Cell Phone Accessories

Section: Gadgets / Other, GPS/Navigation

Navigon has added yet another GPS model to their current lineup, and this time its certainly one for everyone to consider. The new model is the Navigon 2200T and it not only comes in at an affordable $229, but its also packed full of features. I have been a fan of Navigon since I got the chance to review the 2100 Max this past June, and the 2200T with its nice price and good feature set may be the model I begin to recommend.

Moving on, the 2200T features a 3.5-inch display and is “ultra-thin and portable” measuring in at less then 3/4 of an inch thick. The 2200T comes with free real-time traffic updates for life, Reality View Pro, Lane Assistant Pro, DirectHelp, text to speech as well as a fast destination entry thanks to Navigon’s SmartSpeller feature.

In addition users can also opt to get the FreshMaps updates which offers up to 12 maps over a three year period for $79.99. Currently, the Navigon 2200T availability date has not yet been announced. Keep reading for the full release;

Chicago, Illinois, September 3, 2008 — NAVIGON, one of the world’s leading and fastest growing providers of navigation products and solutions, today unveiled its feature-rich NAVIGON 2200T GPS Navigator. The NAVIGON 2200T offers a best-in-class navigation experience characterized by NAVIGON’s roster of trademark features—including free real-time traffic updates for the life of the product.

The NAVIGON 2200T—“T” for Traffic—is based on NAVIGON’s next generation software which makes route calculation fast and entering a destination easy, requiring fewer clicks than any other GPS product to enter a destination. With high-end features such as Reality View Pro™, Free Real-Time Traffic Updates for Life and text-to-speech, the 3.5” NAVIGON 2200T is the marvel of its price class, selling for $229 (MSRP).

“As competitors try to match the unique features that we first introduced last year we continue to enhance our offering, maintaining our position as the lead innovator in the industry,” says Andreas Hecht, NAVIGON’s president for the America’s. “Our vision for the NAVIGON 2200T was to take the NAVIGON experience to a new level in a stylish, highly portable package. This device delivers a navigation experience that exceeds that of any high-end device on the market today at an attractive price point.”

Features that Set it Apart
Real-time traffic, good for the life of the product, provides traffic updates and flow information that guides users around congestion and shortens the drive time. Reality View Pro™, the next generation of NAVIGON’s exclusive Reality View feature, adds 3D images for highway exits as well as complex interchanges. Lane Assistant Pro™ provides clear lane guidance to help drivers prepare for upcoming turns.

NAVIGON 2200T features include:
Free Real-Time Traffic Updates for Life. Users can easily route around traffic congestion to reach their destinations faster. NAVIGON delivers traffic in a unique way—it’s ready to go, for the life of the product, right out of the box. No subscriptions, trial periods or additional hardware to buy. Using simple color coding, the NAVIGON 2200T will show the severity of congestion, what and where the problem is, and (most importantly) how to get around it. Plus, with coverage in 95 markets in both U.S. and Canada, users are covered wherever their travels take them.

Reality View Pro™. NAVIGON takes its trademark feature one-step further with the second generation of Reality View—Reality View Pro™. Reality View Pro provides 3D images and actual road sign text for virtually every highway interchange and exit you will encounter —so you’ll never miss your exit again.

Lane Assistant Pro™. Helps drivers prepare to make an upcoming exit or turn by providing clear visual lane guidance. NAVIGON’s second generation of Lane Assistant provides a lane map complete with arrows and actual road geometry.

Fast Destination Entry. The latest generation of NAVIGON software makes entering and finding information fast and simple with, on average, fewer clicks than any competitor product. NAVIGON’s SmartSpeller feature helps guiding through the entry process.

Advanced Text-to-speech. Spoken Directions with Street Names lets drivers keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road with advanced phonetic text-to-speech technology that ensures proper pronunciation of streets.

DirectHelp™. Help is a click away with DirectHelp, providing instant driving directions to and contact information for nearby hospitals, police stations, roadside assistance, and pharmacies.

High Performance. NAVIGON’s new software platform delivers our most responsive interface to date with dramatically improved route calculation times.

Instant Fix GPS. With NAVIGON’s new Instant Fix GPS receiver (SIRF InstantFixII Receiver), the NAVIGON 2200T triangulates global position in a matter of seconds and is minimally affected by urban canyons and tall trees.

Ultra-thin and portable. Less than ¾” thick, the NAVIGON 2200T is compact enough to take users anywhere whether traveling the world or the local neighborhood.

Favorites as POI: Shows stored addresses with name on the map marked with flags.

NAVIGON FreshMaps: Keep your 2200T as up-to-date in three years as it was on the day you bought it with NAVIGON‘s FreshMaps accessory, providing up to 12 map updates for three years for $79.99 (MSRP).

Also with:
Speed Assistant
Multi-Destination Trip Planning
Automatic Standby Feature
Auto Day/Night Mode

Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

---

We just got our hands on some interesting photos of the upcoming ASUS N10 notebooks set to be released the third week of this month. For starters, they’re pretty tiny. You know, with them rocking 10.2″ screens and all… In terms of specs and features, here’s what we got from the leaked docs:

• 10.2″ LED 1024×600 screen
• Windows Vista / Windows XP
• 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU
• NVIDIA GeForce Go 9300M GS 256MB graphics card
• 2GB RAM
• 250GB 5400rpm HD
• One ExpressCard slot
• One HDMI port
• Three USB 2.0 ports
• 1.3 megapixel webcam
• Fingerprint reader
• 3.5 lbs

You also get around 6.5 hours of runtime with the included 6-cell battery, a switch to toggle either the built-in motherboard graphics, or the sexy NVIDIA chip, Altec Lansing speakers, and a totally cool face recgozition software that will enable you to securely unlock your PC. That sums up most of the specs, but what about price? Well, the specific model we listed above is the ASUS N10J-B1 and will retail for $849 in the next couple weeks, but look for the N10J-A1 to retail for $749, and the N10E-A1 to run you $649. Check out all the slides in our gallery, ok?

