The device was presented at CeBIT 2007 in Hannover. Gotive H42 is an intelligent device. It works on GSM networks, but also is a GPS system. This communicator can be used by the regular customer, but its main purpose is for business communication and enterprise solutions. It could be used for transport and logistics, warehousing and distribution, field services and maintenance, courier and postal services and even for public safety.

The list of specs is amazing. The Gotive H42 features Bluetooth, IrDA, GPRS, fingerprint reader, code bar reader, WLAN 802.11b, a large 6.2″ touchscreen display, microphone, camera. But the most important could be the GPS module. Its built-in memory of 384MB is expandable up to 1.1GB. Gotive H42 runs on Windows CE version 5.0. It is powered by an Intel processor - Bulverde PXA 270 - 520 MHz. The device is outstanding! The performances described by the manufacturer are really impressive, but what about functionality? Does this navigator compete with the big guys? We should see…

There are no details about its price. However the device is customizable, so its price can variate from case to case. To sum up I could say this device has them all!

[via Ubergizmo]

Garmin Zumo 550 is a GPS device designed specially for bikers, can also be used with the car-kit to use it both on two and on four wheels. It comes with both a motorcycle mount and a car mount, an AC charger, power cable to connect it to the battery, USB cable for software updates, a city Navigator DVD, owners manual, setup guide and another bunch of stickers.
Garmin gave us a bonus with the car mount, that has a very strong adhesive disc and is already at the eyes level which make it pretty nice feature if we think this is a motorcycle related device. Zumo has a 3.5-inch UV resistant touch screen display with a 320×240 pixel resolution, and it gives you the ability to choose the size of the icons for those that need them bigger. Some other interesting features are the SD slot card, mini USB port and a 24-pin mount connector.

Great features:
- 20 channel SiRFstar III high sensitivity GPS receiver
- all North America maps are preloaded
- text and voice guided directions
- built-in MP3 player and Bluetooth for hands-free calling or listening to music
- night mode for the display (automatic change of color)
- display that will inform you about speed, estimated arrival time, distance till the next turn, street name, zoom in/out button

When it comes to performance the guys at Crave had a very nice performance test with the new Garmin Zumo 550 in San Francisco Bay Area and the result is that it gave some weird directions, had some streets and alleys with bad names or no names at all, and the recalculation time was pretty big. The battery is supposed to power the new Zumo 550 for three to four hours but the test they conducted revealed about five hours.
The new Garmin Zumo 550 is a bit pricier than the competition (TomTom Rider at $800), and it costs around $9000 depending on the store.

You all know that the British are those that like to use all kinds of devices to avoid radars or any other speed traps on the road, but the new GPS device from PogoDrive is not only the one that steers your wheels on the right direction to the desired location, but also it has a unique feature: warning you of every speed trap because of the Origin360 database loaded on their platform. This database has a record of all known and unknown cameras and speed traps, and has been around for years now, but this would be the first time they use it in GPS devices and this time it combines full touch-screen satellite navigation with a full major European road maps aggregator.
The new PogoDrive can also be used only as a warning system and leave the road guidance off, by changing modes. I am not sure if it’s going to work very well in the US, but the price of $462 would sure make the PogoDrive a very useful piece of technology when driving long distances, or when you just drive a lot. Read more on Gizmodo.

At the annual 3GSM Congress in Barcelona, Nokia introduced the new Nokia 6110 Navigator. The new mobile brings together GPS and AGPS (Assisted Global Positioning System) technologies. The Nokia 6110 Navigator is a 3.5G generation cellphone. It features a 2.2″ QVGA TFT color screen, a 2 megapixel camera with sliding lens protector. Nokia’s slider phone has built-in voice-guided 3D GPS navigation, the Nokia Navigator application, and local maps pre-installed on the included memory card. Wow! That should be really cool! I mean this phone is a real GPS device. You can have all information about POI (Points of Interest), optional location-based services and content available for purchase, such as: traffic, weather, travel guides, and map updates at the city, regional, and country level. The navigations is easy, as the phone features a dedicated Navigation button.

“Location-based experience is among the fastest growing areas in mobile devices. Offering integrated GPS functionality, the Nokia 6110 Navigator will put maps, routing and navigation into the hands of the broadest consumer market world-wide,” said Peter Ropke, Senior Vice President.

Nokia 6110 Navigator is a great piece of art. The cellphone includes all multimedia features and utilities: Bluetooth, flash camera, multimedia player, office software, FM radio, mini USB, microSD support up to 2GB etc. The Navigator offers a talk-time of up to 3.5 h (GSM) and 2.5 h (WCDMA), and a standby time of up to 11 days (GSM and WCDMA). The phone is expected in stores very soon. The rumors about the prices are saying the Navigator will cost $600 without contract.

[more on Nokia website]

The XDA Orbit is a Pocket PC. It is the first XDA model to come with built-in GPS and bundled navigation software. The smartphone is designed by O2 and it runs Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0. Its design is really impressive. The XDA Orbit is slim and stylish, but at the same time sophisticated. Like many others Pocket PCs, the Orbit has a big 2.8″ TFT LCD touchscreen. The O2 XDA Orbit is the best companion for business users, as it weights only 129g. That means quite well for a handheld with so many capabilities.

