navigation

In a recent J.D. Power and Associates survey, users ranked the navigation system in the Infiniti G35 as the most satisfactory. Coming in at a very close second was the system in the Lexus IS 250/350, then a little further down, in third, was the Acura TL. We are not terribly surprised at these rankings, as we've been very impressed with these navigation systems in the past. However, the landscape will change dramatically in 2008, as we've seen more and more hard drive-based systems released, which access data faster than on DVD-based systems. Another feature we … Read more

Panasonic is using this year's SEMA show to launch the CN-GP50U, its first portable navigation device. The CN-GP50U features a 5-inch touch-screen display and comes with text-to-speech technology for reading out road names when under route guidance. A real-time traffic service from Clear Channel is available on the device with the purchase of a separate receiver. It also comes with built-in Bluetooth for hands-free calling and an industrial-strength in-car mount. Check out our first look.

Dash Navigation is building the GPS gizmo that everyone in the CNET reviews department is waiting for. See this video from 2006. Today at the Web 2.0 Summit, the company is announcing more features for its delayed product.

Dash now plans to ship its GPS product for cars, the Dash Express, in early 2008. Its key differentiator from other GPS units is that it will always be connected to the Internet, which will enable cool features like peer-to-peer (with other Dash devices) traffic reporting, and the capability to program routes on to your device from your Web browser.

The … Read more

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

The Minority Report's sci-fi touch screen has become a cliche for futuristic gadgetry, and some are willing to pay $100,000 or more for anything that even approaches its fable. But there may be a form of digital control that does it one better: navigation without laying hands on the computer at all.

As fellow Craver Michael Kanellos found at the Ceatec show in Japan, Toshiba and others were anxious to show off PCs and various devices controlled by hand gestures. One company, JVC, has even managed to combine the cutting-edge technology with a concept made famous by late-night … Read more

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

Garmin has a really small idea for making smart phones a whole lot smarter.

The GPS device maker announced Wednesday GPS software called Garmin Mobile XT. Embedded on a microSD card, the software gives the handset access to a slew of location-based services, such as maps, driving directions, real-time traffic and weather information, local gas prices and friend-finding tools.

The card is $99, a steal compared with the average Garmin device, which will run you anywhere from $200 to $1,000. And, of course, you don't need to ferry around a separate navigation device.

Mobile XT comes loaded with … Read more

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

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