Nokia GPS

Nokia are going to launch their own PND. Looks nice, and the pricing is going to be agressive. The first version is going to use Map 66 software, but I pressume they will use their own Gate5 stuff when they can.

Does not seem to have a GPRS modem built into it. Should hit the stores next year.

I thought that Nokia would go more for the smartphone with integrated GPS rather then the PND market...makes me believe that this product could be a bit of an after thought.

TomTom and Vodafone

TomTom and Vodafone are joining forces to offer real time traffic info. This will be launched in the Netherlands by mid 2007.

This will use the location by measuring the distance of the phone to the nearest base station.

This is an interesting development, but I have heard lots of time, how location cannot be accurate if it is dependant on base stations. Sometimes it can be more then 200 metres out. This is why GPS has got so popular, because it is much more accurate.

Seems like a step back from a technology point of view...but lets wait and see.

25% of WCDMA Handsets Will Include GPS by 2008

ABI Research who do a lot of work in this area are predicting that 25% of new handsets will have GPS by the end of the year. I have used the new HP Handset with GPS, and the GPS reception is very, very good. SO this is a growth area...in a big way...

Here is the press release

Navizon - does this work?

Have some across a product called Navizon that offers peer to peer wireless positioning. Basically, you download it to your PPC or Smartphone, register online...and you can see yourself and your other contacts on a map. it works with GPS or Wifi or GPRS.

Not sure it would work well without GPS but I have not got it working at all. The concept is kinda nice, but the implementation is not good. Tried to get it working for an hour...but no joy.

If anybody has got this working, then please let me know!

Funny Sat Nav Parody

You know Sat nav is becoming mainstream when they start doing comedy on it. I thought this was funny:


Racist Sat Navigater Spoof - video powered by Metacafe

More on TomTom and Johnson Controls

TomTom and Johnson Control have teamed up to provide a “gateway” for new cars that allows TomTom navigation devices to work seamlessly with factory sound systems.
Johnson Controls has created a “Bluetooth mobile device gateway” that would allow TomTom users to verbally send commands to the TomTom unit. The gateway would also enable a TomTom device to notify the user that fuel is low and to offer directions to the nearest gas station.

Also, if the user selects a restaurant from the TomTom GO's list of points of interest, the device can automatically dial the restaurant's telephone number for reservations.
Johnson Controls is currently demonstrating this technology as an OEM offering for 2008 model year vehicles at the Paris Auto Show. The Bluetooth gateway would work with all TomTom GO products, which include the 910, 510, 700 and 300.

I think this is a 'nice to have' rather then a 'need to have'. I wonder if they have a bigger plan.

The power of Sat Nav!

Quite a funny story on Reuters this morning:

BERLIN (Reuters) - An 80-year-old German motorist obediently following his navigation system ignored a motorway "closed for construction" sign and crashed his Mercedes into a pile of sand further down the road, police said Monday.
"The driver was following the orders from his navigation system and even though there was a sufficient number of warnings and barricades, he continued his journey into the construction site," a police spokeswoman told Reuters.
"His trip finally ended when he wound up crashing into a pile of sand," she added.
The driver and his wife escaped uninjured from the collision, which occurred on a motorway near Hamburg.