Asus R50A which we undiscovered at CES at the beginning of this year has finally hit U.S. shores. The device just got its FCC approval meaning it will be available to American consumers very soon.
It looks like the initial specs we posted are still valid including the integrated GPS receiver.
(Via NaviGadget.)
Yes, that’s a cell phone sitting in few inches of water with a digital compass on its display. Called Casio Boulder, this is the newest addition to the G’zOne rugged phone series. Just like the other G’zOne this one also features integrated GPS receiver and a 1.3MP digital camera.
It will be available from Verizon in August for $130 after a $50 mail-in rebate and a 2 year contract. Here are the other important features of Casio Boulder.
And of course it meets military specifications (810F) for water, shock and dust resistance; immersion; vibration, salt fog; humidity; solar radiation; altitude; and low and high temperature storage…
(Via NaviGadget.)
NEC’s PaPeRo robot has been around since 1997 but recently just made head lines again. Papero is a home robot and its name stands for Partner-type-Personal-Robot. We’re not sure about the details but it sounds like Papero somehow manages to beam itself into your GPS navigation system :)
For example, when a user in house tells the robot that he is ‘going to Yokohama on a date,’ the robot recognizes that person’s voice and uploads the information to the server via wireless LAN, etc. The server performs an arithmetical operation on the uploaded information in consideration of the dialogue history between the robot and the user, the knowledge information inputted to the robot, the season, the time, etc.
Then, information on the best route for the user to go to Yokohama on a date is calculated, and the result is sent to the user’s car navigation system, etc and displayed on the screen. Therefore, the user only has to get in the car and talk to the robot to reach his destination by the best route.
Also, the company added a twist to the car navigation screen by displaying a character resembling PaPeRo on it.
gps navigation on htc touch diamond
GPS navigation software maker ALK just introduced CoPilot LIve 7, an exclusive edition for HTC Touch Diamond.
The software comes on a DVD which automatically transfers and installs maps and software to Touch Diamond. You don’t have to do much as far telling CoPilot how to talk to the GPS receiver since it automatically detects the phone’s built-in GPS receiver.
The display is apparently also modified for Touch Diamond and you can use the wheel to zoom in and out. It is currently out in Europe for £60 for UK and Ireland maps and £90 for maps of all of Europe.
(Via NaviGadget.)
Navigon 8110 - 3D maps on your Car GPS
Navigon has the Navigon 8110 out in the UK and it comes with new 3-D maps that allow you to see the contour of the roads and landscape around you. I assume they've figured out how to show you what's n the other side of that hill when you are coming up to its peak.
I wouldn't be surprised to see this come out on a Garmin device here soon. The recent introductions including the Garmin Colorado handheld and the Nuvi 500/550 series announced yesterday they are showing the basic components of this: 3-D views on the Colorado, that allow you to see what lies ahead in a similar point of view. While the Nuvi 500/550 has the normal 2-D topographical maps, it sets the stage for other offerings and map options that must have Garmin playing with alternative representations of how you would like to drive down the road.
(Via GPS Lodge.)
Navigon has a European version of its 2100 series called Navigon 2150 max. Unlike 2110 or 2120 this one has maps for almost all of Europe.
Here are the features of Navigon 2150 Max:
Navigon 2150 Max will sell for 300 Euros and for an additional 20 Euros you can get map updates for two years…
(Via NaviGadget.)
Garmin nuvi 500 and 550 for driving, walking, cycling or boating
The rumors were true -- Garmin announced today the introduction of the nuvi 500 series -- multi-use navigators for driving, cycling, walking and boating. Ruggedized and waterproof, the nuvi 500 series sports a 3.5' touchscreen and appears to share the feature set and much of the interface of the nuvi 2x5 series I wrote about this morning, including the ability to add MSN Direct or FM/TMC traffic.
The nuvi 500 comes with pre-loaded City Navigator and topo maps of the 48 contiguous United States, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The 550 offers highway coverage of the entire U.S. and Canada but drops the topo maps.
Both units have a removable, li-ion battery (rated at up to 8 hours), with a micro-SD card slot underneath it. A usage mode indicator at the top of the home screen (pictured below) allows you to change modes.
Unlike the' 2x5 series, the units support multi-destination routing, and I assume this applies to driving mode as well as the other modes. They do not support text-to-speech.
One big unknown is whether or not the units support a dedicated geocaching mode, with full-blown paperless geocaching support ala the Colorado and Oregon series.
Availability is listed as the 3rd quarter, and I expect we'll see these units at the Outdoor Retailer (OR) trade show next month if not sooner. One retailer is showing an availability date of August 10 for the nuvi 500, which coincides well with an unveiling at OR.
I'll either update this post or put up a new post as additional information becomes available.
(Via GPS Tracklog.)
