For a while now I’ve been touting GPSes as potentially great information appliances in cars. After all, they’ve got network connections and screens – what else do you need?
Well, for one thing, if you’re doing to do anything data intensive with them, you need a fast network connection. Most GPSes don’t really have that. Some offer pokey EDGE connections, other have sporty 3G connections, while a few even have WiFi, when there’s an available network.
The new G5W GPS from dmedia does all of those options one better by adding a WiMax connection. WiMax is a wireless broadband standard that offers up to 75 MBit/second connectivity, much faster than 3G’s 14.4 MBit/second rating. The G5W also offers a 5-inch touchscreen and Bluetooth connectivity.
No word on pricing or stateside availability (dmedia seems to be based in Hong Kong), and of course you only get the WiMax benefit where a network is available, but the possibilities for in-car computing using GPSes would truly expand with fatter network pipes serving them.
On InformationAppliance: GPS with 5-Inch Screen, WiMax Connection | Digital Picture Frames wrote at February 26th, 2009 at 9:22 am
[...] Today on InformationAppliance.com: Most GPSes have relatively slow network connections, making them OK for in-car computing, but not necessarily great for it. Now, though, the dmedia G5W adds a WiMax connection that’s about 5 times faster than 3G. Bring on the bandwidth-intensive data … read more [...]