut Off While Driving?
Recently TomTom’s Blog, Club TomTom, offered a solution for some folks who are having issues with their TomTom units shutting off while driving. The problem goes back toa faeature that I happen to like in a GPS, the fact that the unit will shut off when it senses the power has shut off, like when you are shutting off the car. The issue is that when you might hit a bump in the road, a very brief power interruption occurs and the TomTom starts its shut down sequence, whoops.
Here’s the solution:
“A new application (version 6.11) has been made available. When this application is installed on your device, this issue is solved. We recommend that you always update to the latest application using TomTom HOME, so you always have the latest features and the best performance on your TomTom device.”
Direct Link to the answers at TomTom.
Via Club TomTom
Mobile Phone Navigation Taking Off
Business Check: Mobile Phone navigation primed for take-off. According to GPS Business News, a major navigation provider, Networks in Motion, is claiming to have hit the million subscriptions mark. Those subscriptions bring in $9.99 a month or $2.99 a day. The major branded offering is through Verizon as the VZ Navigator.
“Reaching one million paid subscribers in just over a year is a major milestone that shows consumers are choosing the convenience of GPS navigation on a device they already carry with them everyday,” said Doug Antone, president and CEO of Networks In Motion. “We believe this rapid market acceptance strongly indicates where people will turn for their navigation needs.”
ReadMore at GPS Business
May 7, 2007
TeleAtlas Sales up 13%; Narrows Loss
Tele Atlas reported earnings for the first quarter, with revenue up 13% over year ago, and their net loss decreased 22%. Their revenue from GPS units increased 56% over prior year, which shouldn’t be any surprise to GPS Lodge readers. Recall, TomTom and Mio use TeleAtlas maps.
Alain De Taeye, Chief Executive Officer, said: “The personal navigation market continued to perform strongly, especially in North America, in what historically has been our slowest quarter in the year. We launched new services for application developers and content providers that facilitate the delivery of content-rich map-based applications. I am confident that we are on track for yet another good year.”
More from their Press Release...
Continue reading: "TeleAtlas Sales up 13%; Narrows Loss"
Navteq Net Earnings up 87% over Year Ago
NAVTEQ released earnings, and things are looking pretty good for the provider of maps to the GPS world (and others too). Sales were up about 30% and net income was up 87% over last year’s first quarter to $30.2 million. Recall that they closed the purchase of Traffic.com in the past quarter.
The business is performing very well and we see positive signs for the remainder of the year,” said Judson Green, President and Chief Executive Officer. “In terms of our key accomplishments, we closed on our acquisition of Traffic.com, secured new business with a number of in-dash and portable customers, and released our first Thailand map, which marked our 60th country of coverage.”
More from their Press Release…
Continue reading: "Navteq Net Earnings up 87% over Year Ago"
May 5, 2007
GPS Steals and Deals - 5/5
A few stories from the past week:
TeleAtlas shows off the future in GPS maps with true 3-D cities.
I Reviewed the Jensen NVX227.
Garmin's Earnings were up on big volume.
Magellan Maestro 4040 Review
The Mio C220 arrived for review.
TMC Traffic Feed is Hacked.
Highlights
The Mio C220 is selling as low as $184 through Amazon sellers.
The Nuvi 680 is selling at Amazon - $769 - see my hands on Review of the Nuvi 680.
Garmin Nuvi 660 - Price around $626 at Amazon. Down another ~$50 this week. See my Hands on Review of the Nuvi 660 - Also check out the GPSNow site for what has been often a lower price, and Order by 5PM weekdays, you get same day cheap shipping.
Very solid Garmin Nuvi 350 dropped to $390, and it's a HOT seller at Amazon, or $370 at the Nerds. More info on the Nuvi 350.
Haven't used the Magellan Maestro 3000 series yet, but Best Buy has the Magellan Maestro 3100 for $199.
Garmin Nuvi 360 adds Bluetooth to the Nuvi 350 capabilities and is now around $439.
TomTom ONE - around $299 See my Review of the TomTom ONE.
The Mio H610 is available for $299 (put it in your cart to see). Free Shipping. Diminutive GPS; see my Review of the H610.
The usual Steals and Deals
Garmin Forerunner Rebate - $50 back on a Forerunner 205 or 305, which drops the prices down significantly. See my Review of the Forerunner 205.
Garmin Nuvi 670 - Need to travel to Europe and navigate when you get there? Garmin Nuvi 670 comes pre-loaded with both US and Euro maps. It's the very capable Nuvi 660 base unit with the extra maps pre-loaded.
Garmin StreetPilot C330 – Now around $270 for this very capable, maps pre-loaded device.
