GPS TOOLz: October 2007

XROAD V4050 GPS coming stateside

The 4.3-inch touchscreen PND -- a rebrand of the Takara GP43, according to Navigadget -- comes with a 2GB SD card preloaded with US and Canadian map data and features the oh-so-popular SiRFStar III chip, a 400MHz Samsung CPU, Bluetooth, and MP3 and AVI support.

The cool kids might cruise in their cars on Friday nights, but you know we kick it old-school and troll the FCC database for hot new gadgets -- which is how this Capoint XROAD V4050 GPS turned up in our sights.

No word on pricing or availability, but that Takara unit sold in Europe for €500 ($719).

GPS : Dash Express gets enhanced geo-feeds

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Geo-caching and maps mashup nerds: sit up and take notice. The connected GPS hardware startup -- fresh off its redesign and FCC approval -- is coming clean some new geo-feeds integration, which will allow the device to pull up custom geoRSS / KML feeds of user-generated points of interest over its cellular connection, as well as provide integration with certain open-API geo-services like Zillow (which allows you to check the property value of homes in the area -- or on the street -- you and your Dash are in). It's a slightly mind-bending paradigm shift from the static-database-on-your-GPS points of interest usage model we're all used to, so think about it this way: if your standard POIs are now handled dynamically through Yahoo search on the Dash, consider geo-feeds a user-generated extension of that, giving you and your Dash the ability to locate destinations based on the input of online communities.

Sanyo intros the NV-HD880FT "Gorilla" GPS navigator

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Sanyo wants to navigate through this crazy world with you, or, more specifically, it wants you to navigate through this crazy world with its NV-HD880FT "Gorilla," a personal GPS rig sure to have even the most die-hard map users casting sideways glances. The new navigator features a massive 8-inch touchscreen, a 30GB hard drive, and dual TV tuners (12Seg / 1Seg and terrestrial). Additionally, the NV-HD880FT packs traffic updates, an FM transmitter, and emission reduction "thoughts" via the company's "Eco-Drive II information" (whatever that means). The navigator will be available in Japan on November 26th, for ¥225,750 (or around $1,956), no word on a wider release.

[Via Akihabara News]