Former Microsoft spin-off Inrix on Tuesday will launch a new, nationwide traffic-prediction platform.
A new routing service combined with traffic data available for more than 800,000 miles of U.S. roads and location-based information is all part of the Connected Services platform Inrix hopes Web and mobile application developers, gadget makers, and car companies will be driven to adopt.
Inrix CEO Bryan Mistele says he thinks the new platform will lower the barrier to entry for developers and device makers.
"By wrapping it all together, this can do for telematics and navigation what YouTube did for video," he said in an interview.
One of the keys to the accuracy of the service is the predictive ability. Inrix uses historical traffic data, real-time road conditions--gathered from more than 750,000 devices used in cabs, commercial vehicles, and some GPS-enabled consumer cell phones--as well as local information like weather, school schedules, concerts, and sporting events--essentially anything that will cause delays. (Interestingly, Mistele says school schedules are one of the biggest variables of traffic in most major markets.)
Example of Inrix's 3rd Generation Routing Service.
(Credit: Inrix)The routing service also gets a bit fancier by using more than just posted speed limits, which as Mistele points out, not many adhere to, either by choice (speeding) or not (traffic). Inrix's Third Generation Routing Service provides traffic and info on best route and how long it will take you to get there.
None of this is available directly to consumers, but it should make it a lot easier to get more inexpensive and full-featured personal navigation and GPS devices.
The European Union on Sunday launched Giove-B, the second (and last) test satellite in its $5.3 billion Galileo project, according to Reuters.
The first test satellite, Giove-A, was launched in December 2005. Giove-B will test the program's high-precision atomic clock and signal transmission, Reuters reported.
Galileo is Europe's upcoming satellite radio navigation system, and it's the EU's largest space program. Galileo will eventually become an ultraprecise system of 30 satellites, but it has hit a few bumps along the way.
The fully deployed Galileo system planned will consist of 30 satellites, positioned in three circular Medium Earth Orbit planes.
(Credit: European Space Agency)The project's launch date has been pushed back several times, from the original goal of 2008 to the current goal of 2013. And unlike the United States' Global Positioning System, or GPS, which was designed primarily as a military system with a free public side to it, Galileo was initially conceived of as a largely commercial venture. But the project proved too ambitious to be sustained by the original public-private partnership.
After some companies pulled out of the project, the EU voted to put more public funding toward it. Now even that support isn't guaranteed. Fears that the project might spiral out of financial control prompted some U.K. lawmakers last November to call for a complete review of the United Kingdom's involvement in the program.
Uncertainty about when Galileo will actually be up and running, and how effective it will be compared to GPS, has reportedly caused confusion among some companies in the mobile industry, who have been unsure which technology to support in their products (or whether they should support both).
And while Galileo is still getting off the ground, demand for phones with GPS services is skyrocketing. The number of GPS-enabled handsets is expected to more than triple during the next five years, according to analysts. The rise of such devices in Europe will increase 18-fold by 2012.
Although it has been a rocky road for the Galileo program, EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot told Reuters that high demand for navigational services means that Galileo has the potential to be profitable from the get-go.
Dash Express
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)It's been almost two years since Dash Navigation first announced its Dash Express portable navigation system, and we're happy to say that you can now finally get your hands on this device. The Dash Express is unlike any other portable navigation system on the market today because it offers two-way connectivity (cellular and Wi-Fi), giving drivers access to a whole new world of information via the Internet and the network of other Dash-connected users. You can conduct live (and more relevant) Web searches via Yahoo Local search; get real-time traffic data; wirelessly send addresses to the system; and much more. It really adds value to portable navigation devices, and it's the type of innovation that we think will take GPS to the next level--so much so that we even gave it a Best of CES 2007 award. So did it deliver? Was it worth the wait? Well now, you'll just have to read our full review to find out, won't ya?
The 2009 Honda Fit debuts at the New York auto show.
(Credit: CNET Networks/Sarah Tew)At the 2008 New York auto show, Honda showed off its updated 2009 Honda Fit, the small car originally introduced to the U.S. market as a 2007 model. When we reviewed the 2008 Honda Fit, we lamented the lack of any interesting cabin electronics. The 2009 model addresses this complaint by making Honda's voice-recognition navigation system available, a system we've previously seen, and been impressed by, in the Honda Civic Si. The voice-recognition system lets you control the car's navigation, audio system, and other car functions with spoken commands. Honda also says that the new Fit will include a USB port that will let users plug in iPods or USB thumbdrives, a feature not currently available in other Honda models.
Honda offers a navigation-equipped Fit for 2009.
(Credit: CNET Networks/Sarah Tew)The new Honda Fit also includes an updated 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine, an improved suspension, and refined interior functionality, improving on the configurability of the cabin for storage or passengers. Honda hasn't announced pricing for the navigation-equipped Fit, but the company managed to keep the option down to about $1,800 on the Honda Civic Si. The Fit will certainly qualify as the least expensive car to offer a navigation option.
BARCELONA, Spain--Nokia pushed its mobile navigation service to the next level on Monday with the announcement of the latest version of its Nokia Maps service at the GSMA Mobile World Congress here.
The initial version of Nokia Maps, which was announced at last year's edition of this wireless show, was developed for people who wanted navigation while driving, essentially replacing the need to have a separate navigation device, like those offered by Garmin or Tom Tom. On Monday, Nokia took the navigation service a step further by announcing Nokia Maps 2.0, which is geared toward pedestrians. This version of the service is still in beta and is available for download on the Nokia Beta Labs site. (The current version of the service is available for free for select devices on Nokia's Web site.)
Nokia Maps 2.0 provides visual turn-by-turn directions from one place to the next and it can give information about surrounding buildings and streets to help users orient themselves. When used with the new 6210 Navigator phone, which is one of four cool new handsets Nokia announced Monday, the service points users in the direction they are walking by using an embedded compass.
But Nokia didn't stop with navigation. For a fee, users can also access multimedia tourist guides from companies like Berlitz that feature photos, video, and audio streams about the area. For another optional fee users can also get real-time traffic updates with dynamic rerouting in 18 European countries. And the latest version of the service also provides maps with transit information in 17 cities so that users can find the closest metro stop.
Currently, Nokia Maps is available only on a handful of phones. But Nokia plans to introduce a version of the service for its Series 40 handsets in the first half of the year. Nokia's Series 40 phones are made for the mass market. They accounted for a large portion of the more than 437 million devices that Nokia shipped in 2007.
Nokia also announced two new navigation-specific handsets with the launch of Maps 2.0, the Nokia 6220 Classic and the Nokia 6210 Navigator,which has an embedded compass for pedestrian navigation.
Nokia also announced two new N-series handsets, the N78 and N96, which can also be used with the new mapping service.
I'll be taking a tour of Barcelona later this week using a Nokia phone and new Nokia Map 2.0 service, so stay tuned to see how the real-life test drive goes.
The Ford Focus C-MAX will soon get the voice-activated system.
(Credit: Ford U.K.)More good news for those of us who have been forced to divide our attention between the road and what seems like an ever-increasing number of gadgets and other in-car distractions: automotive voice-activation technology is becoming more widespread.
On Thursday, U.S.-based company Nuance announced that it will be putting its text-to-speech technology in select new Ford models in Europe. The system powers Ford's "Human Machine Interface" (HMI), which allows drivers to make calls, enter destinations into the navigation system, control the audio system, and change the inside temperature using simple voice commands.
For example, a driver can change the radio station simply by saying the frequency number, or in some cases, saying the call letters. And the climate control system can be adjusted by simply saying "warmer" or "cooler." The HMI system can read and understand English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Ford already uses its voice-activated Sync system, powered by Microsoft, on select models here in the U.S.
The European HMI system will be implemented on the Ford Focus and the Focus C-MAX multipurpose vehicles beginning next month. Other European Ford models, including the Galaxy and S-MAX multipurpose vehicles, along with the Mondeo full-size sedan, will get the technology shortly thereafter.
Dash Navigation is building the GPS gizmo that everyone in the CNET reviews department is waiting for. See this video from 2006. Today at the Web 2.0 Summit, the company is announcing more features for its delayed product.
Dash now plans to ship its GPS product for cars, the Dash Express, in early 2008. Its key differentiator from other GPS units is that it will always be connected to the Internet, which will enable cool features like peer-to-peer (with other Dash devices) traffic reporting, and the capability to program routes on to your device from your Web browser.
Dash Express
(Credit: Dash Navigation)The new news is that the Dash will have an open platform, so people can build interesting apps for it. The Dash team will demo the platform with its own apps, including one that links into a Zillow API, presumably so you can drive down the street and see on your device just how much the houses you're passing by are worth (see also: Realius).
The product will also read in RSS and KML (Google's geo-markup language) data from the Web to do things like display events from Upcoming, open house data from Craigslist, and landmark and path data from all those geo mashups out there like Platial. For all I know it will also tie into crime databases and flash a warning when you drive into a dangerous neighborhood.
