Garmin GPS News
February 3, 2010
Garmin Nuvifone M10 - GPS Smartfone
Garmin is releasing its third smartphone in the line, and from the looks here, a much improved version of the previous ones. It will be loaded with the windows mobile operating system and have a 3.5-inch touchscreen. With 4GB of internal memory and up to 32GB of optional microSD card capacity, the phone will be primed for plenty of photos through its 5 megapixel camera. Of course because it's a Garmin, the photos will be automatically tagged with the location that they were taken through the automatic geoencoding.
January 21, 2010
Garmin Nuvi 1490TV - Yes TV on the Garmin - Just Not in US
Garmin announced that they are launching the Nuvi 1490TV, a widescreen GPS with built in DVB-T television receiver to grab over the air signals in countries other than the US.... like most of Europe. The idea of jamming a TV receiver into a GPS isn't new, but it's news for Garmin who is adding the capability to a unit that has a lot going for it already. With the 5.0-inch widescreen, text to speech, and Bluetooth handsfree capabilities it starts to feel high end.
Watching TV while Driving down the motorway? Not quite - Garmin staved off those plans by configuring the unit to not show TV while moving. Hey, it's a GPS, it should know this type of stuff.
It goes on sale in the Spring and will cost 299 Euro or about $425.
Full press release below.......
Continue reading: "Garmin Nuvi 1490TV - Yes TV on the Garmin - Just Not in US"
January 20, 2010
Garmin Zumo 220 - Affordable Motorcycle Navigation GPS
Garmin has been feeling the impact of the recession and they recognize that they need to move to more affordable position for their products (compared to the bigger Zumo 660), and the motorcycle market is not left out in the cold. The new Zumo 220 is a slimmed down unit with a few features shaved off, but still a motorcycle GPS through and through. The glove friendly has features like being IPX7 water proof, special motorcycle dashboards, and the ability to load up cruiser routes on the back roads and follow them. You don't get the widescreen, Bluetooth capabilities that the Zumo 660 offers, but maybe you don't need it.
Available in March - just in time for warmer weather. Grab one for the street price of $599.
More at the Garmin Product Page for the Zum0 220
Full Press Release after the jump....
Continue reading: "Garmin Zumo 220 - Affordable Motorcycle Navigation GPS"
January 19, 2010
Garmin: Aerial Images for Handheld GPS - BirdsEye
Garmin announced that it will begin offering BirdsEye Satellite and Aerial Imagery, an annual subscription service that gives users the option of loading highly-detailed photo-based maps to select Garmin handheld navigators. Compatible with the Dakota, Colorado and Oregon series, the subscription costs $29 per year. Not a bad price and offers Garmin a bit more of a diversified income stream while capitalizing on its large base of handheld users.
“Without a doubt, BirdsEye Satellite Imagery reinforces Garmin as the leader in outdoor cartography,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “Whatever the occasion, outdoor explorers can find the ideal Garmin handheld and accompanying maps to complement their specific requirements.”
BirdsEye Imagery is raster-based, meaning it is compiled using actual aerial photos and images that are scanned, geo-referenced and overlaid onto the handheld GPS receiver’s display. Unlike vector cartography, the resulting images depict actual buildings, vehicles, roads, trails, and land features found nearby – giving explorers a unique understanding of their surroundings.
The images are among the most highly-detailed available – offering 0.5 meter per pixel resolution in many areas of the United States. Users can also view imagery at every zoom level – from 12 miles to 20 feet – unlike other offerings that force users to stay at pre-determined zoom levels. BirdsEye Satellite Imagery also lets users overlay vector maps, to get a better idea of terrain contours and points of interest. The data is collected by DigitalGlobe, a leading global provider of commercial high-resolution world-imagery products and services.
See the full press release below.......
Continue reading: "Garmin: Aerial Images for Handheld GPS - BirdsEye"
January 5, 2010
Garmin Zumo 665 - XM Traffic and XM Weather Overlays
You probably already know about the Garmin Zumo series of motorcycle GPS units that are designed from the ground up to work for motorcyclists; waterproof, glove friendly, and loaded with features like advanced routing capabilities and text to speech.
Garmin announced a new Zumo 665 that comes with the GXM 40 XM antenna, giving you access to XM radio (your own subscription is needed), and XM Nav Weather - with up to the minute NAXRAD radar on the unit. Very cool overlay that we've been hoping for since Garmin launched a Marine GPS with similar capabilities back in 2006. The XM NavTraffic is also available, but you might not need it while cruising the back roads and cruisers that keep you the heck out of traffic.
The List Price is a steep $999, and should be available in Q1 2010.
Full Press Release Below....
Continue reading: "Garmin Zumo 665 - XM Traffic and XM Weather Overlays"
Garmin Voice Studio - Record your own GPS Voice Commands
Garmin has launched a PC program to allow users to record your voice through the computer, then load the files onto your compatible Nuvi. Sorry no Mac version (hopefully soon), but the program will allow you to create a fun set of commands to make the Nuvi truly yours. Um, TomTom did this type of thing a while ago, and honestly, it was a lot of fun to have a custom set of voice commands. I had a few kids in the family record the commands and it's still fun to hear the voice tracks years later.
