Navigation firm Mio is planning to use Android for certain models in their next-gen PND line-up. The Mio MiBuddy range will offer both Android models – complete with GPS navigation, media playback and internet access – and versions using the existing Windows CE-based OS of Mio’s current PND range. While specific hardware details and model numbers are yet to be confirmed, Mio has revealed that the Android models will have WiFi and Bluetooth; future versions may add WiMAX.
Every time I see a new PND unveiled I wonder how long it will be before the smartphone does to the PND what it did to the PDA by making PDAs obsolete. I suspect that eventually the smartphone will kill off the PND since most smartphones today handle navigation with aplomb. PNDs are still popular right now though, and Mio has announced two new navigation devices on the cheap called the Moov M300 and M400.
Mio have released the first TV-enabled satnav units in the UK, the Mio Navman Spirit TV. First shown at the launch of the Spirit range back in May, the Spirit TV will be available in two versions – the 4.7-inch V505 and the 7-inch V735 – each with a touchscreen, Google search, TruMap and Junction views and of course Freeview digital TV with autotuning.
We kicked off the week with a review of Sony’s OLED Walkman X, coming away mighty impressed by its iPod-besting audio quality. Equally impressive was Flip Video’s Ultra HD pocket camcorder; if only we could say the same for SlingPlayer Mobile for the iPhone. While on paper this media-shifting app should be a 100-percent winner, AT&T’s decision to bar streaming over their 3G network has left us and many would-be users upset.
MiTAC Mio today announced a new range of Navman PNDs, together with previewing an upcoming 7-inch touchscreen PND with integrated digital TV tuner that’s expected to drop sometime over the summer. First to reach the market will be the Mio Navman Spirit S300, S500 and Flat, each with integrated traffic receivers, touchscreen GUIs and text-to-speech directions. Mio have also thrown in their latest “Spirit” UI, which supports kinetic scrolling, and keyword search based on Google technology.
Video demos after the cut
Magellan has announced it is selling its consumer products division to MiTAC, with the deal expected to be finalized in January 2009. Exact financial terms have not been disclosed, nor what will happen with Magellan’s current range, such as the recently-announced Maestro 4350 series devices.
Mio are set to take on Garmin’s nuvifone next year, with a GPS-enabled 3.5G Windows Mobile smartphone. The device, which according to company sources will land in Q1 2009, will have a touchscreen interface with a self-designed GUI called Spirit on top of WM6.1 Pro. Qualcomm’s 3.5G high-speed mobile chipset will be relied on for connectivity.
A GPS unit with classic 80s Knight Rider styling and the original voice of K.I.T.T. to give directions: Mio could’ve filled the box with rocks and still sold thousands to loyal fans of the TV series. Mio insist though that, behind the gimmicks, there’s a solid PND (Personal Navigation Device); SlashGear strapped on a chest-wig, unbuttoned our shirts to the waist and released a hit record in Germany to find out.
Mio’s endearingly-geeky Knight Rider GPS – which guides you with the authentic voice of K.I.T.T. from the original TV series – goes on sale today exclusively at Radio Shack in the US. The deal will see Radio Shack as the sole place to get the device until the end of October. Aside from the retro styling and voice-synchronized flashing lights, the Knight Rider GPS allows users to pick from more than 300 common names (i.e. not just Michael) and have K.I.T.T. welcome them personally whenever the unit is switched on.
Believe me when I say I’ve never been tempted by a novelty GPS voice until now. Mio are set to release a Knight Rider-themed sat-nav system that features the authentic voice of KITT. That’s right, not a naff impersonation, but actual voice prompts and comments from actor William Daniels. It’s fun from the first time you hit the power switch, too; KITT instantly asks you “Hello Michael, where do you want to go today?”
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SlashGear Japan
