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HardwareZone: BMW today announced the availability of Real Time Traffic Information (RTTI) in select BMW models (i.e. the X5, M5, M6, and the 3, 5, and 6 Series) sold in the States. The new service will offer timely traffic information and dynamic rerouting.

Unlike other automobile manufacturers that charge a recurring monthly fee for RTTI, or require customers to pay for an additional satellite radio service, BMW has included RTTI as part of the cost of the navigation system for select 2007 BMW models. There are no activation fees or recurring monthly charges to BMW customers for 4 years.

BMW’s new RTTI service will be available in as many as 44 major metropolitan markets through Clear Channel’s Total Traffic Network, Clear Channel Radio’s award-winning programming and technology service that delivers Real Time Traffic Information directly to vehicles over its extensive network of FM radio stations.

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Amsterdam-based navigation solution provider TomTom and Citroën have signed a partnership agreement to provide the TomTom One ‘Europe’ as an accessory in all Citroën dealerships.

Under the agreement, the new TomTom One ‘Europe’ version will now be available to European customers purchasing a Citroën vehicle from a Citroën dealership.

Citroën customers will also be able to request certain other features, such as Traffic and Weather packages, but these come at an additional cost. TomTom Buddies is another such paid service which helps to locate friends and send text messages or navigate directly to them using a Bluetooth compatible phone and GPRS connection.

The agreement currently covers Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, the UK, Denmark, Benelux, Switzerland, Austria, Norway and Sweden.

Sources: Automotive World and Forbes

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Sony have announced two new portable Sat Nav models – the NV-U80 and NV-U81T.

Both feature ‘Position Plus’, which sorts you out with directions even when GPS signals are playing up.

You can also programme the models so that the info you’re after will pop up at the gentle stroke of a single finger. And they’re Bluetooth enabled.  Full product specs are on Sony’s website.

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T3: Nokia looks set to install Sat Nav on its N-series mobile phones following their acquisition of a German sat nav software developer called Gate5.

Gate5 has worked on in-car systems for VW and Daimler Chrysler in the past, as well as the smart2go software for Symbian-based smart phones. Nokia’s handsets use the Symbian operating system.

The company will kick off its entry into the sat nav world with a seperate GPS unit and software update for the Nokia 770.

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JCN Network: Pioneer will be releasing their AVIC-HD3BT hard disk Sat Nav system into the Russian market.  It’s claimed to be the first all-in-one hard disk drive-based navigation system for the region’s consumer market.

In Russia, there’s been a lot of interest in in-car audio/visual entertainment centering on DVD media. With its recent energetic economy, consumer appetite in navigation systems is growing stronger.

Pioneer launched the world’s first GPS car navigation system designed for the Japanese consumer market in June 1990, followed by the European and North American consumer markets in 1999 and Chinese market in March 2006.

The navigation software includes Russian interface and voice guidance. The hardware seems to be similar to the European AVIC-HD1BT

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Guardian Unlimited: The UK Government is to invest another £21 million (around €30 million) in a European space mission to build a new satellite navigation system.

The investment forms part of a £2.4 billion scheme to provide Europe with its own independent system by 2010.

Surrey Satellite Technology built a test satellite which was successfully launched from Kazakhstan late last year.

And Astrium UK and LogicaCMG are major partners in Galileo Industries, the consortium of European companies building the first four test satellites

In-car direction terminals and other tracking technologies rely at present on the US military-based Global Positioning System (GPS).

Galileo will be a civil system, run by a private consortium and offering guaranteed levels of service.

The full constellation of Galileo satellites is expected to be in operation by the end of 2010.

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Stuff: Ahead of the Tokyo Game Show in September, news has been leaked of Sony’s plans to release GPS receiver and camera accessories for their PSPs.

The add-on GPS receiver will be most likely designed for car use, but there would be no reason why you wouldn’t be able to use it on foot as well.

Here’s an unofficial first look:

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Tech Digest: Sat Nav makers Navman have teamed up with Lonely Planet travel publishers to offer users descriptions and pictures of places of interest around the world.

Users will also be able to search for popular places of interest withouth knowing the exact address – all they’d need to to is identify a photo of the place they’re looking for.

This new innovation is Navman’s NavPix system, which combines a picture of a place with its exact geographical coordinates.

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Engadget: TomTom will be releasing their entry-level TomTom One sat nav device in North America.

Retailing around $500, the specs are pretty much the same as the original, but with a new loook and reduced size.

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