Friday, January 05, 2007

First Car Navigation Device with Complete Outdoor GPS Functionalities Starts at Boat Show

location based services


London, UK - January 5, 2007 - Magellan, creators of the Hertz® NeverLost® and a leading global innovator of outdoor and vehicle navigation solutions, debuts its new Magellan CrossoverGPS at the London Boat Show, Mantsbrite stand, S150, presenting the world's first rugged, IPX-4 waterproof device designed to provide navigation for both driving and outdoor adventures. Available in January for less than £300, the traffic-ready Magellan CrossoverGPS will combine car navigation features, as experienced with the award-winning Magellan RoadMate series, and Magellan state-of-the-art outdoor handheld GPS receiver functionalities. Preloaded with both street maps and topographic contour maps, the Magellan CrossoverGPS guides users from door-to-door in a car - and from point-to-point where the road ends - so they can enjoy driving, off-roading, hiking, geocaching, boating, fishing and more, all with one GPS device!

"As a pioneer of GPS navigation, Magellan has a long history and vast experience in both car and outdoor navigation. With the Magellan CrossoverGPS, we bring the best of both navigation techniques into an easy-to use device, competitively priced, that can address a multitude of travel needs like no other product," said Peter Rigby, Business Manager for Northern Europe at Magellan. "The Magellan CrossoverGPS can operate as a dedicated vehicle navigation system and an outdoor navigation device without compromising the performance of either operation. Customers can now rely on a single device to navigate whether on the road, in the great outdoors or on the water."

Magellan CrossoverGPS highlights:

A 3.5 inch color touch-screen display
Dimensions are 12.5 x 8.5 x 2.6 centimeters and weight is 235 grams.
Voice-and text-prompted turn-by-turn driving directions
IPX-4 water proof
Up to 8 hours battery life
Multiple outdoor navigation screens and fields: compass, altimeter, distance to destination, cross track error (XTE), estimated time of arrival.
A Sports Guard(tm) sleeve, for easy gripping and extra protection
Less than £300

On the road
The easy-to-use system features a 3-D birds-eye map view; the fee-free SmartDetour(tm) feature to help drivers route around motorway traffic; SayWhere(tm) directions with audible street names and optimized multi-destination routing for the quickest and most efficient routes when making several stops. Its searchable directory of nearly 2 million points of interest helps users easily find restaurants by cuisine type, airport, petrol stations, hotels and other useful businesses and services. The device is also the ideal travel companion with integrated MP3 player and photo viewer for added entertainment. In addition, users have the option to add real-time traffic capabilities to avoid delays and get to their destination faster.

Off the road, on the trail
Users can change the SD card plugged into their Magellan CrossoverGPS to switch from car navigation to outdoor activities or use the pre-loaded topographic contour maps to create and go to waypoints and routes or backtrack. The Magellan CrossoverGPS is compatible with all MapSend(tm) certified maps on SD-cards including topographic maps and BlueNav(tm) Marine charts. The outdoor navigation mode provides guidance using GPS coordinates for geographical locations, such as the latitude and longitude of a starting point and a desired destination. Other convenient features like the compass screen and the ability to save a base camp location, make the Magellan CrossoverGPS easy to use even for novice navigators. The integrated battery lasts up to eight hours when the device is in full use, and much more when on stand-by mode, which turns off the display while keeping the GPS tracking on.

On the water
By switching to the Marine mode, the CrossoverGPS automatically changes to nautical miles for distance and knots for speed. The Compass screen will show XTE (CrossTrack Error) and a Road Screen, which will show a black line on the map, will direct the user to the chosen waypoint. The user can zero in on the waypoint by steering the boat so that the black line remains in the center of the unit. If the difference between the heading and the bearing is such that the line is off screen, a large arrow will point either left or right to tell the captain how to correct his position.

Add Real-Time Traffic Capabilities
The optional Magellan TrafficKit(tm) enables the Magellan CrossoverGPS to display map screen icons that show traffic jams and conditions that impede the normal flow of traffic, such as accidents road construction and lane reductions. Drivers can be automatically rerouted around traffic. Drivers can also choose to see all or specific types of incidents, and can learn details about each by touching the associated icon. The TrafficKit will retail for £69.99 including VAT.

For information on Magellan Crossover accessories or other Magellan navigation products, visit www.magellanGPS.com.

About Magellan
Magellan is a leader in the consumer, survey, GIS and OEM GPS navigation and positioning markets.

Recognized as an industry innovator, the Company is the creator of the award-winning Magellan RoadMate series portable car navigation systems, the Magellan eXplorist® outdoor handheld navigation devices, the Hertz NeverLost car navigation system and ProMark(tm), the best-selling single frequency GPS survey product line on the market. The company is recognized worldwide through its Magellan brand and has experienced dramatic revenue growth as GPS technology has proliferated across a range of consumer and commercial applications.

The Company is privately held and headquartered in San Dimas, California with European headquarters in Carquefou, France.



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