TotalPDA PDA & GPS News

Featuring a large 4.3” touch screen, speech recognition, safety camera alerts, Bluetooth handsfree calling, plus TomTom Map Share, the TomTom GO 720 delivers essential functionality - all in a sleek and attractive unit.

Now, as an exclusive web only offer, TotalPDA are giving away a free TomTom deluxe leather case with the purchase of every refurbished TomTom GO 720.

Crafted from stylish leather, this free case provides tough protection for your device against everyday bumps and knocks. Designed with full access in mind, you can use your TomTom GO 720 while it’s still in the case. And with storage space for an extra memory card, it’s the perfect blend of practicality and style.

This offer is only available whilst stocks last, so hurry on over and take a look before this popular deal sells out!

Take me to the TomTom GO 720 >>

Palm are set to take on the iPhone with the imminent release of the Palm Pre smartphone. Once giants in the smartphone arena, Palm’s popularity has recently waned as more and more high-powered devices enter the market. The Palm Pre may be just the device to give Palm a fighting chance against its rivals.

The Palm Pre is Palm’s latest attempt to reinstate their status as a leading smartphone manufacturer. Featuring sleek black lines alongside a clean interface, touchscreen and QWERTY keyboard inputs, Palm’s latest offering weighs in at only 4.8 ounces, making it a real contender in the consumer market.

The Palm Pre promises enhanced useability and features a new user interface, which integrates a touchscreen on the main display area and a new touch-sensitive ‘gesture zone’ at the bottom of the phone for enhanced interaction with the device.

Palm have also developed the new Palm Web OS platform for the Palm Pre, which is built on industry standard web tools such as HTML, CSS and Javascript and should open the floodgates for mobile developers to release applications for the device. Just as the iPhone has enjoyed huge success with its ‘Apps’ store, the Palm Pre shows similar potential.

Due for launch this July, the Palm Pre will be available on the O2 network. Pricing and availability have yet to be confirmed.

If you need a powerful all-in-one PDA to help drive your business forward, the Fujitsu Siemens Pocket LOOX N560 may be just the device you’re looking for.

Complete with an impressive 624MHz processor, as well as 128MB of Flash Memory and a 480 x 640 pixel VGA display, the Pocket LOOX N560 is ideal for taking care of those important tasks when you are out of the office.  Software and applications react seamlessly to your every command, letting you browse the web, email and edit important documents with crystal clarity. With integrated Bluetooth, you can connect to a huge range of digital peripherals such as phones and printers, and with Wi-Fi you can get connected via your router or wireless hotspots and get connected to the web.

Perfect for taking with you, the Fujitsu Siemens Pocket LOOX N560 features Windows Mobile 5.0 Premium, so you can stay productive with MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Internet Explorer, and Outlook. Plus, with Windows Media Player, you have access to a full multimedia suite to keep you entertained on the move.

Specification

• Processor: Intel® PXA270 624 MHz based on Intel® XScale™ microarchitecture
• Memory: System Memory (RAM) 64 MB; Flash Memory (ROM) 128 MB
• GPS: Fully integrated SIRF Star III Chip
• Display: 3.5-inch VGA 480 x 640 color; transflective TFT Touchscreen; 65.536 colors, LED backlight
• Wireless LAN: Integrated, 802.11 b/g
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth V1.2
• Docking Station: Integrated
• Interfaces: 1 x built-in microphone; 1 x speaker; 1 x headphone (3.5 mm) 4 pin; 1 x IrDA; USB 1.1 (slave) via sync cable; USB 1.1 (host) via sync cable; Serial (RS232) via sync cable; Stereo
• Audio Out on cradle connector
• Expansion slots: SD card/MM card (SD I/O)
• Battery: Exchangeable Lithium-Ion extended battery, rechargeable; 3000 mAh
• Dimensions: 116mm x 71mm x 14mm / 160g
• Operating System: Microsoft® Windows Mobile 5.0 Premium Edition

The ideal tool for work and for play, the Fujitsu Siemens Pocket LOOX N560 is available now at the reduced price of £139.99.

More info on the Fujitsu Siemens Pocket LOOX N560 >>

Good news for file sharers - the  Leyio PSD (Personal Sharing Device) has just been nominated for one of T3 Magazine’s Innovation of the Year awards. Held annually, the T3 awards are highly respected in the technology arena and provide huge publicity for the nominated products.

Competing against the likes of the Google Android, Spotify and TomTom LIVE services (full list of nominees below) , the competition is certainly a tough one. With its innovative UWB (ultra-wideband) radio connectivity for quick and easy transfer of files, photos, music  and movies, the Leyio is sure to be in with a fighting chance

If you would like to vote for the Leyio, simply head over to http://awards.t3.com/categories/innovation-of-the-year and cast your vote.

T3 Magazine’s Innovation of the Year awards nominees

- Philips Cinema 21:9
- Google Android
- Navigon 7310
- Samsung LE40B650
- Touchatag
- Leyio
- Optoma Pico PK101
- Spotify
- TomTom Live Services
- Microsoft SeaDragon Mobile8

We’d like to say a huge thank you to all of those who entered our Father’s Day Xbox 360 competition. All customers who purchased a refurbished TomTom ONE XL EU between Friday 12th June and Friday 19th June were automatically entered into today’s prize draw for the chance to win this fantastic games console bundle.

Our congratulations go to Nicky Wellard, who has today been announced as the winner of our exclusive Father’s Day Xbox 360 games console bundle competition.

