Satellite Navigation

Are Built-In Navigation And Infotainment Systems Already Obsolete?
Nelson Ireson November 2, 2011

I just spent a weekend driving almost 1,000 miles to compete in an even that involved all of 7.5 minutes of competitive driving--but along the way I found my new phone was capable of doing just about everything I find great in the latest generation of in-car, OEM navigation and infotainment systems--and when I wasn't driving, I was carrying it around in my pocket. Given that my phone (a Samsung Galaxy S II, not even the fabu-tastic iPhone 4S with Siri) proved itself capable of flawless GPS navigation with voice directions; a driving mode that reads out text message and phone call alerts;...
Tech Blamed For Stressed "Gen Y" Drivers; Some Tips To Help
If you were born some time between the 1970s and the mid 1990s you're what's known as "Generation Y", and new research has shown that you're much more likely to be stressed behind the wheel than your "Baby Boomer" predecessors. The survey was conducted by Galaxy Research, on 1,010 people across...
Antony Ingram August 8, 2011
GPS Racing: Over 7 Million Brits Try And Beat The Sat Nav
How long will a journey take from point A to point B? To get the answer, many of us will punch the destination into our GPS satellite navigation devices which give us an estimated time of arrival (ETA). However, a new survey thinks that subconsciously trying to beat the displayed ETA could be...
Antony Ingram July 29, 2011

Lexus eDestination: Program Your Sat Nav Wherever You Are
Chances are, if you're in the market for a new Lexus then you appreciate the luxury, technology and ease of use thats available to you. If this is the case, why shouldn't your Lexus Navigation System already know where you want to go when you step into the car? With Lexus eDestination, it can. Of...
Antony Ingram July 26, 2011
You Have Reached Your Destination... With A Map, Not Sat Nav
If you're aged between 18 and 24 years old you could be forgiven for having never seen a road atlas. These archaic paper-based devices require you to use planning and a sense of direction to navigate from one place to another, and remain silent throughout your journey. According to research by the...
Antony Ingram July 14, 2011
Pinch, Trace And Touch... The Steering Wheel Of The Future
If you love a steering wheel festooned with handy buttons, and even if you don't, this might be the steering wheel for you. Engineers at the University of Stuttgart in Germany have been hard at work on a new prototype steering wheel that takes interaction with your car to a new level. You may think...
Antony Ingram June 6, 2011
Break Free Of Traffic Jams With John Cleese & TomTom: Video
Richard Read May 27, 2011

Everybody loves John Cleese, right? Beyond his work on the popular Monty Python and Fawlty Towers TV shows -- not to mention many memorable film appearances -- he's written for stage and screen, and he's managed to inject some much-needed humor into the political climate of both the U.S. and Britain. You can say many things about Cleese, but you can't say that he's afraid to fail. And that's a very good thing, because his participation in TomTom's new "Break Free" campaign looks kind of a belly flop. The concept behind "Break Free" is straightforward: it's all about drivers "breaking free" of...
Greater Interaction With "Sticky" Touchscreen Display Tech
Touchscreen displays have revolutionized our gadgets, both in and away from our automotive lives. Now, they're set to get even better to use. From iPhones to satellite navigation systems, many of our electronic gadgets use the technology, and that's only going to increase as makers strive for ever...
Antony Ingram May 10, 2011

Green GPS Picks Fuel-Saving, Lowest Emissions Routes
GPS navigation systems and internet-based route planners allow you to pick the quickest or shortest route to your destination. However, until now there hasn't been the option to pick the greenest route, allowing you to use the least fuel and reducing your journey's emissions. Researchers at the...
Antony Ingram May 9, 2011
Homer Simpson Squeezes Into TomTom's App For iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch
Given the vast number of free navigation apps available for Apple, Android, Blackberry, and Windows handsets, we've been more than a little skeptical about the future of satnav makers like Garmin and TomTom. After all, why should consumers shell out for a fairly limited piece of hardware when they...
Richard Read May 4, 2011
Hyundai's New Nav System Asks: Do You Want The Shortest Route Or The Greenest?
Today's navigation systems are great at finding the shortest route between Point A and Point B. Some even integrate traffic data to identify alternate paths if the shortest one is congested. But Hyundai's newest navigation platform will also tell you which route is the greenest, keeping CO2 out of...
Richard Read March 7, 2011
Garmin Makes Road Trips Fun With Maps From RoadsideAmerica.com
Garmin, TomTom, and other aftermarket telematics systems have been fighting an uphill battle since July 2008. That's when Apple launched the App Store and smartphone users began to realize that apps could serve the same function as pricey dashtop units, but with minimal upfront cost and no...
Richard Read February 4, 2011
Smartphones Are Taking Over Your Car -- And The Planet
Richard Read January 20, 2011

Over 3 million of today's smartphone users use telematics apps -- apps ranging from navigational services like Waze to streaming music players like the now-ubiquitous Pandora. That figure is expected to rise dramatically over the next five years; in fact, ABI Research estimates that by 2016, it will hit 129 million. So, what does that mean for automakers and their own telematics systems? We've written a good bit about the in-dash offerings from car companies like Ford, General Motors, Toyota, and Hyundai. Ford seems to be leading the telematics pack with MyFord Touch, which has become...