ViaMichelin shows North America some GPS love
Like many Japanese and European parties that Americans have arrived woefully late to, (see also: soccer; 3G networks; Law, Jude), the personal navigation device is just now going mainstream.
(Credit:
JR.com)
Though it's obviously not the only to do so, ViaMichelin released its first personal navigation device for the North American market this week after ignoring us for six years in favor of our apparently more direction-challenged European counterparts.
Using SiRFstarIII GPS receiver technology and NAVTEQ digital map data, the X-930 model can give voice and text directions for driving in the car and walking down the street.
Weighing in at under 5 ounces with a 3.5-inch touch screen, the unit comes loaded with 1.5 million points of interest (POIs), 32MB of RAM and a 312-megahertz processor.
JR.com is selling it as of this posting for $250, though it's normally $299.
Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur. E-mail Erica. 
