Just as Dash—makers of the internet-connected, traffic-terminating GPS—is bailing out of the hardware game to sell its awesome software to other companies, TeleNav is officially doing the exact opposite: Jumping in with its first GPS device, which sounds a lot like the Dash Express (on paper, anyway). The internet-connected Telenav Shotgun delivers real-time traffic reports with intelligent re-routing, dynamic maps, automatic updates, web search, cheap gas locator and online pre-planning, which lets you plan your route on PC and shoot it over to the Shotgun automagically. (Sorry for the cheesy video, blame TeleNav.) Other touted intertube-powered features include on-the-spot weather, restaurant reviews, commute alerts and address share (letting everyone know where you're at), though they're "in the works" so are part of "TeleNav's short-term road map." However, since it's not open sourced like Dash, we sadly won't be seeing anything like Twitter clients. Also, since it only uses GPRS, and not Wi-Fi like the Dash, I wonder how fast (or ungodly slow) the updates will be. Also unlike Dash, they're starting at $300 right off the bat. Even if you forego the $12/month subscription, it's still pre-loaded with 11 million points of interest, and the usual TeleNav GPS features. Whether TeleNav's well-known name will help them out in a market so cutthroat Dash basically couldn't survive remains to be seen. And uh, honestly, we're still waiting for that iPhone app. Actual device specs:
FEATURE DESCRIPTION Dimensions 4.9L x 3.1W x 0.75H inches 12.5L x 8W x 1.9H cm Weight 0.27 pounds (124 grams) Screen Size 4.3 inches (10.9cm) diagonal, 16:9 aspect ratio Display Resolution 480 x 272 pixels Display Type TFT LCD touch screen Speaker Built-in, high-quality speaker, 1 W Headphone 3.5mm jack Battery Life Up to 2.5 hours of normal use (five days in suspend mode) Battery Type Rechargeable lithium-ion GPS Chip Atlas III Network Access TeleNav Connected Service uses cellular (GPRS) Car Charger 12v car charger Input: DC +12V Output: +5V, 3A, via USB Wall Charger AC wall charger Input: AC 110~240V DC +5V, 3A via USB LED Indicators 1 red LED for charge indication 1 green LED for charged indication 2 blue LEDs for TeleNav Connected Service usage indication
[Telenav - Thanks tipster!]