Garmin StreetPilot C340 – for $315
May 4, 2007
Living Greener with a GPS
In a nice happy spin on things, one UK based insurance company is asking people to sign up for a policy that includes the installation of a GPS black box on your car. The unit will report back to the insurance company and they will send you regular updates to help you drive more efficiently, letting you know how many short trip you have taken, if you are speeding, and if you can save money by driving differently..... Somewhere in the fine print there has to be some kind of risk assessment as a result of knowing your exact driving habits. Will that translate into higher insurance premiums? That's where the whole thing falls apart for me. Anyway, they estimate for this little waiver of your driving habit secrecy they can save you £120 per year in gas costs.
TeleAtlas Maps Going 3-D for your GPS
TeleAtlas announced that they are moving into the 3-D world, and no not just some3-D point of view of a 2-D map, we're talking buildings and greenery for select cities in their map database. Sounds like consumers really want it and they are starting by rolling out cities around the world. I would imagine it will really up the processor needs to display the extra information, but, hey at the rate GPS prices are dropping, hopefully these will cost no more than the high end units of today. Recall that in general, Garmin uses NAVTEQ, and TomTom and Mio use Teleatlas.....
Press Release Follows...
Continue reading: "TeleAtlas Maps Going 3-D for your GPS"
May 3, 2007
Dash Grabs 2 More Awards
Dash was recently recognizedfor its innovation and it has joined the Red Herring 100, which recognizes the 100 most promising companies driving the future of technology.
If that's not enough they were also named to the list of LAPTOP Magazine's Mobile Maverick Awards. Chosen by LAPTOP's editors, these awards honor five groundbreaking mobile products introduced by the hottest technology startup companies.
Not bad eh? What awards did you get today? Me? I got nothing.
“The entire team at Dash is honored to be acknowledged by both Red Herring and LAPTOP for the work that we are doing to fundamentally change the consumer navigation experience,” said Dash Navigation Chief Executive Officer Paul Lego. “With two-way connectivity and the Dash Driver Network, we will deliver the relevant information that drivers need every day – from giving them the best route to avoid traffic to enabling them to search for anything they need right from the driver’s seat.”
More at Red Herring and LAPTOP Magazine
Get more info on Dash Navigation
Dash Website
May 2, 2007
Garmin Earnings - Sales up 53%, Net Earnings up 60%
Garmin released strong earnings numbers today ahead of the market open, but then got its stock hammered as sales were below Wall Street's expectations. So, while they missed some sales expectations, things are still pretty darn good, as revenue was up 53% over year ago, with automotive pulling in the dough, with sales up 110% over year ago.
Looking at the Business highlights, they indicate that they are well positioned after launching the new Nuvi 200 line, have new production capacity to produce up to 8 million units annually, are selling the Nuvi 600/650 widescreens, as well as the MSN Direct models, the SP 580 and the Nuvi 680.
Garmin also reported the sale of 1.5 million units in the first quarter, and for those keeping track, that is a few more than TomTom reported (1.3 million units), although they are only making automotive (motorcycle) units.
New Models
Like we gleaned from the last earnings announcement, we expect new fitness models. "We look forward to new product introductions scheduled for later in the year, and will provide updated progress for the segment as the year progresses and we have better visibility." Hummm, can't wait. Sunlight is a wastin' let's get those new models out while the warmer weather is here.
From the press release...
Continue reading: "Garmin Earnings - Sales up 53%, Net Earnings up 60%"
Magellan Maestro 4040 Review
PC Mag has a review up on the Magellan Maestro 4040, the new middle of the Series 4000 line of widescreen GPS navigation systems from Magellan. They redesigned the interface, which was very much needed, as the older units looked like they were a bit cartoonish, and pixelated; way to out of date. The sad thing is the underlying system was pretty solid and offered a lot. Anyway, the Magellan Maestro 4040 comes with maps preloaded, a SiRF star III chipset, text-to-speech (TTS) capability and Bluetooth pairing to for handsfree phone calls. Not bad.
Craig Ellison liked the re-designed hardware and software with special notes on the large 4.3-ince screen, the new user interface, and the AAA TourBook integration. He said that while the Bluetooth Phone integration wasn't as good as the current state of the art Garmin systems, that "A large screen, fresh new user interface, AAA's TourBook functionality, and a great price make the Maestro 4040 a compelling in-car navigation device."
ReadMore at PC Mag
Magellan Maestro 4040 at Amazon
OnCourse Navigator 6 GPS Review
We are all pretty familiar with the iGo interface around the GPS LOdge, as it is on the Mio line, Jensen, V7 models that have hit the market. Well the software package is also available for your Pocket PC PDA, and a recent review popped up on the software that I thought I would pass along. The OnCourse software package is sold with the new TeleAtlas maps that are also in the Mio C220, and today's TomTom models. My preliminary look at the maps on the Mio C220 indicates that TeleAtlas made a big jump in the accuracy with this release.
Overall, it's not surprising that PocketNow saw the iGo interface about how we see it here at the GPS Lodge; a pretty good interface and solid navigation package with some instances where the menus are not as intuitive as you might like. Either way, Pocket Now give the Editor's Choice to the software package for your PocketPC PDA.
ReadMore at Pocket Now
Global Locate vs SiRF- Complaint Investigation Opened
Global Locate, announced that the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) in Washington, D.C. instituted a patent infringement investigation against SiRF Technology, Inc. and four of its customers: E-TEN Corporation (``E-TEN''), Pharos Science & Applications, Inc. (``Pharos''), MiTAC International Corporation (``MiTAC''), and Mio Technology Limited, USA (``Mio''). The investigation was instituted on the basis of a Complaint filed with the ITC by Global Locate, Inc. against SiRF and the four customers. The complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the United States of certain GPS devices and products that infringe patents owned by Global Locate. The complainant requests that the ITC issue a permanent exclusion order and permanent cease and desist orders. Administrative Law Judge Robert L. Barton, Jr. will preside over the investigation.
The ITC will investigate allegations that certain SiRF GPS devices, and certain products of E-TEN, Pharos, MiTAC, Mio and other SiRF customers containing SiRF's GPS devices, infringe six (6) Global Locate patents concerning GPS devices and methods and systems for using such devices. Global Locate patents 6,651,000 and 7,158,080 relate to Global Locate's Long Term Orbit (LTO) technology. Global Locate patents 6,417,801, 6,937,187 and 6,704,651 relate to algorithms for achieving fast fixes using only coarse time assistance and for enhancing receiver sensitivity. Global Locate patent 6,606,346 relates to an architecture for efficient parallel correlation in a GPS receiver.
More on Global Locate vs. SiRF
Jensen NVXM1000 Gets FCC OK
Jensen just received the OK from the FCC to launch their top of the line NVXM-1000 GPS system with an 8GB drive, 4 inch color screen and when you pop in an XM mini-receiver it gets XM Real-Time Traffic. The Unit was previewed at CES 2007. The price tag isn't small on this one, and is going to be somewhere at the upper end of the current price range for GPS units, expect $800+.
I recently reviewed its little sibling the Jensen NVX227.
Via
May 1, 2007
Mio C220 Arrives for Review
The new Mio C220 arrived for review at the GPS Lodge, as the new generation of Mio GPS systems are starting to take to the US market. The Mio C220 will follow in the footsteps of the popular Mio C310x that made a splash last year during the holiday shopping season, and continues to be an economical favorite today. The Mio C220 has a lot going for it vs the Mio C310x, as it too is a small, flat form factor, but the C220 comes with the much awaited TeleAtlas map upgrades that fill in a lot of holes in the map set. I’ll tell you already that my street is finally on the GPS unit, after having the conversation a year ago with a gentleman who was driving the TeleAtlas truck, mapping streets in our area.
The Mio C220 comes with a SiRF star III chipset, and a 3.5-inch touchscreen. The mapset is for the entire US, not Canada, and fits nicely on the included SD card. The POI dataset is a decent size, coming in at 3.5 million points. The POI points have phone numbers for the locations, although I noticed already that the Post Offices in the area all have the same fake phone number “xxx-000-1111”. Whoops TeleAtlas. I checked a dozen other local (non-post office) sites and they looked fine. Looking forward to trying this out.
Continue reading: "Mio C220 Arrives for Review"
Mio C220
The Mio C220 is a value model follow-up to the popular Mio C310x that made a big splash in the market during the holiday shopping craze of 2006. The Mio C220 comes with a 3.5-inch touchscreen, and a SiRF star III chipset. The unit does not support Text to Speech, but does give verbal turn by turn commands. The mapset is for the entire US, not Canada, and fits nicely on the included SD card. The POI dataset is a decent size, coming in at 3.5 million points. The POI points have phone numbers for the locations. The mapset is the newer TeleAtlas maps that have made a big step in adding roads to get it up to date.
Continue reading: "Mio C220"
TomTom ONE XL
TomTom revealed the new TomTom ONE XL range with a super-sized 4.3 inch high-quality touch screen and a sleek new design. Looks like a sweet GPS at a good list price - $399. The 4.3 inch screen should give a better overview of the road ahead with more streets and information on display. The TomTom ONE XL is also traffic ready and can receive traffic feeds via the TomTom PLUS services via your Bluetooth phone. It features QuickFix technology that allows it to find satellites fast (as long as you connect it to your computer once per week).
“We now have a great solution for everyone that would like to experience all benefits of the world’s best-selling navigation device TomTom ONE, combined with the ease of use of an extra large touch screen for added visibility and the possibility of receiving traffic information on the device. The TomTom ONE XL range has it all included and is a perfect addition to our product portfolio,” said Harold Goddijn, TomTom chief executive officer.”
Continue reading: "TomTom ONE XL"
Mailing List
Subscribe - RSS
