Thursday, November 25, 2004
Socket Release GPS Nav Kit
Posted by Jonathon Watkins in "HARDWARE" @ 06:00 AM
Another week, another release of a new bit of GPS kit. This time it's the 'GPS Nav Kit' by Socket Communications and it looks rather decent actually. It's a software/hardware combination which includes Socket’s MyNavigator software and provides turn-by-turn instructions and map support for the United States, Canada and over 14 European countries. With Americans apparently spending over 500 million hours per week in their car, it's easy to see why GPS is proving so popular. New MyNavigator software features are:
"Additional hardware features include a new receiver chip-set from u-blox that is capable of receiving 16 GPS channels and processing 8192 simultaneous search bins as well as a removable and replaceable battery. In addition, it includes Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS) support for increased location accuracy with the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) in the U.S. and EGNOS in Europe. The hardware weighs only 71 grams and fits into the palm of your hand without requiring wires or cables."
Update: There's were no pictures of the GPS hardware in the press release, but Stik and Freitasm turned up pictures of the unit anyway. The GPS Nav Kit is apparently available immediately for around $249 though I could not find it in any shops yet. I think I can see GPS in my future purchase plans. What about you?
- Allows hotkeys to be assigned to the most popular functions
- Ability to select destination by intersection or city center
- More than 1.2 million new points of interest and new categories including attractions, businesses/shopping, education/government, emergency, lodging, recreation, restaurants and transportation
- Improved optional map views including flat, bird’s eye and 3-D
- Updated NAVTEQ maps of North America and Europe
"Additional hardware features include a new receiver chip-set from u-blox that is capable of receiving 16 GPS channels and processing 8192 simultaneous search bins as well as a removable and replaceable battery. In addition, it includes Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS) support for increased location accuracy with the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) in the U.S. and EGNOS in Europe. The hardware weighs only 71 grams and fits into the palm of your hand without requiring wires or cables."
Update: There's were no pictures of the GPS hardware in the press release, but Stik and Freitasm turned up pictures of the unit anyway. The GPS Nav Kit is apparently available immediately for around $249 though I could not find it in any shops yet. I think I can see GPS in my future purchase plans. What about you?
