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Pontus HNA-7031 debuts, GPS with a side of DMB TV
There's not a whole lot of info floating around the internet about this latest offering from Pontus, the HNA-7031. As is the case with most of the nav units that we've seen around these parts, this one will play back your media files (no word on exactly what types) in addition to doing all that mapping stuff you bought it for in the first place. And like many late models, you can also watch your DMB digital TV via picture-in-picture. Other than that, there's not much to go on save the pair of auxiliary jacks, an SD slot, and GINI software, but if you can glean any more information from the Korean website PMPInside.com, (the exact URL keeps changing due to a silly piece of javascript) please do let us know in the comments. Specifically, we'd love to know how much this thing costs, and what premium Pontus wants to send one Stateside.[Via Navigadget]
Pontus EN-3700 in-car sat nav also rocks the tunes
We're no strangers to the Pontus line of consumer electronics devices from Japanese manufacturer Edia, and now the company has announced yet another in-car nav unit that's heavy on the multimedia features but light on the internal storage -- and by light, we mean that it has none. Therefore, the EN-3700 gets all its maptastic goodness from the included 1GB card (its predecessor, the EN-3500, only shipped with 512MB), though you also have to pack your MP3, WMA, JPEG, and BMP files in with whatever maps you need to store. As for the screen, it's a 3.5-inch little touchscreen number with a QVGA display -- not bad, but since they're cutting corners in the storage department, we'd expect a little more for our 74,800 yen ($642). If you're looking for a way to navigate your way around Japan (or just locate one of the seemingly abundant McDonalds locations) and this sounds like the right GPS system for you, you should be able to snatch one up sometime this month.
Getting excited about GPS
PSP Vault has written an incredible article about the upcoming GPS accessory for the PSP. The 6000 Yen device will come out in December, and feature the following specs:Reception Frequency: 1575.42MHz (L1 ban, C/A code) Reception System: 20 Channel Reception Sensitivity: Following: -153dBm Captured: -140dBm Position Renew Interval: ~1 second Initial Position Acquisition Time: ~40 seconds Positioning Precision: 5m (2DRAMS, -130dBm) External Dimensions: 45 x 41 x 17mm (W x H x D) Weight: 16gAs you can see from the specifications, the device takes 40 seconds to initially locate your position, but will recalculate your position every second after that. It has some pretty impressive precision, meaning it'll know your precise location, give or take 5 meters. While Sony hasn't officially revealed what the navigation system will look like, the Vault has unearthed a few interesting tidbits. The software is in development at Edia, a company that's developed impressive GPS software in the past. Their "Pontus" line of products have offered voice commands, route searches, automatic scrolling/rotation of maps, and even multimedia functionality. Hopefully, Sony and Edia won't fail to recognize the great potential for synergy between the PSP's native multimedia support and the GPS software.
