If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to receive daily tips on Auto & Moto Gadgets using our RSS feed or by Email. Thanks for visiting!
The Sega Joypolis is one cool place. Located at Tokyo Decks Beach, the 3-story arcade and amusement park have an awesome ride, a gigantic setup of the Initial D racing game. For only 600 yens (that about $5) or even for free (if you have an unlimited day pass) you get to ride in a real Subaru Impreza WRX, Mazda RX-7 and the Tofu car, cars which move realistically while you play. Pretty awesome, huh?
Panasonic’s first portable navigation system, the Strada CN-GP50U, is heading to the United States. The GPS device sports a 5 inch touchscreen, 1.8 million points of interest, NAVTEQ maps of US, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico, USB connectivity, SD expansion slot, plus handsfree calling via Bluetooth, and the Voice Command / speed limit warning functions.
The device will be available in December, just in time for Christmas and it will be priced at $499.95.
After some time ago Nokia announced that it’s ready to enter the GPS market and here we have their first model, the Nokia 500. Recently approved by the FCC, the Nokia 500 GPS will soon be available in stores. Featuring a 4.3 inch touchscreen, the Nokia 500 is a GPS player which also offers audio, photo, and video playback, plus it allows you to connect to your phone via Bluetooth for hands free calling. View a complete list of its features after the jump.
Among all those pimped cars shown these days at the SEMA Show, here’s something really cool. This Chrysler 300C has some impressive LED-equipped wheels, with each one containing its own color display. No idea when this will be available on the market or how much would it cost.
View one more short video after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »
This is some amazing technology introduced by Pioneer at the Tokyo Motor Show. This prototype 3D navigation driving interface consists of three side-by-side LCD screens. The left one shows real-time GPS map of your location, the middle one features 3D holographic images, while the right one shows potential overlays.
So how does this work? Well, let’s say, for example, you want to find a McDrive. All you have to do is press a button on the right touchscreen and the system projects the McDrive in the 3D middle display. Now you can take the projection and drag it to the map (left display) and you get locations to every McDrive in the neighborhood. Pretty cool, huh? Might sound a little to complicated and distracting? Well, it could be, but we love it.
And you haven’t seen the cool part, yet. You can also do all those actions with hand gestures without having to touch a screen or a button which could come in handy on a bumpy road. We have no idea how when this technology will be available on a production car, but one thing’s for sure, the future sounds good.
Now here’s something I would like to go on a trip into. This is the S’elega Premium concept luxury motorhome from Hino Motors and, besides it’s awesome luxurious interior it also has a real cool technology. Called SPD-Smart light-control windows, this technology blocks more than 99% of UV radiation and allows vehicle occupants to instantly control the amount of sunlight, glare and heat passing through the windows and sunroofs. Cool, huh?
The patented technology developed by Research Frontiers Inc. is featured in the S’elega Premium luxury tour bus which is currently on display at the 40th Tokyo Motor Show 2007.
The S’elega Premium, currently displayed at the Tokyo Motor Show has five large curved SPD-Smart laminated window panels, which, at the touch of a button, can be six to eight times darker than a dark conventional window. That’s not all, the windows control the amount of light, glare and heat passing through the window, plus it has noise reduction properties and the passengers’ safety is improved.
Read the rest of this entry »
Recently approved by the FCC, Capoint Co’s XRoad 4050 GPS will soon be available in the United States. This device is already available in Europe for some time now, but there it’s called Takara GP43. The GPS sports a 4.3 inch touchscreen, SD card reader and a SiRF Star III GPS receiver. It can also play audio and video, supporting MP3, MPEG4 and JPG files.
We don’t know exactly when it will be released or how much it will cost, but in Europe it’s priced at 500 Euros (about $720).
Today, Motorola announced the MOTOROKR T505 Bluetooth In-Car Speakerphone with Digital FM Transmitter. Long name, yeah, we know! However, you don’t need to remember it, all you have to remember is that this is a pretty cool device. All you have to do is clip the T505 to your car’s visor, connect your phone or MP3 player to it and you have access to some impressive functions.
Besides the clear sound and noise reduction technology, the device features StationFinder, a new Motorola technology which announces you where the best FM connection can be found on your car radio. Another cool thing the T505 does is that, when you have an incoming call, it mutes the music and a voice tells you who’s calling, this way you can keep your eyes on the road and not be distracted. The device is expected to be released in the first quarter of 2008.
Read the rest of this entry »
Though Magellan’s website doesn’t show this product for now, several websites around the web have this really low cost GPS reciever on offer, the Magellan RoadMate 1200. The device features a 3.5 inch anti-glare QVGA touchscreen, a Centrality Atlas II processor, 1.3 million points of interest, NAVTEQ maps of the continental United States / Puerto Rico / Hawaii on a 1GB SD card, plus a rechargeable Li-ion that will keep the device on for three hours. The navigation device also features QuickSpell / SmartDetour functions, which prevent typos when writing down the address (you wouldn’t want to end up in some God forsaken place).
Nothing spectacular about this GPS, but if you want to buy a cheap one, the Magellan RoadMate 1200 is definitely the best choice, priced at only $200.
Read the rest of this entry »
Of all mobile phones, the Nokia 6110 Navigator is probably the most useful one that you could carry around in your car. Because its smartphone features combined with the GPS navigation is almost everything you need. And here is a review by gsmarena, so, let’s see, is this phone really worth it. I’m not going to bore you with unimportant details so I’m gonna skip to the conclusions.
So, for a driver, the 6110 Navigator’s advantages are the very good navigation solution (that’s why we buy the thing), excellent display with great picture quality and great legibility under bright light (this is a key feature, because the device is most likely to be put on a car’s dashboard thus exposed to bright light all the time), fast user interface (doesn’t require endless menu browsing, therefore you can keep your eyes on the road).
As for weaknesses, except the fact that detailed maps have to be purchased separately, the phone doesn’t really have minuses, from a driver’s point of view. I mean, the sound’s quality is not impressive (doesn’t really bother you unless you drive a tractor), the thick body (again, not a problem) or the short battery life (that’s why we have car chargers).
So, the conclusion of the review is that the Nokia 6110 Navigator is an almost perfect phone for drivers. I mean, it even has cool games that you can play while stuck in traffic.
Read the rest of this entry »