Garmin nuvi 855 and 885T

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UPDATE: Read my Garmin nuvi 855 review and my Garmin nuvi 885T review.

Another CES announcement from Garmin today — the Garmin nuvi 855 and Garmin nuvi 885T. These units combine the 800 series speech recognition and 7×5 series lane assist features. The 885T will come with three months of MSN Direct service and Bluetooth, features not found on the 855.

There may be some new features coming with MSN Direct service too. The news release mentions Doppler radar, something I don’t recall seeing available before. There is no word of a nuvi 865T, making me wonder if Garmin is unhappy with its use of NAVTEQ traffic on the 7x5T series. Ha! Turns out there is going to be a nuvi 865T.

Both units are expected to be available in the first quarter of 2009. MSRPs are $699.99 for the nuvi 855 and $799.99 for the nuvi 885T. I’ll update this post with product links as they become available. More from the news release:

“Combining two of Garmin’s most popular features – speech recognition and lane assist with junction view – the nüvi 885T lets drivers keep both hands on the wheel and takes the guesswork out of navigation,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “And with enhanced MSN Direct services, the nüvi 885T provides much-needed travel information like traffic updates, flight status, Doppler radar, gas prices, news and business headlines and a wireless ‘send to GPS’ capability.”

Critically acclaimed for its accuracy and clarity, Garmin’s speech recognition technology has set the industry standard and is considered the ultimate safety and convenience feature. After mounting a push-to-talk wireless remote to their steering wheel, users can effortlessly program the nüvi by speaking words that correspond to the buttons on the touchscreen display. Drivers can keep their eyes on the road – almost any common task can be performed without ever touching the unit. Speech recognition is available for American English, British English, European French, European Spanish, German, Italian and Netherlands Dutch languages.

For a clear picture of the road ahead, the nüvi 885T features lane assist with junction view that details upcoming maneuvers and specific driving directions, including road sign detail and arrows indicating the proper lane for navigation. At any time, drivers can also speak the phrase, “where am I?” and their device will display its exact latitude and longitude coordinates, closest hospitals, police stations, gas stations and nearest address and intersection. Drivers can also associate their favorite images with saved locations using Garmin Connect Photos – where users can choose from millions of geo-located photos provided by Google’s Panoramio photo sharing community.

Drivers will also benefit from receiving next-generation dynamic content from the MSN Direct network that’s faster than before:

• Flight status: check the status of an arriving or departing flight before pulling into the terminal.
• Advanced weather: displays Doppler weather maps and other current weather conditions (including high/low/current temperatures, chances of precipitation, humidity, pressure, wind and weather alerts), as well as three-day weather forecasts.
• Traffic conditions: receive up-to-date incident and flow information for most metropolitan areas across North America, and let nüvi select a route that avoids traffic accidents, road closures, and construction.
• Fuel prices: receive gas price data from more than 85,000 gas stations across the nation. Drivers will always know where to get the best prices – and save time and fuel by using the unit to navigate directly to the station of their choice.
• Enhanced movie listings: search for movies by title or by theater and receive show times, ‘star’ ratings, genre, actors and more – and get driving directions to the theater.
• Local events: receive special notices on festivals, concerts and sporting events in your area, and navigate to them.
• News and Stocks: the latest news headlines and financial market updates are always at your fingertips.
• Send to GPS capability: plan trips and look up destinations from the convenience of your computer, via Windows Live Local, and then wirelessly send locations to your nüvi 885T.

Three months of free MSN Direct service is included with the purchase of the nüvi 885T. Owners can subscribe for $49.95 a year, or a one-time charge of $129.95, some restrictions apply. For more information on MSN Direct services and coverage areas, visit http://garmin.msndirect.com.

The nüvi 885T has Bluetooth wireless technology for hands-free calling when paired with compatible phones. These new premium navigators also boast an integrated FM wireless transmitter, allowing users to transmit turn-by-turn directions and street names, MP3s and audio books through their vehicle’s stereo. The nüvi 885T supports USB 2.0 High Speed, enabling the device to download music, photos and more within minutes. Like the rest of the nüvi 800 series, the nüvi 885T has front-firing speakers and a removable lithium-ion battery.

This powerful new navigator gives clear guidance on a 4.3” color touchscreen display (480X272 pixels), and is preloaded with maps of the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. For faster satellite prediction, the nüvi 885T has Garmin’s HotFix™ feature which automatically calculates and stores critical satellite information. To give drivers the ultimate in awareness, these nüvis also display speed limits for highways and interstates.

Garmin also offers the nüvi 855, which offers speech recognition and lane assist with junction view capabilities but without MSN Direct services or Bluetooth wireless technology. All other features are comparable to the nüvi 885T.

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