GPS navigation systems have grown ever-more sophisticated in recent years, with voice commands, mp3 playback, and real-time traffic info now available even on basic models. Graphics have improved, too, with 3-D views and maps rendered in greater detail. But now a Portuguese company has taken things to a whole new level with their new NDrive portable GPS units -- the first to feature a photo realistic mapping interface.
Instead of the graphical renderings of roads found on normal GPS devices, NDrive's interface lays out your route over actual satellite photos of the terrain, giving you a perfectly detailed view of the area. It offers five different perspectives, including a bird's eye view and four diagonal ones which offer 3-D photo mapping, and offers a like-for-like perspective of roads and buildings, making it easy to just check your surroundings if you get lost.
Photo maps are available for many cities in the UK, as well as in Portugal, Spain, France, and Italy, and are supplied via an 8GB memory card. The interface also includes local points of interest, the location of speed cameras, and a pedestrian mode with perfect photo renderings of local landmarks, making the units especially useful for tourists.
NDrive includes all the expected digital lifestyle features as well, including support for audio, video and photos, Bluetooth, and an FM transmitter to broadcast music and voice directions over your car's audio system. The device also has a built in speaker, as well as a headphone jack so it can serve as an MP3 player when you're on the go. At present NDrive only covers Brazil and much of Europe, and owning the cutting edge in GPS doesn't exactly come cheap, either: a G800 unit costs $560, while the smaller G280R goes for an even $400. Then again that's the cost of seeing your destination rendered in perfect photo-reality -- unless of course, you just look out the car window. For more information check out NDrive's website.
Source: PR Newswire