First announced at SEMA 2007, Nokia 500 Auto Navigation system, finally hits the streets. This is the second portable navigation devices we’ve seen from the Finnish manufacturer of mobile phones (the first Nokia 330 Auto Navigation), and this is a big step forward compared to 330.Design a little more refined, that is the 4.3-inch touch screen, and packing more features with text to speech functionality, integrated Bluetooth, and opportunities on the road. In addition, Nokia 500 switches from Route 66 Navigation 7 software Nokia Maps (the same found on smartphones Nokia), and although better than the first, it is not so easy to use and sleek, like TomTom and Garmin PND. In fact, sometimes navigating the device can get straight into error.Thus, while the Nokia 500 Auto Navigation is a solid performer, we think you’ll have more experience in the Garmin Nuvi 660 and TomTom GO 930. Nokia 500 Auto Navigation is available now through online retailers and in stores Nokia flagship for $ 499.95.

Design
General view of the Nokia 500 Auto Navigation system resembles Nokia 330. This is not particularly inspiring but there are a number of enhancements and improvements in the overall design. First, Nokia 500 feels less plasticky than its predecessor, and has a nice charcoal gray casing with silver trim. The device is compact at 4.8 inches wide by 3.4 inches by 0.8 inches deep for easy portability between cars.

At the front, that’s the 4.3-inch (compared with 3.5-inch) touch screen that displays 65,536 colors at 480×272 pixels. Maps and images look clear, and the screen responds to touch. With a large display, Nokia has moved the shortcut buttons located on the right side of the Nokia 330 below the screen on the Nokia 500, which we consider a more aesthetically pleasing. Control involves a volume up / down and menu button. The power button is on top, and the 3,5 mm headphone jack and external antenna connector, which are protected attached cover. In addition, there are expansion SD slot on the right side.

Nokia 500 Auto Navigation unit comes complete with a car charger, vehicle mount (windshield only), cable USB, a soft carrying case, card SD 2GB, software DVD, and reference materials.Unfortunately, there is no dashboard disc, which is a problem for drivers in California and Minnesota as it is prohibited in those states to have anything attached to the windshield (though we have doubts about how many people actually follow that law ). The good news is the car charger has an integrated traffic receiver so you can get a modern road conditions.

Features
Nokia 500 Auto Navigation system is equipped with a receiver SiRF StarIII LA GPS and comes with preloaded Navteq North America and millions of points of interest. The user interface is different from the Nokia 330, as the company moved from Route 66 Navigation 7 software to Smart2Go software, which now Nokia Maps. In general, we like Nokia Maps software better than Route 66. Menus and icons are clean and clear, that said, it is not so easy to use and sleek, like Garmin or TomTom device. For example, when entering addresses requires extra taps and finding various features and settings, as is sometimes the hunt for treasures. Tools are not always organized in logical, so you never know where you’re going to find things – more on this later.

To start planning your trip, you can enter a specific address, choose a point of interest, or choose a place of “Favorites” or lists. Favorites menu also allows you to save your home and work addresses, and strangely, this is where you can plan multidestination trips. Having this feature in the Favorites menu does not make sense for us, but nevertheless, you can plan a trip with multiple stops, name and save the trip for later use. You can also add points “on the fly.”

Nokia 500 can calculate routes by shortest distance or fastest time and the various modes of transport, including bicycle, motorcycle, pedestrian, van, and scooter. If you want to avoid highways, toll roads, ferries and road, there are options to reduce these from your travel. Once the route is calculated, you can view the route and find an alternate route if you wish. With built-in traffic receiver, you can also check for congestion and accidents on this road and find another way around it. The system features automatic route recalculation if you happen to get from this.

Filed under: GPS, Nokia 500 Auto GPS Navigation, Nokia 500 Auto Navigation, Nokia 500 Auto Navigation Review, Nokia 500 GPS, Nokia 500 GPS Navigation, Nokia 500 Review | Post a comment

Motorola takes a serious beating, when we reviewed it MotoNav TN30 portable navigation devices. However, instead of out of the PND market, or simply to release additional updates with fixes, Motorola returned to the drawing board and came back swinging with all the new series TN700 MotoNav.

The first model in the new line, TN765t retools PND not only design, but also completely reimagines the screen experience, combining a map and menu screens in the spot and seamless interface.

Again, the old TN30 spots are kind of device. Thus, we must ask ourselves if MotoNav TN765t can back up their impressive new forms of equally impressive features.

