guidance

With so many navigation apps available, many for free, it may be difficult to imagine paying for one. But ALK Technologies makes a reasonable case for its CoPilot Live Premium app. Its most compelling feature are the full set of maps it includes, making it possible to navigate without a data connection.

Most people using a smartphone for navigation will be doing 95 percent of their driving in an area with data coverage. But the most critical times for a good navigation app come out on back roads, far away from cell towers. Likewise, high data roaming charges in foreign … Read more

AMD said today that it expects revenue for the third quarter to be lower than the previous quarter. This comes on the heels of Intel's warning in August.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chipmaker's terse release said revenue in its third quarter, ending September 25, will be in the "range of down one to four percent as compared to revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter ended June 26, 2010."

"The sequential decrease is due to weaker than expected demand, particularly in the consumer notebook market in Western Europe and North America," the company … Read more

When we took our first look at the TomTom app for iPhone, it seemed like a perfectly competent helper for getting from points A-to-B. But, we couldn't help but notice that a few of our favorite GPS navigation features were notably absent--particularly TTS instructions and graphic lane guidance.

Well, there's good news for users of the TomTom app in the form of a free update that adds these missing features, and a few more.

The update will add text-to-speech (TTS) for spoken street names and points of interest (POI) as part of the device's directions, graphic lane … Read more

Magellan has recently unveiled its newest model, the Magellan Maestro 4700 GPS device. This new unit features an updated aesthetic, a slim profile, and a 4.7-inch wide-format, color touch screen.

You can talk to the Maestro 4700 using its voice command feature; and it will talk back with its text-to-speech capability, using proper street and POI names.

A Predictive Traffic feature works similarly to TomTom's IQ Routes by analyzing past traffic patterns to predict and avoid known trouble spots. However, it looks like the Maestro 4700 does not receive live traffic updates.

The Maestro features Magellan's OneTouch … Read more

When we spoke with TomTom's representatives concerning the new GO 740 Live, the navigation device was described as offering a "God's-eye view" of the road. Now, the GO isn't omniscient, but it puts a good deal of information at the driver's fingertips with realtime traffic data, weather forecasts, live fuel pricing, and Local Search powered by Google.

Additionally, TomTom Map Share is a user-generated map correction system that allows for map data to be updated more frequently, while IQ Routes looks at historical speed data to calculate the fastest route from point to point. … Read more

Yesterday, we took a look at the TomTom One 140 S and found that we liked it, but wanted a bigger screen.

Today, we find ourselves on the road with the TomTom XL 340 S, which takes all of the features that we praised in the One (lane guidance, IQ Routes, Map Share, and text-to-speech) and packages them behind a larger 4.3-inch wide screen.

The result is an easier to read map, more accurate menu navigation and address entry, and a generally more enjoyable in-car experience. Even though we initially had our doubts about the new EasyPort mount, the … Read more

It's always the case that what is now premium tier will one day be entry level. That's just the way it goes as products become more advanced and users more sophisticated.

Which brings us to the TomTom One 140 S. We've had a few short looks at the One 140 in previous weeks. At first glance, the One 140 S seems like the poster-child for entry-level portable navigation devices, with its small, 3.5-inch screen and unassuming form factor. However, look beneath the surface and you'll find features that were only available on TomTom's top-of-the-line … Read more

Still looking for that last minute Mothers' Day gift for the matriarch in your life? If your mom is anything like mine, she's probably a busy woman with many places to see and things to do. Why not help her get where she's going more easily with a portable navigation device?

Just in time for Mothers' Day, TomTom is offering a special edition of the TomTom One 140 with a "stylish burgundy" casing.

The burgundy TomTom One 140 has all of the features of the standard model, such as Advanced Lane Guidance, which helps your dear … Read more

TomTom announced Wednesday that it's rolling out a few new models: the TomTomXL 340 and 340S and the TomTom One 140 and 140S. The new units now include maps of Mexico, in addition to maps of the United States and Canada. Furthermore, TomTom's Advanced Lane Guidance feature trickles farther down the product lineup, as these new models gain the highly useful ability to display detailed information about major highway lanes and where they go.

The TomTom XL 340 and 340S are 4.3-inch wide-screen models that both feature TomTom Map Share, which allows users to upload corrections to … Read more