Welcome to CrunchGear’s Gala Best of 2008 Awards featuring the Best Gear, Gadgets, and Software of 2008. Best of all, we tallied your responses and collated them in the People’s Choice awards. Now that I’m wearing my tux, let’s get right to the awards.
The gadgetry in the Infiniti EX35 we tested was intense. Not only is there XM Satellite Radio there is a Bose sound system, front and rear curb sensors, and an amazing external viewing system that initially took my breath away. After driving around in a 2000 Beetle for six years, hopping into the $35,000 EX35 was like visiting Epcot Center after riding around on a carnival merry-go-round for most of your life.
There are lots of GPS units out there, talking to lots of drivers. Some people may even enjoy the voices produced by their GPS units. But only the Mio Knight Rider GPS can speak to you in the voice of William Daniels, the original voice of KITT from the Knight Rider television show.
Sure, it’s gimmicky, but it’s also a lot of fun to hear Daniels’ voice giving you turn-by-turn driving directions. I’ve been using this GPS for a short while now, and even once the novelty of pretending to drive KITT wears off — especially when your car doesn’t respond when you say “Kitt, I need you pal!” into your wristwatch — the voice of KITT is surprisingly pleasant and enjoyable. If for some reason you do grow weary of William Daniels giving you directions, you can select the generic Male and Female voices.
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Navigon 2100 Max
Navigon made waves not long ago by introducing GPS units with free map upgrades for a one-time fee, unique among entry-level GPS units. The 2100 Max is an inexpensive in-car GPS add-on with many high-end features, including text to speech, comprehensive POI database, and upgradable maps.
It’s not every day that I find a product that threatens to completely change an entrenched, mass-market segment. Perhaps the Kindle and the iPhone are two recent examples, but in mass market terms those two devices are oddities, two exquisite outliers that will change the way we read and make phone calls in the years to come but in terms of market penetration will probably maintain a low profile for years to come. Dash.net’s new Dash GPS device, however, comes at us out of left field and promises to change the things we value in a standalone GPS device. I’ve been following these guys for almost two years now as they inched closer and closer to launch and today I’m glad to announce that you can finally buy the Dash device at Amazon and a number of other retailers.
So what makes this thing so special? In short, it is the first GPS device that is more than a digital version of the ratty old road atlas in the trunk of your car. Sure, it gets you from point A to point B but, commuters will love this, it also tells you about traffic spots and connects with your PC through the Internet for quick address updates and searches. In short, it gets you from point A to point B on time and helps you avoid traffic at all points in between.
UPDATE – Fixed price and a few small points regarding GPS data.
Most GPS devices are car-centric. They assume their owners will be glued to a steering wheel for hours a day, requiring turn-by-turn directions to new destinations at a moment’s notice. Apparently their ideal consumer is a mafia hit man or traveling salesman because their products are geared towards going from point A to the New Jersey marshlands via highways and byways and not over woodland trails.
That’s why it’s so refreshing to see the Trimble Outdoors GPS pack. This three-application kit is focused on the perambulator. The pack, which costs $6.99 a month for service, includes AllSport GPS Platinum, a sports tracking system, Geocache Navigator, and Trimble Outdoors Platinum. All are aimed at getting you from point A to the New Jersey marshlands with nary a combustion engine.
I’ve had a couple weeks to fiddle around with TeleNav’s Bluetooth GPS receiver and there isn’t a whole lot to review other than the fact that it works great. It immediately synced with my T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve which is sans GPS via Bluetooth and I was on my merry way. Of course, it didn’t work while in NYC, which is sort of a given so I had to wait until I was outside of the city. I also tested it extensively while in Philadelphia for the Star Wars exhibit and then again in San Diego last week.
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