The program will allow non-text to speech commands; there are only a finite set of commands, making the whole task about 30 minutes long.
Full press release below.....
Continue reading: "Garmin Voice Studio - Record your own GPS Voice Commands"
Garmin EcoRoute HD - Plug In, Save Gas
Garmin must have had a decent reception to the ecoRoute, and already laid plans for the implementation of a more powerful, accurate system that plugs into your car to read its onboard computer. The ecoRoute HD plugs into your car's data port (betchya didn't know that most newer cars have them) then wirelessly transmits the data stream to compatible Garmin Nuvi units to give you insight into your green driving habits, engine loads, and engine error codes.
The cost is $149, but I am not sure the average guy is going to save that much gas by changing your driving habits. The whole thing has to appeal to the inner data geek (like me), to compile reams of information that is casually interesting to pretty much any other data geek.
See the data "dongle" below.
Full Press Release Follows...
Continue reading: "Garmin EcoRoute HD - Plug In, Save Gas"
Garmin Approach G3 - Affordable Golf GPS
Garmin announced the Garmin Approach G3, a less expensive, very capable golf GPS that comes pre-loaded with over 12,000 golf courses - see a list of US courses. The Approach G3 smaller unit (2.6-inch screen) than its sibling the Approach G5, which has a 3.0-inch screen. The courses come pre-loaded, and don't require a subscription. the detailed course maps give you a read on the hole, and distance to hazards, greens and holes.
The Approach G3 will list for $349.
More at Garmin for the Approach G3
Full Press Release is below
Continue reading: "Garmin Approach G3 - Affordable Golf GPS"
January 4, 2010
Garmin Friction Mount - Greener Packaging and $5 cheaper
Amazon started their frustration free packaging endeavor a while ago to of course reduce frustration but also green-up the packaging that they sell. This means, no plastic clam shells, no wire ties, just a simple recyclable cardboard box. Not bad.
The Garmin Portable Friction Mount
is a popular item and is now available in the simpler packaging at about $5 less than the regular packaging. Sounds like a good idea to me.
There are several items available for the GPS in frustration free packaging - see all GPS Items in Frustration Free Packaging
December 29, 2009
Garmin Oregon 450 and 450T Announced
Garmin announced the most recent addition to the Oregon Line of the Oregon 450 and 450T handheld GPS units. The lower end Oregon units still offer the touchscreen interface that is quickly becoming mainline technology, with a 3-axis electronic compass, photo navigation and enhanced track navigation - offering an elevation view of the track ahead of you and behind you to help better judge your trail runs or bike rides. See the image below - this looks very col, and might make me add yet another handheld to the family.
The 450T adds 100K TOPO maps of the US offering major trails, urban and rural roads, interstates, highways, coastlines, rivers and lakes as well as national, state and local parks, forests and wilderness areas. In addition, you can search for points of interest by name or proximity to your location and view descriptive details for terrain contours, topo elevations, summits and geographical points.
Full press release below.....
Continue reading: "Garmin Oregon 450 and 450T Announced"
November 18, 2009
Garmin GPS Holiday Commercials 2009 -
Garmin has put out their 2009 Holiday GPS Commercials, and they are pretty good. Plenty of fun to be had in these short ads. Featuring the new connected Nuvi 1690, the Nutcracker finds things to do on his night away from the store window display. The Nutcracker will grow on me, but I still like going back to the "Got a Unibrow" ad and the "Bugs in her Grill" ad from last year.
Garmin also has the multi-product ad out featuring a Knight heading out to slay a dragon, but I like the Scot golfing only to find a squirrel playing a mandolin, which is a great little throwback to CaddyShack. I'm telling you the "pool, the pond, the pond would be good for you." Anyway, enjoy the ads, they're on TV for a short time, but a lot longer here and on YouTube.
If you want to learn more, check out the
Garmin Blog for information about the making of the ads and some of the Nutcrackers for the Michigan Ave store in Chicago.
November 6, 2009
Garmin Nuvi 750 - $169 at WalMart
Starting the whole holiday shopping early? WalMart hopes so, and is offering the Garmin Nuvi 750 on sale for $169. The widescreen unit (4.3-inches) has text to speech - it says street names, North American Maps, the ability to advance plan routes ahead of time from point A to B.
at WalMart - Garmin Nuvi 750
October 30, 2009
MSN Direct to End Service Jan 1, 2012
MSN Direct, the service that offers traffic, weather, movie times and more to some GPS units, including Garmin Nuvi 780, 880, 885, will go dark on January 1, 2012. The announcement was made with the backdrop of other technologies coming forward, namely the slow promising crawl of broadband connected devices. The service is a step up from the FM based TMC traffic, and has more capability to deliver other services directly to the unit while you drive.
October 26, 2009
Garmin Downloads - Halloween "Vehicles" for your Garmin GPS
Garmin has their Halloween Boo Bundle out for the season. Packed with seven vehicles for you to put on your Garmin and enjoy. Check out the Garmin Garage for the Boo Bundle and more. The easy directions on how to download and use the vehicles on your compatible Garmin are available there too.
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