Ohlamon’s Technology News Blog

You are about to buy this new car-of-your-dreams and still thinking about spending another $1500 on this very nice built in GPS Navigation system? You already checked TomTom and Garmin $700 complete systems? Still looking for something cheaper and better?

Today I tell you how to put an excellent GPS Navigation solution in your car for just about $500 if you start from scratch or just for $200 if you already have any PocketPC with Bluetooth available.

What do you need?

2. Bluetooth GPS. Cheapest place when I’ve found them is buyGPSNow.com. There are several different models. I currently have Holux GPSlim 236(SiRF III), but if I am on the market for one today I am probably going to get the Rikaline GPS-6033(32-channel). (or may be this Solar Powered Bluetooth GPS from yesterdays post.) buyGPSNow.com is also giving vent mounting kit with any order for free. This is very good because we will need this kit for our project.

So. Let’s start.

1. Install your Vent PDA Car Mount holder.
2. Get PocketPC, charge it, and put it in the holder.
3. Charge your GPS unit, turn it on, and put it somewhere in your car where it can see some clear sky.
4. Turn on Bluetooth and Create a Bluetooth partnership
* Tap Start -> Settings -> Connections tab -> Bluetooth.
* Tap “Turn on” Bluetooth button or checkbox.
* Tap Bluetooth > Devices tab > New Partnership. Your device searches for other devices with Bluetooth capabilities, and displays them in the list.
* Tap the name of your GPS device, and tap Next.
* In Passkey enter an alphanumeric passkey between 1 and 16 characters, and tap Next. (You be able to found this passkey somewhere in you GPS device documentation)
* Tap Finish.
5. Connect to the GSP Unit. Tap your new paired device wait for the menu and then tap Connect.
6. Start your favorite Navigation Software. Set-up or Start GPS inside it. (if you are using Mapopolis Tap Tools->GPS->Start)
7. Turn on your car engine.

You are ready to drive.

My first GPS devise was HiaCom Mouse GPS system. It works ok, but it required special Car Charger to Pocket PC to GPS wire which cost almost as much as GPS unit itself. And s soon as I have changed my PocketPC to a newer model I decided to update my GPS to its bluetooth version. It is much much better. I can use it with any PocketPC or Laptop and I don’t have all that wires running through my car. But I still need one. Not all the time, but one wire from car power outlet to GPS unit to charge its battery. And guess what? Not anymore!

Some company called Proporta presents Solar powered Bluetooth GPS Receiver

The Proporta Solar Bluetooth GPS Receiver is a powerful in-car satellite navigation system that pinpoints your location precisely anywhere in the world, communicating wirelessly with your PDA/Smartphone or other mobile computer.

Unlike rival systems the Proporta Solar Bluetooth GPS Receiver adds the convenience of solar charging to an already-powerful GPS system, so it’s ideal for walkers and cyclists as well as motorists.

Of course my first question was about price tag. Manufacturers site claim $109.95, which is really no different from non solar powered GPS units. Looks like I found my next GPS receiver and got rid from the last wire in my car.

Fake. But very nice one.

Epson announced a new EMP-TW1000 3LCD projector for Japan market. Most interesting is the ability to show a full High Defenition resolution 1920×1080 (1080p) image and the new version of of HDMI input.(v1.3). The EMP-TW1000 has a maximum contrast ratio of 12,000:1 and 1200 lumen lamp. The price should be around ¥350,000 ($3000) when these go on sale in Japan this December.

D-Link has announced a new dual-mode phone that allow users to easely switch between cellular and Wi-Fi networks with the click of a button. (”V-CLICK”)

Sceduled to be hit stores the first quarter of 2007, the new D-Link V-CLICK phone will support tri-band GSM (900/1800/1900 Mhz) and 802.11 Wi-Fi (2.4Ghz; Wireless encryption (WEP, WPA and WPA2) ) access.

With a press of the V-CLICK button, the phone switches between GSM and Wi-Fi connection that allows users to make GSM phone calls or access websites or use an Internet phone service.

D-Link V-CLICK dimentions are: h 4.17″, w 1.73″, d .75″. It comes black with additional colours planned to fit any lifestyle. The V-CLICK phones support Opera Mobile, a mobile browser for web surfing and email functionality on the phone’s 2 inch (176×220 pixels) colour screen.

D-Link says users will be able to have up to 5 hours talk time on GSM, and 2 hours while in 802.11 wireless mode. Upto 24MB of memory is available for documents, images, music and video files.

The suggested retail price is expected to be US$599.99. D-Link also plans to offer accessories for its new dual-mode phone products.

The product seems to be a rebages(facelifted?) version of Taiwanese Wistron NeWeb’s GW1 handset, which is also available as a CDMA/Wi-Fi mobile phone as well as the Neuf Twin dual-mode handset already on sale in France. This two overseas twins currently avalible for about $300. :-))

  

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