Ms. Wellard, from London, was lucky enough to be picked at random and will receive an exclusive Xbox 360 games console bundle valued at over £400. The bundle includes  the Microsoft 360 Elite System, plus an additional White Wireless Controller, Burnout Ultimate Paradise, Trivial Pursuit, Connect 4 (Arcade Live Download), Tenchu Z, and Kingdom Under Fire.

With more people taking holidays at home this summer, updating the maps on your TomTom might be a wise move and could help to reduce the stress of your trip. The national road infrastructure can change by up to 15% over the course of the year, which means you could be taking quite a few wrong turns with an out-of-date device.

To celebrate the start of the summer, TomTom have announced their summer sale and are offering up to 25% off the latest maps for selected TomTom models. Based on Teleatlas 2009.1 maps, the discount applies to the GO, ONE and RIDER ranges and carries map version number 8.30.

Available for download via the TomTom MapShop or TomTom HOME software, upgrading your maps is quick and easy, and could help to make your journey just that little bit easier.

SiRF Technology, the company responsible for manufacturing the Global Positioning System (GPS) chipsets found in the majority of today’s sat nav devices, recently announced a new platform called SiRFatlasIV.

SirFatlasIV is a multifunction GPS receiver and multimedia processor which offers a cost-effective single-chip solution for entry-level touchscreen gps devices. The upshot of the SirFatlasIV chipset is that sat navs utilising the new technology should be cheaper to produce.

Whether or not the savings on devices produced with the new chipset will be passed onto the consumer remains to be seen. The cheaper production costs however, may allow smaller sat nav companies to compete with larger companies such as TomTom.

The typical suction cup holder provided with most sat nav devices offers an effective solution to mounting the device on the vehicle windscreen. The only downside to this type of holder is its tendency to leave tell-tale sucker marks where it has been attached to the windscreen. These sucker marks can act as a beacon to thieves, who will target cars with these marks in the off-chance that the expensive sat nav device is stored somewhere in the car.

In a bid to wipe out sat nav theft, police officers in Cardiff are handing out a new type of beanbag style sat nav holder, known as the ‘Nav Mat’. The new type of holder is heavy enough to sit on the dashboard, and includes an anti-skid base to prevent the device from sliding. Mounting the sat nav is simple and involves attaching it to the Nav Mat using the standard suction cup holder supplied with the sat nav. The Nav Mat mounting solution leaves no sucker marks on the windscreen, thus reducing the chance of car break-ins from thieves targeting sat nav users.

The new scheme is showing positive early indications and is currently being taken up by a number of hotels and commercial organisations, who have been asked to give the holders to regular visitors and to those who have previously been victims of sat nav theft.

For more information on the Nav Mat, visit: http://www.navmat.co.uk/

In celebration of The Simpsons historic 20th anniversary, TomTom has joined forces with Locutio Voice Technologies and Twentieth Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising (Fox L&M), to bring the original voice of Homer Simpson to TomTom sat nav devices for the very first time.

With Homer quite literally in the driving seat, you can navigate to Homer’s food-fueled instructions for an unforgettable navigation experience. With voice commands such as, “Take the third right. We might find an ice cream truck! Mmm…ice cream.”, the instantly recognisable voice of Homer brings a hilarious new dimension to in-car navigation - for a trip the whole family can enjoy.

Damian Woodward, sales and marketing manager, TomTom UK & Ireland, said, “Celebrity voices are the most popular downloads that we offer our customers to enable them to personalise their driving experience. With Homer Simpson’s voice helping them to navigate during their trip, TomTom users will not only travel safely and with less stress, but they will also be highly entertained along the way.”

Homer’s voice is available for immediate download for only £7.95 (€9.95 in Ireland). For more information and to hear voice samples, please visit www.tomtom.com/simpsons. Current TomTom users can simply log into their TomTom HOME account to purchase the voice online.

Following TomTom’s recent demonstration of their new navigation application for the iPhone, Navigon have confirmed that they will be releasing their very own MobileNavigator iPhone application this June.

The new navigation software will run on iPhone OS 3.0 for the iPhone 3G, and will allow the device to be used as a fully functional sat nav device. Egon Minar, CEO of NAVIGON AG commented, “With the new OS 3.0 operating system, Apple has made the use of navigation software on the iPhone possible, and NAVIGON has quickly managed to adapt the MobileNavigator software to the new firmware. The iPhone can now be transformed into a versatile, fully functional navigator.”

The standard user functions of the iPhone will integrate seamlessly in order to make navigation using the iPhone intuitive, and user-friendly. Turn the iPhone 90 degrees, for example, and the display will automatically switch from portrait to landscape view. The software also boasts intelligent address entry, as well as the option of navigating directly to an address from saved contacts. Plus, if navigation is interrupted by a telephone call then navigation is resumed automatically after the call has ended.

According to Egon Minar, integrating the iPhone’s functionality in this way “…allows iPhone users to navigate wherever they are, whenever they want – conveniently and while on the move.”

The MobileNavigator app will be available in the international AppStore this June, and will come in two different versions. The LITE Version will be available for free download, with no active route guidance, but with map material and the possibility to display POIs (points of interest) in the vicinity. The full version requires payment and will include well-known functions such as Reality View Pro, Real Roadsign Pro, Lane Assistant Pro, Speed Assistant, Day & Night Mode, amongst others, as well as the option of displaying POIs along the route.