You may recognize the company name, TeleNav. Their GPS Navigator software product can be found on many mobile devices. Now they’ve taken that proven navigation software and put it on a sleek 4.3” LCD two-way, Internet-connected Personal Navigation Device (PND) called the Shotgun, and just in time for the holiday season. Let’s start low-level and work our way up…

Hardware Features

Okay so that’s our feature list. The highlights are as always the great screen size. On the Shotgun, the screen is nice and big; too big to carry around in your pocket comfortably but great when mounted in the car with the included mount kit. There is no carrying case or pouch included in the unit so maybe there never was an intention to fanny pack the unit. What was included in the box was the aforementioned Mounting Arm & Cradle, Car Power Adapter, AC Wall Charger, USB Interface cable, which I could write a review on by itself! (I’m kidding, it’s a USB cable) and Getting Started Guide.

Also included is a SIM Card for the Internet Access and T-Flash card.

The case itself is black and has a soft rubberized exterior which has a cool feel to it. The power, and reset buttons are flush the unit as are the SIM & T-Flash holding areas. The front of the unit has 2 LEDs. The BLUE LED flashes to indicate the TeleNav is connected to the Internet Service and let me tell you that this is quite annoying! Its quite distracting in my opinion.

The LCD display has good picture, there aren’t any intense graphics that would give me cause to brag about the resolution nor is there any reason to complain. The size and brightness of the screen is good as well. There is an ability to adjust the backlit brightness but it doesn’t have an automatic light sensing mode.

The voice on the unit is clear and not garbled. However I still had difficulty hearing the voice even when the volume was at its max.

All in all I like the packaging size, weight and feel. Though, I would not be opposed to a way to turn off the flashing blue LED. For now I’ll have to take the tape covering my check engine light and put it on the GPS unit instead.

Now that we’ve covered the hardware, let’s turn the unit on!

Navigation

TeleNav Shotgun powers up quickly and obtains GPS & network connection within a few seconds.

The TeleNav Shotgun has the standard options of Driving to or searching for a destination. You can view the Map & Traffic information for where you are and there is an Extra bucket for some additional features.

On the Map screen you have many different types of information displayed in a nice fairly clutter free way. The standard items such as ETA, distance to next turn, direction of travel are shown on the left side. What I find lacking is a Speed, Clock, and Speed Limit information. The Shotgun does calculate speed but this information is located in the Extras->Compass screen and unfortunately you cannot configure the device to show it on the Navigation screen. The speed limit for the road you’re traveling on and clock information is not available from unit. If you have the Internet connection, the TeleNav Shotgun also displays specific traffic incident information, speed/flow of roads along your route, and updates the estimated time of arrival (ETA) as you drive. The unit provides audio prompts with Text-to-Speech technology to announce street names before each turn and also visually the street names will appear on the top of the screen.

The Map has the ability to show in 2D or 3D mode and in Day/Night/Auto colors. I like the option to choose between these modes, but my quip with the Shotgun is that you cannot change your display mode without exiting the Navigation Mode and going back to the Home screen and then the preferences menu. I find this to be way too many clicks and changing one of these settings requires you to exit and re-enter/calculate your destination seems unnecessary. On the other side, if you like your display to always be in 2D or 3D mode and hardly ever switch between the two, this is not a deal breaker for you.

Zoooooom! From the Moving Maps screen you can Zoom In and Out in both 2D and 3D modes. The 2D mode will provide you with a scale on the bottom. It would be nice if there was a button that would bring you back to the default zoom view, instead of having to adjust In / Out yourself. If you exit the current view and get back into it, the zoom levels are reset for you. In my opinion the unit does not Zoom out all that much in the Moving maps mode, however it does in the Map Summary view. The Zoom out also seems a bit sluggish, but I’ve seen that as typical on other devices as well. This view allows you to see the entire route to be traveled in one window, without having to zoom out manually and it can zoom very far out, for example if you’re driving from Los Angeles to New York City.

The Route summary view is easy to use and typical of GPS Navigation units. For those with the TeleNav Connected Service, the Traffic Summary screen is a nice feature.