Design
TN765t breaks convention PND, beginning with his cinematic wide screen display. This 5.1-inch color LCD screen with aspect ratio of 2.39:1, which is considerably wider than 16:9 ratio widest hypertension. This gives MotoNav all the advantages of large screen with a large number of pixels of real estate, but with a much smaller vertical profile. TN765t occupies much less space than the windshield of other 5-inch device for less obscured the road ahead. The screen has a matte surface, which keeps visibility even under direct sunlight.

As hypertension go, MotoNav TN765t absolutely abounds physical control. Along the top edge are the power / lock switch and a dedicated menu button. At the rear of the unit, or down the edge are six physical buttons. The volume of the left side shows up, down, and mute, the right function upward, from, and configurable key shortcut. The volume and zoom can be switched to the opposing sides in the setup menu.

At the bottom of the device is the property of multipin connector for docking vehicle, built-in reset button, a slot for MicroSD and Micro-USB port. loudspeaker device in the center of the rear panel.

Like any good car PND, MotoNav comes with a windshield mount car kit. Car MotoNav integrates FM-receiver data traffic. Cradle TN765t is atypical in that it can draw power from the internal battery PND, which allows it to be used without the 12-volt power connection. It’s a good easter egg for users who want to go wireless for short trips or move the device from vehicle to vehicle.

MotoNav TN765t also comes with a 12-volt power cable, which is designed to connect to the dock car, glue panel installation disk, Micro-USB cable, manual and a multilingual user.

Filed under: GPS, Motorola MotoNav, Motorola MotoNav GPS, Motorola MotoNav gps review, Motorola MotoNav review, Motorola MotoNav TN765t, Motorola MotoNav TN765t GPS, Motorola MotoNav TN765t review | Post a comment

Last portable navigation system we reviewed from Mio Technology did not go so well in our tests. It’s a shame, because the Mio C220 so much going for it – affordable price, good performance, compact design – but its screen is fully washable. Fortunately, the latest GPS devices, Mio ‘, Mio C520, delivers a better experience and packs in even more features at wallet-friendly price of $ 399. For that money you get a big 4.3-inch touch screen, integrated Bluetooth, multimedia capabilities, as well as the exact directions. This, of course, better than the value of Magellan Maestro 3100. However, C520 has its failures: the integration of Bluetooth is limited, and real-time tracking and route recalculations could be better. If navigation and usability is of paramount importance to you, and you can find many on the Garmin Nuvi, you’d be better served by that device instead.

Design
Mio C520 is one of the most beautiful portable navigation systems we’ve ever seen. Charcoal-gray-silver color scheme is attractive, but even more tempting is the subtlety of the device. At only 4.9 inches wide by 3.2 inches by 0.8 inches deep and weighing 6.7 ounces, it’s very smooth, so that of all the multimedia capable model GPS, we’ve tested, Mio C520 is one we have almost not consider the use of a portable media player – almost (more on that later).

There is beauty in the simplicity of design. In addition to the power button on the top of the device, there are no other external controls cluttering the device. Instead, all functions and text are entered through a spacious, C520 in 4,3-inch touch screen. It displays 65,000 colors at 480×272 pixels, which makes maps and images look vibrant and text sharp. In addition, much to our relief, we could still read the screen C520 under sunlight, unlike the Mio C220 whose screen washed out in time to be unreadable. We still wanted a little more brightness and contrast of the maps, but it is still significantly improved experience over the C220. It should be noted that some address and POI listings is difficult to read because the font size is very small.

Features
Mio C520 is equipped with 20-channel GPS chip SiRFIII and comes preloaded with TeleAtlas maps of North America and 6 million points of interest. Basic navigation features are similar to C710. The system can create directions fastest, shortest or most economical route, with or without toll roads, highways, turns, and so on, and in different modes, including cars, bicycles and pedestrians. Other goodies include route recalculation, 2D and 3D map views with day and night colors, route simulation, and prevention of security cameras. You can read the Mio C710 review for a more detailed description of the navigation system Mio, but for this review, we focus on some unique and new features, C520.

Filed under: GPS, Mio C520 GPS, Mio C520 Navigation Receiver, Mio C520 Navigation Receiver Review, Mio C520 Review | Post a comment

New Earthmate DeLorme in GPS receiver and Bluetooth PowerPack cradle to keep the bright yellow and black color scheme, marked the previous model Earthmate. The GPS receiver itself weighs only 2 ounces and can connect to no-Bluetooth system via USB-cable (included), but also for wireless communications, you must insert it in the set PowerPack. As a result, the whole configuration, which costs $ 319.95 (or $ 129.95 for the receiver alone), weighs only 5.5 ounces and measures 3.75 by 2.4 by 2.0 inches – easily the largest unit in this roundup .Although it is not as slick looking as Pharos or TeleType receivers, Earthmate can be worn on a belt or clipped to the sun visor of your car, both of which have a clear idea of heaven.

