We just finished our review of the Navman N40i and you’ll probably want to take a look at what we found in our 100 plus hours of testing. We’ve reviewed many other Navman units in the past and we found some surprises on this one. Lighter and sleeker than the previous models and even a bountiful amount of POI’s in the database. But…well, just read the review and you’ll see.

Navicore, one of the leading European providers of GPS navigation software for mobile phones and devices recently declared that Navicore Personal will be made available for the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet, also recently released by Nokia. New upgrades to the GPS navigation system includes maps of North America, Australia, the Middle East, and South Africa, though I don’t personally know anybody planning trips to places such as the Middle East.

There are many benefits that come from the partnership between Navicore and Nokia, including the latest and greatest features of navigational software, internet enhanced navigation, and high resolution wide-screen display. The portable internet access enables consumers on the go to have access to a variety of internet services directly on the Nokia N800 tablet, along with clear voice guidance. The new system is designed specifically for connected mobile devices that is not only convenient for road trips and bike rides, but also an awesome pocket guide to the thousands of points of interest located in your area. Find restaurants, hotels, gas stations, and local hot-spots in your vicinity using this GPS system. Once the software is installed on your mobile device, it is free of charge. the maps and everything you need is stored on a memory card and no network operator is required.

“With its impressive widescreen display and extremely fast mobile Internet connectivity, the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet is the ideal platform for consumer friendly GPS navigation. By combining the award-winning Navicore Personal with the innovative Nokia N800 Internet Tablet, we can offer a superior navigation user experience that further extends fun and functionality, as well as control and confidence for the mobile lifestyle,” said Juha Murtopuro, CEO of Navicore.

Maps for this GPS navigation system are provided by TeleAtlas and provide highly accurate street maps with rich digital content. The current Navicore Personal 2007 version is available now at http://shop.navicoretech.com. The 2007 version for the N800 Tablet will be available next month through selected outlet stores and at www.nokia.com.

Travel Safety Group has just announced that they have dished out $10 million to Benefon for its new GPS technology. The Twig mobile navigation device will support the new Travel Safety GEOS System that provides a wide selection of travel safety and security devices. The new security devices include warnings that notify the user of potential health threats or life threats in the particular area they are in. For example, the GEOS system will notify travelers if they are about to enter a hostile area of a foreign city or a not so friendly part of a foreign country. Also included is hostage survival training and corporate services, such as medical and political evacuation plans. TSG and their new GEOS system provide unsurpassed security around the globe for worldwide travelers.

Benefon’s mobile phones will support the new GEOS system within the US. The TWIG Discovery and the new TWIG GPS Locator also have the GEOS system compatibility which delivers it’s travel safety and security to world wide travelers, all with extreme accuracy. In fact, Benefon’s technology is so accurate, it can pinpoint a travelers location to within 15 feet anywhere on the globe. If that person ever gets into a tight spot, all they have to do is press the emergency button and it will send a distress signal (along with GPS coordinates) to the control center in Houston, Texas. (Seriously.) The digital maps of the Global Security Monitoring System will pinpoint the person’s location. These people don’t quit, they are there ready to respond 24/7, 365 days a year. Talk about service!

Another neat feature is that if you have the right code, you can see where your employee or family member is from your personal computer. Peter Chlubek, Chairman of TSG stated that, “With our travelers now able to be equipped with a GPS phone that is registered with our patented GEOS System, we can ensure that our members receive all information that is relevant to wherever they may be on the planet. Our GEOS Command and Control Center, through our Global Emergency Monitoring system, can notify up to one million members per hour. We call it our GEM. It’s an immensely powerful tool in providing proactive emergency information that helps keep our members safe”.

For more information on this new product visit www.geosalliance.com and www.benefon.com.

Verizon Wireless today announced a full lineup of handsets that are capable of being located through its ChaperoneSM family locator service. Chaperone, which has previously been available only on the green LG Migo phone, gives families an added peace of mind while helping locate each other’s wireless phones. Chaperone family locator service is available today on the following Verizon Wireless handsets: the LG 3450L, perfect for pre-teens who want their own mobile phone, and the LG VX8300, LG Chocolate and the Motorola KRZR K1m, all perfect choices for a teenager or other family member who wants a phone that looks like it was designed for an adult.