As you drive, TeleNav Shotgun checks for traffic every five minutes, and alerts you if there’s a traffic slowdown or incident along your route. With the Traffic Summary view the different steps in your route will have traffic information and flow information and you can have the unit find an alternate route, taking into account the latest traffic conditions in your area. Another feature in the Navigation mode is to find alternative points of interest along your route. Though if you search for an intermediate destination and choose not to recalculate your route, it takes many (~4) clicks to get back to the map, which I think could be shortened easily by having a “Back to Map” button. Also the Shotgun does not allow you to plan a route with multiple stops.

The search mode on the unit is well laid out. The Keyboard is spacious and easy to use even with bloated fingers.

With the TeleNav Connected service you also have the ability to search Gas Stations based on Price. This is a pretty cool feature which even lets you search for all types of gas or a specific grade. So if you’re friend found out you borrowed his BMW and calls you up warning you that you better fill up the tank, you can find the cheapest Premium gas.

Also with the Internet service the Shotgun has Fuzzy Search capabilities, which tries to best match your destination as you type in the letters. Without the Internet service the unit has a built-in database of business to search from so you can still find what you need.

Okay for those of you with real big sausage fingers who hate mobile devices with QWERTY keyboards, have no fear! TeleNav also provides the ability to create an account on their website where you can add addresses and categories online and they will be sent wirelessly to your Shotgun device.

Currently the website lacks the ability to search for a business online, you must know the address to enter it into your Favorites. To search you’ll still need to go to Google, Yellow Pages or another site. However, TeleNav has a browser plugin which allows you to highlight an address on another website and use the plugin to have it send the address to the TeleNav website.

Summary
In summary the TeleNav is a fairly robust device. The size of the screen is great, the software is easy to navigate through. There are a few features that are missing such as lack of clock, current speed & speed limit information but the two-way Internet connection makes up for these by providing great up-to-date traffic information and the ability to enter in addresses from the web and wirelessly have them sent to your device.

The unit turns on and obtains signals quicker than other units I’ve used. The Shotgun operates quickly, even when searching and it doesn’t have much delay when using the touch screen, which also has a calibration option to keep it accurate. Other than the flashing blue LED, the unit is a great physical package with quick response time during operation and in route calculation and recalculation.

Happy Turkey Day everyone and good luck on Black Friday!
by Gautam Khattak

If your holidays are likely to include visits to real movie theaters to view films the way they were meant to be seen, on the big screen and accompanied by amazingly expensive popcorn, make sure your investment is worthwhile. Check out the reviews first the easy way - online.

Of course we couldn't do without the venerable encyclopedia of films that began years ago as a labor of love and these days has a lot to interest movie professionals too: the Internet Movie Database. To find reviews, search the movie of your choice. When you get to the movie's main page, scroll down the links in the left-hand window and click on External Reviews. Presto, a list--sometimes a very long list--of reviews. Sources include newspapers, magazines, and lots of websites.

But if you're not inclined to wade through miles and miles of reviews, check out Rotten Tomatoes. RT provides gossip and movie/celebrity news along with showtimes, trailers and movie clips. But search your movie title and RT also collates thumbs-ups and -downs and even averages review opinions into a no-work thumbnail that summarizes them for you.

That's not always good news. RT reports that reviews of Twilight, the latest vampire flick, average only 5.3 out of a possible 10. Maybe it doesn't matter, since Twilight broke all kinds of records by taking in $70 million-plus at the box office when it opened in the US last weekend. Apparently not everybody checks reviews before plunking down bucks at the multiplex.

Posted by Tam    Category: entertainment | on the web
Tags: movies
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]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:17:22 +0000 movie internet movie database movie title reviews movie clips checks reviews movie professionals external reviews real movie theaters Holiday movie choices? Consult IMDB and/or Rotten Tomatoes http://mobileratty.com/article/b9576477ee286d7acfc1982bd65629b6 http://mobileratty.com/article/b9576477ee286d7acfc1982bd65629b6

Planning to get one of those fancy T-Mobile Google phones this weekend? If you are, don't ask a friend who has one to use the phone's barcode reader to find the best deal. Every G1 can use ShopSavvy, an Android app that uses the phone's camera to scan barcodes, then checks the Internet to call up a list of sites where you can buy the product you scanned.

Using ShopSavvy on UPC code on the G1's box, the phone gave me just one result — that it's available unlocked from UnlockedFones.com for $595 (it's since been reduced to $495). That's pretty nuts since you can get one direct from T-Mobile (locked, of course, with a two-year contract) for $180, and the suggested retail, before rebates and discounts, is listed as $400. It's not even a good price for an unlocked G1, according to this Google search.

