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iPAQ Navigation System is an impressive solution, although there is scope for improvement |
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SiRF GPS Location-Enables New HP iPAQ Navigation SystemSiRF Technology, Inc., the leading provider of GPS enabled silicon and software location platforms, today announced that its GPS technology is at the heart of HP's iPAQ Navigation System. The product, unveiled at the ITU Telecom World show in Geneva this month, is expected to drive the next wave of location based mobility features into the mainstream. Specifically, the Bluetooth-GPS receiver in the iPAQ Navigation System is powered by the SiRFstar IIe/LP, a location platform delivering quick and accurate positioning in a power efficient manner. SiRFstarIIe/LP includes features such as location acquisitions in under eight seconds, WAAS support for high-accuracy and SiRF's new Adaptive TricklePower(TM) technology for high-availability with low-power consumption. Among the fastest growing of PDA peripherals, GPS accessories enable users of handheld devices, cell phones and other mobile devices to utilize useful, location-relevant information to make their lives easier and improve enterprise productivity. These applications range from personal navigation, mobile commerce, workforce and asset management to enterprise logistics, gaming, and thousands more. "A number of forces are converging to bring the benefits of location technology to mainstream users. By working with trend-setting partners, we plan to accelerate that agenda," according to Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of marketing for SiRF. "We are glad that a market leader such as HP is utilizing the latest advances in handheld, wireless and location technologies to drive a complete solution, including turn-by-turn navigation and points of interest information, into mainstream enterprise and consumer markets." Demand for Location Applications on the RiseIn addition to technology availability, consumer demand and manufacturer and carrier desire for added revenues from LBS are further driving the market. SiRF is collaborating with market leaders to accelerate the development and deployment of consumer-friendly, location-based applications. For example, at the recent ITU Telecom World show in Geneva, a number of sample location-based services were on display - including CuisineMap, a collaboration among SiRF, Intel, Navigation Technologies, and Telmap. CuisineMap was hosted on a wirelessly connected HP iPAQ Pocket PC that enabled Telecom attendees to determine where to dine, and provided detailed information and directions to some of Geneva's finest restaurants. In addition, last week at the CTIA show in Las Vegas, interest was high for the LBS Challenge (see press release dated October 21, 2003, entitled, Navigation Technologies and SiRF Technology Launch LBS Wireless Contest). Sponsored by SiRF and Navigation Technologies, the Challenge is a contest for creating interesting, useful LBS applications that work with cell phones or wireless handheld devices. About SiRFSiRF Technology, Inc. is the leading provider of GPS enabled silicon and software location platforms that enable location awareness in high-volume mobile consumer devices and commercial applications. Location awareness refers to the ability of a device to determine and make use of the information regarding its location. SiRF's products enable a range of devices to utilize GPS to detect location. These have been integrated into mobile consumer devices, such as automobile navigation systems, cellular phones, GPS-based mobile computing peripherals and handheld GPS navigation devices, as well as into commercial applications, such as property tracking devices and fleet management systems. SiRF markets and sells its products in four target markets: wireless handheld, automotive, mobile computing, and embedded consumer applications. Editor's notes:SiRF, SiRFstar and the SiRF logo are registered trademarks of SiRF Technology, Inc. SiRFLoc and CuisineMap are trademarks of SiRF Technology, Inc. Bluetooth is a trademark owned by its proprietor and used by Hewlett-Packard Company under license. Intel and Itanium are registered trademarks of Intel Corp. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Continue to learn more about Navigation, please visit Directions Mag. Navtech maps give direction to HP's iPAQ Navigation System![]() Navigation Technologies, a provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation, Internet/wireless, government and business solutions, announced that NAVTECH Maps are powering the new HP iPAQ Navigation System. With NAVTECH premium data 'giving it direction', HP's wireless portable navigation system offers users route guidance nationwide from one destination to another. The strength of NAVTECH Maps makes them ideal for this new navigation product. Some key features of the iPAQ Navigation System that are enabled by NAVTECH Maps include:
