Wrestling with maps, stopping for directions and worrying about where to find the next pit stop is a thing of the past for U.S. Cellular customers hitting the road this summer. The company now offers a simple new tool that turns its cell phones into a convenient navigation system. Your Navigator provides customers audible turn-by-turn directions at a fraction of the cost of traditional in-car GPS navigation systems, whether you’re in a car or on foot. “Nothing can dampen a weekend getaway or important meeting faster than time lost to missed turns or wandering unfamiliar territory,” said Alan D. Ferber, chief marketing officer for U.S. Cellular.

The feature-packed Sanyo Easy Street NVM-4070 offers a bright and large 4-inch, 16:9 widescreen LCD touch screen display for intuitive, easy to use navigation. The compact system employs advanced text-to-speech, turn-by-turn navigation which provides audible directions, announcing street names upon approach. Pre-installed maps contain complete US data (including Alaska and Hawaii), plus Canada and Puerto Rico. Over 1.8 million points of interest are included, which provide convenient information for locating airports, hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues along your route. The Sanyo Easy Street NVM-4070 (black) is now available in the US at an suggested retail price of $499.99.

InfoSpace announced the availability of InfoSpace Find It! for the Apple iPhone, enabling the hundreds of thousands of consumers who have already purchased the Apple iPhone to easily access and enjoy InfoSpace Find It! for free. InfoSpace Find It! is a premium local search application that distills millions of listings into six categories tailored to the on-the-go user, including: Dine Out, Go Out, Shop, Travel, Health and Services. “The Apple iPhone has introduced a new level of innovation in mobile user experiences, and its intuitive interface and vivid display screen really maximize the usability and benefits of InfoSpace Find It!,” said Jeff Torgerson, senior product manager at InfoSpace.

TeleNav Inc. announced Bell has chosen the company’s turn-by-turn GPS navigation service, named GPS Nav from Bell, for the new BlackBerry 8830 smartphone from Research In Motion (RIM). GPS Nav from Bell provides users with turn-by-turn, GPS-enabled directions, just like an in-car navigation service, but on a mobile device. It includes full-color, 3D moving maps, voice and on-screen navigation, and information and directions to millions of business listings in North America, including local Wi-Fi hotspots. GPS Nav from Bell automatically updates itself with current information so customers never have to worry about downloading the latest maps or business listings.

Magellan, creators of Hertz NeverLost and a leading global innovator of outdoor and vehicle navigation solutions, announced the worldwide introduction of the Maestro 3100 and Maestro 3140 portable vehicle navigation devices. These extend the Maestro line’s thin, elegant design and new intuitive user interface to a new form factor that offers a 3.5 inch QVGA display. The Maestro 3140 delivers advanced navigation capabilities, including AAA TourBook guide travel information in North America, while the Maestro 3100 delivers the best navigation experience in a price category that affords more drivers the opportunity to travel with the convenience and confidence Magellan navigation systems provide.

Overall satisfaction among owners of Global Positioning System (GPS) devices is high, and consumer interest for the technology is exploding, according to a research report released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). GPS - Exploring Ownership and Interest revealed an 80 percent owner satisfaction rate, which was strongly influenced by the ease of use and display quality of the devices, which are used primarily for navigation assistance in a vehicle. “Convergence has spread GPS across multiple product segments resulting in greater consumer awareness and budding adoption of the technology,” said Steve Koenig, CEA’s senior manager of industry analysis.

Magellan, creators of the Hertz NeverLost and a leading global innovator of outdoor and vehicle navigation solutions, announced today the introduction of the Maestro series of three new portable vehicle navigation devices offering drivers the best design and navigation experience available. As a result of a partnership with AAA, (American Automobile Association), the new Magellan Maestro 4000, Maestro 4040 and Maestro 4050 are the only car navigation solutions to offer the North American public access to integrated AAA TourBook travel information and member roadside assistance details. In addition, the Maestro 4050 is the first portable vehicle navigation device to offer drivers the convenience of voice command capabilities.

Nokia announced that it is making its smart2go mapping and navigation platform, available for free download, enabling millions of people to use the most comprehensive map coverage offered on a mobile device. The platform allows for mapping and routing in over 150 countries and has support for full turn-by-turn satellite navigation in over 30 countries. The application allows people to view where they are on a map, search for points-of-interests around them and create routes to get them there free of charge. Nokia plans to start offering the smart2go application for free, on Saturday, February 10th, for selected Nokia S60 and Windows Mobile 5.0 devices initially and has plans to roll out support for most of the major mobile OS platforms.

GloNav, a fabless semiconductor company developing global positioning system products for the cellular handset and mobile consumer electronics device markets, announced the GNS4540 high-performance single chip L1 A-GPS solution targeted for the cellular handset and mobile consumer electronics markets. Offering best-in-class acquisition and tracking sensitivity, time-to-first-fix (TTFF), accuracy and power consumption, the GNS4540 supports both Assisted-GPS operation on GSM, WCDMA and CDMA networks and fully autonomous operation for use in handheld consumer navigation devices and other standalone navigation systems.