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.