IranMap

Hertz vehicle rental customers across Europe will soon benefit from a new version of the unique satellite navigation system Hertz NeverLost (Version 3), with 4,000 new units available across Europe from the end of June.

Now available in 39 languages, three times as many as the previous version, the portable Hertz NeverLost system features easy-to-use touchscreen, turn-by-turn directions and large database of pre-programmed locations, allowing customers to navigate with confidence. Hertz is the only rental company to offer customers its own customised satellite navigation system in Europe, which can be booked online.

Powered by Garmin Hertz NeverLost 3 devices will be available to Hertz customers in over 69 major airports and cities across 17 countries in Europe.

The system has been customised specifically for Hertz customers, including additional mapping to include Eastern Europe as well as pre-programmed Hertz branch locations across Europe. The voice guidance is available in all major Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Far East languages.

The touchscreen system also has a unique ‘Locate’ feature, which marks the current position when removed from the windshield mount – especially useful when parked in large car parks or an unfamiliar city street.

The unit also has an enhanced ‘Where am I?’ feature which helps customers locate their nearest amenities with ease while on the move. In addition to this, the device contains over one million points of interest including hotels, restaurants and cash machines.

“At Hertz, we continue to invest in innovative products and service to provide our customers with convenience and a great customer experience,” said Michel Taride, President, Hertz Europe. “We want our customers to feel as comfortable driving abroad as they do at home – and have the confidence to enjoy the freedom and adventure that NeverLost offers.”

Hertz NeverLost 3 units also boast an extended battery life, as well as a ‘friction mount’ feature that removes the need for a suction cup to fix the unit on the windscreen. The system is fitted with Bluetooth technology and an FM transmitter, allowing customers to connect their navigation system to the in-car radio as well as facilitate hands free calling from mobile phones.

Michel Taride, President, Hertz Europe added: “The next generation Hertz NeverLost 3 satellite navigation system builds on the overwhelming success of its predecessor Hertz NeverLost 2 in providing virtually every navigation feature that the modern day traveller could want. We’re confident that the evolution in our satellite navigation product will exceed the expectations of our customers in completing the ultimate driving experience.”

Specially designed for Hertz customers, the Hertz NeverLost satellite navigation system was launched in Europe in November 2005.

The Sony NVU44S is a portable satellite navigator through which Sony has combined many useful features into a compact body. It is a pocket-sized sat nav unit that will take you to your destination safely and quickly. Sony NVU44S Hand-Held Satellite Navigator includes the maps of the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. These maps can be viewed in both 2D and 3D formats.

It also includes a wide range of points of interests making it easy to locate the nearest petrol station, ATMs, restaurants, etc. It provides a 3.5-inch, 320 x 240 pixels touch screen display that has a split-screen option for detailed views of the different scenarios. This dual view capability displays the dynamic path data along with the traditional map data. This 3-D representation of the upcoming turns and junctions informs about the right lane to be taken on a multiple lane intersection.

Sony NVU44S Automotive Satellite Navigator provides accurate route information and its unique text-to-speech functionality calls out the names of roads and streets as and when they appear on the screen. This feature helps you in concentrating on the road better. Additionally, it comes with a Gesture command that enables the unit to be driven by gestures. Thus you can now control the unit by tracing simple figures on the unit’s screen. This unit measures 95 x 54 x 109 mm in dimensions and weighs about 157 grams. It also includes a picture viewer for viewing photos of people and places while on the go. Along with this entry-level unit you get a car cradle, a USB cable, a CD-ROM with the necessary applications and a quick start-up user guide.

Garmin Dakota 10 and Dakota 20 feature a high-sensitivity GPS receiver, worldwide basemap and color touchscreen display, all crammed into a compact, waterproof device that is able to last up to 20 hours per charge.

Garmin Dakota 10 has a 2.6″ color touchscreen, weighs 6.75 ounces, and runs up to 20 hours on two AA batteries. It is also built rugged, and is waterproof (IPX7). It has worldwide basemap pre-installed and comes with 850 MB of memory, which can store 1,000 waypoints, 50 routes, 2,000 geocaches and an active tracklog of 10,000 points and 200 saved tracks. We doubt you’ll run of space.