The solution brings together HP's powerful technology and NAVTECH Maps to create a totally portable , totally wireless (Bluetooth enabled) GPS enabled package. The result is the transformation of an HP iPAQ Pocket PC into a sophisticated personal navigation system, bringing increased functionality and utility to the PDA. The product package contains a Bluetooth wireless GPS receiver, software, and maps of the US and Canada. Continue to learn more about Navigation, please visit Gis Development. HP iPaq Navigation System and Belkin Bluetooth GPS ReceiverJames Bond kept tabs on the bad guys with a tracking display in the glove box of his Aston Martin. But the reality of dashboard navigation today, particularly if it involves both Bluetooth and GPS, isn't so much like Goldfinger as it is like On Golden Pond. That is to say, Bluetooth GPS devices are cranky, lose track of their location with alarming frequency, and demand that you maintain Katherine Hepburn-like levels of grit and patience. If you're willing to put up with the shortcomings, Belkin and Hewlett-Packard each offer devices that add reasonably useful GPS capabilities to your Bluetooth-enabled Pocket PC. The $300 Belkin Bluetooth GPS Receiver is the smaller of the two; it's a little bit bigger than a D-size battery. The $330 HP iPaq Navigation System is longer and wider, but with a trimmer profile; it's comparable in size and shape to a small cell phone. Both devices use nearly identical GPS software on the handheld (from Netropa). Once you're loaded the software, you use a PC-based installer to load the geographic data you want onto the handheld. Then you're ready to hit the road. The GPS devices connect with your Pocket PC device through Bluetooth. In both cases, the process is tricky and time-consuming. In our tests, we frequently had to make several attempts before establishing a successful connection, and the process often took more than five minutes. ![]() In addition to establishing a Bluetooth connection, you also need patience while the receiver picks up the satellite signals it uses to determine its location. This frequently took a minute or more, although interference from trees or buildings could inhibit the process. Like other GPS receivers, both the Belkin and HP devices don't work indoors. Once established, the Bluetooth and GPS connections were fairly robust. We could place each GPS receiver on a dashboard or even in a pocket without losing the signals. Although Bluetooth is rated for distances of up to about 30 feet, in practice the connections worked best with less than 15 feet between the GPS receiver and the handheld plenty of distance for most practical uses. As you move, the display on your handheld is constantly updated with your location, direction, and speed. Although GPS is precise only to a few dozen feet, these devices accurately recognized our walking direction and speed after just a couple of steps. The map display is intuitive and easy to use you can zoom in or out, pan the display, and view points of interest (such as ATMs, gas stations, and parks). Pick a destination and your handheld will give you directions audibly (a female voice tells you, on 300 feet, turn left as well as visually. Despite the gee-whiz factor, actually using these devices for navigation is less than ideal, particularly for driving. Unless you set your Pocket PC's display to keep the backlight on permanently, the display keeps blinking off just when you need to look at it. You have to juggle two separate pieces of hardware, and when driving around corners, the GPS receivers have an annoying tendency to fly off the dash and disappear under the seats. There are minor differences between the two devices. While both have nonskid rubber bases, the surface area of the rubber is larger on the Belkin, making it less prone to fly around. That, plus the Belkin's smaller size and lower price, give it a slight edge. If you're already got a Bluetooth-enabled Pocket PC, it's a fair alternative to a standalone talking GPS system, at about half the cost. Continue to learn more about Navigation, please visit Tweney. Compaq iPAQ Navigation System 128iCar manufacturers typically charge £2,000 or more for a built-in satellite navigation system, while a dedicated GPS (Global Positioning System) unit with an integrated map display can cost as little as £200. Sitting in the middle of this price spectrum, and offering several unique benefits, is Compaq's iPAQ Navigation System (iNS), which costs £850.21 (ex. VAT; £999 inc. VAT) for the full handheld/GPS/software bundle. If you already own a 3000-series iPAQ handheld, the GPS