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Übergizmo: CoPilot hopes to stumble upon a goldmine with a dedicated version of their satellite navigation software on the Apple iPad, where it will be known as the CoPilot Live HD. This version is a high resolution edition of the company’s iPhone CoPilot Live app, where it was specially designed to work on the iPad 3G.

All street maps will be stored on the device, where the app will make full use of the iPad 3G’s integrated GPS receiver. There is also an exclusive iPad function – a new split screen driving view that merges uncluttered 3D or 2D map displays with clear, non-distracting turn instructions. You will be able to switch between portrait and landscape automatically, while retaining the pinch-zoom functionality and access to iPod music controls from within the app just like on the iPhone. If you want to use the app with the iPad Wi-Fi version, then you will need to fork out more dough for a separate GPS dongle such as the Posimotion G-Fi.

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CNET: TomTom’s Go Live 1000 navigation device, set for a European launch this summer, will offer real-time connection for traffic, weather, and fuel info on the continent.

The connectivity across 33 European countries will come via Vodafone. That service will be free for the first year and cost 50 euros (about $67) annually after that. The GPS device itself doesn’t have a price tag or exact launch date yet.

The Go Live 1000 will feature a 500MHz ARM 11 CPU, 4GB of storage, 128MB of RAM, and a new user interface based on the open-source WebKit browser engine.

With TomTom’s IQ Routes tech, the device will review past traffic patterns to plan routes. TomTom’s HD Traffic system will analyze and show traffic flows and jams to continually determine the fastest route, the company said. The device will be able to download updates and new services remotely via an integrated modem.

The Go Live 1000 will be TomTom’s first GPS device to offer a capacitive touch screen a la those found on smartphones, along with high-resolution graphics. Traditional GPS screens have sometimes been hard to push and thus less responsive.

There is no word yet on whether or when the device may reach countries outside of Europe.

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Electronista: Ford added a new feature to its MyFord Touch in-dash car system on its way to launch. A new Eco-Routes feature gives drivers an extra option for GPS navigation that picks the most fuel-efficient path: it will avoid highways but still try to use major roads where the car can keep a consistent speed and save fuel. The system looks at historical data along with live traffic conditions to gauge where stop-and-go traffic might waste gas. (more…)

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GPS Business News: According to IMS Research, the GPS chipset market capped 300 million units in 2009. The research firm also published an optimistic outlook for the GPS chipset market in 2010 in their recently released quarterly tracker.

Tom Arran, a research analyst working on the service, explained “2009 has been a year of tremendous fluctuations. The start of the year had shipments into some verticals at record lows, for example year-on-year shipments into the PND market had fallen 41% due to inventory issues apparent in the market.” (more…)

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Pioneer.eu: In April and May, Pioneer will introduce six new NavGate systems, that mix unsurpassed navigation guidance with Bluetooth wireless technology and a host of multimedia capabilities.More than basic navigation units, these models enhance in-car travel with various communication and entertainment possibilities. The new NavGate line-up is easy to use, fits smoothly in all types of cars and can be customised to suit the your personal taste.

At heart, NavGate is about fast and precise in-car navigation. The new units offer a comprehensive, preinstalled map database from Tele Atlas covering 44 European countries and featuring millions of destinations and Points of Interest (POIs). Navigation is stress-free thanks to easy address input and fast route calculation.

To avoid any unwelcome surprises, all 2010 models come with a Traffic Message Channel (TMC) receiver that will inform you about traffic jams and incidents on your route.

Offering a range of interesting features, our proprietary NavGate Feeds PC and smartphone software has made navigation customisable. It enables you to find your own POIs from a range of sources, such as Google Maps mapping service, internet POI sites and geotagged images, and add them to your system’s maps using an SD card, USB device or Bluetooth.

The ECO Driving function provides driving status reports and visualises your impact on the environment.Thanks to NavGate Feeds, the units can estimate the fuel cost of trip routes as well as the vehicle’s CO2 emissions through detailed Drive Reports.

The application can also analyse driving habits over a period of time to give suggestions on how to be more economic with fuel. Read more…
 

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Cnet: I’m not saying that this is a good idea, but I am saying that I saw this coming. The freshly minted Apple iPad has found its way into the dashboard. Installers at Sound Man Car Audio have modified the dashboard of a Toyota Tacoma to accommodate Apple’s tablet, which will serve as the brains for a much more extensive installation.

It appears that the iPad will still be removable, which is good for security. Also, because until the Apple iPad 3G goes on sale, there isn’t any GPS functionality for nav and Pandora Radio streaming will only work when they’re near an open Wi-Fi hotspot, so the option to upgrade is nice. (more…)

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Hot Hardware: One of the biggest pains to buying a GPS system is the knowledge that your maps will be outdated within 12 months, if not sooner. TomTom knows it, and they’re doing something about it. Announced this week, the company is selling select navigation models that come with Lifetime Map and Traffic Updates. For free!

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CNet: General Motors and several US universities are working on a next-gen head-up display that could soon bring augmented reality to a car windscreen near you.

Unlike traditional head-up displays (HUDs), which only project data onto a small portion of the windscreen, the Enhanced Vision System uses the entire surface of the windscreen as a canvas. Cameras, radar sensors and night-vision imaging systems scan the road ahead, while a laser beams images onto a phosphor-coated windscreen that can emit visible light.

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NaviGadget: As you know may already know we’ve been keeping a good track of all the GPS navigation apps for the iPhone. We had already mentioned MapQuest there but this is worth mentioning again since they just released MapQuest 4 Mobile for iPhone – which is totally free.
We say it was time for iPhone users to get a taste of free GPS navigation. Android users have Google Maps in the U.S, Nokia users all around the world have Ovi Maps – now one our first internet favorites (late 90’s?) MapQuest comes to the rescue for iPhone users. Read more…

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Navigadget: According to an analysis firm in Sweden the number of GPS enabled handsets shipped worldwide increased 92% in 2009 to 150 million. If it continues with its 39% compound annual growth rate this number will be up to 770 million in 2014.

The articles acknowledges that almost all smartphones have GPS feature standard and the same is about to happen to even low-cost smartphones. It also says that feature devices will be able to analyze signals from GPS, Glonass, and Galileo at the same time but this still won’t be able to provide a reliable location info when indoors. To circumvent the problem measurements from cellular networks, and WiFi signals will have to be used together. Read more…

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Navigadget: Leica Geosystems seem to be getting ready to release a GPS navigation system in the U.S. of A. Looking at their product line they don’t seem to be focusing on consumer electronics so this probably would be their first attempt at the market.
This sat nav device which we came across the FCC site is called Leica mojoMINI and looks like most other GPS navigation system with a 4.3″ screen. It comes with a car charger, mounting bracket and cradle, and stylus for the touch screen. It has an SD card slot, mini USB charging port, headphone jack, and an embedded external speaker.
We’re not sure when this Leica mojoMINI will hit the market but we’ll be sure to let you know when it does.

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Akihabara: Panasonic proposed today alongside its 5 new PND, 3 New in Car GPS with the CN-HX910D, CN-HW890D and CN-HW860D. Sold between 200,000 to 280,000 Yen our midrange GPS all features a 7” WVGA screen, a 60GB HDD a DVD and CD player, as well as improved CD to HDD ripping algorithm to better improve disk copy as well as speed.

The CN-HX910D includes also a dual Digital and Terrestrial TV Tuner, as well as Bluetooth, while the CN-HW890D does not include a digital TV.

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