Palm Release Treo GPS Navigator Smartphone Edition

location based services

Palm Inc. has announced the Palm GPS Navigator Smartphone Edition, featuring the new TomTom Navigator 6 software. Drivers using the new GPS Navigator with their Treo smartphones can rely on voice-guided, turn-by-turn directions to find their destinations as well as points of interest, including gas stations, restaurants, parks, airports and more. TomTom Navigator 6 is currently available exclusively for Palm's GPS Navigator Smartphone Edition. Palm's new Bluetooth enabled SiRFstarIII GPS receiver, which features a sleek design and easier-to-see LED lights, seamlessly pairs with Palm Treo 650, Treo 700w and Treo 700p smartphones. The product is simple to set up, thanks to a 1GB memory card preloaded with maps. Travelers simply pop the memory card into their Treo smartphone and pair the GPS receiver to access highway and street-level maps covering the United States and Canada. No desktop syncing or downloading of maps is required. Using the smartphone's high-resolution screen, TomTom's Navigator 6 software automatically shows the receiver's current location. The Bluetooth technology-enabled receiver identifies the car's position using satellites. By communicating with the GPS receiver via Bluetooth, the Treo smartphone obtains real-time location information and displays 3-D maps on the Treo smartphone's high-resolution screen. After a destination has been programmed, TomTom Navigator gives voice-guided, turn-by-turn instructions in one of more than 30 available voices. It will also automatically recalculate a route after a wrong turn, avoid roadblocks or circumvent traffic congestion. At US$299 (estimated U.S. street price), Palm's GPS Navigator Smartphone Edition includes a Bluetooth enabled SiRFstarIII GPS receiver, TomTom Navigator 6 software featuring the latest Tele Atlas maps, a 1GB memory card with preloaded maps of the continental United States and Canada, a vehicle device cradle with windshield mount and a charging system.