palmOne Announces Bluetooth GPS Package
palmOne today announced the GPS Navigator. The Bluetooth enabled GPS receiver is paired easily with the Tungsten T3 and Zire 72 handhelds. It provides users with satellite guide maps and directions.
Navigation capabilities are quickly becoming more commonplace. No longer constrained to high-end cars and high-end devices, GPS technology is being added to everything from cell phones to standalone GPS receivers that track a child's whereabouts. As a result, sales of GPS receivers -- in handheld devices, cars, planes and boats -- are expected to reach $9.4 billion in North America by 2008, according to research firm Frost & Sullivan.
"GPS technology, which is exploding in popularity in Europe, is now poised to take off in the United States," said Jim Schwabe, general manager of palmOne accessories. "GPS Navigator from palmOne is another stellar solution that can be easily added to the Bluetooth-capable Tungsten T3 and Zire 72 handhelds."
TomTom, a leading provider of personal navigation systems, provides sophisticated GPS software. Special features include a wide array of street-level and highway maps for the entire United States and Canada, customized door-to-door navigation and voice-guided turn-by-turn instructions.
"palmOne and TomTom are natural partners because both companies aim to create products that are easy for our customers to use," said Jocelyn Vigreux, president of TomTom. "By working with palmOne, the handheld market leader, we are moving closer to our goal of making GPS navigation accessible for every driver and every car."
How It Works
The Bluetooth technology-enabled receiver sits on the car dashboard, where it identifies the car's position using at least three satellites. By communicating with the GPS receiver via Bluetooth, the palmOne handheld obtains real-time location information and displays 2D or 3D maps by TomTom. Using the handheld's high-resolution screen, these maps automatically show the receiver's (and hence, the car's) current location.
After a location has been identified, the GPS Navigator by palmOne can:
- Display detailed street and highway maps for the entire United States and Canada
- Customize directions using door-to-door navigation
- Give voice-guided turn-by-turn instructions
- Automatically recalculate the route after a wrong turn
- Instantly re-route to avoid a roadblock or congestion; and
- Highlight millions of points of interest, including gas stations, airports, shops and other destinations.
The GPS Navigator from palmOne will be available on palmOne's online store beginning June 11, 2004. The $299 product includes palmOne's Bluetooth GPS receiver, TomTom Navigator software for the entire United States and Canada, a vehicle device cradle with windshield mounting bracket and recharging cables for the palmOne handheld and GPS receiver.
UPDATE
According to palmOne, the Tungsten T and T2 handhelds will not work with this new package because they use an older Bluetooth standard.
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RE: OK, Here is the Killer App for this:
I used to develop software for cellphones, and we got all excited about the GPS functionality coming through in cellphones, especially since it was based on both satellite and celltower positioning (cellphone talk to celltower, tower tell cell phone which satellites you should get a lock on - theoretically faster than scanning for satellites - and then x/y/z position fed back - very cool).
Problem is that while more cellphones are coming out with the mandatory E911 GPS location hardware, the GPS signal is not open to developers. Only the carrier can access your locaiton, and apparently there is some sort of Dept of Justice (DA??) sort of authorisation required to use this system for anything EXCEPT an emergency.
Technology is cool. I like your vision. We looked into it 3 years ago when E911 started to arrive, but until the GPS data is opened up, paranoia rule.
Petition your congressman, harrass your telco. You pay for the feature on your cellphone, you might as well be able to use it.
~ "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed." - DV ~
RE: OK, Here is the Killer App for this:
> Petition your congressman, harrass your telco. You pay for the feature
> on your cellphone, you might as well be able to use it.
The rules are there mainly to protect the consumer's privacy. In particular to prevent phone companies from capturing and selling the info.
You also have to remember that the way phone companies work, they'll want to charge you a subscription fee for what you already have. $5 a month to access the GPS feature and $10 a month for them to also not use it to location-SPAM you.
T2 or T ?
RE: T2 or T ?
T2: I'd say there's maybe a 40% likelihood that it is supported but I would not hold my breath. I think landscape screen support is pretty much a must-have for this product anyway.
