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?
There’s nothing wrong with Alpine’s new £250 PND-K3 Portable Navigation System, which was first unveiled at CES this January, there just isn’t anything too stand-out either. The unit runs a 4.3-inch screen, sports maps of North America and related islands, includes a 3D view and 6 million points of interest, vocalizes turn-by-turn directions and street names, does Bluetooth hands-free and has moderate MP3 and WMA capabilities off its SD card slot. The “big” feature here is menu and map customization via 8 selectable color schemes, but the lack of live traffic info this price range isn’t winning Alpine any points. If you’re finding all this appealing, you should be able to pick one up as of today.
Built-in breathalyzers haven’t become quite the mainstay that many other features have in GPS units, but it looks like they’re starting to become a bit more common, with AVMap only the latest to debut a navigator that promises to tell you if you’re fit to drive or not. Apparently, its new Geosat 6 Drive Safe navigator is a standalone version of the built-in option that was available on Peugot’s 107 “Sweet Years” edition car, with it boasting the same 4.8-inch touchscreen, built-in Bluetooth, and text-to-speech features as before. No word on a price just yet, unfortunately, and it seems safe to assume that this one will only be available in Europe.
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Here’s a nice little idea from Sony to give its in-car navigators a bit of added appeal.
Upcoming devices as well as current models with upgraded maps will be able to offer information on petrol prices of local garages.
With fuel costs at an all-time high you can save quite a bit by filling up your tank at garages that charge a few pence less per litre, so getting this sort of information on the move, particularly if you travel a lot, could mount up to noticeable savings over the course of the year.
It’s unclear how well integrated this is at present, but much like many new tweaks and gimmicks on satnav devices, it’s rare to see one company produce something unique without the others following suit.
If you didn’t know already you can already check the prices of garages in your area from your computer using the PetrolPrices.com website, so if you’re keen to avoid paying over the odds you can try this out from the link below.
Satnav’s are great little devices most of the time, making it easier for everyone young and old to work out how to get from A to B with a minimum of fuss. At least that’s what we thought. Despite improving substantially over the last few years in terms of clarity of directions and adding features like advanced lane guidance and text-to-speech for reading out road names, it seems as though some people are still getting it wrong. Read the rest of this entry »
Just over a month after the internet got all fired up about the problematic AVIC F-Series navigators, Pioneer has come to the rescue (we hope, anyway) with a free firmware update. Aimed specifically at the AVIC-F900BT and AVIC-F700BT, the update will reportedly “improve overall system performance and resolve certain software issues.” The outfit also notes that the AVIC-F500BT doesn’t need the upgrade, and even if your unit has been a-okay thus far, it still recommends applying the software. Take ten minutes or so and see what the latest firmware has to offer, and be sure to let us know if all (or some) of the kinks have indeed been ironed out.
As if the iPhone 3G launch could really have any more misinformation floating around, we’ve got yet another tidbit that needs clarification. Shortly after Apple’s second iPhone was announced, out flew a report from Reuters suggesting that TomTom already had iPhone navigation software ready to go. French site Mac Generation was able to get ahold of TomTom spokesperson Yann Lafargue, and here’s the gist of what he had to say. First off, the aforementioned Reuters statement was said to be inaccurate, though he did affirm that an iPhone version of the software was running in the labs and working “pretty well.” Unfortunately, the question of “will you guys ship this for the iPhone?” was answered with a “We don’t know” style response, but he did clarify that the questionable SDK verbiage we saw wasn’t an obstacle at all. Click on the image to check out the full interview — hope you’re fluent in French and / or machine translation!
The Binatone T430 adds extra justification for having a PND in the car by combining two technologies in one. By adding a colour rear view camera function, Binatone has met two consumer demands in one package providing huge savings over their discreet alternatives. The full featured turn by turn PND automatically switches over to rear view mode when reverse gear is selected. A full installation kit is supplied for the camera, which has been designed for mounting under or over the rear number plate using the existing screw holes. The camera is linked wirelessly to the system on the dashboard but is connected by cable to a reversing light on the car to provide a power source and trigger to the camera.
The T430 is the first Binatone system to feature Navigator 7.0 high performance software. Although easy to use for beginners, advanced features such as personal data management, advanced route planning and the ability to create and export track logs offer professional driver features. The T430 includes Bluetooth for hands-free call handling. Mapping covers the UK and Ireland with a full European map upgrade also available. The software includes safety camera locations and plays MP3/MP4 files from the SD card slot.
Binatone continues to expand its sat nav range with the launch of the C350BT PND with integrated Bluetooth for use as a hands free speaker phone – and all for under £100!
When connected wirelessly to a mobile phone, the sat nav screen automatically converts into a keypad when receiving incoming calls. Similarly, the keypad can be used to dial out. The speaker is turned on and off (to accept or disconnect calls) by pressing one easily accessed button on the system.
“Although this is not the first system of its kind, we expect it to be the best priced on the High Street,” explained Adrian Green, Binatone Sales and Marketing Director. “With a suggested retail price of £99.99 we want it to encourage people to try the Bluetooth feature and use it as a ‘2 in 1’ device. Even though we are now introducing more sophisticated products to our sat nav range, it is still our policy to offer great value for money.”
The unit is slim and light and includes the latest Sirf Atlas III chipset for fast satellite signal connection. It features Navigator 7.0 high performance software which is easy to use but also offers a range of more advanced features such as: personal data management; advanced route planning; create and export track logs; save and load planned routes.
Other features include:
UK and Republic of Ireland maps which can be updated to pan-European coverage
Pre-installed safety camera locations
Hundreds of thousands of Points of Interest
Full UK seven digit postcode search
Slim design and 3.5″ wide screen touch-screen LCD
2D/ 3D navigation
Picture viewer via SD card slot
Integrated rechargeable battery 
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