PNDs Debut From Cobra, Lowrance

By Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, 10/8/2007

NEW YORK — Two new navigation devices debuted recently from Cobra and Lowrance, including one of the first personal navigation devices (PND) with a 5-inch screen, the largest on the market.

The Cobra Nav One 5000 has a 5-inch touchscreen that claims to display 20 percent more of upcoming roadways than traditional widescreen PNDs.

The Nav One 5000 also includes speed and red-light-camera location alerts. It is traffic-ready with an optional receiver and it allows users to choose from two different route options to reroute around traffic. Other features include Bluetooth, street-name pronunciation for upcoming turns and a lithium-ion battery. The unit is starting to ship now at a suggested retail price of $449. The optional traffic receiver is $149 including 15 months of service.

Lowrance says its new XOG is the lowest priced "multiuse" PND on the market. Out of the box it operates as a PND with built-in maps of the United States and Canada. But it may be used for fishing or hiking through an SD slot that accepts marine and other topographical maps. The XOG has a 3.5-inch screen and is splash-proof. It includes an MP3 player and photo viewer and has 3.5 million points of interest.

The XOG ships at the end of the month at a street price of $299. SD card maps are $99.95 each.