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Directions Mag offers a review of the Magellan Maestro 4040 portable navigation device (with screenshots). From the review: "The Maestro certainly has many great features, not the least of which is the wide screen. It makes for easy viewing, daytime or night. At upcoming turns, the unit will change into a split screen mode so that a graphic diagram of the turn is displayed along side the map. This comes in particularly handy when approaching an off-ramp with multiple exit points, like choosing to take the north or south direction to a divided highway. [...] One of the biggest user interface negatives of the Maestro is one of its most basic features: entering a destination (Figure 7). This is generally the first step in the navigation process and it can be frustrating. Most users have the address of a destination. The Maestro starts by first asking the user to enter a zip code, a city or a previous city."

The AnyGeo blog links to the ConsumerReport.org review of portable GPS navigation systems. Some interesting parts of the report are free, such as the "how to choose" and "features" sections. From the report: "Although not always as easy to use as the in-dash systems available on many new vehicles, portable systems are catching up. Features like internal, rechargeable batteries and pre-loaded North America map databases are now commonly included on budget systems. More premium features such as real-time traffic reporting are becoming available on more affordable units, although those often require additional hardware. [...] Many manufacturers offer units that will get you where you need to go, and more are entering the market as sales continue to skyrocket. Systems from Garmin, Magellan, and TomTom have historically scored highest in our ratings. Those navigation-focused companies now face competition from Delphi, Harmon-Kardon, and Rand McNally--none of which were available for our previous test. Our latest report also includes units from Alpine, Audiovox, Cobra, Lowrance, and Navman." See also related stories below.

gduncan writes "Today, Magellan released their new MobileMapper product. MobileMapper CX is a highly flexible, accurate, affordable and rugged handheld GPS receiver for universal GIS use. Compatible with Windows CE based GIS applications, the MobileMapper CX provides real­time sub­meter and even sub­foot accuracy in post processing­."

Here's a few geonews items mainly related to cellphones and location-based services. Spatial Sustain informs us of the new "send to GPS" feature linking Google Maps and TomTom devices. Second, MacRumors discuss an Engaget story about TomTom (possibly, it's a rumor!) developing a GPS module for Apple's iPhone. Meanwhile, APB links to a NYT article wondering if Nokia can make serious inroads in the American market of cellphones and location-based services, and finally, APB runs a short entry on TeleNav and Navizon offering free small location-based services applications. Several related previous stories copied below.

Liz Hartney writes "NemeriX CTO Lionel Garin to Share His Vision for the Future of Handheld GPS Offerings at CES in Las Vegas, January 7, 2008

Santa Clara, CA and MANNO, Switzerland: NemeriX, a leading fabless semiconductor company specializing in ultra low power semiconductors and solutions for GPS and location-based service devices, today announced that Lionel Garin will share his vision for the future for consumer-oriented, handheld GPS devices in a session entitled: "Market Navigation for the Navigation Market" scheduled to take place on Monday January 7th from 3-4 PM in the North Hall, Room N264 of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

This session is moderated by Avi Greengart, Research Director for Mobile Devices at Current Analysis, and will also include Ed Staehlin from Motorola; Amit Desai, from Dial Directions; and Christian Bubenheim, from Magellan; in addition to NemeriX’s Lionel Garin.

During this session, Garin will discuss the different technical requirements from the automotive GPS market — where accuracy up to five meters is sufficient — to the pedestrian or last-mile GPS market, which requires a much higher degree of accuracy to provide pedestrian turn-by-turn directions in dense urban environments and indoors.

“If you listen to mass market analysts, it might appear as though GPS has become a commodity, where the only differentiation between solutions is cost, and power consumption – but that’s not actually the case,” said Lionel Garin, CTO for NemeriX. “At CES, we’ll examine why the navigation market requires a higher level of performance, and we’ll discuss when the navigation capabilities that address indoor environments — such as shopping malls, and deep-indoor locations — will arrive to usher in wide market acceptance.”

At CES, Garin will discuss a series of upcoming, consumer-oriented GPS applications, such as signal authentication and position certification for mobile banking applications, where precise transaction timing and location authentication are required. He will also discuss how GPS location and velocity authentication can facilitate new consumer services, such as pay-by-use car insurance; usage-based toll road charges, and how the technology can be used to resolve litigation related to speeding tickets.

These and many other GPS-related items will be discussed all week at CES. Additional NemeriX executives, such as Lew Boore, and Vineet Dujari will be on hand throughout the week at CES. Members of the media interested in scheduling a briefing with NemeriX can do so by contacting Ally Forbes at ally [at] firpr.com.

About CEA:
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $148 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,200 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also sponsors and manages the International CES – Where Entertainment, Technology and Business Converge. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA's industry services. Find CEA online at www.CE.org.
About NemeriX (www.nemerix.com)
Founded in April 2002, NemeriX S.A. (Manno, Switzerland) is a venture-backed fabless semiconductor company specializing in ultra low power GPS and LBS integrated circuits, software and firmware for GPS and wireless applications. With the release of NX4, NemeriX has four generations of low-power, high performance, stand-alone, hosted, A-GPS experience. NemeriX’s devices enable battery¬ powered location determination anywhere, anytime, facilitating the design and manufacture of truly differentiated products and an enhanced consumer experience. NemeriX’s investors include Atila Ventures, Auriga Partners, Cadence, Oak Investment Partners, PolyTechnos Venture-Partners, and Vi Venture Incubator. For more information about NemeriX, please visit: www.nemerix.com.

Press contacts:
Nemerix
Nicky Davis, Lloyd Pople
EvokedSet PR (Europe and Asia)
nemerix [at] evokedset.com
Phone: +44 870 285 1650

Ally Forbes (United States)
For Immediate Release, PR
ally [at] firpr.com
Phone: +1617 262 1968 x 101

Distributed on behalf of NemeriX by NeonDrum
Liz Hartney
Tel: +44 7747017654
liz.hartney[at]neondrum[dot]com
www.neondrum.com"

canalgeomatics writes "Magellan just introduced the Magellan ProMark 500, a dual-frequency GNSS receiver that processes GPS, GLONASS and SBAS signals to offer land surveyors fast, real-time centimeter-level accurate surveying. The ProMark 500 delivers state-of-the art RTK features in a light, cable-free rover that provides maximum mobility and flexibility. The ProMark 500 combines high performance with a flexible all-in-one communications system that enables NTRIP or direct IP real-time corrections via a GSM/GPRS enabled cell-phone module; a UHF connection for either a Pacific Crest or Magellan UHF radio."

canalgeomatics writes "Magellan has introduced the MobileMapper 6 — the latest addition to its MobileMapper GIS and mapping line of products. A rugged, waterproof, handheld GPS/GIS receiver, the Magellan MobileMapper 6 fulfills the requirements for low-cost, professional GIS field data collection. It fills a market gap in the data collection field between high-cost devices and consumer-grade products. It is expected to particularly appeal to forestry and other natural resource organizations, oil and gas, agriculture, utilities, government agencies, and businesses large and small that need a highly-rugged, robust GIS unit that can collect geographic data with 2-5 meter accuracy in real-time with SBAS corrections."