CES REPORT PART 4: Auto Gear

Ok, Thursday I spent the day being run all over town to various demos, didn’t spend much time on the show floor. I walked the North Hall in the morning and checked out all of the new Auto tech, in the next day or so I’ll post my Gallery of the Cars of CES slideshow.

Schwinn Tailwind – Feet on Impression

Ok, it’s not a car, but it’s transportation. At Thursday’s Showstoppers party Schwinn unveiled their electric bike the $3,100 Tailwind. They had space reserved where they were giving demos of the bike. It was a really surreal experience that put a smile on my face. The name Tailwind is apt, because that’s what it feels like when you layoff the peddle for a few seconds. It’s like you are getting a shove and not really gentle. Because the bike rapidly speeds up when you don’t expect it to, but it just takes a bit to get used to and you can set how “hard/fast” it pushes.
The electric motor in the Tailwind is housed in the hub of the front wheel, an innovation found in all Schwinn electric bike models. In addition, all Schwinn eBike models (including the Tailwind) utilize the Plug N’ Drive removable battery pack which is built into stylishly designed rear bike rack systems, allowing riders to quickly detach the battery for recharging. It is projected that Tailwind owners will realize an industry leading 2,000 recharge lifecycles with the eBike versus the industry standard of 1,000 charges before needing to replace the battery. Tailwind riders will find they can ride 25 to 30 miles per charge (depending upon such factors as climate, rider weight and terrain). The Tailwind also comes with a 20,000-mile or two-year limited warranty.

AT&T CruiseCast

It was hard to tell where the Auto tech is heading. AT&T showcased their new CruiseCast technology which was very, very interesting.  It puts Satellite television directly into your car. According to the AT&T rep for safety reasons they will only put this on your backseat.

AT&T CruiseCast will have a robust 22 channel line-up that will include a variety of kids and family, documentary, music, comedy, news, and sports programming.  AT&T CruiseCast will deliver TV programming that family members of all ages enjoy at home, which will include Disney Channel, Disney XD, Discovery Kids, Animal Planet, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network Mobile, USA, COMEDY CENTRAL, MSNBC, CNN Mobile Live and CNBC. Twenty satellite radio music channels will also be available at the launch in Spring 2009. The service has the ability to add channels to meet market demands.

The groundbreaking service was developed in collaboration between RaySat™, Inc. a leading manufacturer and supplier for the mass market for cost-effective, low-profile satellite antennas that enable communication on the move, and AT&T, the world’s premier telecommunications company.

GPS SYSTEMS

GPS is a huge category this year and we’ve seen improvements and enhancements from all the major companies – Navigon, Garmin, and Tom Tom. The units are more feature rich, a new trend is the inclusion of speed camera tracking, automatic software upgrades via Satellite (instead of USB or Memory card ones) and traffic updates as standard features.

Posimotion G-Fi

PosiMotion G-Fi Gives you GPS and portable Wi-Fi Goodness

Here’s something pretty cool. How about a GPS System that has built in Wi-Fi network capabilities? G-Fi combines GPS and Wi-Fi in one small, sleek package. With the introduction of G-Fi you are no longer limited to Bluetooth connectivity when it comes to selecting a wireless GPS solution for all of your modern devices. G-Fi is a secure wireless GPS network router. Multiple Wi-Fi enabled devices within range can join the G-Fi network and simultaneously receive secured location data with military precision. G-Fi is also a tracking device. Want to keep track of your child or pet’s location? The G-Fi will stay connected to your device for over 100 feet! Since the G-Fi operates over a Wi-Fi connection (not Bluetooth), it is capable of communicating to your device at an outstanding range. Forgot where the car isparked? The G-Fi will allow drivers to find their car in any complex situation. Whether it’s dense, unfamiliar cities, sporting events or theme parks, the G-Fi can automatically mark the position of the car to ensure a safe return, regardless of distance.

Navigon

Navigon GPS’s now include 3D building maps, in the demo I saw they showed a virtual recreation of the Las Vegas strip so you can see both street level views with all of the buildings. It was very cool stuff, they also showed this weird looking satellite view.  They also announced “Navigon Fresh,” an expanded pool of new content for its GPS navigators that will be available for download this spring. These content downloads include Red Light Camera Data, Rand McNally Scenic Routes and City Guides, a European Map, 3D Landmarks, a North American Expansion Pack and Extended POI’s. Users can purchase the content on NAVIGON’s Web shop. They then can manage and update their content using NAVIGON’s free online software platform, NAVIGON Fresh.  Several new models were announced at the show. Check out the Navigon gallery for more information.

Garmin

Garmin announced new products in its Zumo and Nuvi lines.  Their latest GPS is the Approach G5 a handheld touchscreen for the Golf Course. The waterproof Approach will feature a touchscreen 3″ color display, which offers two simple options once powered on: Play and Preview. While playing, golfers will see detailed course maps with precise distance information from their current location to fairways, hazards and greens. As you move about the course, the Approach continuously updates your position and distances to each target. During the course of play, the touchscreen interface helps you decide the best tactic in many situations.  Worried about that fairway bunker?  A single tap on the map will show you how much club you need to carry it – or how little if you decide to play it safe.  Perfected your 90-yard wedge shot? By dragging your finger on the map, you can find the precise distance needed to lay up for your perfect shot into the green. Is the pin placed in the back today? By simply touching the corner of the screen, you can focus on the green and reposition the flag to correspond with that day’s placement of the pin. Whether you’re tracking your improvement or simply want bragging rights, the Approach makes it easy to measure the distance of your last shot. Also, you can easily keep the scores for your entire foursome using the intuitive touchscreen digital scorecard.

Even when you can’t make it to the course, you can use the Approach G5 to preview any of the thousands of preloaded courses in the United States. Having preloaded courses, complete with detailed vector mapping unlike anything used before on a golf course, saves time while eliminating setup complications and computer frustrations. Golfers can go to www.garmin.com to check if their course is among those already available. Additional courses will be available at www.garmin.com, giving golfers the latest set of courses in one downloadable update.

Tom Tom

The TomTom GO 740 LIVE device enables users to always drive the smartest and most efficient routes, whenever or wherever they go. The new device comes pre-programmed with a new and extended version of TomTom’s innovative IQ Routes™ Technology, which calculates routes based on historical travel time information for every road, every day of the week and now even the time of day. The feature is powered by millions of global TomTom customers within the Company’s installed base who anonymously report historic traffic flow data as they drive. Over the past two years, more than 1.8 trillion miles of roads have been recorded by the TomTom.

In addition to TomTom’s embedded IQ Routes Technology, the GO 740 LIVE automatically and wirelessly receives real-time traffic speed and incident reports every two to five minutes. Traffic delays can be heard audibly on the device as well as displayed on the screen. The driver can either choose to remain on their current route based on the new estimated time of arrival, or can take advantage of a faster, alternative route suggested by the device based on its knowledge of traffic conditions.  Drive time minutes saved and the new arrival time are displayed on the screen.