Dash claims its platform represents a "huge business opportunity" for companies that make geo-coded content. That will be true if Dash units become ubiquitous, but the company is competing with Garmin and other well-established consumer brands. Furthermore, future cars themselves will likely be Internet-addressable; Mercedes is already demoing this.
Dash needs to ship its cool gizmo soon.
Your Dash device will have its own dashboard in your computer's browser.
(Credit: Dash Navigation)Garmin has a really small idea for making smart phones a whole lot smarter.
The GPS device maker announced Wednesday GPS software called Garmin Mobile XT. Embedded on a microSD card, the software gives the handset access to a slew of location-based services, such as maps, driving directions, real-time traffic and weather information, local gas prices and friend-finding tools.
The card is $99, a steal compared with the average Garmin device, which will run you anywhere from $200 to $1,000. And, of course, you don't need to ferry around a separate navigation device.
Mobile XT comes loaded with maps of the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico or Europe. It takes advantage of phones connected to the Web by routing to the location of a contact in the phone's address book or to a calendar appointment and can broadcast your location to any other phone or pinpoint the whereabouts of other Garmin Mobile XT users.
All of this map data is provided by Navteq, which was enticed into joining Nokia's ranks Monday in exchange for $8.1 billion. The acquisition by Nokia demonstrates the appeal and strategic importance of offering location-based services. What Garmin is trying to do by offering the Mobile XT hardware/software combination is along the lines of what Nokia is aspiring to do--namely, incorporate the convenience of navigation services into a single device that most everyone carries.
Though both are hardware makers that depend on software to make this happen, they are coming from opposite sides: Nokia is the world's No. 1 producer of cell phones, and Garmin is a stalwart of the personal-navigation industry. Though GPS devices won't fade away completely, Nokia's position in the handset business and control of Navteq give it an obvious advantage in this competition for consumers.
CHIBA, Japan--Here's something that will surely drive up your insurance costs.
At Ceatec Japan 2007, the country's big high-tech trade show, Pioneer is showing off a car navigation system with virtual 3D pop-ups designed to help you drive. You want to find a parking spot? You touch the middle screen on the three-screen navigation/control system and a hologram-like 3D image of a parking symbol comes up. You then touch the floating blue "P" and swipe it to a screen on the left--which shows a map of your current position on the globe and your direction of travel--with a flick of the finger. The map suddenly updates to show you all the parking spots in the area and their location.
The 3D-imaging features of Pioneer's in-car navigation system are entertaining--but perhaps a bit too distracting.
(Credit: Michael Kanellos/CNET News.com)It was a lot of fun to use, and you could see it being very handy in finding parking spots or gas stations. But in a moving car it seems like an accident waiting to happen. You feel compelled to stare at the 3D image, all the way until you hit the pole. I watched several people doing the demo and they all stared at the floating 3D image.
On the bright side, Pioneer did have a much cooler navigation prototype that can seek out images. Let's say you ask for directions to a Carpeteria store. On one screen of the two-screen navigation system, you have a standard map plotting your location and direction. On the other screen, you have a feed of images of what's ahead on the road: stores, intersections, gas stations, etc. When the name of your destination shows up on a road sign on the traffic feed, it puts a yellow box around it, thus giving you a visual warning that you're almost there.
Even if you see it only on your peripheral vision, the yellow signal is unmistakable. If you happen to be touring Las Vegas and there are a lot of signs that read "Only a few more blocks to the Golden Nugget," you will get a lot of false positives, but in most situations it would probably work pretty well. It's still in development.
Mercedes-Benz USA has an answer to complaints that car navigation directions don't measure up to those from sites like Yahoo, Google and Ask.
The automaker has partnered with Google and Yahoo to allow users to send customized Google Maps and Yahoo Local Maps directly from a computer or Web-enabled cell phone to their car computer.
A new "Send to Car" icon that will appear on both companies' mapping sites will allow you to send customized directions, maps, addresses and points of interest to your Mercedes' GPS navigation system.
Once you get in your car, pushing the "i" button in your Mercedes will download the information directly to your car's computer for either immediate or future use.
Better yet, other people can send directions to your car while you're driving.
The high-tech car tech is called Search & Send and will become part of the current Mercedes roadside and emergency GPS service, Tele Aide.
It will be available on the Mercedes S-class sedan and CL-class coupe as of September 5 and the entire 2008 C-class lineup.
(Credit:
Mercedes-Benz USA)
