GPS

AT&T opts for RIM BlackBerry Curve 8310 with GPS, not Wi-Fi

Today, AT&T announced the immediate availability of the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8310, which adds the mighty powers of integrated GPS to the original BlackBerry Curve. Priced at $199.99 with a two-year contract and after rebates, the 8310 is available in red or titanium and allows you to turn your smartphone into a personal navigation device with a location-based service like TeleNav GPS Navigator. This will allow you to get voice-guided turn-by-turn directions, 3D maps, local business search, and more, right on your handset; just be aware that TeleNav is an add-on service that costs $9.99 per … Read more

Paper maps: A thing of the past?

The San Francisco Chronicle takes up the question of whether paper maps are obsolete. The article points out how paper maps no longer occupy display space right next to the cash register in service stations, and statistics about declining demand for paper maps from AAA. Mapping professionals quoted for the story insist that paper maps will always have a use. But, tellingly, all of the map users interviewed for the story say that they use digital maps online or GPS devices to get around.

The article quotes driver Damon Wood: "Maps are kind of old-fashioned," he said. "… Read more

Review: Jensen NVX225

Jensen is no stranger to aftermarket car tech, but we've mostly looked at its in-car stereo units rather than the company's portable navigation systems, so we were pretty anxious to take the Jensen NVX225 out for a test drive when it arrived at our office. On the upside, the NVX225 has a pretty affordable price tag of $299.99 and offers all the navigation basics for getting from point A to point B. However, we found that it couldn't compete with other similarly priced and featured GPS devices, so we'd have to recommend the Mio DigiWalker … Read more

Review: Alpine IVA-W205

With the launch of the IVA-W205, Alpine becomes the second aftermarket manufacturer to combine mobile- and in-dash navigation. Unlike the Eclipse AVN2210p, which uses a similar combination of in-dash dock connected to a portable TomTom GPS device, the IVA-W205 can be purchased--and used--independently of its portable Blackbird PMD-B200 component. With the Blackbird installed behind the faceplate, the IVA-W205 becomes a useful in-dash system; without the Blackbird portable, the IVA-W205 is a simple--but versatile--multimedia player in the vein of the Alpine IVA-200. Read the full review here.

A car navigation system that will hypnotize you

CHIBA, Japan--Here's something that will surely drive up your insurance costs.

At Ceatec Japan 2007, the country's big high-tech trade show, Pioneer is showing off a car navigation system with virtual 3D pop-ups designed to help you drive. You want to find a parking spot? You touch the middle screen on the three-screen navigation/control system and a hologram-like 3D image of a parking symbol comes up. You then touch the floating blue "P" and swipe it to a screen on the left--which shows a map of your current position on the globe and your direction … Read more

Nokia buys Navteq

Nokia announced its acquisition of Navteq today for $8.1 billion. Nokia is backing its play to add GPS to its cell phones by buying one of the two major mapping companies. Both Navteq and Teleatlas provide the maps loaded onto the majority of GPS devices on the market. Both companies field ground crews to go out and survey roads throughout the U.S., Europe, and any other countries for which they want to offer maps. These crews drive around with high-tech equipment charting new and existing roads.

As the labor-intensive work of these companies isn't duplicated easily, the … Read more

Photos: Alpine IVA-W205

Ten months after its debut at CES 2007, the Alpine IVA-W205 is finally hitting the shelves and we got our hands on one for a full review in our CNET test car. In its most basic configuration, the IVA-W205 is an in-dash multimedia player with the ability to handle a range of audio-visual disc format (CDs, MP3- and WMA discs, DVD video and VCDs) plus a bunch of other media sources such as iPods, HD and satellite radio via add-on modules. The star feature of the system, however, is its ability to swallow Alpine's standalone portable Blackbird GPS device, … Read more

Review: Mio DigiWalker C230

Back in May, we reviewed the Mio C220 portable navigation system, which we loved for its ease of use and affordable price, but ultimately we had to diss it because of an awful screen. Well, we're happy to say that its successor, the Mio DigiWalker C230, offers the same intuitiveness and budget-friendly price plus an improved display and text-to-speech functionality. It's rare to find the latter in an entry-level GPS device such as the C230, so that's a nice surprise and gives it an edge over its competitors, including the Garmin Nuvi 200 and the TomTom One. … Read more

Mio C720t does directions, traffic, pictures--everything but drive

It seems like there's a new company hopping on the GPS bandwagon every week, trying to loosen the grip that big boys Garmin, TomTom, and Magellan have on the market. Truth be told, these three companies have been in the industry for a while, and they know what they're doing, so these newcomers have a tough task ahead of them. However, we've been pretty impressed with one company in particular: Mio Technology. With the exception of the Mio C220, which had a horrible screen, it has consistently churned out some solid portable navigation systems and always packs … Read more