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Posts with tag garmin

Garmin DC 30 GPS Dog Collar Turns Hunting Into a Videogame

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jun 27th 2008 at 7:45AM

Garmin DC 30 dog tracker
Here's one for the hunters. Strap the Garmin DC 30 collar onto your hunting dog, fire up your Astro 220 receiver, and you'll not only know where your dog is, but you'll also know if he is running, pointing, or treeing, even in dense cover.

Range is good for up to seven miles, and the tracking even covers the dog's direction so you can figure out where that delicious nubbin of turkey is hiding. The receiver can track up to 10 dogs at once, and the collar is good for 17-36 hours on one charge. The DC 30 is sold separately for $199.99 or for $649.99 as part of an Astro 220 combo, and should be available third-quarter 2008. [Source: PRNewswire]
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Garmin nuvifone Is First Dedicated GPS Device With a Built-In Phone

by Tim Stevens, posted Jan 31st 2008 at 12:29PM

Garmin Announces nuvifone

There are plenty of phones out there with GPS capabilities -- services that help you get from A to B with simple on-screen prompts -- but these are not always free and suffer from the small screens typical of most mobile handsets. Conversely, there are also plenty of dedicated GPS devices that can interact with your phone via Bluetooth, acting, essentially as wireless hands-free speakerphones. Now Garmin has announced what looks to be a full-fledged GPS device with an actual phone built-in, the Garmin nüvifone (dig that Euro-style-spelling!).

No, this isn't a new brand of ice cream or frozen yogurt -- it is, in fact, a GPS first and a phone second. This means it has a big, GPS-device-style 3.5-inch touch-screen for accessing its features, which include navigation, of course, along with a Web browser, a media player, and a camera. Interestingly, the device will tag any photos with the location where they were snapped, so you can plot your vacation after the fact, or use a photo to find your way back to a place.

The nüvifone will also help you find your car in a giant parking lot, like the ones at the Mall of America, by tagging your parking location when you arrive.

So far, a price is not announced, nor is any specific availability information beyond a vague "sometime in the third-quarter of this year," but we can't wait to get our hands on it.

Gallery: Garmin Nuvifone



From Engadget

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What to Look for In GPS Devices This Year

by Will Safer, posted Jan 11th 2008 at 2:31PM



Soon it may be easier to list the companies that don't have navigation devices in their roster of products than those who do.

If the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show proved anything about the personal navigation category, it's that finding your way from point A to point B is what manufacturer's think will get you to find your way to the store to buy a new GPS device.

Garmin and TomTom, the two leading personal navigation device (PND) makers, are certainly looking over their shoulders as major brands such as Sony, Panasonic and Pioneer introduce new devices. Rather than being simply test products for a burgeoning market, the new GPS devices by these major cross-category consumer electronics companies are serious contenders, offer a plethora of the latest features.

Nevertheless, even upstart companies such as the one below are adding innovative features into the mix. The result? There has never been a better year to take the plunge and buy yourself a GPS device.

If you're in the market for a new GPS device this year, you should take a look at our roundup. We've compiled a list of the most anticipated new navigation devices coming out in 2008, along with release dates.

Improved real-time traffic data: No new products at the show, but a continued push to get consumers to pre-order its upcoming product launch. What's special about DASH? It offers real-time traffic data based on the position of other DASH-equipped cars (plus data from a host of other sources). If the product works as promised, the extra bulk of the unit on your windshield won't matter because you'll be getting where you need to go in less time. The DASH Express will cost $599.99.




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Garmin Launching Loads of New GPS Devices at CES

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jan 4th 2008 at 3:31PM



Garmin Launching Loads of New GPS Devices at CES
The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), held every January in Las Vegas, is just around the corner (and Switched.com will be there), which means it is time for companies to assault us with an absurd number of product launches. Garmin took this idea to heart, apparently, and is prepping the launch of no less than 11 new GPS products for the world's biggest geek-fest.

