Humminbird 997c SI

Humminbird 997c SI

A while ago we had talked about Humminbird 997c. That was 2007. Today we have a more advanced version of it called Humminbird 997c SI. Humminbird 997c SI - to be exact - is actually a Combo NVB Color Fish Finder and GPS Chartplotter, pre-loaded with Navionics Gold and Hotmaps.

What you do is put this marine GPS chartplotter in your boat (you’ve got one right?) and with its side-imaging sonar it will give you a clear image of your whereabouts and the surrounding fish with 180 degree coverage to 360 feet on either side, and 150 feet down. In addition it has DualBeam PLUS sonar which can reach 1500 feet and even provide wider coverage. Of course Humminbird 997c SI has an external GPS receiver and comes with built-in UniMap of USA lakes, rivers, and shores.

Some hardware specs of 997c SI are the 8″ TFT LCD screen with 800x480 resolution, SD card slot for chart recording, adjustable backlight, dual CPU and a separate graphics co-processor, and more.

(Via NaviGadget.)

Nissan GPS navigation system

Nissan GPS navigation system

Nissan is going to offer factory installed GPS navigation systems in their vehicles for a reasonable price. As you know GPS navigation is an add-on for most other car makers that usually tag about $2000 to the price of the vehicle. Since you can get a more capable portable GPS navigation system for less than $300 the navigation package always looked like a rip-off.

The GPS navigation system from Nissan on the other hand will only add an extra $400 to the price of the vehicle. The system is co-developed with Bosch and has a ‘more than enough’ 5″ touch screen, bluetooth connectivity, USB compatibility for your external music players, iPod support, and XM satellite and XM Traffic support. Not high end enough for you? How about if we said Nissan’s GPS navigation system also support hook up to a back up camera? Oh yeah. This is a good deal and you know it.

You’ll have to wait until January of next year to see this in your Nissan…

(Via NaviGadget.)

TomTom XXL 540S World Traveler Edition

TomTom XXL 540S World Traveler Edition

Remember the TomTom XXL 540S we mentioned back in September? Well they just came out with a new version of that called TomTom XXL 540S World Traveler Edition. As you may have guessed the only thing that’s going to different with this World Traveler Edition is the maps. The new XXL 540S will come with maps of U.S., Canada and Europe which requires a bigger 4GB internal memory.

Other features are pretty much the same, including text-to-speech, advanced lane guidance, seven million points of interests, TomTom Help Me, and Map Share technologies.

TomTom XXL 540S World Traveler Edition will cost $350 when it comes out in early December.

(Via NaviGadget.)

new Lowrance Elite Fishfinder and Chartplotters

new Lowrance Elite Fishfinder and Chartplotters

Lowrance just recently announced a new line of fishfinders and chartplotters called the Elite.

The new Lowrance Elite series currently has 3 models all of which are going to be available as soon as March 2010. The new models Elite-5x fishfinder, Elite-5m chartplotter and Elite-5 fishfinder/chartplotter. However only Elite-5 and Elite-5m chartplotter models feature a built-in 16-channel GPS+WAAS precision antenna. There’s basemap included in these models which covers more than 3000 lakes with information on shorelines, depth, and more. Of course you can also buy more maps and load them onto a microSD card which is supported.

Some other features of these marine GPS devices include 5″ sunlight readable display with 480x480 resolution, built-in memory, waypoint storage, and NMEA 0183 output.

Here is the pricing:

• Lowrance Elite-5x fishfinder: $449


• Lowrance Elite-5m chartplotter: $499


• Lowrance Elite-5 Combo chartplotter/fishfinder: $549

(Via NaviGadget.)

JVC and Kenwood unveil MDV-313

JVC and Kenwood unveil MDV-313

JVC and Kenwood have teamed up to release their maiden car navigation system known as the MDV-313, where this device is touted to bring the best of both worlds in a solitary device. You get a built-in DVD player (no Blu-ray yet), an integrated 1Seg TV tuner, a USB port and virtual 3D maps among others, where the highlight of the MDV-313 would be its high speed response time that is touted to improve the user experience by leaps and bounds. No idea on pricing or availability elsewhere, but this is set to hit Japan first.

(Via UberGizmo, the Gadgets News Blog.)

Coyote Mini v2 GPS radar detector

Coyote Mini v2 GPS radar detector

As you know there a lot of GPS radar detectors out there. And if you live in Europe we really advise you getting a radar detector since that continent is filled with speed cameras, red light cameras, and the usual cop with a radar gun.

Coyote is a big name in France for GPS radar detectors and they just came out with a new model called the Coyote Mini v2. This new version from the Coyote Mini series offer a screen that is twice as big as its predecessor. It has audible and visual alerts, can be configured without a PC or the internet, displays speed limits, and even real time traffic updates.

Coyote also has a community based web site where users can mark police hideout areas and participant has a confidence score based on their history.

Coyote Mini v2 promises no false alerts, highly configurable distances for highway and city, and reliable speed limits.

(Via NaviGadget.)

GPS safety cell phone

GPS safety cell phone

A company called Clayton Communications just came out with a GPS safety cell phone called ActiveONE. It is a very small GPS device with basic cell phone features and the ability to speed dial four people when you feel you’re in danger.

Active ONE also has a center SOS button which will immediately connect to a US-based 24/7 personal assistance call center. They claim this is better than calling 911 since the personnel already knows who is calling and may already know what kind of assistance you may need - in addition to your location of course.

One other neat feature is to let other family members figure out your location by calling the same call center.

It is mostly designed for the elderly who may have Alzheimer’s or some sort of dementia issues - but there’s no reason for others not to use it. If you’re giving to a very young kid - you better turn off the built-in fall detector though.

Check out their pricing and rates here.

(Via NaviGadget.)