Garmin Nuvi 360 in Hyundai Cars for US

Well, well, will the wonders never cease, we find another agreement to get aftermarket GPS systems into cars, this one is for Garmin and Hyundai. Garmin announced that Hyundai Motor America will begin offering the award-winning nuvi 360 personal navigation device at its 725 dealerships across the United States. This is not the smart semi-integration set-up like the TomTom/Seat agreement that I posted yesterday, but nonetheless, it is a good thing. (More on the Nuvi 360? See our comparison of the Nuvi 350 vs. 360 vs. 660)

If Garmin really wanted to make a splash, they would get in with Ford here in the US. Garmin is the market leader here in the US, and Ford, unlike GM with their OnStar, doesn't have a major equity to risk by offering an aftermarket product on their car lines. Car manufacturers sell Bose stereo systems, why not a Garmin GPS System? If they were to do it, I'd love to see a universal mount that allows for the current Nuvi to be mounted on a Ford, with the anticipation that better products that follow will still mount on that Ford mount. Garmin has already crafted limited time deals with overseas Ford divisions for offering Garmin GPS systems.

Anyway, back to the Hyundai News....

"We're very pleased to offer the state-of-the-art nuvi to Hyundai customers," said Gary Kelley, Garmin's vice president of marketing. "This arrangement gives Hyundai customers a great opportunity to easily purchase a navigation device at the same time they're purchasing a new vehicle -- and they can be assured that they're getting one of the most cutting-edge navigators available anywhere today."

Known as the Personal Travel Assistant(TM), Garmin's nuvi 360 incorporates easy-to-use GPS navigation, Bluetooth wireless technology, an MP3 player, audio book player, language translator and travel guide capability, currency converter, world travel clock, and much more.

Nuvi provides a bright touchscreen display with three-dimensional automatic routing with turn-by-turn voice-prompted directions that speak street names -- making it easy to find your way anywhere in the United States, Canada, or Puerto Rico. The Hyundai-branded nuvi also features a custom splash screen and database of Hyundai dealerships and service centers across the nation.

Nuvi's Bluetooth feature, coupled with an integrated microphone and speaker, lets users dial phone numbers through the device's touchscreen keypad (for supported phones). Users may look up and dial numbers from their personalized phone book or from the phone's call history log that shows calls received, calls dialed and calls missed. The nuvi can also dial numbers from its points of interest database -- locations like hotels, restaurants, and attractions.

The portable unit easily mounts to any Hyundai vehicle, and can be used for pedestrian navigation as well. For added security, nuvi features Garmin Lock(TM), a theft deterrent that disables the unit until the user types in a specific 4-digit PIN or takes the unit to a predetermined secure location code.

October 17, 2006

Garmin Nuvi 360 in Hyundai Cars for US