As is becoming increasingly clear, Nissan seems to be intent on having cars do everything short of drive themselves, and it’s now taking yet another step in that direction with a proposed system that would prevent drivers from going the wrong way. While it’s all still in the planning stages at the moment, the system would apparently make use of a cellular-connected GPS unit that would not only be able to be able to warn the driver if they’re headed into the wrong lane, but alert them if they should be slowing down on a downhill stretch, or if they’re approaching an area prone to congestion. There’s not much else in the way of details just yet, unfortunately, but Nissan has apparently enlisted the help of the West Nippon Expressway Co. (or West NEXCO), and it’s promising to demo the system for the press as soon as they have something ready.

Filed under: GPS, Transportation

Nissan turns to technology to keep folks from driving the wrong way originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If uPlay’s uPro was the “iPhone of golf GPS technology,” what then would you call this? Savant GPS has just come clean with what’s likely to be the most sophisticated GPS rangefinder to date. The simply-titled OnPar measures in at 4.17- x 2.8- x 0.63-inches and features full touchscreen (3.5-inch) operation. It’s also claiming to be the planet’s first “GPS rangefinder with a dynamic hole layout display and GPS positioning that provides instant distances to anywhere and remaining distance to the green, personalized club averages, and simple score and shot tracking.” The unit is designed to hold up to 300 golf courses with no membership fees or course map fees, and it’ll be available for the taking (er, purchasing, we should say) early next month for an undisclosed price.

[Thanks, Scoopster]

Filed under: GPS, Handhelds

OnPar’s touchscreen GPS rangefinder could almost be a phone originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 09:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MoveOn definitely had the right idea when crafting the enclosure of the 0.47-inch thick NVG-M1, but good heavens, who let this interface out of the lab? Yeah, the 3.5-inch QVGA display, microSD slot, inbuilt media player, 1Seg TV tuner, FM transmitter and Bluetooth support is all fine and dandy, but we’re pretty sure we’ve seen better graphics in late-generation NES titles. Who knows, maybe it’s to challenge those who think they really know their way around Osaka. Yeah, that’s definitely it.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

Filed under: GPS

MoveOn’s NVG-M1 navigator is pretty thin, UI is pretty 8-bit originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Jan 2009 07:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, when we first caught wind of Garmin’s nüvi 885T a while back it seemed like the hotness (if your measure of hotness begins and ends with a GPS), but how does it really stack up? GPS Magazine just got their hands on one of these bad boys, and they’ve been kind enough to share their thoughts with us. “Great,” they say, “if speech recognition is your number one priority.” Besides voice recognition, the reviewer was really into the Enhanced MSN Direct (traffic, fuel prices, flight statues and more), the ever-useful Where Am I? feature, MP3 playlist support, lane assist, and well behaved Bluetooth. Problems? For starters, MSN Direct for this model costs $50/year (or $130 for life), while many cheaper nüvis get it gratis. Additionally, a few oversights — there is no way to exclude a specific road from a route, for instance, and a very limited detour function — and this reviewer thinks that some users would be better served by another Garmin, such as the nüvi 7×5. But don’t take our word for it — for the exhaustive review hit the read link.

Update: Then again, maybe it is too much to ask for users to get free, unlimited MSN Direct. According to Garmin tech. support: “No Garmin unit receives MSN information gratis. Some do have a free trial period, but Microsoft does not give the information out for free.” Thanks for the heads up, guys!

Filed under: GPS

nüvi 885T reviewed - speech recognition ‘great,’ detour function ‘not so much’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Anyone that dreads the thought of needing to take a GPS beyond the comfy confines of their vehicle will likely want to steer clear of these, but the more adventurous out there will no doubt find plenty to like in Lowrance’s new trio of GPS units. Appropriately (if unimaginatively) dubbed the Outback, Safari, and Sierra, these each boast 2.7-inch LCDs, along with a microSD card slot, all the usual outdoor-friendly GPS features, and some nifty additions like a barometric altimeter and 3D electronic compass on the higher end models. Look for them to be available in May for between $230 and $550.

