May 6, 2008

Media Players Become Navigation Devices

Portable music players have become the most-talked-about product of this decade and portable navigation devices have also been hot sellers, but now it looks as if the two will become one. For example, ARCHOS, one prominent maker of portable entertainment devices, has introduced a new “GPS in-car holder” for its award-winning 605 WiFi portable media player that turns the device into a full-fledged navigation system. You can see why we might see the combo take off when you consider that the combined system offers more than 50 times the hard-drive size, twice the screen resolution and similar pricing as stand-alone GPS navigation products.

The ARCHOS 605 WiFi models sport large 4.3-inch LCD touch screens with resolution that is higher than any GPS device on the market, since they are designed to display movies, among other things. The unit snaps easily into the GPS in-car holder. The holder is connected to the car windshield and stereo system via the built-in line out cord, creating a full voice and video navigation system. Unlike GPS-only devices, consumers can use the clear, sharp screen to view maps and instructions, watch favorite videos or recorded TV shows, listen to music and view photo slideshows once they arrive. Additionally, when in a wireless hot spot, the device allows for surfing the Internet and streaming video, TV shows and music directly to the device in real time, creating a variety of on-the-go opportunities.

The ARCHOS GPS accessory provides navigation support with Tele Atlas maps, available for the European version covering 22 countries, the North America version covering the U.S. and Canada, and a Chinese version, covering, well, China. All ARCHOS 605 WiFi models work with the GPS in-car holder and give consumers features like easy and intuitive address, zip-code and point of interest markers for rapidly selecting destination points. The ARCHOS GPS in-car holder is available separately for $129.99 or bundled together with the 30-GB ARCHOS player for $399.99.