You can expect to get yours hands on a Garmin Dakota 10 starting in September for about $300.

Medion has announced its new sat nav model – Medion GoPal P5235 Satellite Navigation System, which comes packed with Navteq maps of forty three European countries and speed camera alerts. An FM transmitter is another inclusion in the new device that allows the playing of instructions through the car stereo.

A Premium TMC of lifetime validity that renders timely live traffic alerts on traffic build ups and blocks ahead on the road, is also offered alongwith the P5235, although the package will only work in selected countries in Europe. The device’s prime attraction according to the manufacturers is its 5 inch TFT that is also a touch sensitive display.

The chip installed in the device to find the satellites is a new SiRFInstantFixII chip that according to the makers is far more quicker than the older ones, being an advanced versiuon of the SiRFInstantFix technology. Consider the fact that until recently the SiRF Star III chips powered by SiRFInstant Fix technology, were ruling the roost.

The P5235 also offers special modes for cyclists and pedestrians, beside travel guides from Berlitz that lists a galaxy of hotels and restaurants. The map bearing 2GB SD card accompanying the device, also stores displayable pictures. Apart from these, the sat nav also offers a Sudoku game. A finger print recogniser also is included in the package that would strive to secure the valuable data, if any is stored in the device.

The P5235 that weighs 263 grams is powered by a Samsung 400MHz processor. At present the sat nav unit is available at the online shop of Medion with an attractive price offer of GBP229.99 inclusive of VAT.

Starting next week in the United States, Dell will offer the Dell Wireless 700 location solution for their Mini 10 netbook. This solution is a combination of hardware and software powered by Broadcom’s A-GPS and Skyhook Wireless’ Wi-Fi position solution.

On the service side, the Dell Wireless 700 location system integrates a turn-by-turn navigation software from ALK (CoPilot 7). Even more interesting, Dell is also going to offer The Loki Dashboard (from Skyhook Wireless), a location-aware web portal that uses the netbook’s location engine to customize widgets for news, weather, tweets, photos, events (Flickr, Loopt, Brightkite), etc. Dell Wireless 700 location solution owners can easily access the Loki Dashboard via Internet Explorer on the netbook (dell.loki.com).

“With location as an important feature on existing and future Dell netbooks, a new platform for third party apps has arrived”, said Skyhook in an email to GPS Business news. “Developers of familiar apps like weather, social networking and games that have exploded on Smartphones as well as brand new categories will be able take advantage of the unique netbook user experience, with its larger screen size and longer user interaction times.”

Dell Wireless 700 location solution will initially support Windows XP. Vista and Windows 7 support will come later. “The Mini 10 is the first system that we’ll offer with the optional Dell 700 Wireless location solution” said Dell in a blog post. More operating systems, regions and netbooks are expected to be announced at a later stage.

Latest Iran routable Map for GPS devices and Garmin’s GPS is now available with following cities:
Tehran, Karaj, Semnan, Bam, Hamedan, Kish island, Mashhad, Esfahan, Shiraz and Ghom, including following POIs:

Kish Island GPS Map

- 5550 small cities and villages
- 88249 Street and main roads
- 1046 Bank and ATM
- 1170 Hospital and medical centers
- 1177 Petrol stations
- 4030 Restaurants
- 87 Hotels
- 11477 Emergency Road Services
- 52 Airports
and more

Kish Island GPS Map

Read more.

The Mio Explora K75 is believed to be the foremost smart phone from Mio that features the novel Spirit GPS navigation software. It works on Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system and runs on an Qualcomm MSM7201A processor that is clocked at 528 MHz. It is the successor of the Mio Explora K70 Sat Nav Phone.

The Mio Explora K75 GPS Phone has a 3.5-inch screen that is wide enough for viewing navigational data. The monitor provides a screen resolution of 400×240 pixels. Along with navigational properties, it includes quad-band GSM, Wi-Fi and 3.5G network support.

With internet compatibility you can download the necessary maps and other information directly to your unit, thus eliminating the need for a dedicated computer. Furthermore, its Bluetooth compatibility enables you to make and receive calls hands free. Another startling feature expected of this unit is its 3 mega-pixel camera that enables you to geotag photos.

