The early stages of Galileo, Europe's version of America's GPS, was on display at CeBIT this year. Swiss GPS receiver technology provider Ublox provided live Galileo satellite tracking demonstrations. The company has a chip that can receive both GPS and Galileo signals. The computer was able to display the track and current location of the Galileo satellite. On this system its designated as number 209. Europe created Galileo, which is still years from completion, so that it doesn't have to rely on the US for GPS signals.
But, Galileo wasn't the only satellite navigation system at CeBIT. In fact, two entire halls were dedicated to navigation technology.
At the Garmin booth, much of the buzz was around Garmin's nuvifone which it will be introducing later this year. Many of the details of the phone haven't been ironed out like what companies will carry it or who much the phone will cost.
The company had other new products on display like the Colorado 300 a GPS device targeted at outdoor, marine and fitness enthusiasts. It's designed to be operated with just one hand, often times just one thumb, with what the company calls its Rock 'n Roller wheel. The device has a 3-inch screen and allows for wireless exchange of tracks, waypoints, and geocaches between units. It weighs just over 7 ounces and is advertised to work for 15 hours on two AA batteries. It is available now for about 640 dollars.
You can talk on your phone hands free, so why not hands free operation of your GPS. Garmin's new nuvi 860 let's users keep their hands on the wheel while driving. With a push of a button mounted on the steering wheel, drivers can request directions.
[Audio of car GPS unit]
Speech recognition is available in 7 languages including English. The device has a 4.3-inch color touch screen display. It will be available in the second quarter of 2008 for about 800 dollars.
TomTom also had new units on display. The 930T and 730T are updated versions of pervious models. One of the new features is advanced lane guidance that will help drivers navigate complex junctions. The devices come with maps of more than 2 dozen countries. The 930 offers enhanced positioning technology for uninterrupted navigation even in tunnels and a Bluetooth remote control. Both units have a built in FM transmitter to play mp3s and hands free calling through your paired Bluetooth phone. They have 4.3 inch widescreen LCDs. They will be available at the end of April in the UK and Ireland. Prices have not been announced.
Just across from TomTom, Navigon featured some new devices with similar features to those of TomTom's units. The Navigon 8110 features lane assistant pro that will help drivers navigate through difficult junctions, much like TomTom's lane guidance system. The 8110 has a 4.8 inch widescreen LCD. It has an mp3 player and FM transmitter. It will be available in Europe for 449 Euro about 750 US.
That's a quick look at some of the navigation technology at CeBIT 2008. For the IDG News Service, I'm Nick Barber from Hanover, Germany, with additional reporting by Martyn Williams.