Based on Global Positioning System (GPS) data, Chaperone is designed to supplement the parameters family members have already established with each other through two options, Chaperone Family Locator and Chaperone with Child ZoneSM. When it first became available in June of 2006, Chaperone with Child Zone marked the first time a wireless service allowed parents to establish predetermined areas in which a family member could travel with their phone where the parent would be automatically alerted about the location of the device when it entered or left the defined area. Features of these services include: Read the rest of this entry »

Franson Technology has launched GpsGate.com, a GPS mapping portal designed to enable people to share their locations from their Windows laptop or Windows Mobile-based Pocket PC device with anyone they have personally approved to “spot” them online.

GpsGate.com offers a great new way for a group of friends or colleagues to synchronize their lives for work or fun. Anyone that belongs to the same group can share their current location with the others in their group, which makes it easy to coordinate plans to meet for coffee in the morning, go shopping over lunch hour, attend client meetings in the afternoon or get together for drinks in the evening.

By logging in to GpsGate.com, users will be able to see their buddies moving in real-time on a map. To share their position with others in their group, they simply need to install GpsGate software on their Windows laptop or Windows Mobile Pocket PC. This software will enable them to share their GPS signal so that it can be received by fellow group members.

GpsGate.com also offers a Google Earth plug-in so that friends’ locations can be spotted on a satellite image rather than a map.

“Our aim for GpsGate.com is to provide a central portal for broadcasting your location for a specific group of friends or work colleagues, and for you to be able to ’spot’ them as well,” said Johan Franson, president of Franson Technology. “GpsGate is more than just a fun way to keep track of the people in your life-it offers very practical solutions for both work and personal purposes. In the near-term, our plans are to enable users to integrate parts of GpsGate.com to their own homepages so they can broadcast a sailing boat competition, for example, or allow friends and family to track you on your family trip.”

The company also plans to add business tools to GpsGate.com, such as the ability to track delivery trucks or field service technicians.

The GpsGate software for Windows or Windows Mobile Pocket PC is US$29.95.

Access to GpsGate.com is free.

Techwell was showing off their broad line of high performance TW88xx In-Car LCD display processors at their booth in Las Vegas two weeks ago at CES. The leading manufacturer of semiconductor solutions for the automotive world produced these processors in response to the growing demand for LCD displays in vehicles, primarily for Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and DVD players. All of the TW88xx processors featured at CES 2007 can directly support a variety of small size LCD panels from LG.Philips, Sharp, TMD, Hitachi, and others along with integrated timing controllers.

“Techwell has made a determined effort through R&D and collaborations with panel providers to develop the most integrated and feature rich LCD display processors available for in-car display applications.” said Feng Kuo, Ph.D., Chief Technical Officer. He added, “We are very pleased to supply our high-performance, scalable, and low cost products to the growing in-car entertainment market.”

The great thing about these processors is that they have the ability to simultaneously display different content viewable from various user angles in the vehicle. This means that the driver can be getting directions from the GPS while the passenger can be watching a DVD. Or the two kids in the back who can never agree on what movie to watch can watch two different DVDs at the same time, all on the same screen!

According to Telematics Research Group, shipments of navigation, entertainment and driver information systems are expected to grow from a combined 16.5 million units to a combined 47.2 million units in 2009, representing a compound annual growth rate of 23%. Along with automobile manufacturers who incorporate them into their new vehicles, These systems are also increasingly being purchased by consumers in the aftermarket. The newest model, The TW8806 is in mass production and will be available in mid 2007. Visit www.techwellinc.com for more info on this product.

Someone once mad the comment that: “I’ll be willing to look at thinking outside the box only after I’ve seen proof that there’s any thinking going on inside the box first.” This new product is definitely an example of thinking outside that box, and I mean, way outside.

The new product, Concierge, is actually quite simple. It’s an LCD screen built into a shopping cart. When a customer walks into their local supermarket and grabs a cart, the screen will come to life. It’ll tell its user about the store, provide them with a map so they don’t get lost. But it doesn’t stop there, oh no. Concierge will be able to provide shoppers with coupons, recipe ideas, and even keep an ongoing tally of your selected items.

It’s not only a tool to help shoppers; it’ll benefit storeowners as well. With built in GPS technology, managers will be able to see what isles are most visited, which ones aren’t visited at all, and what products are most often selected or just left alone on the shelf (hopefully for not too long.) Supermarkets and stores everywhere will be able take this info and tailor their establishments to consumers needs.

Rob Segal, Springboard’s CEO puts it this way. He said: “Every so often, you read about a device that just makes sense – so much so that you if find yourself thinking, ‘I can’t believe no one thought of that before.’ Concierge is just such a device.” Read the rest of this entry »