It’s hard to look at the DROID without looking at the company which brought the device to life. Motorola: for years the name has been synonymous with… well, disappointment. While the industry-stalwart made cellphones sexy with the RAZR, the days which followed have not been especially fruitful or compelling. Over the past year or so, we’ve seen Motorola beating its way back into the mainstream through a series of smart plays: first embracing Android as a platform, then shucking off the weight of Windows Mobile and finally bringing some desirable (and high profile) devices to market.

With the DROID, the company has perhaps created its most attractive and intriguing piece of technology yet. Forging an alliance with both Verizon and Google, Motorola has come up with a second compelling reason to count the phonemaker down, but certainly not out, while the other two giants have finally found a seemingly worthy device to position against the iPhone. So we must pose these questions: is this the phone which will catapult Android into the mainstream? Is it the device that will pull Motorola back from the brink? And — most importantly — is it the lynchpin Google and Verizon have needed to challenge the leader in mindshare in the smartphone market? After putting the device through its paces, we think we can give you the answers you seek — so read on to find out!

Continue reading Motorola DROID review

Filed under: Cellphones

Motorola DROID review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Man, talk about awful timing. At least TomTom and Navigon were able to sell a few rounds of their pricey iPhone GPS application before Google went and ruined everyone’s day (at least in the GPS biz), and now that Google Maps Navigation is but an approval away from hitting iPhone users for free, we’ve got serious doubts about Telmap’s ability to market its newest product. Utilizing NAVTEQ maps and familiar shells like MapQuest Navigation (in the US) and Orange Maps (in France), the company seems quite proud of its newest routing solutions. Oh sure — there’s live traffic, turn-by-turn guidance, in-car and pedestrian modes, etc., but is anyone really doling out cash for a phone-based routing system right now with Google at the wheel? Exactly.

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Software

Telmap taps NAVTEQ for iPhone GPS solution, understands the inevitable originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Boy, TomTom sure has chosen the worst possible time to release its Car Kit for iPhone, and to make matters worse, its decision to not include the iPhone app is now set in stone. That’s right, the hardware alone will set you back the cost of a TomTom ONE nowadays, and the $99.95 app works on the iPhone 3G and 3GS without it. So here’s the question: is the car kit worth the extra $119.95? To find out, we got hold of a review unit for a sunny road trip around London. Surprisingly, the car kit uses Bluetooth to connect the GPS receiver and the hands-free function to the iPhone, even though there’s a dock connector for charging. Bluetooth connectivity does have its advantages: according to TomTom it can work as a generic Bluetooth GPS receiver for any satellite navigation app — including Google Maps — on the iPhone, or any smartphones at all for that matter. TomTom even confirmed that the car kit could potentially compensate for the first-generation iPhone’s lack of built-in GPS, but since its app won’t run on anything but a 3G or 3GS we’ll have to wait and see if that’s actually useful. Meanwhile, the company is cooking up a compatible app for the original iPhone and the iPod touch, which could make the car kit more worthwhile. [Update: the app has now been updated to work with the iPod Touch and the original iPhone, but you'll need to get a separate (and slightly cheaper) model of the Car Kit for the iPod touch. Thanks, Philippe!] Read on for our hands-on impression and test videos.

[Thanks for being our driver, Sam]

Continue reading TomTom Car Kit for iPhone review

Filed under: GPS, Transportation

TomTom Car Kit for iPhone review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Well, Magellan doesn’t seem to be doing much talking about this one itself just yet, but Best Buy has a fresh listing for a new SE4 nav unit from the company, and it seems to be available right now. Better still, Best Buy also looks to have knocked a full $60 off the MSRP right of the bat, bringing it down to just $119.99. That’ll get you a 4.3-inch touchscreen, NAVTEQ maps of the 48 contiguous states, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, six million POIs, and text-to-speech and turn-by-turn voice prompts, but seemingly few other notable features to speak of — not even so much as a memory card slot or MP3 playback, if Best Buy’s listed specs are right.

[Via GPS Review]

Filed under: GPS

Magellan SE4 navigation unit turns up at Best Buy originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Well, it’s quite the day for any GPS-related announcement, but Microsoft has nonetheless made a fairly big one of its own, with it dropping word via a simple service announcement that it’s killing off its MSN Direct live information service for navigation units (among other devices — even the odd coffeemaker). Those relying on the FM-based service won’t be left in the lurch just yet, however, as the shutdown won’t occur until January 1st, 2012. Anyone looking to move on with their lives before that can also cancel their service at any point prior to the shutdown date and receive a pro-rated refund for the unused portion of their service, and you can of course rest assured that all MSN Direct-equipped GPS devices will continue to function as basic nav units after the shutdown. Hit up the link below for the complete FAQ.

