Cobra New Line of GPS Enhanced AURA Radar Detectors
Cobra announced a new line of 12 radar detectors, 6 of which include AURA (Advanced Universal Road Alert) database data that when combined with the GPS capabilities of the unit, can warn you when approaching a known issue - think speed trap or red light camera. The USB insert allows you to download known locations of trouble and plug those into the receiver. The units come with a lifetime subscription and entire line ranges in price from $69 to $470. Available this spring.
Continuing the rush of news from CES 2007, Cobra has "Pre-announced" the newest entry to their line-up, the Cobra 5000, which is expected this Fall. The HUGE 5 inch screen will be a biggie on the block, and the promised slim design should make it fit in well with the rest of the makers who are going slim. Let's face it, slim isn't just for Nuvi based jet setters anymore; it's really for everyone.
Price and exact ship dates are to be determined. When we hear something, we'll pass it on.
Update: More news late this afternoon on the Cobra NavOne 2100 - Details after the jump.
Cobra is getting ready to launch the NavOne 2100 at CES 2007 next week. The new GPS from Cobra will be a value entry that has a 3.5-inch screen and will be preloaded with North American TeleAtlas maps. The NavOne 2100 will also feature Cobra’s patent-pending Compare Routes feature, which allows drivers to choose from two on-screen routing options. Finally, the unit will optionally offer traffic alerts. They appear ready to push some ease of use and customizatin features like "My Favorite Brands" a way to highlight brands of stores, etc. that you like.
Cobra has beefed up their line lately with the launch of the Cobra NavOne 2500.
We’ll be looking forward to more news on the Cobra NavOne 2100 at the CES 2007 show.
Cobra Sales Up; Back to Profit with GPS Liquidation
Cobra earnings are still suffering due to GPS mis-steps. Their earnings results shows a return to profitability this past quarter, with a 6% sales increase, but they had to liquidate their GPS inventory at or near its value (read "cost"). "In spite of higher sales, Cobra had lower net income for the quarter as compared to the prior year due to the sale of first generation mobile navigation and handheld GPS inventory at or near net realizable values established in prior periods"
Looking ahead, they are bullish on the launch of the Cobra NavOne 2500; "built on a flexible and cutting-edge navigation platform, which will permit faster, less-costly development and more timely product launches. We anticipate that Cobra will sell through our entire production capacity of the NAV ONE 2500 and derivative models in the fourth quarter."
Cobra Acquires Speed Camera Database Owner and Electronics Firm
Cobra announced today that they are acquiring privately held Performance Products Limited, a UK firm that specializes in speed camera databases and electronics. The acquisition underlines the importance of having high quality data feeds into the GPS hardware, and the expanding role that the portable navigation device will play in the future. So, high quality maps, points of interest (locations, phone numbers and maybe even commentary on the place), and yes - speed cameras.
Update: More news out on the Cobra NavOne 2500 launch. Word is out that it will be equipped with WiFi to help enable updates wirelessly. While data and firmware updates are sometimes few and far between, thereby minimizing the utility of WiFi, I could see a Cobra “Home” type application that would allow you to work on routes on your computer and send it to the Cobra 2500.
We previously reported that iIt will apparently be traffic enabled to use the optional traffic reciever. It will also ship with an SD card slot which Cobra hopes you will fill with their Travel Guides which will be available for $39 to $99.
Original Story follows: Cobra is set to launch the NavOne 2500, the follow-up to the well known NavOne 4500. The NavOne 2500 is set to enter the mid-tier segment of the market with a 3.5" color touch screen, and a new software platform for Cobra. More after the jump...
Cobra Electronics announced a sales increase of 9% for the second quarter - $39.6Mil vs. $33.7Mil year ago, but reported a net loss of $2.7 million due to write-offs of GPS assets. Their older generation products weren’t selling so well, and they wrote off both the inventory and the intellectual assets associated with it. They go on to talk about the positive reception that their recent GPS products have gotten and the high expectations for their newer NavOne 2500 product.
Update: More news out on the Cobra NavOne 2500 launch. It will apparently be traffic enabled to use the optional traffic reciever. It will also ship with an SD card slot which Cobra hopes you will fill with their Travel Guides which will be available for $39 to $99. Recall that Cobra works with traffic feeds via Clear Channel who has an agreement with Inrix, provider of traffic flow data for dozens of major metro cities. See our report from earlier today for more on Inrix coverage and their technology.