It seems a little odd to us that an app designed for this phone can't find a good price on the phone itself. Practically, it's not a big deal (it's pretty obvious where you can buy one, and phones don't make good gifts anyway), but to give no legit results at all? We're stumped.

According to digital-camera site Digital Photography Review, Canon advised customers not to cash the checks because they would bounce.

Now, Canon, which has a large research and development office in Irvine, has updated its Web site saying customers will all be paid. A small portion of customers however, did get their checks back unpaid, but Canon will says it will reimburse those customers for the returned check charge (More details on how to claim this on Canon’s site.)

What is not known is what Continental Promotion Group, the third-party rebate processing company, did with the money Canon paid it to dole out the rebate checks. “The funds provided to them by Canon U.S.A., Inc. (and other companies) are no longer available to satisfy the rebate checks that CPG issued on behalf of Canon and other companies,” says Canon.

This will be interesting to see what happens to the world of mail-in rebates, which are prevasive in the electronics and technology markets. Continental Promotion Group, according to its site, has 500 national and international clients.

And a quick scan of RipoffReport.com shows that the rebate processor has at one time or another handled rebates for TigerDirect, Samsung Electronics and Home Depot, to name just a few.

While anyone who has already received a rebate check from Canon is covered, those who still need to mail in the rebate claim need to send the form to a new address: 

Canon USA Rebates
P.O. Box 342140
Bartlett, TN 38184

More O.C. tech news:

• HannSpree releases world’s first 28-inch TV
• Paypal ’sponsoring’ Buy.com’s pre-Black Friday sale
• FiOS TV coming to Seal Beach
• NTI software having a 50% off sale
• Whoa! Another reason buy electronics at Costco
• BlackBerry Storm: First look at its first touch-screen phone
• Time Warner Cable will stop billing for O.C. fire victims
• PC Club: Adding a shortcut key to a keyboard
• DTV converter box coupon expired? Apex Digital offers $10

Post from: Alt+Save with the Gadgetress

Canon covers bounced checks after rebate company goes bankrupt

Monica Hesse, the Washington Post's connection with the bleeding edge, today wrote about the new new thing in stupidity: people who steal cell phones and then find their own pictures, taken with the filched phone, automatically posted online for anyone to see courtesy of uploading services like ShoZu.

Here's the entertaining article.

Caught Snapping

That Cell May Be a Steal, but Don't Shoot Yourself in the Face

Dumb criminals status update:

Ashlee Hutchens, 18, stopped to reorient herself while driving through an unfamiliar Cincinnati neighborhood this fall. A young man swaggered over. First he tried to hit on her. When Ashlee, who is deaf, didn't respond, he stole her cellphone.

Police said recovery was unlikely, so Ashlee's mom, Christine, took her to buy another Sidekick. A few points and clicks later, and the clever new device imported the old phone's memory. Including a tough-guy self-portrait of....

"She said, 'Mom, that's him!' " remembers Christine. "He's even wearing the same shirt!"

The unintentional mug shot made its way onto the local Crime Stoppers broadcast. Soon cops had a suspect in custody.

Aaaaaahahahahahahaa.

So. Good. This is just the kind of hand-held comeuppance we expect from a synced society -- and it's happening around the world as personal devices get more and more advanced. The photo trails left by technologically unsavvy crooks are like the online Darwin Awards, like the schadenfreude of "Cops."

The fascination might say more about us than the crooks, but self-reflection is so much less entertaining than vigilantism.

And neither action gets at the oddness of what's happening here: the idea that our gadgets have lives and existences beyond our control, that they haunt us even after they're missing, like phantom limbs that have been amputated but still itch.

In the olden days of stolen cellphones — say, three, four years ago — the best you could do was call yourself. Dial your own number and hope that a good citizen picked up, while you imagined the phone's possible locations. On the street? Under a barstool? Wedged in a Metro seat and bleating out weak rings as the batter... slowly... died?

Now, a whole number of applications and services have made it possible for you to Follow That Treo, follow it straight to justice.

Martijn Van Es, a Web editor for Amnesty International in the Netherlands, had given up on his missing phone, until he started getting e-mails from friends. "They wanted to know," says Van Es, "why I was taking photographs of teenage boys."

