It's strange that Magellan hasn't officially talked about the 1700 yet. I mean, its screen size is definitely one way to compete against GPS apps on smaller screen cell phones.

More of that standard fare I touched upon includes preloaded maps of the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico, text-to-speech and turn-by-turn voice prompts, mini USB 2.0, a MicroSD card slot, and 6 million points of interest. It's up for pre-order ($300) at: [Best Buy and Tiger GPS via GPSReview]

Magellan(R) Unveils Next Generation Maestro(TM)

Magellan Maestro 4700 Boasts a New Design with a 4.7-inch Display, Voice Command, Bluetooth, and Highway Lane Assist

SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 6 /PRNewswire/ — Magellan, one of the leading GPS brands, introduces the Magellan Maestro 4700 GPS device. The ultra-slim device features a wide 4.7-inch color touch screen and includes many premium features to deliver a robust navigation experience for users. In addition to Magellan's OneTouch user interface, the Magellan Maestro 4700 device also performs advanced navigation tasks with built-in voice command capabilities and hands-free Bluetooth calling.

"The Magellan Maestro 4700 lets you keep your eyes on the road and hands on the wheel," said Mike Wagner, senior director of product marketing for Magellan. "We have incorporated voice command, Bluetooth, and highway lane assist to help you reach your destination with confidence. The large 4.7-inch screen is easily viewable in all lighting conditions. Thanks to our unique OneTouch favorites menu and our AAA partnership, the Magellan Maestro 4700 makes trip planning and traveling easier and less stressful."

The Magellan Maestro 4700 features several premium features including:

* Exclusive OneTouch(TM) Favorites Menu: Access favorite destinations and searches with personalized bookmarks. Reach your favorite cafe or restaurant in any city with a single touch. To meet consumer requests, the Magellan Maestro 4700 now offers an additional twelve bookmarks to save favorites.
* Bluetooth Compatible Hands-Free Calling: Make or receive calls using a compatible cell phone. Access your phone's address book to access up to 1000 numbers directly from your Magellan Maestro 4700. The noise-cancelling microphone keeps road noise down so you are heard clearly.
* Predictive Traffic: Analyzes past traffic patterns when creating a route to help you avoid known delays. Choose to stay on your current route or go with suggested less congested routes.
* Instant Access to All Points Of Interest (POI): Perform one search and get results from both the standard POI database and the Magellan-exclusive AAA TourBook(R) guide. Results are organized in a tabbed format.
* "Find Your Car" with Pedestrian Mode: Remembers the location of your car in parking lots, airports, malls, universities, amusement parks or stadiums. When your day is done the Magellan Maestro 4700 will automatically guide you to your car.
* 3D Landmarks: Displays visual cues to help drivers perform maneuvers and find destinations.
* Larger Fonts: Makes viewing easier and safer while driving.
* Intuitive, Context-Driven Touch Zones: Provides drivers with a completely interactive map screen.
* New Address Book: Makes adding an address a snap with smart address summary that lets users save complete itineraries.
* QuickSpell(R) with Smart City Search: Allows quick, single-address entry or convenient multi-destination trip planning, including route optimization.

The manufacturer's suggested price for the Magellan Maestro 4700 is $299.99. It ships with a windshield mount and cradle; 12-volt vehicle power adapter; USB cable, protective pouch, adhesive disk for alternative, on-dash mounting; and quick reference guide. For additional accessories, including cases, pouches, and other mounting options, visit www.MagellanGPS.com.

Map updates for Magellan products can be purchased separately.

About MiTAC Digital Corp.

MiTAC Digital Corp. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MiTAC International Corporation and promotes and sells products and services under the Magellan brand name. Magellan assists people to travel, work and play their way with leading portable navigation and positioning solutions across multiple consumer markets. Recognized as an industry innovator, the company is the producer of the award-winning Magellan RoadMate(R), and MaestroTM series portable car navigation systems, as well as the Magellan Triton(R) outdoor handheld navigation devices. MiTAC Digital Corp. is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif. For more information on Magellan, visit http://www.magellangps.com.

About AAA

As North America's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 51 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its' founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at www.AAA.com.