Earthmate comes with DeLorme Street Atlas USA 2004 in the software for desktop computers and laptops. You will need to fork out an extra $ 40 for a portable version, which supports both Pocket PC and Palm platforms. This program allows you to choose which network you want to sync to your PDA. Atlas Street supports voice-guided route, has more than 4 million points of interest (POI), such as ATMs, restaurants, gas stations and major attractions, and also allows the creation of a route “on the fly.” At the grassroots level maps of the New York tristate region requires 28MB of RAM. The user interface allows you to clearly marked menu tabs to create routes, export maps as well as the creation of point-to-point directions. Kit also includes Bluetooth and alternating current (cigarette lighter) power chargers, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, desktop version of Street Atlas USA 2004, and nine-pin serial cable for those who do not have a laptop USB.

We were generally pleased with the ability to bind to the Earthmate requires four satellite signals in 40 seconds, although it is no better than other parts of the GPS (with the exception of Belkin GPS) in midtown Manhattan tests. Our test vehicle was also positive, the signal retention Earthmate and tracking accuracy were in place. Battery, rated up to 7 hours of life in the power plant, gave us just that, with a few spare minutes.

Filed under: GPS, DeLorme Earthmate, DeLorme Earthmate GPS, DeLorme Earthmate GPS System | Post a comment

Portable navigation systems have come a long way in terms of functionality. They can talk with you, to warn you of traffic, and even entertain you. Nevertheless, ICN Navman 750 comes with no GPS device has gone before by including 1.3-megapixel camera in the device. Designed for faster shots, the camera lets you create and save, image-based jobs, so you can easily get directions the next time you visit the destination. It’s a neat feature and works great, plus an accurate navigator as a whole.
However, it is not without drawbacks. Navman slow tasks and a bit pricey at $ 800. However, you will not find another device GPS, as it is out there right now, and if you would like to see the world through images, ICN Navman 750 is definitely worth a look.

Outfitted in a stylish black and charcoal gray color scheme, ICN Navman 750 will look good in any car. At 5.4 by 3.0 by 1.2 inches, it is easily transported by multivehicle use, but it is slightly heavier (10.6 ounces) compared with other systems we’ve tested recently, and therefore not suitable for use on legs .

Center of gravity ICN 750 in 4-inch touch screen. It boasts 480-by-272 pixels, so text and images bright and clear map. Touch screen to respond, but we had some difficulties viewing on the screen in bright sunlight, and he noted the tendency to collect a lot of spots. Fortunately, Navman includes suede screen as part of the package. The right side of the screen are five hot keys: gas (see gas station nearest your current location), parking (underlined nearest garage), the main menu, scroll to the menu page and a button that cycles through 3D-map, 2D map, next turn, and turn the list of screens.

Although the controls are easy to master, Navman interface is not the most obvious way. The main menu is simple, but navigating the sub takes some trial and error. For example, when searching for different points of interest, (POI), we were not sure how to scroll through the list, no external control to work, and only a few minutes after that we drew attention to the virtual scroll wheel on the right side of the screen. We found on-screen keyboard is a bit cramped, and we often hit the wrong button. The silver lining is that the system will autopopulate area with a possible address or location after you entered the first couple of letters in the word.

Filed under: GPS, Navman, Navman iCN, Navman iCN 750, Navman iCN 750 GPS | Post a comment

Tomtom has just introduced a new service, which according to them, it is best to plan their trips online. Using its experience in navigation and cartography, Tomtom developed an application that will give you the best information necessary to plan ahead.

How can you use this function. This route of application will give you the opportunity
Route Planning
Find out how long it takes
Get the best optimized route to you there
Routes to be provided by you will be dynamic and will vary depending on the time that you travel, traffic congestion, accidents and construction. Itinerary planning today use simple way to find the optimal route, but the Tomtom with this new application introduced some intelligence in the process of choosing a route.

Here the best Tomtom navigation systems, which are available today:
TomTom ONE XL
TomTom ONE 125
TomTom One Third Edition
TomTom GO 730T
TomTom ONE 130

Filed under: GPS, TomTom, TomTom GO 730T, TomTom ONE 125, TomTom ONE 130, TomTom One Third Edition, TomTom ONE XL, TomTom Route, TomTom Route Planner, TomTom Trips Planner | Post a comment