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Goodyear Announces an Octet of 'Rugged' GPS Units
Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 12:30 AM on January 5, 2008
Goodyear, that name you're accustomed to seeing on tires, has decided to jump into the GPS game, sticking its familiar brand name onto navigation devices. Hey, they have something to do with cars, don't they? The company has pulled a Garmin on us, brand spamming with an entire product line of eight different GPS units that'll roll out at CES, and ship in Q2 of this year. They're calling them "rugged" for reasons we can't fathom. Anyway, they'll have a remote control you can stick within easy reach, letting you push a button to answer your Bluetooth-enabled cellphone. Spend a bit more, and you can hook up with MSN Direct for traffic and weather reports. No pricing was announced yet. This all sounds familiar. Check out the spec list of the entire bunch:
• GY100K (keychain)
SiRF Star III
Bluetooth
10-hour batery life
• GY130
3.5-inch touchscreen
Centrality GPS chip
324MHz Atlas III CPU
64MB internal storage, 1GB SD
WinCE 5.0
MP3 playback
6-hour battery life
• GY140
4.3-inch touchscreen
Centrality GPS chip
300MHz Atlas II CPU
64MB internal storage, 1GB SD
WinCE 4.2
MP3 playback
6-hour battery life
• GY230
3.5-inch touchscreen
Centrality GPS chip
400MHz Samsung ARM9 CPU
2GB internal storage, 1GB SD
WinCE 4.2
MP3 / AVI playback
8-hour battery life
• GY330
3.5-inch touchscreen
SiRF Star III GPS chip
400MHz Samsung ARM9 CPU
2GB internal storage, 1GB SD
WinCE 5.0
Optional MSN Direct access
MP3 / AVI playback
FM transmitter
A/V inputs
8-hour battery life
• GY340
4.3-inch touchscreen
SiRF Star III GPS chip
400MHz Samsung ARM9 CPU
2GB internal storage, 1GB SD
WinCE 5.0
Bluetooth handsfree controls
Optional MSN Direct access
MP3 / AVI playback
FM transmitter
A/V inputs
8-hour battery life
• GY440
4.3-inch touchscreen
SiRF Star III GPS chip
400MHz Samsung ARM9 CPU
2GB internal storage, 1GB SD
WinCE 5.0
Bluetooth handsfree controls
1 year of MSN Direct access
MP3 / AVI playback
FM transmitter
A/V inputs
8-hour battery life
• GY540
4.3-inch touchscreen
SiRF Star III GPS chip
400MHz Samsung ARM9 CPU
2GB internal storage, 2GB SD
WinCE 5.0
Bluetooth handsfree controls
Separate Bluetooth handsfree remote control
1 year of MSN Direct access
MP3 / AVI playback
FM transmitter
A/V inputs
Voice memos
Stereo speakers
8-hour battery life
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
akabitter
Posted 12:31 PM 4/1/08
@MacBandit:
You are correct sir. These units actually have worse specs than the comparable Mio units, but added media playback and internal memory.
I'm assuming they are rebranded because of the MioMap interface shown on the screen in the product shots.
akabitter
deanslist
Posted 12:16 PM 4/1/08
WTF? That's got to be one of the worst set of renderings I've ever seen. It looks like a first year college project with it's low triangular poly count and cheap phong shading. Either goodyear is employing the worst designers ever or you guys have been had.
deanslist
ideaman2020
Posted 10:44 AM 4/1/08
rugged =?= steel-belted
Try running over them with your other Goodyears and see how rugged they really are...
ideaman2020
Out2gtcha
Posted 10:39 AM 4/1/08
So who would actually put the "rugged" in rugged GPS to the test in real world use? Goodyear cant expect that you could toss this unit out the window or anything, so what does rugged mean? --> It can handle some dust kicked up by your 4x4 while your looking for a spot to do some cookies in the dirt?
Out2gtcha
frigg
Posted 10:10 AM 4/1/08
Is there any reason to buy one of these over a Garmin? BTW, seeing that Goodyear logo makes me smell rubber.
frigg
Bodypainter
Posted 10:04 AM 4/1/08
very ugly design.
Bodypainter
MacBandit
Posted 9:39 AM 4/1/08
@akabitter:
A little bit but if you actually compare them side by side the only similarity is that they are rectangular.
MacBandit
akabitter
Posted 9:12 AM 4/1/08
Looks like rebranded Mio series to me. Somehow I am sure these will cost more than the comparable Mio unit.
akabitter
Weihovah
Posted 9:08 AM 4/1/08
maybe it's made from recycled tires... that would make it rugged
Weihovah
yoshi
Posted 8:55 AM 4/1/08
Looks interestng. I love my Garmin 660.
yoshi
MacBandit
Posted 1:11 AM 5/1/08
@akabitter:
They either are using the Mio software or they are blatantly stealing stealing the images and shoping them into their digital renderings.
MacBandit
jaredgibbs
Posted 10:04 AM 4/1/08
@MacBandit: Um, it's a Mio rebrand because that's the exact interface, down to the icons and menu layout. I know this because I have a Mio digiwalker.
jaredgibbs