09
Sep
2011
GPS Business News: Today Garmin and its newly acquired subsidiary NAVIGON have hosted a press conference at the IFA trade show in Berlin.
At this stage the companies have presented together their products but the portfolio, which was designed months before the acquisition was obviously separated with a range of new NAVIGON product and the European version of the Garmin lineup announced in the United States a few days ago. (more…)
25
Aug
2011
Engadget: It’s time for Garmin to refresh its lineup and flood the market with a slew of dash-mounted GPS devices. In total there are six new series of navigators, with countless models scattered amongst them. The “essential” nüvi 30, 40 and 50 (top left) lines come in three sizes: 3.5-inch, 4.3-inch, and 5-inch sizes (we’re sure you can guess which is which), and cover all the basics including a lifetime’s worth of free map updates. (more…)
05
Jul
2011
Navigadget: Magellan just introduced a new RoadMate GPS with WiFi, called the Magellan RoadMate 5175T-LM GPSnavigation device.
The new GPS navigation system is already available for purchase for $300. It comes with a 5″ touch screen and WiFi connectivity. With the Wifi you get a built-in internet browser that lets you search for destinations on popular social travel sites or points of interest. You can also check for software or map updates and download them right there and then. (more…)
30
Jun
2011
Akihabaranews: Mitsubishi Electric has introduced today a new Car Navigation System with the NR-MZ50. Announced at 150,000 Yen and schedule for August, this new 2DIN AV GPS comes with this usual GPS and Traffic Thingy but also includes a 12Seg (12x1Seg) TV Tuner, with the capacity for you to record TV shows either while driving on its 8GB of internal memory or on a SD Card, as well as allowing to enjoy your favorite Movie on DVD while stuck in traffic Jam. Not interested in DVDs anymore? Don’t worry Mitsubishi also included on this GPS AV System an HDMI (Type E) port to let you plug any external BD player.
The NR-MX50 comes with the usual USB, Bluetooth, iPod Support.. and comes with a 7” 800×480 touchscreen.
12
May
2011
Akihabaranews: Since Panasonic has full control over Sanyo it is not “strange” to see Sanyo’s products now re-branded as Panasonic ones, like for example today’s new Gorilla’s SSD GPS.Gorilla SSD GPS with AV and Panasonic’s Strada technology.
The first models, introduced by Panasonic today are high-end GPS available in four different flavors with the CN-SP710VL, CN-SP710VD and CN-SP510VL, CN-SP510VD which are respectively featuring a 7” Wide VGA LED Backlight screen and 5” Wide VGA LED Backlight one.
All models are technically similar and features the same function as well as the same amount of memory with an internal 16GB SSD, with free map update for three years and improved data/GPS collection information for more accurate locating and guidance.
Gorilla SSD GPS with AV and G Appli technology.
Here you are there another Sanyo’s only technology now under the Panasonic name, G Appli was Sanyo’s way to let customers upload personal Data, Google Map POI and other personal information or Tour Guide data related to travels and personal preference from your computer to your GPS via an SD card.
These G Appli Gorilla SSD GPS are available in 9 different version with the :
CN-SP707FVL, CN-SP707FVD, CN-SP605FVL, CN-SP605FVD, CN-SL305L, CN-SP705L, CN-SP505VL, CN-GL300D, and CN-GL410D.
The first four models the CN-SP707FVL, CN-SP707FVD, CN-SP605FVL, CN-SP605FVD comes with a 7” and 6.2” screen, 8 or 16GB of SSD, Digital TV Tuner, VICS while the other models comes with either a 5 ot 7” screen 4 or 8GB of SSD and with a 1Seg TV Tuner and optional VICS.
07
Apr
2011
NaviGadget: TomTom last week announced three new GPS navigation systems for professional use – each with 5″ display.
They all offer mileage logging, time logging, status reports, and more which are part of TomTom’s WORKsmart system. Some other features include IQ routes technology, ECO routes, lane guidance, text-to-speech, and hands free calling. The difference is PRO 7150 TRUCK offers truck specific routing which accounts for cargo, heigh, weight restrictions for 15 European countries. PRO 9150 on the other hand has integrated WEBFLEET connection which doesn’t require the TomTom LINK.
Here is what the recommended pricing is like: PRO 7150 359 Euros, PRO 9150 429 Euros, and PRO 7150 TRUCK is 399 Euros.
07
Mar
2011
Electronista: Electronics maker Harman this week announced it will work with Mercedes-Benz to bring a flexible navigation system to the German vehicles. It will feel like a built-in, factory issued system as it will communicate with the car’s controls and display, but be removable and allow for software updates. Called Becker Map Pilot, the system will make its debut in the SLK and C-Class cars. Read more »
08
Dec
2010
(Credit: Automotive News)
Car Tech: Suppliers of navigation systems and their automaker customers are facing a tough new competitor. And the competitor is, literally, in their pocket.
That pesky device stuck to the windshield continues to cause trouble, too.
According to a J.D. Power and Associates study, 60 percent of people with a factory-installed navigation system also own either a portable device or a smartphone with a navigation system. In both cases, most consumers prefer to use the installed navigation system.