Filed under: GPS

Lowrance rolls out Outback, Safari, Sierra GPS units originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve had discussions surrounding those petite navigators that stay safely within the confines of your vehicle, but it’s about time we broke it back out for the argonauts in attendance. We’ll let Tyler take it from here:

“I’m an avid hiker, and I’m looking to get a new outdoor-centric navigator that can withstand the elements and last a good while without a charge. I’m particularly interested in getting one with extra features like a trip logger and multimedia player, but obviously I’m trying to spend the least amount while not sacrificing usability. Any other outdoorsy individuals have any advice?”

Once you’re back in from the tent, why not give this some thought and chime in? After that, feel free to send in a question of your own at ask at engadget dawt com.

Filed under: GPS

Ask Engadget: Best outdoor GPS device? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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dmedia has already introduced one WiMAX-packing device that blurred the lines a bit between MIDs and PNDs, and it’s now rolled out another device that falls a bit more clearly into the latter camp. While complete details are unfortunately a bit light, the company’s new G5W model will apparently boast a 5-inch touchscreen, along with some otherwise standard features like Bluetooth, an FM transmitter, GPRS and EDGE connectivity and, of course, that built-in WIMAX. We’d presume it’ll also come with some added functionality to take advantage of all that high-speed connectivity, but dmedia doesn’t seem to have gotten all that specific on that front just yet, nor has it said anything about a price or release date.

Filed under: GPS

dmedia intros WiMAX-packing G5W GPS unit originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The economy is putting the hurt on everybody these days — and while it’s no less true for Miu, the company is working feverishly to release their everything-at-once handheld, despite some serious setbacks in the funding department. Ready to go into production at the drop of a hat (and a $500,000 check), there are currently two versions of the device in development — the basic Atom-powered netbook / PMP / e-book reader will stay at the $500 price point, while the $900 version is a dual-boot Windows XP / CE device that includes a GPS and a mobile phone. As far as we can tell the thing is still a fist-full of ugly, but we hope these crazy kids make it, and we wish them the very best. We really do.

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Handhelds

Miu has big plans for the new HDPC, if only they had big money to make them come true originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC’s got an all-new version of its GPS-centric Touch Cruise handset, with a thinner, slicker design and a new HTC Footprints app for integrating that location data with photos and notes. Of course, the phone doubles as a traditional in-car navigation system, cradle included, with GPS and a-GPS, but there’s plenty else to love here, including quad band GSM, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, a microSD slot and a 3.2 megapixel camera. The 2.8-inch QVGA screen betrays this phone’s consumer-bent, but the truly notable functionality here is actually in the software: HTC Footprints takes geotagging a step further, allowing to to take notes and audio clips and embed them in a “postcard” of sorts, all still tied to that GPS location data — the cards are even auto-named by their location. Footprints also works outdoors and indoors, which isn’t quite explained, but we’re guessing it just remembers where you were when you lost a signal. There’s a world-friendly WCDMA / HSPA 900 / 2100MHz version, of course, but us North Americans will be getting the 850 / 1900MHz flavor as a unlocked handset for $500 to $600 in Q2. Check out the read links below for the full PR and some early hands-ons, and there’s video after the break.

[Via Phone Scoop; thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read - HTC PR
Read - Touch Cruise hands-on (in Russian)
Read - Touch Cruise hands-on (in English)

Continue reading HTC debuts new Touch Cruise phone with ‘Footprints’ geotagging

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Handhelds

HTC debuts new Touch Cruise phone with ‘Footprints’ geotagging originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 09:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia’s already done a bit on its own to exploit the built-in GPS on its phones, and it’s now enlisted the help of Securitas to take things a bit further into Big Brother territory, with the pair today announcing a new security service that’ll let folks keep tabs on you and let you keep an eye on others. Dubbed Safe-2-Go, the service apparently consists four main features, including the usual alert system that dials into the Securitas alarm center and notifies your chosen contacts, a “Find” feature that lets you check on the current position of your friends, a “Zone” feature that sends out an SMS message when someone leaves or enters a predefined area, and a “Friends” feature that simply gives an overview of where all your friends are located. No word on a cost for the service just yet, if there is one, but it looks like folks in Sweden will be the first to get it sometime in the first half of 2009, with other countries in Europe set to follow later in the year.

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS

Nokia and Securitas team up on GPS-based security service originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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