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Garmin Does Phone Nav |
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Written by Adam Gosling
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Friday, 05 October 2007 |
A new all-in-one phone plug-in turns
smartphones with internal GPS into high-end navigators, says Garmin,
adding not only maps but access to dynamic content like premium
real-time
traffic alerts and weather reports without monthly fees.
The
navigation solution is available for Europe and North America. Rather
than a download, Garmin Mobile XT is preloaded on a microSD card (with
miniSD and
standard SD card converter) that includes Garmin navigation software
for UK and Ireland, Europe, or the United States and Canada.
The
software launches automatically when the card is inserted into a
compatible smartphone with embedded GPS. The company says it takes just
a few screen or button taps to
find a specific street address or choose from millions of points of
interest
- such as restaurants, hotels, ATMs, and petrol stations. The system is
initially compatible with smartphones
models by Sony Ericsson, HP, Nokia, HTC and Samsung. It works
with operating systems such as Windows Mobile, Palm and S60 v3.
IT
gives you turn-by-turn voice prompts and also allows you to see your
exact position on a detailed moving map. If a turn is missed along the
way, a new route will be recalculated automatically.
"Garmin
Mobile XT is easy-to-use and affordable, with no monthly charges to get
navigating straight away" says Garmin's Mobile Product Manager, Greg
Stephenson. "It's a one-time investment that gives customers
full-featured GPS sat-nav on their smartphone whenever and wherever
they need it, including areas outside of wireless network coverage."
But
Garmin Mobile XT also supports travel guides, topographical maps and
custom points of interest, as well as advanced features such as route
planning with saved routes, custom avoidances and visible trip logs.
On
some phones the Mobile XT plug-in will also work out a route to
locations held in the phone's address book or to a calendar appointment.
Mobile
XT also includes PeerPoints, a powerful feature enabling users to send
their position to any other phone as well as view and navigate to the
location of other Garmin Mobile XT users, so the system can be used to
keep track of friends and family and navigate directly to them.
Free access to the Garmin Online service adds constantly-updating
information for traffic and weather which should include accidents,
road construction or other incidents affecting traffic. IF that's the
case the system will routes users around the congestion.
Garmin Mobile XT is available now for a recommended retail price starting from £59.99 for UK and Ireland mapping.
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