Original Story follows: Cobra is set to launch the NavOne 2500, the follow-up to the well known NavOne 4500. The NavOne 2500 is set to enter the mid-tier segment of the market with a 3.5" color touch screen, and a new software platform for Cobra. More after the jump...
Cobra is set to launch the NavOne 2500, the follow-up to the well known NavOne 4500. The NavOne 2500 is set to enter the mid-tier segment of the market with a 3.5" color touch screen, and a new software platform for Cobra. The Nav One 2500 will feature Cobra's iA.S.A.P. (Intelligent Accelerated Satellite Acquisition Protocol) technology, which takes advantage of 12 parallel channels for faster acquisition and uninterrupted satellite signal reception in urban canyons and dense foliage.
We reviewed the Cobra Nav One 4500 here at GPS Lodge: Check out our Review.
Cobra Electronics Corporation announced their latest quarterly results which included a 31.2 percent increase in sales, but a first quarter net loss of $1.1 million, compared to a net loss in the prior year, of $1.4 Million, absent certain non-operating gains. Things aren't all bad though for the GPS area, as "Cobra's sales increase in the first quarter reflected improved sales of mobile navigation products, including the NAV ONE 4000 and NAV ONE 4500," said Jim Bazet, Cobra's President and Chief Executive Officer.
There's a decent article in the Boston Globe this morning that talks about how traffic reporting works. It talks of how it's changing from some guy in a chopper to a pretty complex system of data reporting through roadside sensors and passive cell phone monitoring to get data uploaded to places like Traffic.com and NAVTEQ and then back out to you through XM satellite (or FM transmission) feeds. Many of the new Garmin units (StreetPilot C340, StreetPilot 2720 and 2730)as well as TomTom GO 300, GO 700, and the Cobra NavOne 4500 come with available traffic feed services. The traffic feed system is still in its infancy in my opinion, but will quickly become a must have feature for commuters in heavy traffic cities.
Another review has popped up on the Cobra NavOne 4500 over at CNet. We used the Cobra NavOne 4500 for about a month and reviewed it here at the GPS Lodge last November. We liked it for its large screen and the luxury of features that you can put on such a large screen. (Read our review). The size was an issue for us as the unit fell off the windshield one day as I was driving down the road, but Cobra tells me that they are fixing this mount problem. We weren't so impressed with the traffic feeds as they seemed to show things in better light than I thought they should be, but they show promise and I believe that traffic feeds are THE feature of GPS units for the car in the coming years. John Delaney over at CNet wrote in their review that they thought the Cobra NavOne 4500 was excellent and gave it 8.3 out of 10 (Excellent), and said the "Overall the NavOne is a winner."
Readers of GPS Lodge might remember the name Inrix as I have mentioned the company here a couple of times. Inrix has taken on the test of modeling traffic in major cities and then predicting what will happen as a result of bad weather, or an accident, let's say. Inrix knows that when an accident happens in the middle lane on a certain major road, that it will take so many hours for the road to clear again and function normally. Inrix watches in real time what is happening and then predict what traffic will be like as a result. With this information you can route plan for the fastest routing.
There are a couple of nice write up on them with some extra news (links below).
Magellan Roadmate 760, Cobra 4500, CoPilot Live & Parrot Honored
The Magellan Roadmate 760, the Cobra 4500, the CoPilot Live Smartphone 6 and the Parrot 3400 LS- GPS were named a 2006 Innovations Design and Engineering honorees in the Vehicle/Mobile Electronics category by the Consumer Electronics Association. While they didn't win the category - that honor was given to the maker of a rooftop that turns your car into a rolling WiFi hotspot, it's still good recognition that these folks are turning out well designed products in the GPS category.
Cobra New Line of GPS Enhanced AURA Radar Detectors
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Readers of GPS Lodge might remember the name Inrix as I have mentioned the company here a couple of times. Inrix has taken on the test of modeling traffic in major cities and then predicting what will happen as a result of bad weather, or an accident, let's say. Inrix knows that when an accident happens in the middle lane on a certain major road, that it will take so many hours for the road to clear again and function normally. Inrix watches in real time what is happening and then predict what traffic will be like as a result. With this information you can route plan for the fastest routing.
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