smartech

Today, After tons of rumors, speculations and some unsuccessful mockups, Apple is finally releasing the new iPhone second generation - known as the iPhone 3G, across 22 countries, on 8:00 AM local time. The new iPhone 2 will have a 3G HSDPA connection which will allow users to surf the web, download emails, get directions, and watch videos 2.4 x times faster than previous model and 36% faster than the Nokia N95 and Palm Treo 750 devices in pageloads (according to Apple).

The second biggest thing, other than moving to 3G network, is the built-in GPS navigation system that was added to the new iPhone 3G. GPS technology and iPhone software come together to bring users mobile phone mapping, enabling fast fix on your location, track your progress as you go, help you get from point A to point B, by using GPS-based iPhone maps and A-GPS technology, which assists getting the signals from GPS satellites, Wi-Fi hot spots, and cellular towers. Once you get the signal, a GPS blue indicator will turn on, so you will be able to start using the relevant applications. However, GPS on iPhone is active only when you need it. iPhone powers the GPS unit on and off quickly and automatically, so it won’t adversely affect the battery life. With the new technology, assimilated inside the handset, you will be able to get from the App store some cool applications that will let you take a photo with the camera, for example, and iPhone will geotag it with GPS location information. Another neat application is the Loopt, that will let you use location feeds to help you find friends on the go, within your range, wherever you are. Moreover, you will be able to receive live traffic information, indicating traffic speed along your route in easy-to-read green, red, and yellow highlights.

As for look and specifications, the new iPhone 3G has a nice rounded sleeky design with a curved glossy back, coming in black or white flavors. It has the same good old 3.5-inch multi-touchscreen, identical 2 megapixel camera at the back (no front camera for video chats) and a flush 3.5mm headphone jack. Battery life presents substantial improvement, with 300 hours of standby, 5 hours of 3G talk, 8-10 hours of 2G talk, 7 hours of video and 24 hours of audio. Dimensions pretty much stay the same, although the new iPhone 3G is a little bit thicker, with 12.3 mm or 0.48 inches. However, we hear that it is hard to feel this extra inch difference and the sleeky arched design makes it much more comfortable in your hands.

You can find the complete keynote video here.

To learn more about the 22 countries to launch the new iPhone 3G and to see full specs and tips, just hit the jump and move forward, after the break.

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Korean manufacturer Digitalcube has released the new i-Station U7 PMP,  coming up with a 7-inch WVGA touchscreen (800 x 480) and many other features, including a GPS SIRF Star III navigation system, 4GB of storage capacity, a DMB tuner and more. The PMP-NAV device is compatible with MP3, WMA, AC3, OGG, WAV, JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, MPEG4, DivX, Xvid, WMV9 file format, sized at 191 x 114.2 x 19 mm and weights 454 g.  Price should be around $385.

[via gmp3]

Remember the Cowon N3 PND (personal navigation device) ? turns out Cowon has decided to give it a wooden touch, as the company has revealed a new N3 version, designed with a wood frame and available in Korea only. No further details but to recall, this impressive device comes with a 7″ touchscreen, an AMD Alchemy AU1250 @ 600Mhz processor, an integrated GPS chip SiRF Star III navigation system and many more. In addition, it houses a great media player, compatible with wide variety of known media formats, and runs a Windows CE 5.0 OS.

Update: It will be available next week for around $437.

[via akihabaranews]

Archos announces the release of a new GPS navigation device for its fifth generation PMPs. Equipped with an integrated SiRF Star III chip, the new in-car GPS cradle turns your entertainment 605 player into a full-fledged navigation system, by simply snapping the Archos into the GPS In-Car Holder, which is connected to the car windshield. By doing so, you get an intuitive interface that allows you to easily pick any address, remarkable location or point of interest and find the best way to get there, with a full voice and video navigation system, presenting the sharp, precise and fast solution. The new system provides any road info you want, including traffic assistance, route planning, tunnel simulation, radar locations and even speed control assistance in some countries. The ARCHOS GPS In-Car Holder is compatible with any Archos 605 player and will cost you only $129.99. You can also buy this GPS device bundled with a 30GB Archos 605 player, for $399.99. Both packages will be available in May 2008.

Update: Check out the video preview after the break.

[via Archos]

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Remember the new BenQ mobile internet device, presented at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona back in February? seem there are more details coming out, making us very curious about it. Apparently, the new MID will include an Atom processor, along with 512MB of RAM, a 4GB SSD drive, an optional GPS system, voice activation and a G-Sensor function, to easily switch between tracks, application and internet navigation. In addition, it will support HSDPA, WiFi 802.11 b/g and bluetooth 2.0+EDR connectivity, together with a built in camera and a 4.8-inch touchscreen. Still no word on price or availability but we’re getting close to zero hour.