He wasn't, actually. The kids in question had gained possession of the phone and used it to shoot themselves horsing around. They didn't know that the phone was subscribed to ShoZu, a service that automatically uploaded any cellphone snapshots to Van Es's public Flickr account. Van Es took the photos to police, who said they couldn't help — no one knew whether the teens had stolen the phone (a crime) or merely found it (not).

So like any self-respecting webphile, Van Es got an idea: crowd-sourcing. He posted the teens' photos on his personal blog, and within a day his visitors shot from 250 to 28,000 as hoards of commenters mocked, forwarded, sleuthed, mocked some more. By the end of the week, he'd traced the kids to a local school and was fielding dozens of junior high-ish e-mails: I can ask X to find out if Y knows if G stole the phone.

Meanwhile, he was growing scared of the cybermonster he'd created. These were just kids. Comments were getting vicious, and "all of these personal details were outed about them," says Van Es, which made him concerned. He does work for Amnesty International, after all.

Eventually an exchange was arranged, and the photos were taken down from the site.

"But if I'd have known what I know now, I wouldn't have written anything on my blog," says Van Es. "Six months later and the phone was broken" anyway.

But that's the Internet for you — no take-backs, no do-overs.

Crowd-sourcing as mystery-solving "does more harm than good in almost every case I've seen," says Daniel Solove, a George Washington University law professor and author of "The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet," who studies this sort of thing. "The mob tries to one-up each other," the punishment doesn't fit the crime, the cybermob meets the lynch mob and one really hideous two-headed monster is born.

Which we totally, totally get.

Except that... These people. Are taking photos of themselves with stolen phones. And then unintentionally sending records of their every move. Directly to the people who are trying to catch them.

Aaaaaahahahahahahaa.

The sheer idiocy is what makes it funny. What makes it compelling is the idea of anthropomorphized phones sending S.O.S. signals, secret missives back to their original owners. Find me. Find me, I am all alone with strangers. Find me!

How tantalizing, to think that while we continue to live our lives, our phones go on entirely new adventures.

Such was the fascination of Ben Clemens of San Francisco, who gained minor Internet fame two years ago when he was the first ShoZu user to discover that his phone — stolen on an Amtrak — would just keep uploading, regardless of who took the photographs.

For weeks, Clemens would log onto his computer and find a picture of a Chihuahua. A car. A woman having a snack. Children. Ambiguous fragments of his phone's new life, displayed for Clemens's viewing pleasure. It was voyeuristic and intriguing, like stalking the blog of a person you barely know.

"The photos did stop appearing after a while," says Clemens, as the phone's new owners either learned to disable the ShoZu function or discarded the device. "I was quite relieved at that point." Otherwise, who knows if he could have torn himself away.

David McDonald of Melbourne, Australia, was similarly more curious than angry, when he logged onto Flickr earlier this year and found that his phone, pickpocketed a few days before, had recently attended a street festival.

There it was, "having its own little field trip," cavorting with guys McDonald didn't know, in a neighborhood he'd never been. "I spent minutes and minutes blowing up the photo and analyzing it," says McDonald, a Web designer. He saw that the photograph in question was taken on a Sunday and used the date to determine which celebration the picture must depict. He scoured the photo for contextual clues, considered traveling to the scene to put himself in the mind of the phone.

"It's a bit of a detective story," he says, "like the myth where someone steals your garden gnome.... After a while, I sort of thought it was funny."

And so technology advances, crowds become vigilantes, criminals are caught... and David McDonald periodically checks Flickr with a mixture of obsession and excitement, wanting to see what antics his phone is up to now.

Canadian Zune undercuts American price, hip checks into boards originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Last month, we announced the release of the 3M MPro110 projector. Recently, 3M has announced that this candy bar sized projector is now available in the US for a suggested retail price of $359. The projector uses LCoS display panels to display a VGA (640 x 480) resolution. The lamp is a tiny LED light that is expected to run for up to 10000 hours, which greatly reduces maintenance checks. The MPro110 comes with an AV input port as well as a VGA connection. The projector can display up to a 50 inch diagonal image from less than 6 feet away. In addition, the MPro110 comes with a 60 minute battery, a mini tripod, and all the cables you need. The projector is backed by a one year warranty and is now available for ordering through the 3M website.

[via Engadget]