The Magellan logo, Magellan, RoadMate, QuickSpell, Triton are registered trademarks of MiTAC International Corporation and OneTouch, Maestro are trademarks of MiTAC International Corporation and are used under license by MiTAC Digital Corp. All rights reserved. The AAA TourBook, Roadside Assistance are trademarks of American Automobile Association. AAA(C) 2009 All rights reserved. All other trademarks and registrations are the property of their respective owners.

[Magellan]

The Price: Garmin says $800, but you can find it online for $690.

The Verdict: It's the best all-around GPS on the market, but there are too many halfway decent Garmin models for less than half the price.

The 880 isn't the first GPS with voice command, but it's definitely the best. The remote button that you strap to your steering wheel makes activating it easy, and being able to dictate addresses including obscure street names is only part of the fun. When you're in POI search, you can name popular locations ("Starbucks") or categories (it actually understands synonyms like "Fuel" and "Gas"). Most importantly, you can tap the button and say things like "Cancel Route" or "Volume Up," commands most likely to be issued while driving, ensuring you stay safer than if you were to try to do these things with your fingers while keeping your wheels on the road. The only problem with voice command is that, to function, it requires the remote (pictured above). If somehow you break off the remote or lose it, you will forever lose the ability to talk to your 880, so be careful.

As you can see in the video, with the exception of its inability to understand "Cancel" or "Exit" while performing certain functions, it responds extremely well to natural speech:

We've said repeatedly that Garmin is the best bet for anyone shopping for GPS, and the 880 demonstrates this to be the case. It doesn't mean it's perfect, it's just by far the least infuriating navigator on the road today. Garmin often adds features later than others, but this only strengthens its predominance, since those like TomTom and Magellan—not to mention the innovative but ailing Dash—rush revolutionary features without spending time on core interface issues, and fail because of it.

Some of the 880's perks do not get me excited: I have yet to meet a Bluetooth speakerphone that doesn't result in people yelling that they can't hear me, a problem having as much to do with every different phone's cheap-o Bluetooth chip, no doubt. I also am very underwhelmed by the MSN Direct service that the 880 offers ("free" for 3 months). Its main feature is the traffic reporting but that information, even in massive metro areas, has proven to me to be absolutely useless. The 880 is as dumb as the lowliest GPS when it comes to awareness, and my hope is that historic traffic trends will soon be better integrated at the map database level—i.e. with Navteq and Tele Atlas—in order to make routing more smart even without the need for connectivity or any kind of realtime guesswork.

Some of you may realize that this review is long overdue. One reason is that, when I first got the 880, it had some bugginess that I'm glad to say has been fixed with a firmware update. Another reason for the delay is that I wanted to see how long it would take to stop using the voice commands. Sadly, it didn't take very long, but in prepping for this review, I started using the voice commands more, and realized that it's an asset I shouldn't so readily overlook. Just don't lose the remote, or you lose the feature. [Product Page]

Let's start with the acronym: GPS stands for global positioning system. Originally a DARPA-funded joint project of the Air Force and Navy, this satellite network tells ya where stuff is, like bombers and cruise missiles in decades past, or you as of mid-2000 when the government made GPS of decent accuracy available for civilian electronics. (It was available before then, but wasn't good enough for reliable turn-by-turn app.) The soul of GPS is the constellation of at least 24 satellites way out in orbit. Signals from four separate birds are usually needed for a standard GPS receiver to peg your position.

The GPS goods most people are familiar with are ones you mount in your car (though like we said, GPS will fit just about anywhere now) with the biggest players being Garmin, TomTom and Magellan. They used to be a lot more expensive, but now you can get basic namebrand models for not much more than $200, and cheap knock-offs for even less.

At a basic level, these all operate the same way, with variations in feature sets and UI: Your GPS receiver picks up signals from orbiting satellites and plots your position accordingly on pre-loaded maps. (The maps themselves typically come from one of just two companies, Navteq and Tele Atlas.) More recently, live traffic info (or something close to it) to avoid the Monday jam courtesy of an overturned 18-wheeler of pig lard has been the goal, with the pricey (but awesome) Dash Express delivering the up to the minute goods via GPRS cellular connection.