Now for my comments on this announcement:
This is just the sort of "real" product announcement that's good to see from PalmOne (ie no junky gold-plated styli or overpriced memory cards). If they can keep one foot planted squarely on the rump of TomTom and have no mishaps occuring down the road in regards to OS6 bugs, reliable software updates (*cough*, Mapopolis, *cough*) etc, then this might end up being a sort of cult favorite for GPS devices. I always though the Garmin iQue was a little half-baked & late getting to the market.
If this Palm-branded unit is up to par, then we should be in good shape. Oh, you may ask, why is it significant for it to have the POne logo on it?
1. Distribution
2. Price competitiveness
3. Guaranteed support for the forseeable future
New drivers are still being cranked out for the original Stowaway UC keyboards. The same cannot be said of the myriad of portable Palm keyboards made by small manufacturers or even big ones that couldn't be bothered to care (Logitech etc).
RE: T2 or T ?
3 month. It will not work with T1 or T2 because the software requires 320 x 480 screen and the power of T3
I EUrope it is offered as bundle to gether with T3 from palmOne.
Then combination, (landscapemode) is in many details better as the "highend" $2500 navigation units from Daimler Chrisler or BMW etc.
Georg
looking for a industrial stile PalmOS divice
RE: T2 or T ?
3 month. It will not work with T1 or T2 because the software requires 320 x 480 screen and the power of T3
pfff - all of this crap about how the t1 and t2 aren't powerful enough or are too buggy. theres plenty of great software that works fine using BT on the t1 and t2. This support the Zire 72 which is 320 x 320 - so screen size is not the issue. If warfare inc can do seemless bt multiplayer between my T1 and T3 (with less hickups than my home LAN gaming setup) then there is no excuse for not doing correct BT com,munication between this device and a T1 or T2. If these aren't supported - the devs of the software are probably doing something using API changes in OS 5.2+, so they they dont want to go and make this work for 5.0 - whatever. But it could if they knew what they were doing.
P.S. - most of the time i far prefer my 'buggy' T1 over my beautiful, big screen T3 because the T1 is lighter, smaller, has much better d-pad for gaming, and has a longer lasting battery. With the palmOne patches for the T1, the only real problem is sound volume (that and a screwed up serial driver implementation that leads to certain compatibility issues thyat i have - fortunately - on noticed as a dev and not as a user). The OMAP is powerful enough to run any of this mapping software - provided the developers know what they are doing.
RE: T2 or T ?
http://www.navman.com/land/products/gps4460/index.html
JLM.
RE: T2 or T ?
RE: T2 or T ?
1. Palm is concerned that the lesser screen/audio capabilities and limited RAM/heap memory might make for a more frustrating experience than on a newer Tungsten or Zire. If there were only a few mb of free system ram on the T, it cold be very cumbersome to deal with loading map data, as the Palm's single-wire SD access speed is not fast enough to load map data on the fly from the SD card.
2. The T|T is so bug-plagued and has G1 and Palm just wants to migrate everyone to a newer model so its support woes over this particular model are as minimal as possible (this being the major reason I made my prediction).
RE: T2 or T ?
You’re probably right with your speculation regarding Palm’s motivation for pitching this at wide screen models. It doesn’t make me want to upgrade though. All reports indicate I’d miss T/T’s battery life. I doubt that the T3 would match the GPS receiver’s battery life. I am planning to use the GPS out of the car while walking the streets when travelling abroad so this would be an issue.
RE: T2 or T ?
1. I suppose you didn't go through 3 T|Ts like I did, all with varying degrees of digitizer failure and/or slider woes? There's also the issue of the never-resolved-until-T3 voice memo recording lockup bug and the "less than robust" BT issues (somewhat mitigated by the T|T update patch) on the original T. It's the lack of heap memory that makes it difficult for some demanding "modern" apps & games to run on the T more than anything else, however.
2. I've had all 3 Tungsten T variants and I have to say that the T2 was the most reliable of them all. As a bonus, my battery life was the best on the T2. On the T1, I had to keep the brighrness cranked up to half or better most of the time to ensure a decent experience with the screen. For the T2, I kept it as low as possible or just a notch up the slider, so I could squeeze a good bit extra out of the battery in a busy day. T3's battery life is quite poor and demands that you underclock most of the apps to make it through a full day on the road away from an outlet.
