| Pocket PC packs in-car navigation |
Jul. 15, 2005
 GPS specialist Garmin International has introduced a Pocket PC with an automotive GPS navigation system on-board which it says provides an extremely "intuitive and user-friendly" navigation experience. The iQue M3's combination of in-car navigation and Pocket PC applications is "ideal" for anyone who wants to simplify their life "with one integrated device for their automobile, home, or office," according to the company.
(Click for larger view of the iQue M3 with its GPS antenna)
The iQue M3 is based on Windows Mobile 2003, Second Edition, which offers the flexibility of displaying data or graphics in either portrait or landscape orientation. The device is based on a 312MHz Intel PXA 271 microprocessor. For times when it's not being used as a navigation system, it has built-in copies of Pocket Outlook, Internet Explorer, Word and Excel, Windows Media Player, MSN Messenger Service, Calculator, and ActiveSync.
The M3 features large, intuitive icons which, the company says, "make it easier for consumers to select navigation applications using their index finger, rather than a stylus." It provides automatic route calculation to any destination, with an integrated speaker providing voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions to a destination. "The intuitive, point-screen interface requires little input from the user," says Garmin. "Users can easily see where they are on an electronic map, and look up an address or point of interest and route to it."
 The new Pocket PC sports a 3.5-inch, 240 x 320-pixel, 64,000-color LCD screen, on which users can choose to display a conventional 2D overhead view or a 3D view. The latter perspective "lets drivers see an uncluttered view of what’s down the road."
The iQue M3 contains a patented antenna release switch that simultaneously powers up the device, initiates a satellite-acquisition sequence, and defaults to the company's QueMap navigation interface. The GPS antenna on the iQue M3 folds flush with the back of the unit.
It measures 5.0 x 2.8 x 0.74 inches, weighs 5.9 oz. and comes equipped with a 1,250-mAh lithium-polymer battery delivering 5 to 7 hours of continuous use. 32 MB of Flash and 64 MB of RAM memory are provided and, for I/O and memory expansion, it contains USB, IrDA, and SDIO interfaces. A microphone, speaker and headphone jack are also in residence, and an automotive windshield mount with integrated charger is provided.
A built-in basemap of North and South America is also provided, showing major highways, thoroughfares, railways, lakes, rivers and borders. Garmin includes its MapSource City Select DVD as a standard accessory "so users can download detailed street-level map data, look up nearly six million points of interest."
The iQue M3 is available this month in the US domestic market at $533.32 retail.
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