BIOS: Technology Means Business

Satellite navigation pioneer Navman has launched the new iCN720 and iCN750, two innovative portable navigation products featuring NavPix - a breakthrough technology which offers a unique and intuitive way to navigate to a destination using just images.

Available in Europe starting in May 2006, both systems offer the very latest high-definition, 4-inch widescreens and brand-new navigation software, together with the very latest GPS technology and live traffic information.

‘Images are an obvious and unmistakeable way to identify a destination, says Prash Vadgama, president of Navman’s Consumer Navigation Group. For example, if we wanted to enter the Eiffel Tower as a destination within a current navigation device, how many of us would know the actual address? Not many, but we all know what it looks like. With NavPix, you simply view the NavPix images on your Navman, touch the NavPix you want to select, and go.’

You can use the built-in camera on the iCN700 series to take a NavPix image of something that inspires or interests you. It might be a location you’ve stumbled upon by chance and want to return to. It could be a great restaurant, a scenic view or an amazing building or maybe something relevant to your professional life, such as a location for a photo shoot, a property for sale or a scene you need to record.

Once created, NavPix images can be uploaded and stored within a personalised, online album that can be created on the Navman Web site. The Web site will also have NavPix images of famous landmarks and interesting places to download, as well as online tools to create NavPix images from any digital picture such as JPEGs, by automatically assigning the complete longitude and latitude information to the image. When you’ve taken and uploaded your own NavPix images, you can share them with other NavPix creators and users from the Navman global community.

Both the iCN720 and iCN750 boast the latest 4-inch, high-resolution screen with 70 per cent more pixels than most products available on the market today. This high-quality display offers a crystal-clear 3D view of the route. Navman has developed a new software interface to accompany this widescreen format, with user-friendly touch screen and soft keys to easily access navigation functions. Getting from point A to point B has never been so simple.

The new iCN720 and iCN750 feature the very latest GPS technology: the secondgeneration SiRF Star III. The reception is significantly improved in environments with a weak signal such as areas surrounded by high buildings or dense foliage. This new GPS technology also offers lower power consumption therefore providing longer battery life.

The iCN700 series features brand-new navigation software with many added, advanced features to enhance the user experience. Advanced motorway guidance not only tells you which junction to take, but also what road to enter next. The new, built-in trip computer gives you full details of your journey including distance travelled, time taken, average speed, maximum speed, and even time spent stationary.

The optional traffic pack makes the Navman iCN700 series the ultimate tool for all motorists. The iCN720 and iCN750 display live traffic information as icons on the map and provide you with all the information you need about the road ahead. Users can easily plan their trip, view incidents and re-route to avoid problems. The traffic pack is ‘plug-and-play’ and includes a free, lifetime traffic subscription for the UK, France and Germany, with no need for additional equipment and no hidden data costs.

Navman iCN700 series devices also offers up-to-date safety camera warnings through a database which can be downloaded. You can activate an audio warning of the legal speed limit when approaching a speed camera.

Featuring two dedicated hardware buttons with clear icons, the iCN720 and iCN750 are the only navigation systems that allow you to find nearby fuel stations and parking areas at the touch of a button. In the United Kingdom, the full postcode search lets you find your destination quickly and easily.

An optional RF remote control can be attached to your steering wheel, enabling you to operate the unit easily and safely. With RF technology, the remote is easier to use as there is no need to point the remote control directly at the iCN. The iCN720 features maps of the UK and Ireland while the iCN750 has detailed maps of 17 Western European countries pre-installed on its built-in hard disk drive.

The iCN720 and iCN750 models will be available from leading retailers and e-tailers starting in May 2006. Both units come with a car suction mount, cigarette lighter adapter, carrying case, USB cable and main power adaptor. The iCN720 will retail for £399 and the iCN750 for £549. The traffic pack is available separately for approximately £100.

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