Have you ever wanted to show a postcard to a cabbie, and say "take me here, mate"? With the new satnav from NavMan, that's the idea, except it also has a camera, so you make the postcard, and get turn by turn instructions to your destination!
A GPS SatNav system with a camera built in? Yup! The new technology is called NavPix, and it's a wicked little party trick, for sure. It may come in quite handy, as it allows you to can share your saved places with your buddies! Just pop the pic on a SD memory card, pop the card into your mates' iCN 720 or 750, and they can navigate to the picture you've taken. You can also email the pictures.
If you aren't convinced as to whether this is a gimmick or a useful function: Imagine this one... You are stumbling out of a hot chick's house after a one-night-stand, and you wanna remember what she looked like and where she lives. Take a picture of the lovely lass, and the satnav stores her co-ordinates. Finger her picture on the touch-screen, and the directions pop up right there, so you can find your way back for seconds!
The camera on these satnavs aren't going to replace your normal camera - the quality is on par with the better camera phones - and the photos are only 1.3 megapixels. It's more enough to be able to tell the Louvre from the Arc d'Triomphe and the Blackpool tower from the Tower of Piza, however - and that's all you need, really.
Even if you end up never using the camera, the Navman iCN 730 and iCN 750 are capable units - stuffed full of cutting-edge technology to allow you efficient navigation around the busy streets (It'll even show you where the speed cams are!). It also has a pukka 4 inch high-res wide-screen touch-sensitive monitor with 3D maps. The device's got two dedicated buttons on the front: Running out of fuel? Press the petrol station button, and it'll find the closest one. Knackered, or need a slash? Press the P button, and it'll find you the nearest parking lot. Nifty stuff!
Available in stores from May, the 720 (with UK maps) costs around £400, and the 750 (with European maps) will cost around £550. If you want live traffic information to dodge queues and accidents, you can get the optional traffic pack for around £100.