While GPS has gotten better in your car and on your wrist, the real excitement is its movements into cellphones and other gadgets such as cameras for location-based services (and maybe ads) and tricks like geo-tagging. Sprint's Instinct phone, for instance, makes a big a deal out of having real GPS while the iPhone has less accurate triangulation via cellphone towers, since being accurate to within several blocks isn't nearly as helpful as knowing where you are within a couple of meters. Friend finders and kid locators are options on pretty much every carrier.

As GPS modules get smaller and less power-hungry, you can expect GPS to keep showing up in ever smaller and crazier gadgets, since it'll be cheap and easy to cram it in. Manufacturers on everything from laptops to shoes are getting in on GPS mania, so even if you never owned a GPS device, odds are, you soon will.

The methods aren't new, as Primordial's site is filled with news clippings from 2006, and I think an old Polaris outdoor GPS had this tech. But Magellan's press release says the tech is now exclusively theirs. It's smart, but its probably unwise to depend on such a system to navigate outdoors. Whereas road data goes out of date every few years, the seasonal swelling of rivers, altering of terrain and paths, falling trees, and other quickly changing outdoor conditions are best handled with common sense and local knowledge. Couldn't be too harmful to know where a deep forest starts and a sheer rock face drops, though. [Business Wire]

• After Warner's announcement, HD DVD won't be attending CES this week, a fact that only looks worse after they put their logo on the press bags. Adding insult to HD DVD's injury, New Line Cinema also joined the Blu-ray exclusive crew.

• WowWee showed us three robots aiming to attack AIBOs, Robosapiens and autonomous helicopters everywhere. The only thing missing was a robot to bring us beer. Luckily, Inter Active Toy covered that with the RC Cooler.

• Other good finds included the Celestron SkyScout Scope, Cobra's OLED radar detectors, and an in-dash CD player for audiophiles. On the GPS front, Magellan's 5340 with built-in Google local search and Garmin's 880 with voice recognition stood out the most. Finally, Logitech unveiled a whole bunch of stuff, including a networked music player, a sleek set of speakers, and an IR remote with capacitive touch.

So far, so good, CES. We'll be looking forward to the press conferences today, and the floor opening on Monday. Until then, keep up with all of our CES 2008 coverage to date.

Magellan® Maestro™ Elite 5340+GPRS Connected Auto Navigation First to Deliver Real-time GoogleTM Local Search

New Integration Enables Drivers to Search and Route to Local Businesses, Products, and Services, Plus Send Trips Wirelessly from PC

LAS VEGAS - Jan. 6, 2008 - Magellan, the world's fastest-growing GPS brand, today premiered its Maestro Elite 5340+GPRS connected auto navigation unit featuring Google Local Search that enables users to get deep, location-specific information on the go. Scheduled to ship in Q1 2008, the Magellan Maestro Elite 5340+GPRS will be the first GPS model to enable users to search for local events - from concerts to local library events - as well as local businesses and services. Magellan will be showcasing its new products in its booth at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show booth (no. 31247) beginning Monday, Jan. 7, 2008.

Accessible on the Maestro Elite 5340+GPRS connected navigation device is Google's real-time local search enabling users to search the Web for businesses in a specific neighborhood, providing detailed, Internet-based information about those businesses - not just the business name or category. For example, users can search for "Star Wars" and find "Target" and "JPM Comics," among others, or get recommendations for the best banana cream pie near their point of reference. Users simply type in what it is they are looking for and Google displays relevant results around the user's current location or a user-specified location.

Through the new Maestro Elite 5340's wireless GPRS connection, Magellan also delivers real-time traffic information, local weather forecasts, and makes it possible for users to wirelessly send addresses and notes to the GPS device directly from a PC with an internet connection. The user can send destination addresses to the Maestro Elite 5340+GPRS in advance of the trip or have someone at home or back in the office send information from the Magellan website directly.

