CES 2013: Personal Navigation Takes An Interesting Turn With Magellan SmartGPS
January 12, 2013
Magellan has had considerable success in offering various portable GPS solutions. But the California-based navigation company has taken the road to this year's CES to announce how it plans to take its success to the next level.
Well, it plans to do so with the Magellan SmartGPS.
Check out our demo video of SmartGPS straight from CES below.
If you can't see the video embedded above, please click here.
According to Magellan, the SmartGPS is a "game-changing" GPS device that is aimed at making personal navigation truly social, local, and mobile — or SoLoMo for short.
SmartGPS is able to go SoLoMo through its cloud-enabled backend called Smart Ecosystem.
It's this cloud service — or ecosystem, as it were — that enables SmartGPS to work in tandem with the SmartGPS app for iOS (which is independent of Magellan's existing Roadmate apps).
What's more, it enables SmartGPS to incorporate social features from two of the most popular location-based services on the planet, Yelp and Foursquare.
If you can't see the video embedded above, please click here.
SmartGPS' Yelp and Foursquare integration allows you to discover new places and find deals based on your location. And if you come across an interesting location, go ahead and bookmark it.
Rest assured that all of your favorite locations are automatically synced to your SmartGPS app and even to your computer, thanks to the Smart Ecosystem.
Additionally, you can use the SmartGPS app on your iPhone to browse Yelp and Foursquare for recommendations on your next destination. Once you find a spot that you'd like to visit, simply tap "Go" to send the directions directly to your SmartGPS.
Of course, SmartGPS is not all Yelp this and Foursquare that. After all, it's essentially a GPS device.
And it's a pretty promising one at that, it seems, what with its ability to display dynamic navigation content. Such content includes local gas prices, traffic advisories, red light camera alerts, best parking suggestions, and weather updates.
Priced at $249, the Magellan SmartGPS is expected to become available this spring.
The SmartGPS app is set to be released concurrently. It's going to be a free download, but an in-app purchase is required to activate turn-by-turn navigation.
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