DVice: Google has just released its free navigation software for mobile phones running Android 2.0, much to the chagrin of the big names in the GPS game.

While folks like Garmin and Magellan have plenty to fear, even companies that use an iPhone app have to be worried too, because this, like most things Google, is just so much cooler than anything out there.

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Garmin has tried to break out of the GPS-only world with its own phone partnership, but it seems to be way too little, too late in that market.

Magellan doesn’t even have a dog in the phone fight. Many companies are going the app route, but given the popularity of anything related to Google, it’s gonna be tough to compete.

One thing’s for sure: say “electronic maps” to anyone, and the first name they think of is the big G. While currently only available on the Android 2.0 system, Google has made it clear that it’s willing to play on the iPhone if Apple will allow it.

New smartphones have been announced by Motorola and Verizon that will be running Android 2.0 and Google Maps for Mobile, which the navigation service is a part of.

You have to wonder if anyone is going to buy a standalone GPS when so many navigation programs are available on phones?

Android garmin google Google Maps magellan TomTom

Electronista: Google today provided added details of the turn-by-turn mapping service found on the Motorola Droid.

Google Maps Navigation adds many of the features that would normally exist in a dedicated GPS unit, such as a bird’s-eye view and spoken directions, but takes advantage of Google’s existing Maps features.

Traffic is free in those areas where Google provides service, and Street View can show directions overlaid on top of in-location photos.

Search is naturally rolled into Navigation and lets drivers use voice or typed commands to navigate to a location by search criteria rather than a specific address.

Long-distance travelers can launch a search in mid-drive and find just the points of interest close to the already planned route.

Google Maps Navigation ships first on the Droid as a beta but will be available for all Android 2.0 devices.

The company also says it’s cooperating with Apple to bring the feature to the iPhone through its built-in Maps tool but hasn’t given a timetable for when it expects the feature to be ready.

The unveiling is a potential coup for Google. Although RIM’s BlackBerry line and most GPS-aware Nokia phones include company-made turn-by-turn apps, these either have limited functionality or require a paid subscription to work properly.

Google Maps requires an active Internet connection to download map data but is otherwise free to use where most stand-alone apps, including for the iPhone, often carry a significant initial fee and often charge extra for future map updates.

Android google Google Maps

BBC: A video-game that boasts rap artist Jay-Z amongst its advisors is hoping to capitalise on the popularity of music titles despite poor sales forecasts.

DJ Hero will be launched in the UK on Thursday and allows players to emulate their music-mixing idols. Its publishers hope it will emulate the success of Guitar Hero, the rock-based game that let users jam along to tracks using a guitar-shaped controller.

However, US games analysts believe the game will not sell as well as expected.

“We remain very cautious about the title’s prospects at launch,” Doug Creutz at analysts Cowen and Company said in a report.

“A survey of online retailers indicates a demand profile that is well below what we would have expected to see just a few days before launch for a title that was destined to be a big (or even modest) hit.”

The company has reduced its US sales estimates for the fourth quarter of the year from 1.6 million to 600,000 and its first year estimate from 2.5 million to 950,000.

“We still believe that DJ Hero will be an important part of Activision Blizzards music franchise strategy, but we think it may take a few versions of the game for it to reach its full market potential,” he wrote.

dj hero

BBC: A new mobile phone charger that will work with any handset has been approved by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations body.

Industry body the GSMA says that 51,000 tonnes of redundant chargers are generated each year.

Currently most chargers are product or brand specific, so people tend to change them when they upgrade to a new phone. However, the new energy-efficient chargers can be kept for much longer.

The GSMA also estimates that they will reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 13.6m tonnes.

“This is a significant step in reducing the environmental impact of mobile charging,” said Malcolm Johnson, director of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardisation Bureau.

“Universal chargers are a common-sense solution that I look forward to seeing in other areas.”

The charger has a micro-USB port at the connecting end, using similar technology to digital cameras. It is not compulsory for manufacturers to adopt the new chargers but the ITU says that some have already signed up to it.

“We are planning to launch the universal charger internationally during the first half of 2010,” Aldo Liguori, spokesperson for Sony Ericsson told the BBC. “We will roll it out with new products as they launch.”

phone charger

iPodNN: TomTom changed its usual formula with the launch of an installable in-dash GPS unit. The GO I-90 occupies two DIN slots in any car and provides a large touchscreen with both TomTom’s staple GPS as well as media features the company normally has no reason to use.

Owners of iPods can plug the Apple devices into a USB port to both play and charge their devices; the unit also has generic MP3 player support and its own FM radio tuner. GPS features aren’t extensive but do bring Map Share for community-created data, an emergency mode, speed camera alerts, as well as a unique use of the car’s radio antenna to improve reception for Traffic Message Channel (TMC) updates.

Bluetooth is present for hands-free calling. The GO I-90 is shipping to Europe first for €599 and will be ready by December.

go i 90 TomTom

Electronista: The European Commission today reached a roundtable agreement with several music stores and labels to ensure more widely distributed music for the continent.

Apple, Amazon, BEUC, EMI, Nokia, PRS for Music, SACEM, STIM, and Universal now say they will work with the Commission to desegregate music licensing in European Union countries and have labels produce licenses that work across multiple if not all member states.

They will also more freely exchange information so that companies can get rights outside of a musician’s home country.

The group promises a roadmap but hasn’t provide specific timelines for the changes. A deal follows legal pressure from the Commission on the music industry to provide fairer competition.

Online stores and labels have been accused of unfair catalog availability as the lack of widespread distribution often leaves smaller countries with poor selections in iTunes; Amazon has yet to offer its MP3 store outside of the US.

Apple has routinely shifted the blame to labels as many of these don’t or can’t license music in certain areas. Many licensing firms, like SACEM in France, often have a majority or exclusive right to license music and are sometimes unable or unwilling to license music from other nation

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