3. If you end up not springing for this Palm-brand GPS bundle, I'd highly recommend the Magellan Meridian series. The Platinum unit seems to be the best bang for the $. They all support SD memory expansion-useful if you have an old 32mb or 64mb card you previously used on your Palm. Good battery life and pocketability too.
RE: T2 or T ?
RE: T2 or T ?
Navman has been selling their GPS nav product for Palm OS 5 devices since January. You can pick it up in many large elec stores such as Dick Smith Powerhouse.
It has maps for all of Australia - works great for me!! :-)
JLM.
RE: T2 or T ?
Wow.....
But it sounds like with this, I could spend around $600-700 for this GPS + T3 or Z72 combination, and I get both great GPS features and a full PDA.
I think this sells me on it.
-Mandroid
RE: Wow.....
I guess the big question is which would be better to get. They both look really nice to me.
-Mandroid
RE: Wow.....
Georg
looking for a industrial stile PalmOS divice
RE: Wow.....
He! we were first.
RE: He! we were first.
Now when's that TE2 coming along...
RE: He! we were first.
RE: He! we were first.
Palmone already has addedt a second bundle (100 euros less) to the market with just a cabel GPS.
As long as you use it only for navigation in the car its no difference to the BT GPS. If you buy the version with BT GPS you can use this navisystem for hicking or on a bicicle too. But you should know, after 6 hours without recharging the Tungsten and the BT GPS are running out of power!
Georg
looking for a industrial stile PalmOS divice
RE: He! we were first.
Palmone already has addedt a second bundle (100 euros less) to the market with just a cabel GPS.
As long as you use it only for navigation in the car its no difference to the BT GPS. If you buy the version with BT GPS you can use this navisystem for hicking or on a bicicle too. But you should know, after 6 hours without recharging the Tungsten and the BT GPS are running out of power!
Georg
looking for a industrial stile PalmOS divice
RE: He! we were first.
--- rei_vilo
What's the big deal?
Regarding the earlier comment about why the T2 isn't supported (because it needs 480x320), that can't be true because this press release specifically mentions the Zire 72. Personally, I don't think high-res is needed for most users' needs. Much more important IMO is voice navigation. When I'm driving with my GPS, I don't want to have to look at it. I much prefer having it tell me when to turn via voice prompts.
Scott
http://Tapland.com
- Tapwave Zodiac News, Reviews, & Discussion -
RE: What's the big deal?
Also I wonder if this Palm BT GPS will be for car only use or standalone as well.
RE: What's the big deal?
Zodiac2/T616
1.128 gigs under the hood.
RE: What's the big deal?
For other Bluetooth GPS hardware, I should think that any of those should work happily with Mapopolis.
BTW, news of this TomTom bundle inspired me to write an article at Tapland yesterday highlighting a couple of $150 Bluetooth GPS devices, so you may be interested in reading that.
Scott
http://Tapland.com
- Tapwave Zodiac News, Reviews, & Discussion -
RE: What's the big deal?
Mapopolis sucks, it keeps on making me drive on side streets for the shortest route (at least in Vancouver), it doesn't recognize main and arterial streets.
Donald
RE: What's the big deal?
If you don't mind a mouse-style GPS, you might even want to see if you can find one of those Radio Shack DigiTravelers. I picked mine up for around $30. I use Mapopolis with my PPC since there's no compatible cable for the Zodiac (yet), but it does come with a Palm UC connector.
Scott
http://Tapland.com
- Tapwave Zodiac News, Reviews, & Discussion -
How is this different?
There's a BT GPS from TomTom already that sells for $50 more, and it's available now.
RE: How is this different?
Info on the TomTom Navigator mapping software
Three of the packages How is the TomTom software?
1. Can you use maps from the external memory card
2. Can you plan mutli-state routes easily?
3. I know that Mapopolis' Navigator software allows you to load a summary highway map for the entire country and then add in detail maps for begining, ending, and intermediate destinations. Does the TomTom software work the same way or do I have to load a new map each time I cross into an area?