But lets talk about its performance. The Quad-band device supports GPRS. It has built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, which means you can search for hotspots to check your email. The Orbit comes with Outlook email client. Regarding the multimedia options, the device features MP3 player, FM tuner, 2 megapixel camera and Java applications. The excellent CoPilot software from ALK will enhance the GPS performances of Orbit Pocket PC. I need to mention the trackball, which is particularly good. The O2 XDA Orbit has 128 ROM memory and supports SD cards. The battery provides approximately 5 hours of talk time and up to 200 hours of standby time. The price depends on the monthly contract in O2 network.

I was always a fan of those marine fighter jets that I saw in the movies, with lots of buttons, windscreen data, infrared and night view making me a very faithful viewer. I think it had a very big impact on me, because I am driving a Citroen C4 and it has great features like the centrally mounted controls which lie in the middle to have a big view of them. However, GlobalTop Technology, a company manufacturing and designing top-notch GPS systems, is launching a GPS & Bluetooth HUD Speed Meter system that would display valuable informations directly on your windscreen.

GlobalTop GPS HUD speed meter is intended to display speed, direction and warnings when the speed limit has been broke. For navigation display it has Bluetooth connectivity that your smartphone or PDA device will love from the beginning. If you didn’t get what this device is doing from the first time I am saying it again. You get the speed and the navigation details directly on your windscreen, just like a jet-pilot.

This is not a product only for those very expensive and luxurious cars, but will be affordable for everyone. There is no release price yet on this one, but I am sure that as a gadget fan and car fan you will be able to buy one. There is no release date set for it, but the guys at DigitalReviews will have it for reviews and tests in April. Can’t wait to have it marketed world wide, because I need a complete aircraft cockpit for my car!

Mio A501 is the new Pocket PC with built-in GPS. Compared to their older mdel Mio A701 there aren’t many differences between them, but the fact that this new one is a bit shorter: 59.6×95.7×20.7mm. It weights about 135grams including the battery and the 2.7-inch QVGA screen display has a resolution of 240×320 working on a 201MHz Texas Instruments OMAP 850 processor with Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC Phone Edition AKU 3.5
Mio A501 is a quad band GSM phone with no 3G availability but with GPRS and EDGE and Bluetooth 2.0. The GPS-enabled part of the phone is powered by the SiRF Star III chip with 20 channels. On the back it has a 2Mpix digital camera with MMC, SD and SDIO memory slots. It also has USB 1.1 and the battery is Li-ion 1050 mAh. Release date is set for March and I don’t think the price will be that high.

[PDAdb]

Getting busted for breaking the speed limit is not fun for you, your wallet or your insurance quote. However, using a radar detector can be helpful sometimes. Since we presented you the Cobra Radar Detector for red-light cameras I thought you may be interested in the new Passport 9500i from Escort. It works like any other radar detectors by alerting you to slow down when it detects some police officers or cameras, but also comes with built-in GPS that can be programmed to do a bunch of things such as programming it to remember specific locations where radars have been encountered so that it alerts you, or to void certain frequencies, buildings for example, that trigger it.

Another interesting feature of the new Passport 9500i is that it can set its sensitivity based on your speed. Driving slow would turn down the sensitivity while speeding makes it very agile. It also has SpeedAlert, a function that would show your speed when the alert pops out.

Passport 9500i has a real voice that would alert you to slow down and it’s smart enough to set the volume of the voice based on the noise in the car. All these specifications are useful on a radar detector, but the price is pretty high, $450. Make sure you speed enough so that it’s worth buying it.

Escort Inc

Ricoh has officially introduced its first GPS-ready camera. The 500SE model is a 8 megapixel camera with integrated GPS module. Destined for outdoor photographing, the camera boasts extreme durability and high resolution to meet the image quality and all-weather usability. Its case is waterproof and shock-resistant from the same reason. Ricoh 500SE features a 2.5″ LCD, 28x zoom, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology. Only the premium version includes Wi-Fi.

The device is capable of receiving NMEA data streams from external GPS devices via its on-board Bluetooth. The camera’s LCD provides precise real-time WGS-84 or MGRS position information derived from either the camera’s detachable GPS module or from external GPS devices. Geo-coded images and video are automatically converted into ‘layer files’ by available GIS plug-ins. Hovering over a point displays a thumbnail with the user-defined attributes, while clicking on the point opens the full-size image. The price for Ricoh 500SE is £549.99 or £599.99 for Wi-Fi versions.

[via Ricoh]

Recently launched in Korea, myPol is a GPS tracking system. For the moment the service is available only in Korea, but I think its success will cross the Ocean. The system is very simple. You can track anyone carrying the myPol tracking device in real time from your computer. To do that, you need a monthly subscription to this service for $10. The myPol tracking device has the size of a visiting card. The GPS transponder has a SOS button which once pressed it reveals your location to the authorities. The device costs $170, but it worths the price for the safety of your family. Using myPol services you can track your child while is coming from school, or your wife when she is shopping. Unfortunately these Big Brothers can be used only in Korea for the moment.