Click on over to our ASUS N10 notebook gallery!

Section: Audio, Accessories, Speakers

Aside from giving us sleek-looking portable data storage devices, LaCie and tech gadget designer Neil Poulton have also given as the FireWire speakers during the early part of the year. The two are following this up with yet another speaker product which we would simply call as the LaCie USB Speakers.

This Poulton-designed USB speakers offers a frequency response rate of 90Hx-20kHz and supports 16-bit/48KHz signal. It derives power from its USB connection and can output a minimum of 1W per channel. The previous FireWire speakers are capable of giving out 4W per channel and supports a signal of up to 24-bit/96kHz. This explains why the new USB Speaker costs only $60, while the FireWire speakers will set you back $100.

In addition, this speaker doesn’t require any driver to make it work, and you can even attach an MP3 player onto it using an optional power adapter. Its cables can be discreetly and conveniently tucked under the speakers for that neat and clean look.

Product [LaCie] Via [electronista]

Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

---

Section: Computers, Security, Software / Applications, Web, Web Browsers, Google

So, we’ve all been seeing the hoopla the past few days surrounding Google’s Chrome browser. First it was how exciting! Google has a new browser! Then that excitement lessened somewhat as time went on. It went from performance benchmarks being less than stellar to the fact that it was discovered that their snazzy new browser was susceptible to a carpet-bombing vulnerability that could expose Windows to malicious hacker attacks.  And now, we’re taking note of Google’s fine print in their end-user license agreement. To put it lightly, it does not look friendly in the least to the user.

Taken from their agreement terms:

“By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any content which you submit, post or display on or through, the services. This license is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the services and may be revoked for certain services as defined in the additional terms of those services.”

Ok. Now, since the big bru-ha-ha of browsers anymore seems to be to win users over by flaunting “We offer the best privacy!!”, I just totally don’t get how Google thinks they can incorporate this into their licensing agreement and have users rush right out and choose them.  We all know that Microsoft owns the market right now, and just came out with their beta mode of IE8 which offers privacy mode. Mozilla’s Firefox is moving on up in the browser world with those who quite simply are anti-Microsoft, or who loved the ease of use of the features with the tabs, etc. when it first came out.  So, unless Google really had something new and amazing to offer, it was going to be tough for them to cut into that market share to begin with. With end-user agreement terms like that? What are they thinking? Unless they are thinking their users are illiterate morons.

Then again, this is coming from the company who said there is no such thing as privacy anymore. Well, complete privacy anyway. And I guess they mean to push that privacy envelope as faaaaar as they can.

Via [techmeme]

Full Story » | Written by Jodie Andrefski for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

---

Section: Computers, Mobile Computers, Laptops

It has been a while since we covered anything that Raon has made, but I felt it was necessary to mention what may be the first dual-core ultra mobile PC to hit the market with the Raon Digital Everun Note. 

This is one UMPC (Ultra-Mobile Personal Computer) that has some cool specs, including a 7-inch, 1024 x 600 display with DX9 graphics.  It has a PCle mini-port, and, of course, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g. 

As for what’s on the inside, it has an AMD Turion X2 dual-core CPU, 1 GB of RAM, and a 12GB SSD or up to 80GB hard drive.  As you can see, the Raon Digital Everun Note bears a strong resemblance to a certain UMPC from Asus that rhymes with “free”.  It measures about 7.87 x 4.65 x 1.08-inches, and weighs about 1.65-pounds.

The Raon Digital Everun Note is set to retail for $879, however an availability date has not yet been announced.

Read [UMPC Portal] Via [ubergizmo]

Full Story » | Written by Mark Rollins for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

---

Schlage today unveiled the latest consumer electronic innovation that fuses home security and automation with mobile technology. The new Schlage LiNK deadbolts and locks provide homeowners the power to remotely control and monitor access to their home 24/7 with any web-enabled mobile phone or computer. The new Schlage LiNK deadbolts and locks provide keyless entry through 4-digit access codes that can be entered, activated, deleted or disabled on the lock's 11-digit push button keypad, or via the Schlage LiNK web portal or mobile application. This solution gives homeowners the freedom of never having to carry or circulate multiple sets of keys, coupled with the ability to instantaneously grant access to family members, friends, unexpected house guests, and service providers such as handymen and housekeepers. Via the Schlage LiNK online portal, homeowners also have the control to set up user codes for specific days and times, receive text or e-mail notifications when certain codes are used and track codes that have been used over the past 90 days.

Gentlemen, start your engines: Google's claims of Chrome being the fastest browser are being put to the test. Ready to see how it really stacks up with the competition? The Great Browser Race First up, Mozilla. The guys behind...

Dear New Yorkers,

It has come to our attention that you lucky bastards are able to purchase pre-release Blackberry Bolds for a mere $1,300 right there in Manhattan. While this price is nothing short of egregious, we’re a little jealous that you can walk to your local mom and pop Blackberry shop and pick one up (sort of). BlackberryBusiness.com is selling pre-release Bolds at a “special offer” of $1,299.99 on their web site. According to Joe at Blackberry Business, who was holding the last one in his hand to make a sale as I spoke with him, “We got five a couple days ago, but we’re all sold out now.” Joe must be happy to have made some big money on pre-release 9000s.

Looks like you’re too late. Tsk tsk. Of note, even though the site shows pictures of an AT&T branded Bold, the ones available were unbranded.

Thanks, Robby!

Via [BBC]

Read