receiver with 64MB of maps (covering south-east England) on CompactFlash costs £424.68 (ex. VAT; £499 inc. VAT). With 128MB of maps (covering most of the UK), the price is £552.34 (ex. VAT; £649 inc. VAT). ![]() The Compaq iNS is based on a GPS jacket from NavMan, into which the iPAQ handheld slides. The jacket is bulky compared to many standalone GPS units, incorporating a chunky aerial and a CompactFlash slot for storing maps downloaded from a PC. Unlike many GPS units, the jacket has no connector for an external antenna, which is slightly disappointing given that reception may often be sub-optimal when the unit is mounted inside a car. A special in-vehicle mount allows the GPS-iPAQ combination to be attached to the car's windscreen, and there's a car charger to keep the show on the road. The iNS is supplied with a 64MB or 128MB CompactFlash card, a CD containing TravRoute's Pocket CoPilot 2.0 route-finding software and the maps. The iNS is straightforward to set up. The GPS jacket is automatically recognised when the handheld device is inserted, and the Pocket CoPilot software can be installed from the supplied CompactFlash card via the jacket's CF slot. Both Pocket PC and the new Pocket PC 2002 operating systems are supported. You also need to install the desktop component of Pocket CoPilot from the supplied CD, which contains the maps that you will download to the handheld via the docking station. Map downloads are handled by the Data Download Wizard, which provides three options -- City, Map Area and Trip. The City option downloads data within a user-defined radius of a city centre; Map Area lets you make a rectangular selection from the main map and download that; and Trip downloads map data from the start and end points of a journey (within a user-defined radius), plus a corridor of user-specified width between them. These options allow you to conserve storage space on your handheld or on the CompactFlash card supplied with the GPS jacket. Usefully, the Data Download Wizard lets you specify the destination for the map data, and calculates the amount of space required for your selection. Obviously, you'll need to take care not to be caught on the road without the appropriate map for a proposed journey, although this shouldn't prove a problem if you go for the full 128MB CF option. Planning a trip is simply a matter of entering start and destination points -- you can specify streets, post codes, junctions or regions -- and any stops or points of interest along the way. Address entry is speeded by a type-ahead feature that tries to 'guess' what you're inputting; you can also store up to 25 frequently used addresses or places for easy access, in addition to your Home and Work locations. Pressing the Go button when in Planning mode delivers full turn-by-turn directions and trip maps, so you can preview your journey before setting off. The fun starts when you switch to Guidance mode, which brings in the GPS. Given a good view of the sky, the unit will initially require about half a minute to pinpoint your location (generally to within just under 7m), whereupon a pointer will appear on the map showing your progress. The iNS's main advantage over other systems is its voice guidance: as well as on-screen maps and clear written directions, you get spoken instructions -- in a human rather than a robotic voice, and in an English accent to boot! The only problem we found was that unless your car is whisper-quiet, the iPAQ's internal audio subsystem may not deliver enough volume. If your car's stereo can accept an input from the iPAQ's headphone socket, you should be OK, but otherwise you may occasionally struggle to hear the instructions. Another key advantage of the iNS is its ability to recalculate the route on the fly if you should depart from the original plan. It really is impressive to see the GPS register that you've missed a turning, spend a short while processing the data, and then come up with revised routing instructions. At all times the guidance screen shows where you are, how far it is until the next turn, and the distance to your final destination. Guidance screens come in two variants, Driver and Passenger, the latter displaying a map at all times and the former periodically dispensing with the map in order to minimise distraction. Compaq's iPAQ Navigation System is an impressive solution, although there is scope for improvement. Support for an external antenna would improve reception in sub-optimal conditions, and the iPAQ's lack of volume could prove problematical for some users. Although the price may seem high in comparison to route-finding software running on an existing notebook equipped with a GPS, it's much more convenient, and a lot cheaper than any built-in system. Continue to learn more about Navigation, please visit CNET Networks. |