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In an about face, TomTom has selected Inrix to power their dynamic feeds for it’s Plus and LIVE services going forward. Originally, TomTom did not select Inrix as their provider of traffic for the US, but have decided that the package of quality data from Inrix is worth the switch. This is not the first time Inrix has come in and taken over for what appear to be higher quality, more desirable coverage or feeds – it happened last year in Alabama, where Inrix essentially saved their traffic broadcast program that sounded like it was dead in the water.

Inrix will provide the traffic feed, and gas prices feed to LIVE and Plus services across the country.

Full Press Release below…..

TomTom Selects INRIX as Strategic Partner for Traffic and Fuel Prices in North America

INRIX Connected Services provide accurate real-time traffic and fuel prices for TomTom LIVE

INRIX®, the leading provider of traffic information in North America, announced today that it has been selected by TomTom, the world’s leading navigation solutions and digital mapping provider, as its strategic partner for TomTom LIVE real-time traffic and fuel price information in North America. INRIX delivers the traffic and fuel data for TomTom LIVE Services and other TomTom devices via INRIX Connected Services, a comprehensive dynamic content platform providing navigation OEMs and location-based service application developers with private label, go-to-market solutions for in-vehicle, PND, wireless phone and other connected devices.

“Like TomTom, INRIX is a leader in their industry, and consistently provides innovative and enriched content for a more informed driving experience,” said Jocelyn Vigreux, president of TomTom Inc. “TomTom’s proprietary Map Share and IQ Routes features bundled with INRIX’s quality traffic information set a new standard in navigation and will change consumers’ driving experience.”

INRIX Real-Time Traffic is available for 126 markets and 160,000 miles of roads in the U.S. and Canada. INRIX is also providing dynamic fuel prices for over 80,000 gas stations to TomTom via its partnership with OPIS.

“TomTom is continuing its innovation and leadership in the navigation device market,” commented Bryan Mistele, president and CEO of INRIX. “We are thrilled to provide our crowd-sourced traffic solutions, which leverage over one million GPS-enabled vehicles and mobile devices, as part of TomTom’s dynamic content portfolio.”

The Smart Black Box saves 15 seconds of video if it senses a collision.

(Credit: KCI Communications)

Earlier this year at CES, Eclipse showed us the DREC20000, an in-car video recorder that saves its last 20 seconds of footage if it senses a car accident. Unfortunately, the Eclipse device is …

Originally posted at The Car Tech blog

Garmin is announcing the Foretrex 301 and 401 today – two new wrist mounted GPS units that have beefed up capabilities including, for the Foretrex 401 wireless communication with other Garmin units for sharing of waypoints, tracks and routes. The waterproof navigation devices are small enough to wear pretty easily, but contain the ability to navigate to waypoints, and track back to your position when you need to get back from your adventure. The Foretrex 401 has an altimeter and an electronic compass built in, along with the wireless capability that also allows you to add a heart rate monitor, or cadence sensor. The downside here is that the units don’t track over a map, but more than the basics are covered in a wrist mountable format.

Weighing about 3 ounces and powered by 2 AAA batteries, Foretrex won’t weigh you down while enduring a day’s adventures with up to 18 hours of battery life in the 301 and up to 17 hours in the 401.

Full Press Release Below…..

Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced the Foretrex 401 and Foretrex 301 GPS navigators, integrating a high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver and USB interface into a lightweight, waterproof device for light hikers, skiers, campers and military personnel to wear comfortably on their wrists.

“Whether you’re on a leisurely hike or in the toughest conditions imaginable, you need navigation that’s simple to use and easy to access,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “Our new Foretrex models help you keep your hands free and your focus on the path ahead, all while ensuring you make it to your destination as easily as possible.”

Rugged and waterproof, Garmin’s new Foretrex 301 and 401 models boast a high-sensitivity GPS receiver with HotFixTM that quickly acquires and maintains satellite reception – even in heavy tree cover or deep canyons – and accurately monitors and stores your routes, tracks and waypoints. When the day’s activities are done, just turn on the TracBack® feature, and Foretrex will retrace your path right back to where you started. With Foretrex, you can always find your way back to any important place, like your campsite or vehicle, using the breadcrumb trail, data fields and compass screen on the easy-to-read LCD display. The new Foretrex models feature dual-position readout so that you can view your current location in multiple formats, including latitude/longitude and an alternate position format of your choice, simplifying navigation for professional, military, search-and-rescue and recreational uses. Foretrex 301 and 401 also incorporate a trip computer, sunrise/sunset and hunting and fishing information and can connect to your PC or Mac via USB connection.

Adding even more features to the mix, Foretrex 401 has an electronic compass and a barometric altimeter. Foretrex 401 allows you to wirelessly share routes, tracks and waypoints between certain Foretrex, Oregon and Colorado devices, and it is also compatible with Garmin heart-rate monitors and cadence sensors.

Weighing about 3 ounces and powered by 2 AAA batteries, Foretrex won’t weigh you down while enduring a day’s adventures with up to 18 hours of battery life in the 301 and up to 17 hours in the 401. And you can chronicle your activities by storing up to 500 waypoints, 20 routes or a tracklog of up to 10,000 points and 10 saved tracks.

We’ve been getting reports over the past couple of days from people who have certain GPS devices, mostly from Omnitech, that are no longer connecting to satellites. No… this isn’t part of the GPS “Doomsday” scenarios conjecture floating around, this is real. Typically we’d point people to our Acquiring Satellites and people would be on [...]