Looks Klunky
Enhanced Navigation System
The optional Lexus Navigation System for the ES 330 has been improved for 2004. As before, the system uses a DVD for map storage, containing the contiguous United States, plus major cities in Canada, on one disc. This system includes multi-language selection and very fast route calculation (about five seconds). The revised system features better, easier-to-understand graphics, a larger point of interest (POI) database and new convenience functions.
New map modes show freeway exit information, an intersection guide, upcoming exits (a benefit if the driver passes an intended exit), points of interest at the exits and a compass.
The DVD map database now contains more than five million points of interest (POI), compared to two million before. The database for Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and New York features new "building footprint" graphics, which shows a 3D rendering of the building in its location. This feature can be useful for identifying buildings and their surroundings. As before, system functions include multi-route calculation, route preview, simplified highway junction graphics, and a dual-map screen mode. The navigation system comes with a center-console mounted six-disc CD auto-changer as well as a single-disc player in the dash.
http://www.lexus.com/about/press_releases/popups/2003/pr_08_26_a.html
RE: Looks Klunky
My personal dream for the "ultimate" semi-portable GPS unit seems like it'll never materialize.
Take a small tablet-style portable DVD movie player. Integrate a bigger battery and a flip-up antenna onto the body. Have the unit function as an audio-centric navigation aid. It would direct you with voice commands via its own speakers, or piped through the car stereo by a tape adapter or built-in FM transmitter (like the newer MP3 players) The unit can be placed on the passenger seat or used by a passenger if one is in the car. I supppose a workable windshield/dash mount could be cobbled together to permit the driver to glance at the screen while driving. After you get to your destination at night, untether the thing, take it into your hotel room, and use it to watch movies on. The storage woes of high-priced CF/SD cards is lessened by using a DVD-drive. An optional model could have a CF slot for sticking a microdrive or large CF in for downloaded street-level details. If someone like Panasonic or Sony could come up with sucha device...wow! I wouldn't trust Audiovox or a similar manufacturer's build quality for something that'd be hauled around like this one.
Potential caveats: Screen couldn't be any larger than 5" or 7" in all likelihood, if the unit is to be detatchable to its dash mount. Price would be in low-end laptop territory. Not being a clamshell design, some sort of slipper case or sleeve would be needed to protect the screen.
TomTom
--
Psion 5> Vx > m505 > N770C > T625C > NR70V > e310 > T/T > HP h2210 > T/T3 & h4150
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Do You Need a Car?
Can someone with the existing TomTom BT Setup tell us if you can use it without a power source? How long does the battery last if it has one?
I think for Biking/Hiking/ and so on this would be worth every penny since I would be able to just stash my GPS where-ever and only worry about having my T|3 handy. But again, only if it can work without a power source...
Eric Hausmerman Carroll
a.k.a. EricHC
Go See Gangs of New York and make my Boss and I some money!
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OK, Here is the Killer App for this:
Devices:
1. Palm T|3
2. Blue Tooth Phone with Internet Access
3. Blue Tooth GPS
Now the Application.
A six degree's of seperation(sdos) website with a GPS location tied in. So at any one given point in time you could start the program up which access your contact list from your PDA, scans the website where your contacts are listed on the SDOS website and then places them on a Map on your GPS device.
OK, now emagine that the website / device recognizes a group of friends are all at the same place or near each other, a SMS could be sent to each of them to tell them that they are all in the same neighborhood, and ask them if they want to hang out.
Or think of this. The website / Device recognizes that you are all at the same location, and asks you where are you. You then enter the name of the location and provide a small rating. This rating and description are then tied into a city guide site which could then provide you with a list of places that friends on your SDOS contact list like.
Or think of this. You are in a new city or part of town and want to do something, well, look up where your friends of friends are hanging out or have hung out and go there.
Now granted all this requires you have each of these pieces of hardware, but think about this. It's going to be required that Cell Phones have built in GPS's in the future due to the 9/11 attack in New York. In 5 years most Cell Phone will also be GPS's and will support Bluetooth. I would also emagine that the PDA's by then will all have cell phone capabilities as well.
Anyway, enjoy the thought and the idea.
If anyone is serious about doing an application like the above let me know. I'm not that hard to find on the net.
Ted