But one in four, given a choice, ignores the installed system–and that might spell trouble for the future.
Thirty-six percent of survey respondents had both a portable navigation device–such as those from TomTom International and Garmin–and a system installed in their vehicle. And 28 percent of consumers with both say they prefer to get directions from the portable device.
The pattern is similar for users of smartphones: twenty-four percent of respondents have them, and 28 percent of those with both a smartphone and an installed system say they prefer to use the phone.
The October survey of 17,517 drivers suggests no immediate serious trouble for suppliers that provide navigation systems. The list includes Clarion, Denso, Alpine Electronics, Pioneer, Harman International Industries, Hyundai Mobis, and Delphi Automotive.
But they shouldn’t be complacent, said Mike Marshall, director of automotive emerging technologies at J.D. Power. “It’s important that suppliers take into account some of the features that make these systems preferable,” Marshall said.
Those features include ease of use and more frequent updates for maps and points of interest.
Also, “Prices of factory-installed navigation systems need to stay competitive,” Marshall said.
Clarion appears to be meeting the challenge. The Cypress, Calif., unit of the Tokyo company partnered with Ford Motor to create navigation systems for the automaker’s vehicles. Several of those models led the industry in the Power study, which asked consumers to rate factory-installed navigation systems.
The top four systems in the survey were the ones in the Ford Fusion, Flex and Taurus and the Lincoln MKS. Clarion supplied all of them.
Clarion supplied 13 of the 50 vehicles with navigation systems that ranked better than the industry average. Denso and Harman, each had 11 vehicles in the top 50.
Marshall said that one of the factors in Clarion’s success is its partnership with Ford.
“Clarion also supplies the Nissan Infiniti vehicles, which aren’t scoring as high as the Ford vehicles but they are still doing well,” he said. “But it’s that true partnership that really brings it home, and it’s not one supplier all by itself.”
15
Oct
2010
TechRadar: Mobile navigation has put on a huge growth spurt in the past 12 months, with 44 million people using their mobile phones to get from a to b – a 57 per cent increase from last year.
The rise and rise of GPS-enabled mobile phones has seen a massive growth spurt for mobile navigation, as people begin to move onto platforms like Android and Apple’s iOS 4.
According to Berg Insight’s figures, the use of mobile navigation in the first half of 2010 increased by close to 60 per cent compared to the same period in 2009, and that number is set to grow further.
Nearly 200m
“The subscriber base is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.1 per cent to reach 195 million users worldwide in 2015,” added the report.
“Broad availability of GPS handsets and attractive pricing are key factors for widespread adoption of mobile navigation services.
“In the US, where GPS handset penetration is above 70 percent, navigation services for mobile phones has already reached about 8 percent of the total mobile subscriber base.”
As mobile phones with aGPS chips become prevalent, the pressure on the sat nav industry is growing, although many of the companies involved insist that there is still a need for a dedicated device.
20
Aug
2010
GPS Business News: One year after the inception of turn-by-turn GPS navigation apps on the iTunes store, German provider NAVIGON claims over 1 million users worldwide.
“Part of our success is dedication to consistently innovate the navigation market with new possibilities and delivery through free updates. In its first year, MobileNavigator led the navigation application market with its six cost-free, major updates that included over 30 new functions,” said Gerhard Mayr, NAVIGON vice-president worldwide mobile phones & new markets.
23
Jul
2010
GPS Business News: In a new report, market research firm iSuppli expects the inclusion of GPS technology in cell phones to explode, reaching 79.9 percent of cell phones shipped in the fourth quarter of 2011 (amounting to 318.3 million units), against 187.8 million units or 56.1 percent in the first quarter of 2009.
GPS adoption driven by Smartphones
“The smart phone is the key product driving the technology industry today—and social networking services and applications spurred by GPS-related features are critical elements in the smart phone market today,” said Dr. Jagdish Rebello, director and principal analyst for iSuppli. “This is illustrated by Google Inc.’s decision to make turn-by-turn navigation, LBS and mobile ads the central features in its bid to take on Apple in the smart phone market, and make up the central pillars of its strategy to increasingly monetize mobile search.”
iSuppli also sees an increased penetration of embedded GPS in a range of consumer and compute electronic devices by 2014. For example, iSuppli estimates that 18 percent of laptops and 42 percent of portable handheld video game players will have embedded GPS in 2014.
Altogether, the boom in mobile handset navigation will benefit suppliers of GPS semiconductors such as Texas Instruments, Broadcom Corp., Infineon Technologies and CSR.
21
May
2010
Engadget: Before you dismiss this as just another crazy idea out of Japan, hear us out. The newly developed, crab-simulating Navi Robo is designed to give drivers visual navigating assistance as a supplement to their GPS device. Its primary benefit, aside from helping the hearing impaired, will be in conveying instructions without requiring the driver to focus on it, as its eyes light up for attention and its “claws” vibrate urgently when an upcoming turn is imminent. Frankly, it looks both cute and functional, and we think kudos are in order for both Pioneer and iXs Research for coming up with the idea. They’ll be taking their usual good time (read: a couple of years) to refine and develop the idea, but we’ve got video of the robot doing its thing right now — you know where to find it.