tmc - Gizmodo Australia

Portable

Get Melbourne, Sydney And Brisbane Traffic On Your Satnav Today

Posted by Nick Broughall at 9:15 AM on August 14, 2008

Yesterday, the SUNA traffic channel officially went live in Sydney and Brisbane, joining Melbourne to offer real-time traffic updates for the East Coast capital cities (sorry Canberra, you're still to come).

But how do you get it? Thankfully, getting traffic updates isn't as tricky a process as you would think, even if you already own a satnav device...

Portable

Mio Launching Flavoured Milk? New Moov Satnav Range

Posted by Nick Broughall at 11:12 AM on August 6, 2008

Mio has come out all guns blazing with the release of three new satnavsfor the Australian market. They all look exactly like the Moov 380 we saw from the US back in June, although none of these local models have a built-in SIM card slot to let you make calls from the device.

All the new models are using Navteq maps, which (I believe) is a first for a dedicated device in Australia (I'm sure you'll let me know if I'm wrong). There's also a cool tech called instant GPS fix, which recalibrates the expected position of the satellites in the sky every three days to get your position quicker. Plus, each of the new models has a 2 year warranty.

The entry level Moov 300, which will have an RRP of $349, has a large, 4.3-inch widescreen display. They've rejigged the interface as well, so you get large icons (like TomTom and Garmin devices). There's text to speech (so it reads out street names for you), which is a nice addition to an entry level unit.

But it's the mid and high-range units that make the new Moov range interesting.

Portable

SUNA Traffic To Launch In Sydney And Brisbane August 13?

Posted by Nick Broughall at 10:15 AM on July 31, 2008

The biggest thing holding satnavs back in this country has been a lack of real-time traffic information. Even though Intelematics launched the SUNA traffic channel in Melbourne last year, the other capital cities haven't had the same luxury.

It looks like all that's about to change, however. I received an invite to the official launch of Sydney and Brisbane's first real-time traffic information service. It's an extension of the Melbourne SUNA offering, which is currently supported by most of the major satnav providers (albeit via an optional extra antenna, in most cases).

They're also promising to announce some new local partnerships at the launch event, which happens on August 13. We'll be there, so stay tuned for updates then.

[SUNA on Giz]

Garmin Rolls Out Nuvi 700 Series Including Nuvi 750, 760 and 770 in US

Posted by Wilson Rothman at 3:40 AM on August 31, 2007

Garmin made a press announcement confirming its Nuvi 700 for the European market, while quietly posting pages about the Nuvi 750, 760 and 770 to its US site with pricing. The premium devices feature 4.3" widescreen displays and will range from $642 to $1071, with FM transmitters and Nuvi travel kits. The gunmetal gray 760 and 770 add Bluetooth and traffic alerts to the equation. The 770's coup de grace is a transatlantic map set, for major roaming.

[Garmin Nuvi 750, Garmin Nuvi 760, Garmin Nuvi 770]

TomTom Introduces GO 920 and GO 920T with Voice Controls

Posted by Wilson Rothman at 11:30 PM on August 30, 2007

TomTom will ship a new high-end navigator in the US, the Go 920 series, including the $599 Go 920 and the Go 920 T (for "traffic"), which will sell at a premium likely to be $100 more. The key to the new flagship is voice control: you can use TomTom's Voice Address Input to name your destination out loud.

Everything you need to know about traffic data for in-car sat nav in Australia

Posted by Seamus Byrne at 10:24 AM on August 20, 2007

I went to the SmartDemo show last week, where Intelematics, a car intelligence systems company (owned by the RACV) were showing off Australia's first traffic data system, SUNA Traffic Channel. SUNA (as in, get there 'sooner'... get it?) will be launching in September, and should be available through a number of GPS brands before Christmas.

The quick news is you should expect to pay between $100 and $300 extra for a unit with SUNA support, but that gives access for the life of the unit. The September date is for Melbourne (they're actually already broadcasting there), with Sydney and Brisbane expected mid 2008, and Adelaide and Perth later next year.

For the longer take on why this is awesome news (and probably the best service in the world right now), and what you need to know right now if you're thinking of buying sat nav (you should be able to buy a 'traffic ready' units now and upgrade later, if you just can't wait for a fully operational unit), read on.