Joining other comical characters such as Homer Simpson and, err, Kim Cattrall, Snoop's VoiceSkin is available to download now for anyone who's confident they can last more than five minutes receiving directions like "Turn around when possible and keep it 'G', ya d-i-g?" [VoiceSkins via NME]

Image Credit: DodgeChallenger1

I've seen the feature in action, and it's about as seamless as traffic integration gets. Data is drawn from a massive fleet of devices, Navigon and otherwise, curated by a third party, and fed live into the app. Each traffic obstruction is listed individually, so you can choose to avoid one while weathering another, or just see what you're up against. This, combined with historical traffic data, means you're probably going to be able to trust Navigon's traffic-avoiding routes, or at least, you know, respectfully disagree.

But eh, that price: This (one time) $25 add-on, which is probably the highest in-app purchase price I've seen so far, brings the total cost of MobileNavigator to $115. Best case scenario, this'll give the other nav app makers, who are kind of taking a beating, saleswise, a little plan for a comeback: free live traffic. TomTom? TeleNav? Anyone? [Navigon]

Basically, these stone markers were a like a primitive GPS—and the accuracy was quite astounding. Researcher Tom Brooks explains:

'The sides of some of the triangles are over 100 miles across on each side and yet the distances are accurate to within 100 metres. You cannot do that by chance.

'So advanced, sophisticated and accurate is the geometrical surveying now discovered, that we must review fundamentally the perception of our Stone Age forebears as primitive, or conclude that they received some form of external guidance.

Yes, "external guidance." Egyptians, Mayans, Stone Age Britons—it's got to be aliens. Either that, or Google has invented time travel conquer ancient landscapes starting with "Pangea Maps." [Daily Mail via Digg]

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]

That $99.99 one-off price isn't cheap considering dedicated GPS units can cost less, and here you're only paying for the software. Worse still, rival iPhone app CoPilot Live only costs $34.99, and it too provides 3D views, and spoken turn-by-turn instructions. Thankfully, neither make you pay an AT&T TeleNav-style monthly subscription.

Update: We now know the TomTom car adapter kit will work with the iPod Touch, but haven't confirmed its U.S. availability and pricing.

[TomTom Website | TomTom iTunes Link]

Application Description
For iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS

Tap and go: Using iPhones innovative technology, the TomTom app lets you tap your way from A to B – putting you in touch with all the best routes. Scroll through the menu, or pinch to zoom in and out on a map using the iPhone's multi-touch display.

Go your own way: Why follow the rest See your route, your way. Simply rotate from portrait to landscape to get an easier view of the road ahead.
Meet up with friend: Find an entry in your iPhone contacts list, and the TomTom app will find the way there. It's that simple.

Find a place to eat: Thinking of stopping for lunch on the way? Choose a restaurant, call to reserve your table, then find your way there-the TomTom app does it all.

The smartest routes: Is the shortest route really the fastest? TomTom IQ Routes will always calculate the smartest, most efficient route-saving you time, fuel and money. Only IQ Routes uses the driving experiences of millions of drivers to work out your route based on actual road speed date.

The world at your fingertips: Always be prepared for what's around the corner. The TomTom app comes with an up-to-date, detailed map-and you can add worldwide locations to suit you.
You can also make the most of your navigation experience with the TomTom car kit for iPhone. Check it on iphone.tomtom.com.

Map coverage statistics:
Detailed map seamlessely covers in the US and Canada with IQ Routes data for faster routing.

Countries fully covered (99.9%): the US (all states including Hawaii and Alaska) and Canada (all provinces) and Puerto Rico.

Languages: English, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish.

Requirements: Compatible with iPhone. Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later.

One gripe: The nüvi 755T comes with advertisements. My evaluation unit arrived with three preloaded vendors (BP, Walgreens, and Wells Fargo). When you access the traffic menu, one of these advertiser's names always appears at the bottom of the screen. Also, from time to time, one of these ads will pop up on the map view screen (they won't appear when you are in motion). A single tap of the advertisers' name will perform a POI search for nearby retail locations. Unfortunately, you can't disable these ads, but it's likely that they help Garmin offset the cost of the live traffic information that it offers free.