The Magellan Maestro Elite 5340+GPRS is the company's premiere GPS model. Like all of the newly introduced Elite models, it provides rendered 3-D landmarks and buildings; 6 million points of interest (POI); a USB port; and advanced voice command functionality. The Maestro Elite 5340+GPRS also features a 5-inch WQVGA widescreen; a 533 MHz S-Media 3362 processor; and the ability to perform deep searches on local areas and receive information sent from a PC for on-the-fly changes.

"We're pleased to be partnering with Magellan to provide users with detailed, relevant local information while on the road," said John Hanke, director of Google Maps & Earth. "Magellan devices are powerful, interactive tools for navigation and discovery that serve as a cutting-edge platform for Google's robust local search capabilities."

"We are thrilled to be joining forces with Google to provide GPS users with the most relevant local data available in a format that puts people in control of their travel experiences more than ever before," said Nelson Chan, president and CEO of Magellan. "Google's renowned expertise in helping users search and organize information adds a powerful and compelling component to our new Magellan Maestro Elite line. As the GPS category begins to expand beyond basic navigation and into more versatile exploration uses, the personal navigation device (PND) will become a primary resource for drivers and travellers to search for and access real-time information, monitor traffic information about their specific routes, and transmit data between communications devices."

"Connected PNDs can offer much more than just turn-by-turn navigation," said Chris Jones, vice president and principal analyst at research firm Canalys. "The successful vendors in this area will combine the compelling, dynamic services the connectivity potentially brings, in a device that is easy to use, has an attractive design, is affordable (both the device and subscription cost) and is well-explained to the customer at the point of sale. The partnership with Google will provide the owners of this new class of device with a familiar and trusted local search engine."

The Maestro Elite 5340+GPRS is scheduled to be available at retailers in March 2008 for an estimated MSRP of $1299.

The Maestro Elite 5340+GPRS will be compatible with Magellan VantagePointTM, the only desktop application on the market that helps people manage their GPS maps, information, and other content and easily sync it to their devices. Through VantagePoint, which is a free download from http://www.magellangps.com, Magellan customers can personalize and expand their GPS experience.

Remember, the first four products are going for ridiculous prices, but because of this they are only available on a certain day, in a certain timeslot:

Panasonic 42" 1080p HD Plasma TV
Available on My WishList: November 30
WishList Price: $700 (Retail Price: $1,999)

Dell XPS M1330 Notebook
Available on My WishList: December 3
WishList Price: $900 (Retail Price: $2,079)

Xbox Elite Game System and Five Games
Available on My WishList: December 11
WishList Price: $300 (Retail Price: $649.99)

BMW K 1200 R Sport Motorcycle
Available on My WishList: December 4
WishList Price: $5,000 (Retail Price: $17,000)

The rest of the products below will apparently be on sale until supplies run out; some deals might look similar to Black Friday pricing, while others may be crazy low. Have a look:

Denon Soundbar
WishList Price: $743.99 (Retail Price: $1199.99)

TiVo HD DVR with Service and Wireless Adapter
WishList Price: $399 (Retail Price: $538.98)

Audiovox 8" Picture Frame
WishList Price: $108 (Retail Price: $159.99)

Olive Opus N 250GB Pure Audio Server
WishList Price: $700 (Retail Price: $1,499)

Canon HD Camcorder with 40GB HDD
WishList Price: $500 (Retail Price: $1,299.99)

Helio Ocean with 6 Months Service
WishList Price: $400 (Retail Price: $1,249)

Rock Band Special Edition for Xbox
WishList Price: $50 (Retail Price: $169.99)

Nintendo DS Lite with Two Games
WishList Price: $160 (Retail Price: $199.96)

Toshiba 10.2" Portable DVD Player
WishList Price: $230 (Retail Price: $349.99)

Ultrasone iCans iPod Headphones
WishList Price: $99 (Retail Price: $159)

iStorm Wireless Speakers for iPod
WishList Price: $140 (Retail Price: $199.99)

Sirius Stiletto 2
WishList Price: $279 (Retail Price: $399.99)

Magellan Maestro Portable GPS System
WishList Price: $390 (Retail Price: $599.99)

To see if you can master Amex's wicked little game, visit the official website. [Amex My WishList]

PANASONIC LAUNCHES STRADA PORTABLE NAVIGATION DEVICE First Portable GPS Follows Successful Launch of In-Dash System Earlier This Year

SECAUCUS, NJ (October 30, 2007) - Panasonic today announced the launch of its first portable navigation device (PND) for the U.S. market. The Panasonic Strada CN-GP50U sports a sleek, slim design and boasts a 5-inch touch panel display for vivid viewing and optimum ease of use.