[Via Ars Technica, thanks Eric]

Filed under: GPS

Microsoft’s MSN Direct service to shut down in 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Those nat service providers’ fears were actually quite justified. Google today unveiled Maps Navigation (beta, of course), an extremely upgraded version of its current Maps software that’ll be free and, from what we understand, available by default on all Android 2.0 devices. All the usual Maps features are present, including the ability to search by name of business and have it suggest the closest matches, both semantically and geographically, and traffic data. We’re also now looking at turn-by-turn navigation, female robotic voice and all, and integration with satellite and street view, the latter of which will be able to show you what lane you need to be in when exiting the highway, for example. Instead of just searching nearby, it’ll also now search along the route for when you’re looking for upcoming gas stations or fast food joints that won’t take you too far off your beaten path. Select addresses can be added to the Android home screen as their own icons, and given the limits of living in the cloud, trips and their respective visual feeds will be cached just in case you hit dead spots along the way. Still no multitouch, but as VP of Engineering Vic Gundotra noted at a press conference, there’s nothing stopping a company like HTC from adding that feature à la Sense UI.

In addition to demonstrating the basic navigational functions, Gundotra also showcased a new user interface that appears when the device hooked up into a car dock, one that is intended for use “at an arm’s length away.” Essentially, it means much larger iconography and a convenient “voice search” option front and center. We later got confirmation from a Google product manager that car dock detection was definitively a hardware-based feature, which we take to mean Android devices currently on the market won’t necessarily have the same convenience. If Android 2.0 takes off how Google (and Verizon!) hope it does, companies like TomTom and Garmin are going to seriously need to worry about their bottom line. Watch Gundotra demonstrate the app after the break.

Update: Navigation for the iPhone? Gundotra said the ball’s in Apple’s court, so no telling if / when that’ll happen. Remember how well Latitude integrated?

Continue reading Google adds free turn-by-turn navigation, car dock UI to Android 2.0 (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS

Google adds free turn-by-turn navigation, car dock UI to Android 2.0 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

We already know plenty of people who’ve eschewed traditional turn-by-turn GPS systems in favor of plotting it out for free on Google Maps, and now there’s whispers that Mountain View is coming after the rest of the market with a free nav app. That’s at least what nav services providers are saying to Forbes, who think El Goog is gearing up to release a free ad-supported navigation app after making moves to use its own US maps instead licensing data from Tele Atlas and putting ads on the iPhone Maps app. Obviously that would shake things up a ton — and make Android devices a huge bargain — but we’ll see where this all leads over the next few months.

[Via Fierce Mobile Content; thanks Elad]

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Handhelds, Software

Google developing free navigation app? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

American TomTom loyalists, we know what you’ve been thinking: how dare those fine folks across the pond get first dibs to pick up the iPhone car kit? Well, steam to yourself no longer, it’s now for sale online via Apple’s US store for the previously-disclosed price of $119.95. Alas, no software’s included, but you’ve had enough time to cope with that. Also, it’s iPhone 3G and 3GS only — iPod touch need not apply.

[Via App Advice]

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS

TomTom iPhone kit now being sold through US Apple Store originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Looking for a geotagging solution that doesn’t discriminate based on what kind of camera you have? Looking for one that can fit snugly into your Fifth Pocket? The PhotoTrackr Mini looks to be that very device, boasting a diminutive thumb drive-esque appearance and the same geotagging technology as found in the original. Put simply, the device works by syncing the time of your camera with bundled software; when you’re back from a shoot (a shoot where your device also was), you just allow the application to figure out where a given shot was snapped at what time. There’s also Mac and RAW file format support on this model, neither of which were compatible with the prior version. Pre-orders are being accepted now at $69, and the first shipments are expected to go out next month.

Continue reading PhotoTrackr Mini geotagging device shrinks down, adds Mac and RAW support

Filed under: Digital Cameras, GPS

PhotoTrackr Mini geotagging device shrinks down, adds Mac and RAW support originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

With a name like “Little Buddy Child Tracker,” you know this thing has to be awful, right? Insignia, Best Buy’s house brand, has just listed an incredibly invasive and humiliating new GPS tracker on its site, and rather than promoting it as just that, the marketing brains have decided it best to aim this at paranoid mums and dads who’ve done such a poor job raising their offspring that they can’t even trust ‘em to trek out on their own. All sensationalism aside, there’s little Insignia can say or do to remedy the product labeling job, but if you’re okay with shoving this extra-small stick into your youngster’s lunch box, you can keep tabs on his / her exact location and have alerts sent to you via SMS if they leave a designated area. Just make sure they don’t ever know that you were responsible for planting this thing on their person, else you can forget about junior footing those nursing home bills when the time comes.

[Via Navigadget]

Continue reading Insignia’s Little Buddy Child Tracker encourages kids to run away, disown parents

Filed under: GPS

Insignia’s Little Buddy Child Tracker encourages kids to run away, disown parents originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments