LaPorte, Ind. – The first
handheld navigation device launched by startup
helps
users navigate roadways and golf courses, and it does double duty as a portable
media player (PMP).
The
$249-suggested Expresso AG1, which opens up like a cellular flip phone, will be
followed later this year by other products called “crossover navigation
devices” by the company and targeted to people with active lifestyles.
Additional models will offer “unique features such as bicycle maps and more,” sales
VP Pete Muller told TWICE.
The
2.5-inch by 4.5-inch by 1-inch device uses Navigon software and a Navteq map
database to deliver turn-by-turn driving instructions on the road. The device’s
golf-course rangefinder was developed by iGolf, a supplier of GPS systems for
golfers and the keeper of a database of more than 33,000 courses worldwide.
The product
will debut this month in the U.S. on the Home Shopping Network, which has
exclusive rights to the product through the end of July, Muller said. Beginning
Aug. 1, the device will also be available at Amazon.com. “We will continue to
roll out with other online retailers as well as several nationwide big-box
stores over the coming 90 to 120 days,” he told TWICE. “The uniqueness of this
product allows it to be sold via consumer electronics, 12-volt and sports/golf
sales channels,” he added. The product is distributed by Archbrook Laguna.
For
golfers, the AG1 displays a user’s location on a course and distance to holes
and course obstacles. The iGolf app measures the distance to any point on the
hole and from there to the green, delivers aerial hole-overview maps, shows pre-mapped
distances to hazards and custom waypoints, provides scorekeeping and records
statistics, and delivers instant front-, center- and back-of-the-green
measurements. Users can map a course on their own or subscribe to iGolf’s
database.
For
motorists, the device features Navigon Mobile Navigator 7.3 routing software, U.S.
and Canada maps, portrait and landscape views, street-name announce, 2D and 3D
maps, lane assist, reality view lifelike 3D images of freeway interchanges and
exits, automatic day/night mode in which the display automatically adjusts for
daytime or nighttime driving by time of day and location, multiple-destination route
planning, Zagat-rated points of interest (POIs) as well as millions of
additional POIs, and speed assistant, which warns when a driver exceeds the
speed limit.
Because of
its flip-phone form factor, the device doesn’t need a large dash- or windshield
mount accessory and can be placed on the dash and in cup holders.
Other
features include a rubberized coating made from recycled tires, 3.6-inch
widescreen TFT LCD touchscreen with 480 by 320 HVGA resolution, lithium-polymer
battery with up to 12 hours of battery life, built-in stereo speakers, Samsung
533MHz processor, 2GB of embedded memory,
two 32GB SD card slots, and SiRFstarIII chipset for faster satellite-acquisition
time and low power consumption.
The price
includes such accessories as car charger, dash-mount pad, windshield mount and
USB sync cable.