"On the heels of a successful debut of our in-dash navigation system in Spring 2007, we are proud to bring to market our first portable device," said Rob Lopez, national marketing manager for Panasonic's Mobile Electronics Division. "The Strada CN-GP50U PND delivers everything consumers are looking for in a cutting-edge portable device - one of the widest screens on the market, sleek styling for added portability, an SD Memory Card port for swift downloading and a highly friendly user interface. "

"Strada is already a best-seller in Japan," added Lopez. "Based upon its overseas success, we are looking to the U.S. debut of our portable device to further solidify Panasonic's place as a major force in the mobile navigation industry."

The power of Panasonic's technological expertise in the automotive and display categories has brought a wealth of benefits to the Strada PND, including ease of use, high performance, digital networking, voice command and GPS Assist - an electronic compass to compensate when GPS reception is interrupted, as in a tunnel.

The Strada CN-GP50U is the ultimate travel companion, providing quick and easy access to maps and 1.8 million searchable Points of Interest in 51 categories, such as gas stations, airports, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, ATMs and historic landmarks. Its generously large 5-inch (diagonal) touch panel LCD screen is easy to read but compact, slim and easy to carry. It features an easy-to-use Graphic User Interface (GUI) with contrasting icon colors and textures for extra clarity. The pre-loaded NAVTEQ® mapping software provides map data for the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico, plus detailed maps of 86 U.S. cities. Users can easily upgrade their software using an SD Memory Card or USB port. There's even a voice guidance feature, which can be activated in several languages.

The state-of-the-art display also serves as a handy digital camera photo viewer or slide show viewer. The Picture Viewer function can also be used to customize the opening screen image to a favorite snapshot (jpg or bmp) stored on an SD Memory Card. The display automatically adjusts for day or night viewing.

The Strada CN-GP50U also offers important safety and convenience features, such as Bluetooth* capability for hands-free cell phone conversation. The Voice Command function allows drivers to set a destination verbally while keeping both hands on the wheel. Automatic dialing can be easily achieved by simply downloading one's cell phone address book. When driving a route for the first time, Lane Assist helps avoid last-minute lane changes using voice guidance and by highlighting the correct lane in orange. There's even an icon and warning tone to alert the driver when the speed limit is exceeded. The solid mounting bracket features a sturdy ratchet to assure a secure hold on dashboard or windshield.

The Panasonic Strada CN-GP50U Portable Navigation Device will be available in December 2007 with an SRP of $499.95. For more information on Strada go to:

http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prModelDetail?storeId=11301&catalogId=13251&itemId=116542&modelNo=Content05042007104801893&surfModel=Content05042007104801893.

In the 3200 series, the Maestro 3250 is almost identical to the 4250, except it's $100 cheaper and has a smaller, non-widescreen 3.5-inch display. The other models—the 3200, 3210 and 3220—are off-shoots of the 3250, with the same screen and less features, depending on price. The only real change with the newly released GPS units, aside from some minor added features, is their size, which, dropping down to .7 inches in thickness, is a direct result of vomiting profusely after every left turn. [GPS Review]

Accessed via software and transferred to the GPS unit via optional data cable, the National Geographic maps are an outdoorsman's dream. You can fly through virtual areas, plot routes through recreational sites and mark waypoints for your journey. When you get back from your trip, plug back in and upload your data to get a visual representation of your hike. The Triton 2000 is priced at $499, but you can strip away various features until you bottom out at the Triton 200, a $129 barebones device. Look for the Tritons next month. [Magellan Triton GPS via Electronista]

As you saw in the video, when you hail it with "Magellan!" it gives you a limited set of options, such as "Nearest Coffee," "Go Home" and "Where Am I?" If you are already in the middle of a route, the options are more limited, but useful. The two most important voice commands are "Cancel Route," which is great whenever you get to a familiar road and want to shut the damn thing up, and "Nearest Gas," which totally saved my ass just today.

