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Filed under: GPS

It’s been a solid tick since we’ve seen a new Maestro, but the latest and greatest from Magellan is here to help navigate you into the nearest body of water, bridge or narrow lane. The unit offers up a 4.3-inch WVGA display, Bluetooth (and thus, handsfree calling), a built-in AAA TourBook, QuickSpell, rechargeable battery, integrated MP3 player, live traffic support and an FM transmitter. We don’t really see anything super special here, but Magellan is mighty proud of this thing — or, at least that’s the impression we get from the $599.99 MSRP.

[Via GPSTracklog]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: GPS

It looks like those wanting a GPS unit that’s a bit more stylish than the usual fare now have a new option to consider from Navman, which has just introduced is IDEO-designed S100 model. In addition to being shiny, this one measures just 13.5-mm thick, and packs a 4.3-inch “super flat” touchscreen, all the usual PMP features, 3D maps, Navman’s trademark NavPix photo navigation, and SirfStar’s InstaFix II, which promises to deliver a GPS fix five times faster than normal. It also uses Mio’s new “Spirit” software with Glide Touch, which provides “simple tap and slide functionality,” but apparently not full multi-touch. No word on a release ’round these parts, but folks in the UK will be able to pick this one up in November for $199, or roughly $340.

[Via NaviGadget]

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Source: Donald Melanson

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Filed under: GPS

Details are understandably scarce at the moment, but Navigon is apparently taking its 1+ year old 5100 navigation unit to the max. The predictably titled 5100 max has reportedly just seen its way into the FCC’s lair, and we’re told that it’ll feature a 4.3-inch display, Bluetooth, text-to-speech and lifetime traffic / Zagat ratings. As for price and availability? We’ll have to wait for the official word from Navigon on those bits. In the meanwhile… Rockford or Chicago?

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: GPS, Laptops

Word is that Dell’s Mini 9 is a modder’s paradise, rife with precious little alcoves in which to squeeze teeny-tiny new stuff. The confirmation: MyDellMini forum user Tom Beauchamp bought a USB GPS receiver (not much larger than a quarter) and snugly fit it inside his Mini’s case. He’s provided images and instructions so you, too, can illegally navigate with your notebook computer in the passenger’s seat of your car. We can’t recommend that sort of irresponsibility, but if you want to mod it just because you can, hit the read link for the instructions and images. Beware, of course, that a minimum amount of technical savvy is required to avoid breaking a perfectly good little laptop. Like that was ever going to stop you.

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Source: Samuel Axon

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Filed under: GPS, Wireless

Skyhook’s WiFi positioning service hasn’t really appeared in many devices despite its high-profile usage in the iPhone, but now it looks like it’s set to become downright ubiquitous — Broadcom is planning on building it directly into its extremely popular WiFi chipsets. Just like Skyhook’s deal with SiRF, the idea is to use WiFi positioning to supplement GPS in mobile devices, allowing location-based services to function indoors and in densely-built cities where GPS doesn’t always work well. No word on when we might see any devices with Skyhook-enabled chips in them, but given Broadcom’s reach in the market, we’d guess it won’t be too long.

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Source: Nilay Patel

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Filed under: Gaming, GPS

You love free things, right? Well, we love giving away things — so that’s kind of a match made in virtual heaven — and let’s be honest, in these dire economic times, you probably need all the free stuff you can get. Right now, we’re in the extremely delightful position of being able to hand over a Magellan Roadmate 1400 GPS unit and a copy of the new Xbox 360 game Baja: Edge of Control, and all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. That’s right — so little effort for so much reward! Interested? Read the rules below!

The rules:

• Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, though we’d love to hear how you plan to put this GPS unit and game into play (we’re hoping not at the same time, of course).
• You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
• If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you’ll be fine.
  
• Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
• Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one (1) Magellan Roadmate 1400 GPS unit and one (1) copy of the Xbox 360 game Baja: Edge of Control. Approximate value is $310.
• Entries can be submitted until Monday, October 6th, 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
• Full rules can be found here.

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Source: Joshua Topolsky

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Filed under: GPS

Ever since TomTom’s latest ONE navigator hit back in April, we’ve been left waiting, wondering when the next ONE XL would ever surface. Thanks to the FCC and its all-knowing database, we can confidently say that the unimaginatively named ONE XL II (what, ONE XXL was taken?) is well on its way to a US release. The user’s guide doesn’t give us much in the way of actual specifications, but based on the magnificently taken external photographs, we suspect this one will be more evolutionary and less revolutionary. Not that you couldn’t guess that from the name, but whatever.

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: GPS

It’s no secret that the police have been using GPS to track cars for some time now, often without a warrant or court order and, as The Washington Post now reports, it looks like the practice is only getting more and more commonplace. That is mostly due to the fact that courts usually side with the police in the resulting cases that arise out of the use of GPS trackers, with them agreeing with the argument that it is essentially no different than having an officer physically track a car themselves. They also cite a 1983 Supreme Court case that allowed the use of “beepers” that relay a car’s location to police. Of course, others, like attorney Chris Leibig, have an entirely different opinion, saying that, “tracking a person everywhere they go and keeping a computer record of it for days and days without that person knowing is a completely different type of intrusion.” Given that at least some state courts, like Washington state, side with that position and require a warrant for GPS trackers to be used, it would seem likely that this matter could eventually wind up being decided in the Supreme Court as well.

[Via Slashdot]

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Source: Donald Melanson

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