Category: Satellite Navigation systems
Sony saving us money for once – adds local garage petrol prices to its satnav displays
With it now costing more to drive to the shops than you spend on food when you get there, this little GPS innovation from Sony could be the answer to saving literally several pence a month.
Sony’s taken its Japanese PetaMap system and added support for local petrol price data – which can then be viewed on your Sony GPS system, letting users shave fractions of a yen off the price of each litre – just like the UK-based…
JATY DR7200 sat nav with MP3 player, DMB television and breathalyzer
Those crazy Koreans have brought out a new auto toy to tell if you’re fit to drive after a few jars of the sauce. Yes, the JATY DR7200 doubles as a breathalyzer as well as a GPS buddy, MP3 player, ebook reader, DMB television device, games console and all round modern day motoring Swiss Army Knife…
CADRE: New sat-nav system helps drivers more accurately plan journeys
Satellite navigation devices are great, except when they accidentally land you on railway lines, but they can still wind you up in a serious traffic jam if you’re not careful.
Although many models can work with information fed in from cameras and sensors to help drivers avoid traffic congestion, a new system in development allows drivers to feedback to the system in real time…
FineDigital launching sat-nav with speech recognition
FineDigital has announced the imminent launch of its FineDrive Bio satellite navigation device which is able to respond to a user’s voice commands rather than needing to be tapped.
Using “Fine Speech Recongiser” technology from ETRI, which stores up to 450,000 words in its dictionary, users can speak their destination. It’s not clear whether they can also issue commands while driving, such as switching the map view or getting other statistics, but that would be very useful, and safer…
Garmin partners with GyPSii geo-social network, find where your friends are and how to get there
Sat-nav expert Garmin has announced a long-term deal with the geo-location and social networking site GyPSii, which will give the hardware manufacturer access to a range of new services including friend finding, sharing of photos and videos, and mobile search.
GyPSii already runs on a wide range of mobile phone operating systems, including Symbian, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, and the iPhone, and in an increasingly competitive market it’s not surprising that Garmin would want to partner in order to give its sat-navs and mobile phones more social skills…
"Michael, turn left in 50 metres" – Knight Rider KITT-themed satnav on the way
GPS company Mio is producing a Knight Rider-themed in-car GPS device that looks – and sounds – like good old KITT. It will be on the Christmas present list of every man over 30 this year.
The pulsing flashing red lights up both sides of the unit are a nice touch, but there’s one extra magical feature inside. Maker Mio is believed to be getting William Daniels – the original voice of KITT – onboard to provide the spoken driving instructions…
Sat navs sent haywire by Northern Lights
Scientists have discovered that the the effects of the Northern Lights on the Earth’s atmosphere can cause sat navs to go wrong.
Researchers from the University of Bath showed that the electromagnetic interference interrupts signals from GPS satellites to the in-car devices, meaning that sat navs either state faulty positions or lose their places altogether…
Sat Nag – the entirely useless in-car navi-comp gift that somehow keeps on giving
“In 100 meters, I’m going to talk to you in that special voice, which should let you know you’ve upset me in some way that is bound to be your fault,” so says the Sat Nag which shows you’ll never need to be without your partner again as you struggle to find your way on the road.
Yes, your car journey will never be devoid of the wonderful feelings of anger, frustration and near-on divorce. Just pop the Sat Nag on your dash and your marriage will feel right on track even if your way through the traffic isn’t. Absolutely no GPS use whatsoever but an incredibly patronising female voice…
No TomTom software for iPhone 3G in development
It seems someone at TomTom’s been telling porkies after the Dutch company denied the existence of any navigation software for the iPhone 3G…
Binatone offers Bluetooth-friendly GPS at Tesco for under £100
Binatone is one of those tech names you remember from your childhood, always knocking out cheaper versions of the latest gadgetry. And it is still doing it with the C350BT PND, available from Tesco…
