Although Nokia is the No.1 manufacturer of mobile phones at a global level, the company has also developed quite an interest in the GPS navigation devices market as well. Thus, after launching some time ago the 330 model, the Finnish company has just announced the release of its 500 Auto Navigation model (not depicted here), a device that allows users to quickly find their destination, as well as view and make calls.

Thus, the device sports average navigation features, as its built-in high-sensitivity GPS receiver and Nokia Maps navigation software provide clear spoken and visual directions (turn-by-turn, including street and city names), as well as a relatively high number of POIs (points of interest). Moreover, the 500 model provides a very user-friendly control interface, including a split screen which displays additional information alongside the main screen.

However, besides providing GPS navigation features, the device also incorporates a Bluetooth handsfree module that allows users to receive or make calls. And in order to assure the fact that the respective calls will be made in optimum conditions, the people at Nokia have also thrown in the mix a handsfree speaker system with Digital Signal Processing (DSP).

The PND from Nokia incorporates basic in-car entertainment functions. Thus, it supports multimedia playback and photo viewing capabilities and also comes packed with a built-in FM transmitter, something that, indeed, we don't see in most mid-range PNDs.

"The Nokia 500 Auto Navigation is an expansion of our extensive enhancements portfolio. Our solutions are tightly integrated with our mobile devices, allowing users to enjoy quality handsfree communication with their phonebook, music and competitive navigation," said Marcus Stahl, director, Nokia Automotive, about the company's latest product. As for the availability, it would seem that this particular model will hit the shelves at some point in the 4th quarter of 2007 for around 300 Euro (without taxes), which is actually a rather hefty price, considering the fact that, after all, this is just a mid-range PND, despite being Nokia branded.

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