TomTom Car Kit
TomTom’s decision to announce the creation of an iPhone App was met with applause at the World Wide Developer’s Conference in June, but its accompanying Car Kit has been the most anticipated GPS device of the year.
The device, which works in conjunction with the app, allows users to plug their iPhone into a dock mounted on a car’s windshield or dashboard.
Once plugged in, the GPS signal is amplified through the kit’s own microchip, while directions are played through the car’s own stereo system.
Users can play their iPhone’s music through the stereo system as well, while the dock automatically charges the gadget. The Car Kit even twists horizontally and vertically, allowing users to view the app’s directions in portrait or landscape mode.
It’s on the slightly expensive side – the kit and the app itself will set you back about $260 – but the quality of the device itself is as good as any standalone GPS unit.
Windows 7
Microsoft’s release of Windows Vista was attacked by analysts as premature, but there has been nothing but praise for the company’s newest operating system.
The interface looks similar to Windows Vista, but there are a number of subtle changes which only improve the software’s usability. Gadgets and widgets can now be placed anywhere on the dashboard, with no programs located in the quick-launch bar – instead, they are “pinned” to the taskbar.
Networking has changed, allowing users with multiple PCs on a network to share files and stream media content with Windows Media Player 12.
Thumbnail previews give users the option to interact with programs without actually opening them, while a new library feature allows users to create folders of content containing files strewn across the computer in different locations.
Compatibility issues have also been addresses with the addition of “XP Mode”, which allows a programs not supported by Windows 7 to be opened via a virtualised desktop system.
Best of all – it’s much, much faster.
Droid
Handset manufacturers have struggled to keep up with the iPhone’s power in the market, but Motorola has come close with its Droid smartphone.
The device, powered by the Google Android mobile operating system, is a rectangular handset featuring a touchscreen that nearly fills the device to its edges, a QWERTY keyboard, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a button for the five-megapixel camera.
The Android software also features an onscreen keyboard, with Google’s marketplace now providing a number of apps to download, similar to the Apple App Store. The OS also features Facebook integration, with a number of sync adaptors soon to be released allowing more third parties to develop contact and calendar integration.
Its sleek design, along with a variety of innovative features, makes this gadget one of the most advanced smartphones on the market. No Australian release date has been announced, but some analysts suggest a 2010 release may be in the pipeline.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
