Ford invited us to its swanky Premier Auto Group headquarters in Irvine, California to talk about the future of Sync and demo the latest iteration of their infotainment platform coupled with Sirius Travel Link. According to the company, Sync v2.0 debuts in November, bringing tighter integration with Ford's syncmyride.com portal, providing owners with in-depth online vehicle health reports. Also in the cards is E911 support, which automatically places an emergency call as soon as the vehicle detects airbag deployment. Sync 3, scheduled to debut "sometime in 2009," will bring traffic, news, sports and weather to Ford vehicles without requiring navigation or a monthly subscription. On the infotainment front, however, 2009 Ford vehicles with the navigation option can subscribe to Sirius Travel Link for $7 a month, enabling real-time traffic info, coast to coast weather, local gas station listings sorted by price, movie show-times and sports scores. Peep the gallery below for a smorgasbord of screens.

It looks like U.S. International Trade Commission judge Carl Charneski has managed to cause quite a stir in the GPS industry this month, with him first ruling earlier this month that chipmaker SiRF infringed on six of Broadcom's GPS patents, and him now recommending that the ITC issue an all out product import ban on products using the offending chips. Given that one of the supposedly infringing chips is the ever-present SiRF Star III, that would obviously shake things up in a pretty big way. A final decision on a ban won't come until December, however, and SiRF looks to be exploring all of its options in the meantime, including asking the U.S. Patent Office for reexamination of the contested patents. As Reuters reports though, that hasn't stopped SiRF's shares from falling 24 percent to an all time low on Tuesday, and at least one GPS device manufacturer doesn't look to be waiting around to see how things shake out either, with DigiTimes now reporting that Mitac is set to stop using SiRF chips in its GPS devices in the fourth quarter of this year. Then again, that is DigiTimes, but we doubt that'll be much consolation for SiRF right about now.

Read - Reuters, "SiRF hit after ITC judge urges product import ban"
Read - DigiTimes, "Mitac to give up SiRF GPS solutions due to patent dispute"

[Via Linux Devices]

In a move that we can only hope signals a trend, GPS maker Navigon has announced that real-time traffic updates will now be free for all users of its wares. For awhile now, the outfit has offered gratis traffic updates on its higher-end models, but now, it's taking the Free Real-Time Traffic Updates for Life program to each navigation system it produces. There's no extra hardware to buy, no hidden fees -- just good, clean, free traffic updates. What's not to love?

We got a brief glimpse at Garmin's new nüvi navigators, the 7x5 Series and 2x5 Series. Since we weren't on the road, the 755T treated us to 3D views of the IFA building we were chilling at, spinning at a blistering 10 fps. The Lane Assist also does what it says on the box, giving you a crystal clear look at your next merge. The 265T was considerably less dramatic, and both units show a considerable amount of boredom on the industrial design front. Garmin clearly knows what it's about when it comes to navigation devices, but we could use a bit more spice with those maps to keep us coming back.

Oh, Nuvifone, how you disappoint us. Over here at IFA we just managed to get a Garmin rep to whip out his Nuvifone prototype for a quick look, but sadly, almost a year after the device was first announced, there really wasn't anything new to see. We still aren't allowed to take video of the interface, or really see much of the phone other than the home screen, and when the rep tried to show us how the Nuvifone kicks the iPhone's ass in navigation, the Nuvi promptly crashed -- so at least those two have that in common. Not that we should be surprised, Garmin mentioned last month that the phone had been delayed into 2009, but we're quickly running out of patience, as well as any scrap of remaining hope for this thing to actually matter when it does arrive. Peep the gallery for a little bit of iPhone 3G versus action.

Sony's Nav-U line of PNDs hasn't made big waves in the States yet, but the company's keeping at it, releasing four new touchscreen navs today. The new $400 NV-U94T (pictured) takes over from the NV-U83T at the high end, featuring a 4.8-inch touch screen in a 30 percent thinner case, gesture commands, POSITION plus accelerometer and barometer (wild)-based dead reckoning in case of signal loss, Quick Links POI icons, and an RDS-TMC traffic receiver built into the cradle, as well as basic PMP functions, Bluetooth with A2DP output and Memory Stick Duo expansion; the $300 NV-U74T is basically the same package minus the PMP features and with a 4.3-inch screen and the $350 NV-U84 keeps the 4.8-inch panel but doesn't have Bluetooth, dead reckonings, or traffic. There's also a totally new 3.5-inch unit, the $250 NV-U44, which is pretty basic but seems like a fine deal: text-to-speech nav, maps of the US and Canada, and split-screen 3D views with lane guidance. All four should be out in September.