The Mio Explora K75 Slim Satellite Navigator measures 115.3 x 61.5 x 11.9 mm in dimensions and weighs just about 115 grams. It has a 128 RAM, a 256 ROM of internal memory as well as an external memory slot for increasing the internal memory capacity. It has all the necessary features that any high-end smart phone will have. Though the pricing details are yet to be announced, it is expected to hit the stores in July 2009.

This being the period of holiday and outings, its time to pack your bags and get going to venture unknown territories. Travelling should involve loads of fun and adventure. But the point is to know the place you are planning to visit. With each one having a busy schedule, is it really difficult to study the place and get an idea of the region. So in such a case, a satellite navigator forms to be your perfect travel guide. Almost everyone wants to get a little adventurous during their holidays. Does that mean you need to have two types of GPS units; one for car navigation and other for hiking or adventurous purposes.

There are dual sat navs that serve both these purposes. The Garmin Nuvi 550 and Road Angel Adventurer 7000 are two such adventurous GPS systems that can be used as automotive sat navs as well. Both of them come with a 3.5-inch display screen and a waterproof and rugged body. Also both are similar when it comes to the battery life, they both run on rechargeable battery that lasts for 8 hours. Both these units provide you with spoken directions along with visual route information.
While the Garmin Nuvi 550 comes with an internal solid state memory, the Road Angel 7000 has 1GB of total memory capacity for storing maps and other data.

Both these units provide information speed limits but the Road Angel is capable of identifying most of the safety cameras. While the Garmin device can be used for marine navigation, the Road Angel is incapable of providing this kind of information.

Furthermore, the Garmin unit comes with Garmin’s patented features that include a “Where Am I?” option, which provides you with the latitude and longitude information of your position along with the nearby hospitals or police stations. Other add-ons include an anti-theft functionality and the World Travel clock, currency and unit converter and a picture viewer.

Whilst Garmin is scoring on these points, the Road Angel is not to be left behind. It has managed to incorporate an MP3 player and Bluetooth technology in its unit. Thus is is a favourite amongst all those who have an affinity for music. Like its Garmin competitor, it includes a picture viewer for viewing photos or friends and relatives.

Both these units have their own plus and minus points. Basically, both these units are able to perform the dual function of being an in-car satellite navigator as well as a hiking GPS guide. It is advisable to have an idea of your personal requirements in a GPS unit and then weigh the pros and cons before zeroing on any one unit.

Leading Nordic directory provider Eniro has signed an agreement with digital map maker NAVTEQ, to make Eniro’s local content available in navigation devices using the NAVTEQ map.

Initially Eniro will provide information on 300,000 advertisers and their related content to be integrated into NAVTEQ’s database for Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Poland. Advertiser data from Eniro will thereby be available in cars, Smartphones and other handheld navigation devices.

“Through the agreement with NAVTEQ, we are strengthening our offering towards advertisers – we are adding another distribution channel, making us an even stronger player on the market”. said Jesper Kärrbrink, President and CEO of Eniro.

Eniro is the leading directory and search provider in the Nordic media market with operations in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Poland. The company is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange and has some 5,000 employees. In 2008, revenues amounted to SEK 6,645 million (US$847 million).

Chinese telecom giant Huawei has selected ‘amAze’ as the turn-by-turn navigation application on its new GPS handsets said Locationet, the developer of this ad-funded navigation system.

New Huawei Smartphones

According to the agreement, the amAze application will be pre-installed by Huawei on its new GPS-enabled handsets. Huawei has unveiled two GPS handsets with its own brand at the recently held CommunicAsia trade show in Singapore. The Android-powered “U8230″ and the “C8000″, which utilizes the Windows Mobile operating system, will be released in the second half of 2009. Users of the Huawei handsets will gain immediate access to the amAze navigation service with a wide coverage of rich maps around the globe.

“Huawei’s progress with handset sales are gaining momentum with shipments of CDMA handsets recently surpassing the 50 million mark”, stated a recent press release from the Chinese manufacturer.