New GPS Navigation Roundup

Sick and tired of being lost, and don’t want the hassle of flicking through paper street directories?  The latest GPS gadgets will definitely whet your interest then.

Altina A680

This Taiwanese model offers a wide 4-inch 480 x 272 screen, with impressive features such as a FM transmitter to hear voice directions over your car audio system, an AV input jack, MP3 player and MP4 movie player.  If that’s not enough, there is also a 2MP camera and SD card slot for additional storage.

ASUS GPS-enabled P series Phone

Rumour has it that ASUS is working on a GPS-enabled smartphone based on the Windows Mobile 6 platform.  Features include 520MHz PXA27x processor, 256MB of ROM, 128MB of RAM as well as WiFi, Bluetooth and FM transmitters.

Takara GP4

Priced affordably for the European market, the Takara GP4 offers a 3.6-inch screen for £125 or €180, and offers a pedestrian mode as well.  The maps come on an SD card which is preloaded with maps of United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, and Italy.

Lenart Studios Surf Radio

If you can’t bear to be lost while surfing, here’s a gadget with a twist - a GPS enabled surfboard, with a built in radio.  It uses both to “give surfers updated information about their location, rip currents, and building swells”.  It also functions as a walkie talkie between surfers; and in extreme situations, sends out a distress call in emergencies.

ASUS R600

The ASUS R600 boasts an auto light sensor to adjust the backlighting of the LCD panel according to the lighting situation. It offers a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 Pixels display, MP3 playback as well as video and photo viewing, and built in Bluetooth 2.0 handsfree integration with mobile phones.  It also comes with 128mb built in memory with SD card expansion.

LG LN790

Another one to support 4.3″ touchscreen and Bluetooth pairing, the LG LN790 has all the North American maps preloaded, streaming live traffic data from 50 US cities.  It allows playback of MP3s, videos and photos via the SD slot.  Expect in in September at a list price of $699.

Sanyo NVM-4070 and NVM-4050

Two new models from Sanyo offer a 4-inch touchscreen, built-in Bluetooth, MP3/WMA/WAV support, and pre-loaded maps of the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico.  They’re priced at $500 and $400 respectively, with the $100 premium for the benefit of a Traffic Message Channel support for real-time traffic data, as well as music streaming through the built-in FM transmitter.  Nice!

With all these new gadgets for GPS navigation being offered, there’s now really no excuse for being lost when you’re out and about.