At the top of the heap is the new Nuvi 880, a 4.3 inch car navigation unit with more features than you could possibly imagine using. The usual suspects are there: text to speech, Bluetooth, digital audio playback, and picture viewing. But there is also plenty new packed in to the dash mountable device, including -- terrifyingly enough -- games. (If we ever see someone playing Tetris on their GPS while trying to drive we're pulling over to the side of the road.) The 880 also comes with MSN Direct service which provides traffic updates, weather, news, movie times, local events, and even gas prices.

The most innovative feature packed into the new 880, and its stripped down sibling the Nuvi 850, is speech recognition technology. If you're driving on a particularly icy, or winding stretch of road and taking a hand off the wheel feels like it's inviting disaster, now you can talk to your GPS device to perform all but the most advanced functions, including searching for points of interest or setting an entirely new route. The 880 will be hitting the market with a suggest retail price in the $1,000 range, while the 850 gets its price down to about $800 by ditching the Bluetooth and MSN.

Also of interest is Garmin's new Colorado series of hand-held units that feature three-inch screens and the trademarked Rock 'n Roller™ wheel, which is essentially a ruggedized version of a click wheel. The Colorado will come in four different flavors: the base level 300, which retails for $499; the 400t, which is aimed at hikers and comes loaded with 3D topographical maps for getting your bearing; the 400i tackles the fishing market with maps of the shoreline, and locations for boat ramps on inland lakes and rivers; and finally the 400c goes after the boating enthusiast with shorelines, depth contours, harbors, marinas, and coastal roads for the United States and Bahamas. The 400t, i, and c all retail for $599.

Every member of the Colorado series comes packed with an electronic compass, temperature sensor, altimeter and the new Wherigo (where i go) platform. Wherigo allows Colorado users to create "location-based multimedia experiences in the real world." Which is of course a fancy way of saying creating guided tours, adventure "games," and scavenger hunts. All of this info can be shared wirelessly with other Colorado users.

We'll be sure to check out the new Wherigo features at CES and let you know whether the folks at Garmin have truly stumbled across something innovative.

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New GPS Units for Your Bicycle

by Tim Stevens, posted Aug 30th 2007 at 10:35AM

Two New GPSs for Bicyclists

Garmin has long been a major player in the field of navigation, recently offering a suite of GPS units for just about any specialized purpose you can imagine (dog tracking GPS, anyone?). Two years ago, the company introduced its Edge series of GPS receivers, some (relatively) low-cost units designed specifically for serious bicyclists. Now the Edge line is getting a refresh with the newly announced Edge 605 and 705 models. The units offer many more upscale conveniences, though at somewhat more upscale prices.

Both come in the same basic handlebar-friendly packaging as the old Edge models, but now include bright color screens with real-time map displays. They also offer bike-specific features, such as timing over user-defined courses, virtual competition against ghost competitors and calculation of calories burned during a ride. The 705 adds on a number of (optional) extra sensors for heart rate and cadence so you can later chart the effectiveness of your workouts on a graph.

Both the 605 and the 705 will ship this December with the former coming in at $399.99 and the latter starting at $499.99 (up to $649.99 with all the bells, whistles, and sensors). If you can do without the color screen and the map display, we might recommend you look for one of the older Edge 305 models. It's not nearly as flashy with its monochrome screen, but we've found them online for under $275 including heart and cadence sensors.

From Engadget

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TomTom to Add Video to GPS Units?

by Tom Conlon, posted Jul 5th 2007 at 4:14PM

TomTom to Add Video to GPS Units?

A recent filing with the European Patent Office reveals that navigation pro TomTom is working on a GPS unit that will overlay directions on top of a live video feed from a camera in your own vehicle. The idea of seeing the directions on top of what's really there in front of you is kind of cool ... but is there a point? Wouldn't that be much more distracting than simple, streamlined graphics?

But, this is just a patent, and not an indication of a future product. It'll be interesting to see what becomes of this technology -- if it's used solely for the purpose described above, or if there are other uses. For example, will it record? If it did, parents could use the system to monitor the driving behavior of their children. Or, it could be used to determine who's at fault in an accident. Better yet, imagine TomTom putting together something similar to Google Maps Street View, but with user-generated video instead of photos.

From Engadget

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