The Smart PDA

US and Canadian owners of the Treo 650, 700p, and 700w, now you can use your smartphone as a GPS map. Palm and TomTom have teamed up to provide a car setup that will provide drivers over 1GB of map data, called the Palm GPS Navigator Smartphone Edition 2.

Everything starts automatically once you insert the GPS memory card into the unit. The Treo and GPS receiver will interact via Bluetooth. A powered-cradle that sticks to the windshield will keep the smartphone fully charged while it gives you voice directions.

Some useful features include a point-of-interest search, helping you find essential stopovers such as restaurants and gas stations. You'll also be constantly informed of the speed limit, potentially ensuring you'll never have a speeding ticket again.

The package retails for $299 from Palm's website. Owners of incompatible devices or from other areas may want to check TomTom for other options.

• Seen that? - What exactly is a smartphone, and what exactly is a PDA?
• BlackBerry World: Ökologisch: Nokia 6210 Navigator
• Nokia Photo Browser for Series 60 3rd Edition/5th Edition Smartphones
• Blackberry vs. iPhone vs. Palm- Who rules the US Smartphone Industry?
• Smartphone Industry Worldwide Q2, 2008 stats

4 Responses so far | Have Your Say!

1. 

   Servaas
   August 21st, 2006 at 4:36 am #

   hey Rico,
   Strange – in Europe this has alway been possible. Last may I took my 650 to Kansas City and used it as GPS over there after having installed US maps next to european maps….
   Regards, Servaas

2. 

   Rico
   August 21st, 2006 at 8:29 am #

   Thanks for pointing that out Servaas. Sorry, I should’ve been more clear. The GPS package featured in this post is hardly the first in the world, as you’ve shown with your comment. In fact, Palm came out with something like this before (http://tinyurl.com/zy77z). Rather, I was trying to emphasize that the maps of Continental US and Canada are all on the memory card. Everything’s finally in one neat package.

3. 

   Servaas
   August 21st, 2006 at 9:16 am #

   Hey Rico,
   That explains it – I misunderstood ! The maps I used are on 6 cd’s (maps of north-america and canada I believe they’re called – have to check the box at home to be sure). Anyway – working fine !! I don’t go anywhere without my treo….

4. 

   Rico
   August 21st, 2006 at 10:21 am #

   Omg, looks like data compression has really evolved, since those 6 CDs can now fit on a 1 GB memory card.