[via slashgear]

In case you’re lost in a foreign city or just a tad inebriate, this new fashionable jacket will lead your way to the place you want. Equipped with an integrated LED display, an audio unit in the hood and a GPS receiver, the NavJack will light up your directions, instruct your way vocally and present your destination. Unfortunately, we have no other details concerning price, availability or battery life, but if you happen to get one, don’t throw it to the laundry. Check the video after the break.

[via slashgear]

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Cowon has finally released the N3 personal navigation device in Korea. The new premium nav-system was first announced 2 months ago, promising 7-inch PMP, integrated with GPS system and TPEG(Transport Protocol Expert Group) service. The N3 is packed with loads of features and supports almost any format you’d think about, it has a slick design and great capabilities. Unfortunately, the unit houses only 32MB of internal memory, so here goes your plan to store your entire movie collection. The N3 is available in Korea for $552.

[via aving]

Full specifications after the break.

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The new Marbella 8800 features a navigation system, combined with a media player unit, in one box. The PMP-navigation device sports a SiRF Star III GPS chip, a built-in 2MP camera, a 4-inch WVGA 65K colors screen (480 x 272), AV-in interface, FM tuner, SD/MMC slot, 32/64MB SDRAM, MP4 movie player, MP3 music player, JPEG reader and an optional DVB-T box, enabling digital TV in the Marbella. Available in Taiwan for an unknown price, the new Marbella 8800 indicates a positive drift, combining nav-pmp abilities in one place, but the lack of storage makes it hard for multimedia functions.

[via navigadget]

This application, written by Jahanzeb Sjerwani, is pretty cool, as it turns your iPhone device into a wireless trackpad, enabling all of you, couch potatoes, lay back and navigate your desktop with your wandering fingers. In order to add this app, you need a jailbroken iPhone, then go to Installer > Sources > Add http://cnp.qlnk.net > goto utilities and install Touchpad. The software is a VNsea-based (http://code.google.com/p/vnsea), so enjoy your new remote.

[via engadget]

TG presents the Favicon, a new PMP-navigation device with dual DMB - PIP functionality (thats two TV channels at once) and a 532MHz Freescale CPU. This 7″ WVGA player houses TPEG GPS navigation system (providing traffic info), 4GB storage size, SD card slot, multimedia player and a Windows Vista OS (!). Release date is unknown but you will be able to find it only in Korea for 420$ .

[via akihabaranews]

E-TEN unveils its new Glofiish M810 GSM quad-band HSDPA at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The new handset is equipped with a full QWERTY keyboard and a 2.8-inch LCD screen. The device features the following specs:

• Display: 2.8” LCD TFT, 65,536 colors (320 x 240).
• Processor: Samsung SC32442 500 MHz.
• OS: Windows Mobile 6.
• Memory: 256MB flash ROM, 64MB SDRAM.
• Camera: 2MP with auto focus.
• Connectivity: WLAN, Bluetooth2.0+EDR, WiFi.
• Other Features: microSD slot, GPS navigation system.
• Dimensions: 109.5×59×17.5mm, 179gm.
• Availability: unknown.
• Price: unknown.

[via Aving]

Motorola wants to go all the way with the new DH01n portable 4.3-inch DVB-H TV, sporting GPS navigation system and Tele Atlas maps. The new DH01n is a personal DVR device, including pausing and playing back live TV signals, automatic channel scan, High-quality widescreen LCD display with stereo sound, SD/MMC slot and more. No details concerning price and availability.

[motorola via engadget]

Garmin announces the release of the Nuvifone, a new 3.5G GSM HSDPA smartphone, combined with a media player, full GPS navigation system, proprietary OS and many advanced elements. The Nuvifone sports the following features:

• Display: 3.5″ touchscreen.
• 3 major icons: Call, Search, Maps
• Built-in camera with longitude / latitude tagging system.
• Full GPS navigation system, loaded with North America and European maps.
• Google local search capability.
• Garmin Online Service: an online updates information service, including weather, traffic, stocks, news, sports, hotels, etc.
• WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity.
• Email, SMS/MMS and IM support.
• Nuvi navigation service, providing “Where Am I ” function, for an accurate location info, on and off the road.
• Integrated media player, supports MP3 and MPEG4/AAC .
• Availability: Q3 2008.
• Price: Unknown.

I’m definitely looking forward to snack one of those and see it in action.

[via gizmodo]

More pictures after the break.

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iRiver is pumping us with new products every day, at the CES show. This time, it is the M20, a media player, combined with a GPS navigation system. The M20 turns to be an update version of the iRiver NV device, with a 7″ LCD touchscreen,  DMB TV, FM radio tuner, video and audio capabilities. Other details are still vague.

[via engadget]

Pioneer introduced the AVIC-F500BT GPS navigation system. The new device features  a 5.8″ WVGA  touchscreen, Bluetooth 2.0,  USB port,  SD  slot and more. The new system supports voice control of iPods and Bluetooth enabled devices. Release is expected to be in the spring.

 [via engadget]