Gizmondo to launch sat nav packages in US

Tiger Telematics has announced plans to launch a range of Gizmondo satellite navigation packages when the handheld goes on sale in the States later this month.

Gizmondo Navigator 2006, which comes on SD card, was developed with ALK Technology and is powered by CoPilot. It's designed to let users navigate their way to a specific street, zip code, point of interest or even house number via 3D or 2D maps and step-by-step voice instructions.

The Gizmondo unit will be priced at USD 229 and the Gizmondo Navigator 2006 will be available for four separate regions - East Coast, Mid-West, West Coast and South West - for USD 169. The USA-wide Gizmondo Navigator will carry a price tag of USD 249.

Tiger Telematics will also offer a "complete system bundle", including software and a Smart ADDs-enabled Gizmondo, for USD 399. A dashboard cradle will be available separately.

"We're being extremely aggressive in our pricing of the satellite navigation functionality because we know it's going to be one of the most desirable technology applications this Christmas selling period," said Tiger Telematics boss Carl Freer.

Tiger has previously announced that the US version of Gizmondo will come with an upgraded battery, doubling game playing time to six hours on a single charge. The new battery is due to go on sale in Europe soon. A widescreen version of the handheld is also currently in development and is slated for a 2006 release.

The Gizmondo is due to launch in the US on October 22 - and even though that's just days away, Electronics Boutique's online store is still posting a street date of January 31, 2006. Tiger Telematics is adamant that the October 22 date will be met, however, and issued a statement confirming the launch date earlier this month.