[Via CNET]

Garmin continued its contribution to the general, incremental advancement of technology today by spitting out a handful of new satnavs destined to be suctioned to your windshield in the very near future. The company introduced updates to its low-end 2x5 series, including the 265T, 265WT and 275T. The models include lifetime traffic alerts via NAVTEQ Traffic, Bluetooth connectivity, and are offered in 3.5-inch or 4.3-inch touchscreen iterations. Garmin also updated its higher-end 7x5 lineup, bringing the 755T, 765T, and 775T into the mix. The devices sport 4.3-inch touchscreens, those same NAVTEQ Traffic updates, 3D transparent building views, accelerated graphics rendering, and HotFix (which stores "critical satellite information"). No word yet on release date or pricing for the new models, though we expect to see them on display at IFA.

[Thanks, Tim]

Read - Garmin Expands Affordable nüvi 2x5 Series, Offering Hands-Free Calling and Lifetime Traffic Alerts
Read - Garmin Introduces nüvi 7x5 Series with Lane Assist, Giving Drivers a Clear Picture of the Road Ahead

Navigon has just dropped it's latest satnav baby on us -- the 7200T -- and it comes with an extra side of slick... like, gooey slick. Upping it's game a touch, the device sports a redesigned OS which incorporates real-time traffic updates (free of charge over FM via Clear Channel's Total Traffic Network) as well as "Reality View Pro" and "Landmark View 3D," the former designed to whip up some photo-realistic 3D signage when you need to make a move, and the latter aimed at helping you notice the little things in life... like the Chrysler building. The unit features a 4.3-inch, 16:9 touchscreen display, 2GB of flash storage, a SiRF GRF3i+ GPS chip, microSD card support, 64MB of RAM, and it all runs atop a Centrality Titan I 600MHz CPU. The 7200T is slated for an October release, and will clock in at $449.

Cowon's sexy little S9 Curve PMP isn't the only device we'll see out of the company at IFA this year -- there's also the L3 nav unit and the O2 PMP. The O2 isn't quite as much of a beast as the S9, but it'll more than hold its own with a 4.3-inch touch screen, a T-DMB tuner, TV-out, and SD expansion, while the L3 nav has a 7-inch 800 x 480 touch screen, SiRF III GPS chip, hidden touch controls, a T-DMB tuner, and an FM transmitter. Well get a closer look at these when IFA starts later this week, but expect minor tweaks if these ever make it out of Korea.


Read - L3
Read - O2

Though not quite as bad as toting the GPS module around with you, one particular marijuana farmer had to be mighty embarrassed / wondering what he ever did to deserve such bad luck when a GPS-equipped turtle meandered into his crop. As the story goes, a close friend of the police -- a box turtle with no fear of Big Brother -- just happened upon a pot stash on US park property. Clearly, Mr. Isiah Johnson (the culprit) was heavily stoned when choosing US land to farm his ganja, and now he's in custody until he's "extradited back DC to face drug charges." And you thought all you had to do was dodge those CCTV cameras...

[Via TechDigest]

Call it a hunch, but we'd say TomTom is gearing up to have some real fun at IFA. With the PRO 4000 / PRO 8000 units being outed yesterday and this newfangled GO 940 LIVE surfacing today (930 pictured), we get the feeling it's planning a Garmin-esque onslaught here in just a few days. Nevertheless, a pre-order page up at Handtec shows off this all new navigation system, yet completely fails at delivering any pertinent information outside of a price. And given that said price is pegged at £468.83 ($871), you probably couldn't care less.

[Via GPSLodge]

TomTom's new "PRO" series of GPS units, the PRO 4000 and PRO 8000 aren't that different than your regular old amateur nav slab, only these have the PRO moniker, which means they're supposed to be taken oh-so-much more seriously by your corporate masters when expensed. The $330 and $460 units include perks for the "mobile workforce" like a premium ruggedized sleeve, dedicated phone support line, two year warranty and a PIN lock. Both units sport 4.3-inch widescreen displays, with the 8000 (pictured) adding on IQ Routes, Advanced Lane Guidance, Voice Address Input and Bluetooth. Neither one will do your crappy job for you.

[Via NaviGadget]

We're (so) looking forward to the day when we Americans don't have to look longingly at the amazing navigation units that pop up every month or so in South Korea, but until that fateful day arrives, we'll continue drooling courtesy of the Easycar U7. This screen-dominated conglomerate features a 7-inch LCD, DMB TV tuner, 19-millimeter thick frame and an integrated multimedia player / text viewer. All that for just ₩199,000 ($191)? Nah, we're not envious at all.

[Via Techie Diva]

Dying to get your eyes and fingers all over Mio's GPS-incarnation of KITT? Can't hardly wait to hear the voice of the voice of the original KITT barking directions at you? Well you're in luck, friend. Radio Shack has apparently begun taking pre-orders for the Knight Rider-branded satnav, which they claim will be available to own come September 24th. Ready to go? Get your credit card out, then prepare to be $269.99 lighter and 40 percent nerdier.

[Thanks, Jason]