In any case, you cannot speak an address; you still have to type those in. You can pick nearby restaurants, even by food type, but you can't use the same option to verbally request a grocery store or a park.

I love voice command on my cellphone, but just like that speaker-independent voice recognition, the Magellan's has its quirks. Most annoyingly, it will butt in on your conversations. Utter anything that remotely sounds like "Magellan" (we think "gel" is what it really listens for) and it will think it's being prompted. It even speaks up when radio announcers and backseat drivers are chattering away.

The Magellan Maestro 4050 also comes with traffic awareness, but like most systems, I haven't found it to be terrifically useful just yet. The radio to receive traffic data is there, but the fresh data is still missing. Not Magellan's fault, but not yet a selling point.

Voice command and the traffic kit differentiate the 4050 from the Maestro 4040. Are they worth a $200 premium? It's hard to say. I like Magellan's new Maestro systems for sure, but others will soon have voice recognition, and only then will we know if Magellan's is better or worse. Just yesterday, TomTom's US president told me that they too were working on voice recognition, and one that would recognize street names and more. Et tu Garmin? – Wilson Rothman

Product Page [Magellan]

But with the Maestro 4040 (and its siblings), Magellan may be back in action. I say "may" only because I know that true Magellan test results don't reveal themselves in a pleasant afternoon drive, or even over the course of a week. I will be endurance-testing the new Maestro, and if it holds up, or craps out, you will hear about it.

In the meantime, let's hear the positives...

The Maestro line is slimmer, broader and has a wider screen than its predecessors. It uses the same SiRF Star III GPS chip and Navteq map database found in Garmins. It has a new partnership with AAA, which means that its POI database includes a subset of approved repair shops, campgrounds, hotels and other places that might give you AAA discounts. If you hate how generic POIs have gotten—"Hey, let's stick every phone book in the world in here, with no quality control whatsoever!"—you will appreciate the significance of "approved" POIs. The AAA deal also means one-touch roadside assistance, as long as your Bluetooth phone is connected.

Though it's not as amazingly effortless as the Garmin Nuvi 680, the 4040 user interface runs smoother and faster than its predecessors. Best of all, it doesn't have many external buttons, like that button-crazy 6000T. Is this a new dawn for underdog Magellan? That remains to be seen. A nice long CNet review (of the 4040, mind you, even though it says 4050) remarked on difficulties with Bluetooth pairing and some sluggish recalculations. Like I said, the real key is to see how it's behaving a month from now.

In the meantime, I've loaded up some screen shots so you can at least see the new look for yourself. –Wilson Rothman

Magellan Maestro 4040 [Gizmodo]

Press Release [via Electronista]

Product Page [Tanga - Thanks Ted!]

Magellan Maestro 4000, 4040, and 4050 [GPS Gazette]

This is one highly capable navigator, too, with unlimited expansion with SD cards, USB connectivity and a 14-parallel-channel GPS receiver that gives you accuracy down to 9 feet. Its under-4-ounce weight and 4.6-inch height fits easily into the pocket or pack, making it the ideal trail companion. We're also liking that 2.3-inch high-rez color screen. Available now, it's about $225. – Charlie White

Press Release [Thales Navigation, Inc., via uber gizmo]

2006 Vespa 150cc Custom Installation [Aut Nav 2000]
Magellan RoadMate 760 on a 2006 150cc Vespa [Navigadget]

Magellan's eXplorist GPS receiver is a great product on its own—able to support up to 22 maps on its internal memory. But its even better in the eXplorist 210 Outdoor Bundle, which gives you everything you need for your next big outdoor trek.

As well as the receiver, you also get MapSend Topo 3D USA software, a cigarette lighter adapter, USB cable and clip case. The system can give you a seamless map of detailed topography, street maps and searchable points of interest. The bundle goes for $229, available this April.

Magellan eXplorist 210 Outdoor Bundle
[Mobilewhack]

Purchase info for Magellan eXplorist 210 [Amazon]

Magellan RoadMate 800 Announced [GPSLodge]