When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Tab at IFA back in September, they made a big deal about the fact it would double as a satnav out of the box using Google Maps’ Navigation software. But Google doesn’t offer turn by turn navigation software for Australia yet, so it’s good to see that Samsung has partnered with Navigon to offer Navigon mapping on the Galaxy Tab, straight out of the box.
The partnership means that you’ll be able to use the 7-inch tablet as a huge GPS device, without having to fork out extra for software. Included in the partnership are 2D and 3D views, turn by turn voice navigation, pedestrian navigation mode, Google local search, plus integration with contacts, photo-realistic displays of exits and things like automatic day/night mode.
If you want text to speech for read out street names, traffic support or safety cameras, Navigon will charge you extra through in-app purchasing once you get your hands on the Tab.
This partnership does a little to help justify that $1000 price tag. We’re still waiting for the carriers to announce Tab pricing, which should happen within the next few weeks.
harvz
Monday, November 1, 2010 at 1:10 PMor u could just use burt maps
Al
Monday, November 1, 2010 at 1:19 PMThats a terribly photoshopped (or ms paint-shopped) image right there…
Simon Potts
Monday, November 1, 2010 at 1:59 PM$1000 bucks is still too much for me. And as far as carrier subsidies go, im happy for it on a phone, but I dont want to be locked into a contract that will end up costing me twice as much as it would outright when the thing is going to live on wifi 90% of the time
DavidJ
Monday, November 1, 2010 at 2:07 PMThats great news. Was looking to purchase one of these anyway so now that it has nav software pre-installed i’m happy. I have used Navigon on the Iphone and its great so i’m sure it will be better on the bigger screen.
DavidJ
Monday, November 1, 2010 at 2:23 PMI was going to say terrible image also..
Brian
Monday, November 1, 2010 at 2:36 PMThe real question here is how the hell are you going to drive your car with a 7″ tablet taking up half your windscreen?
Aaron Holden
Monday, November 1, 2010 at 5:17 PMerm… 7 inches is not going to take up much more space than say a 4 inch GPS.
Having said that, why put it on the windscreen anyway. Technically it is not legal to put anything on the windscreen (including a gps), but even if it wasn’t you can put in on your dash or console.
Ploddy
Monday, November 1, 2010 at 4:40 PMNice inclusion, but hot damn they need to do something about the price.
With the dollar nearly at parity with the US, how can they justify a grand when US outlets will sell it for $600 outright?
Michael
Tuesday, November 2, 2010 at 9:06 AMYour right, the pricing is insane. I think the demographic for potential buyers of this tablet in Australia is going to be the same demographic that’s smart enough to know how badly they are being ripped off. It’s almost as if Samsung is trying to sabotage their own local sales in favour of grey marketing.
sethbishop
Wednesday, December 29, 2010 at 10:11 AMthats not a photoshopped image