Switched has a new home! Huffpost Tech.

Click here to visit the new home of Switched!

Hot on HuffPost Tech:

See More Stories
AOL Tech

New GPS Devices Improve on Graphics, Arrival Time Calculations

by Tim Stevens on March 5, 2008 at 09:03 AM

TomTom's New, Better Looking GPS ModelsIf you're into video games, changes are you cringe whenever you look at a portable GPS device. The graphics they pump out on their tiny, washed-out LCD screens usually pale in comparison to those offered by even inexpensive portable gaming systems. They may get you where you're going, but they won't do it with my flash. TomTom is hoping to improve this a bit with their new GO 730 and GO 930 models.

The devices offer a number of improvements over their predecessors, many focused on what's shown on their 4.3-inch widescreen displays. A technique called alpha blending will result in a less pixelated (blocky) picture, while the devices themselves are capable of rendering tricky intersections in 3-D, showing you exactly which of the 15-off ramps ahead is the one you want.

Beyond aesthetics the devices also feature some new, smarter routing schemes that will factor in the historical average speed on a given road for the time of day and day of week that you're traveling over it. So, plot a course downtown on late Friday afternoon and the device would display an arrival time significantly later than if you were to do the same the following morning.

The two are set to launch late next month for undisclosed pricing. The 730 will offer North American maps out of the box, while the 930 throws in all of Europe, too. Perfect for those frequently lost globetrotters out there.

From Crave

Related Links:

Tags: GPS, TomTom

Comments

2

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular