Though one may assume Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger would have, um, more pressing matters on his hands these days, the man has somehow found time to address a complaint put forth by a-many travelin’ Californians. Just this week Mr. Schwarzenegger signed into law a bill that was put forth earlier this year that will legalize windshield GPS mounting once more. Granted, stipulations are present, but at least you won’t be forced to point your retinas down at the cup holders in order to see your navigation system after January 1, 2009. In the new year, drivers in the Golden State will be able to suction their GPS unit in the “lower 7-inch corner farthest away from the driver or in the lower 5-inch corner closest to the driver.” If you go pressing your luck and throw it smack dab in the middle, be prepared for whatever fine you’re due.

[Via Gadling, image courtesy of GPS Tracklog]

Filed under: GPS, Transportation

Windshield GPS mounting legalized again in California originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, we’ve been totally into Mio’s Knight Rider GPS, but how does it really stack up? PC Magazine took it out for a test drive and found that the device is essentially a Moov 300, which they say has solid route calculation times and a straightforward menu system. The Knight Rider version comes pre-loaded with maps for the US, Canada and Puerto Rico — an improvement over typical Mio US-only map packs — and the reviewer likes the device’s 58 POI categories (compared to the Moov 310’s paltry 35). The biggest knock on the unit is the lack of live traffic on-board; you have to purchase a subscription and a separate receiver (not yet available on Mio’s web site). Of course, you could always go for the aforementioned 310 with a built-in traffic receiver (and $20 lower price tag), but how cool would that be? Not cool at all. Don’t take our word for it, though, hit the read link and check out the whole review for yourself.

Filed under: GPS

Mio’s Knight Rider GPS gets reviewed, high-fived originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: GPS, Transportation

GPS sends another driver onto train tracks of doom originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Gaming, GPS

You love free things, right? Well, we love giving away things — so that’s kind of a match made in virtual heaven — and let’s be honest, in these dire economic times, you probably need all the free stuff you can get. Right now, we’re in the extremely delightful position of being able to hand over a Magellan Roadmate 1400 GPS unit and a copy of the new Xbox 360 game Baja: Edge of Control, and all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. That’s right — so little effort for so much reward! Interested? Read the rules below!

The rules:

• Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, though we’d love to hear how you plan to put this GPS unit and game into play (we’re hoping not at the same time, of course).
• You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
• If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you’ll be fine.
  
• Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
• Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one (1) Magellan Roadmate 1400 GPS unit and one (1) copy of the Xbox 360 game Baja: Edge of Control. Approximate value is $310.
• Entries can be submitted until Monday, October 6th, 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
• Full rules can be found here.

Win a Magellan Roadmate 1400 satnav and ‘Baja: Edge of Control’ for the Xbox 360! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: GPS

Anybody can say they’re going to shell out for a Knight Rider GPS pre-order, but when the house party dies down and everyone peaces out, who actually keeps that order alive? For you, dedicated K.I.T.T. fan, your moment in the sun has arrived, as Mio’s legendary Knight Rider GPS is finally shipping within one to two business days. William Daniels is calling — are you tuned in?

[Via CNET]

Mio’s Knight Rider GPS now shipping to the hardcore fans originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Sep 2008 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: GPS

Ever since TomTom’s latest ONE navigator hit back in April, we’ve been left waiting, wondering when the next ONE XL would ever surface. Thanks to the FCC and its all-knowing database, we can confidently say that the unimaginatively named ONE XL II (what, ONE XXL was taken?) is well on its way to a US release. The user’s guide doesn’t give us much in the way of actual specifications, but based on the magnificently taken external photographs, we suspect this one will be more evolutionary and less revolutionary. Not that you couldn’t guess that from the name, but whatever.

TomTom’s ONE XL II makes pit stop in FCC database originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: GPS, Transportation

Comically enough, we already knew that Geek Squad employees took a few liberties with their company car, but this is a debacle. Can you imagine how enraged the poor sap is who was expecting this fool? They probably took a vacation day just to stay home and overpay for some potentially dodgy PC fixer to remove a virus. For shame.

Chris: “Late at night — well after their shifts end — testosterone-crazed Geek Squad and Firedog employees meet in alleyways across the nation for dangerous games of chicken that all too often end in tragedy.”
Paul: “Did you unplug it and then plug it back in? Look mom, I’m a little busy right now…”
Joe: “Geez… it’s called multi-tasking!”
Darren: “Hey there Brad from Circuit City! About that job ad on Craigslist…”
Don: “But sir, the GPS said I was going the right way.”
Sean: “Naw, really, I just scuffed up the paint on the bumper and lost the hubcap, the MRI disk is still secure.”
Nilay: “Hello… is it possible to retroactively buy that $29.95 PRP plan?”
Josh F.: “So I think we figured out the problem with your laptop. Looks like someone dropped it.”

[Thanks, DS]

Caption Contest: PC fixer destroys Geek Squad Beetle, phones for tech support originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: GPS

BBNav GPS unit promises to aid disabled drivers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: GPS

When it comes to name recognition, Sanyo doesn’t quite rank up there with the Garmins and Magellans in the GPS market. But, for the “right features at the right price” crowd, we think the newly official EasyStreet NVM-4370 will do just fine. It offers a 4.3-inch touch-screen, 4GB of memory plus an SD slot for expansion, text-to-speech in three languages, Bluetooth and mic for hands-free calling, an input for a TMC traffic receiver, and an FM transmitter for beaming voice prompts and MP3/WMA/WAV files to your radio. Plus, there’s an input for a rear-view camera, which isn’t exactly common in a $300 GPS. Mind you, the camera itself is likely to set you back another couple hundie, but if your driveway is frequently littered with toys (or kids), that may be a sound investment.

Sanyo EasyStreet NVM-4370 GPS could save your child’s bike originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Sep 2008 07:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: GPS, Transportation, Wireless

For more than a year lucky BMW-owning Germans have been hitting Google Maps, and more recently the rest of the Internets, at blazing (cough) EDGE speeds from their sport-seats. Now, Bimmer-owning Americans are getting a piece of the action with a little help from AT&T’s GSM-friendly network. However, while there’s no mention in the release, BMW Blog thinks US cars will be limited to GPRS, not EDGE. All 2009 American BMW models, except for the lowly X3 mini-’Ute (which BMW doesn’t even bother to manufacture itself), will get Google Maps integration, enabling the driver or passenger to search for businesses from the dash. Directions can be piped to the car’s nav system and calls placed via in-car Bluetooth. At $199 per-year it’s not exactly a steal, but that does include standard BMW Assist functionality like locating your car if it’s stolen or dispatching an ambulance if you’re in a horrible accident. Yeah, we only care about the searching too.

Googling BMWs coming to US streets originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Sep 2008 08:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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