I, for one, would rather lose live traffic updates than gain ads—or at least have the option to turn them both off. But that's just me. [PCMag via GPS Tracklog]

While a bit smaller than the average map, when the driver exceeded the map's limitations, they could simply swap it out for another and continue on their journey. Coming with 20 maps, the Wristlet Route Indicator ran £5 in 1927. With inflation, that number is the equivalent to about £50. Compared to the average cost of a GPS receiver today, that price doesn't sound all that bad, especially because the device is about 100 times more charming than the "turn LEFT in FIFTY feet" lady. [DailyMail via GizmoWatch]

All three models have iPod connectivity, Bluetooth, MSN Direct, DH radio, XM and SIRIUS Satellite radio, CD and DVD-playback, as well as the advanced conversational voice recognition system. There's a 5.8-inch hi-resolution touch panel display, USB interface and SD card slot, plus maps from Tele Atlas of the US, Canada, Alaska and Hawaii. Available in June, the three models will cost $850, $1,100 and $1,200, respectively. [ecoustics.com]

It's Luddite-friendly, with just five large buttons on it, each with a symbol, such as a toilet or a cup of coffee. And, while the GPS works just fine outdoors, the Zimmer SatNav works indoors as well, automatically switching to wireless so users don't go to sleep in the closet by mistake. [Daily Mail]

A telescopic pole beneath the vehicle enables the car on a stick to be raised when not in use, keeping it off the road and transforming it into a street light. Sat-nav equipped, the bubble cars respond to voice commands and gather energy via a solar canopy on the roof.

There is about as much chance of this becoming reality, sadly, as there is of me editing Engadget. Yeah, I keep turning down their desperate advances. [Dezeen]

When you think about what a cabbie has to endure—an average of 34 months spent learning the Knowledge, as it is referred to, when you take to the streets of London on a moped, with nothing but a kagoule and an A to Z for company, when you phut-phut your way round the capital's roads until you know the city like the back of your hand, and can prove it to a bunch of bolshie examiners—then it is not surprising that the human element triumphed over technology.

Says Spencer Kelly, presenter of the technology programme Click:

We chose waypoints that took us through extremely busy parts of London. We would need to go from Box Hill in Surrey to Wembley Stadium, then the Houses of Parliament and finish at Greenwich Observatory. In fact, if we had just followed the shortest route to our first waypoint - the new Wembley Stadium - we would have gone right through some of the worst traffic blackspots in the area.

The rules were simple. Andy the cabbie could choose whichever route he wanted, listen to traffic reports on the radio, and change route at any time. But so he did not get an unfair advantage, he was not allowed to use bus/taxi lanes to avoid any jams. I had to do what the sat-nav said. No exceptions.

Spencer, who was using the TomTom, and alternated between the voice of Yoda and John Cleese, won the first leg, choosing to use the M25, a mahoosive freeway that circumnavigates London. He managed to get to Wembley Stadium, in the northwest of the city, five minutes ahead of Andy. When it came to the streets of the city center, however, Andy's experience was at a clear advantage, and he was already celebrating with a cuppa beside the Greenwich Observatory by the time Spencer had arrived at the Houses of Parliament. [BBC Online]

Just 17 mm thick, the P4425 has voice recognition for certain commands, meaning no more one-handed steering while you thump the SatNav unit as it repeats "Come off the motorway at the next exit" in its robot voice. There's RDS-TMC antenna for live traffic updates, 1.5GM memory, a 4.2-inch color widescreen and an FM transmitter so you can get "Come off the motorway at the next exit" voice guidance piped through your speakers. There's even a pre-loaded database that tells you where all the speed cameras are.

With maps of the UK and the rest of western Europe, the GoPal P4425 is out in the UK in November for 299.99, or around $600. Will this be the shape of SatNav security to come? [NaviGadget]

You also get an FM transmitter which can feed multimedia or traffic alerts to your car radio. It should be available toward the end of the year in Europe, priced at about €300. [Nokia]

There's a DMB receiver with Picture-in-Picture capability so you can watch TV, a media player that supports all sorts of formats and, while there's no HDD, there's an SD memory slot and USB host. Add photo album, several games and something called a Car Diary for you to keep an eye on various vehicle-related things (no, I don't care either).

And Karaoke. Yes, people, that little microphone icon you see on the screen lets you belt out versions of whatever song keeps the pedal to the metal in your car. Karaoke. What a GENIUS idea. If anyone from iNavi is reading this, then the G1 needs to go global. Send one over to me at Giz and I'll spend my summer test-driving it in a stolen car.

iNavi G1 from Korea does karaoke [NaviGadget]

Garmin Nuvi 200 Series Get Wider [Navigadget]

Harman Kardon Intros Budget Giode+Play GPS [Electronista]

First off, for a unit this small, the C520 packs a lot. We already know about the display and the built-in wireless, so on top of that the C520 also has text-to-speech functionality and the ability to play MP3s and video files. It's got 2GB of on board memory and an SD card slot for expansion. Essentially, it brings a bit of everything to the table (this ain't your entry level GPS) and goes head-to-head with the TomTom's One XL both on price, features, and screen size.

We got our paws on a C520 this afternoon and were pretty impressed by how intuitive it is to use. I'm the "never ask for directions while you drive" type, so I'll put this one through the test and see if it's worth the $399. So far I'll say this, it's a tempting buy for anyone who wants a GPS unit with a little sumthin'-sumthin' on the side. – Louis Ramirez

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Next on Satnav: 3D City View and Road Warnings [Reuters]