Magellan recently announced they are releasing a GPS car kit of their own and it already has hit the FCC. Like the much anticipated TomTom car kit, the Magellan will give the iPod touch and first generation iPhone GPS capabilities as long as you are using the Magellan GPS application. [iTunes Link] This particular car kit is crammed with some nice features:
Fully adjustable mount that works with any skin or case
Rotates for both portrait and landscape use
Enhances signal with built-in GPS receiver
Noise-canceling speakerphone
Bluetooth hands-free calling
Amplified speaker for clear, powerful sound
Works with any GPS application (Unless you are using a iPod touch or first generation iPhone – you then must use the Magellan application)
Currently no price has been announced but you can expect the Magellan car kit to hit stores before the end of the year. Those of you in the market for a GPS car kit now have one more option available to you. Decisions decisions…
TomTom has released a rather significant update to their $99 iPhone Turn-by-Turn GPS application [iTunes Link]. It seems as if they had second thoughts about omitting first generation iPhone 2G (and iPod touches) support in the TomTom car kit. It was only last month that TomTom officially stated the kit would not enable GPS with the original iPhone or iPod touch. My how quickly things change, perhaps the release of the free Google Navigation application had something to do with it…
If anyone still rocking the first generation iPhone or a new iPod touch and try TomTom out, let us know how it goes!
Are you still on the hunt for the right GPS navigation application? SygicMobile Maps [$59.00 - US iTunes Link] has just gotten a much needed update and we are happy to report is has polished this GPS app nicely. Gone is the lag we experienced along with the addition of some other much anticipated features.
Now with text-to-speech – voice guidance announcing the name of the next street or road
Choose addresses straight from your iPhone contacts and navigate to.
Music playback fades out smoothly so you can better hear the voice instructions.
Improved GPS lock, now faster than ever.
Smoother position display as you follow your route.
Increased font size of street names and information bars for improved readability.
No disclaimer warning message after completion of phone call.
So if you currently have this application, update now! If not and you’re still on the lookout for a good GPS app, Sygic Mobile Maps is definitely worth a look.
Well it’s official, TomTom’s much anticipated iPhone car kit accessory will not make it out this summer like the company initially had planned. Rather, it has been delayed until October according to their website’s FAQ page.
The TomTom car kit availability was originally planned for this summer. But we have decided to take some extra weeks in order to deliver the highest quality on this innovative product. So, the car kit will become available this October on www.tomtom.com.
We suppose it is best to delay the accessory for a few weeks in order to insure you, the consumer, can purchase the very best TomTom has to offer. It could have been worse and the kit could have been delayed until next year, right?
A robbery victim has taken advantage of his MobileMe service and put it to good use. A Pittsburgh man, who’s name has been withheld, told police he was forced to turn over his wallet, his PIN number and his iPhone at gun point (Pellet Gun as it turns out) by 3 robbers early Sunday morning. Lacking any tech savvy skills or common sense for that matter, the robbers were clueless about one of MobileMe’s very helpful features, “Find My iPhone“.
After calling the police, the man used his computer and MobileMe to track down his iPhone along with the 3 not so smart criminals having a late night snack at a local restaurant.
Police said they will charge Bryant Rather, 22, of West Mifflin, Brent Ray Potter, 22, of Swissvale, and Myron Knox, Jr., 22, of Homewood, with two counts each of access device fraud, conspiracy, receiving stolen property and possessing instruments of crime. Mr. Rather and Mr. Potter will also be charged with robbery.
While the wait for TomTom’s iPhone software to hit the App Store has come and gone, most of you are still eagerly awaiting the arrival of TomTom’s iPhone car kit, first shown off at WWDC back in June. Engadget Mobile is now reporting that your wait may be coming to an end as TomTom’s car kit has received its FCC approval. Included in that link, for your viewing pleasure, is the kit’s manual, some images, and a few test reports.
Since it’s announcement TomTom has kept pretty quite about the kits full capabilities. Well, a quick look in the user manual gets us all of the official details.
Your TomTom car kit for iPhone is designed to provide you with the best
possible navigation experience. A built-in GPS receiver enhances your iPhone’s GPS signal, ensuring the most reliable navigation, wherever you are. Using the car kit, you get loud and clear voice instructions, can make hands- free calls, as well as charge your iPhone while you drive. The car kit is a safe and secure dock with the award-winning fold-and-go EasyPort® mount.
TomTom insists on teasing us all with the above video yet there is still no mention of pricing or availability. As you can see, this car kit brings a lot more to the table than a simple window mount for your iPhone. With the following extras, you can count on this being a pricey addition to your accessory collection.
Hands-free dialing
Louder speaker
Enhances GPS signal
Charges iPhone
As impressive as the TomTom car kit looks, we are thinking you possibly may have to dish out up to at least $100 for this tricked out window mount. Are you still interested in making this purchase?
Welcome to From the Forums. If you are curious as to what all of the hot topics are on the TiPb forums, this is the place to be. In order to create any new threads of your own or reply to any of the following threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is a simple process that will only take a few minutes out of your day, so if you haven’t already, head on over and register now.
The first thread comes to us from jaguar11 and he wants to know how many push applications do you currently have on your iPhone? Sure the availability of push notification enabled applications was pretty slow at first but a lot of developers are finally coming around. Hopefully that is a good sign of things to come.
Next up we have a great poll thread from toomanyphones – what iPhone GPS application are you using? It seems like the GPS application market has exploded the past few months as so many developers took advantage of TomTom getting to the party late. So what is your GPS app of choice?
Last but not least, smileyboy started a poll thread that poses the question, what’s your monthly data usage? Are you someone who barely uses data with your iPhone or are you making sure you get your money’s worth for the high prices the carriers are charging?
As you might have heard, TomTom’s GPS application hit the App Store late yesterday. The question still remained regarding the much anticipated TomTom car kit and if it would be compatible with the iPod Touch or other GPS applications. Macrumors is now reporting that TomTom public relations manager Yann Lafargue says yes, you will be able to use other GPS applications along with Apple’s iPod Touch with the car kit.
“It will work with the iPod touch and will also work with third-party GPS applications.”
There still is no word on pricing or availability except it will arrive “later this summer”, but keep an eye on the official TomTom Twitter page for the latest “official” information.
How much would you be willing to spend on this accessory?
With news of TomTom hitting Apple’s App Store it’s time to start looking out for great deals from the other GPS apps currently available. Today we were notified that one of the most feature-filled GPS apps, Sygic Mobile Maps for the US is on sale for a limited time and it’s priced to sell – $39.99. [iTunes Link]
We’ve used Sygic Mobile Maps and it is well worth $39.99 if you are within the United States. The sale ends at the end of this month so be sure to act fast! It contains some very nice features with some of the highlights as followed:
Voice guided turn-by-turn GPS navigation
Rotation sensor for automatic switching between landscape/portrait operation in real-time
Automatic return to the app and the route after a phone call
All important safety features, including lane assistance, speed limit indication, safety cameras, information about railway crossings and dangerous areas
Thousands of POIs; among others also a list of parking options nearby for you to select and be guided to
selection between car and bicycle modes for optimum route calculation
All the maps will be stored on the device, there will be no need to download data on the go, which otherwise costs unnecessary waiting time and money
