Garmin zumo 220 announced

Garmin has announced the zumo 220, a somewhat less expensive unit in their motorcycle-friendly zumo product line. I say somewhat because the list price is still $599.99, although that’s $400 less than the recently announced zumo 665.

Still, this is a fairly nice device, with features such as lane assist, Bluetooth headset compatibility, multi-destination routing and on-road/off-road travel options. Its also got a nuvi-like thin design. The bad part is, the screen is only 3.5” in diameter, which could make it quite a bit less “glove-friendly” than its larger siblings. The zumo 220 is expected to hit store shelves in March. Here’s the full news release…

Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced zūmo 220 – a rugged and affordable touchscreen motorcycle navigator that includes text-to-speech guidance, lane assist, Bluetooth headset compatibility and on-road/off-road travel options.

“zūmo 220 streamlines the design – and the price –while keeping the most popular motorcycle-specific features at your fingertips,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “Compact and waterproof, zūmo 220 makes two-wheel navigation as stress-free as possible for riders on any budget.”

Whether you’re riding under a blazing sun or a tranquil moon, you’ll benefit from years of hands-on experience and countless miles of motorcycle expertise of Garmin’s zūmo team. With a 3.5” color touchscreen that’s both rugged and responsive, zūmo 220 provides the information you need at a glance in an easy-to-read format as you travel down the road. zūmo 220 displays speed limits on most major roads and articulates turn-by-turn directions through spoken street names, such as “turn right on Main Street,” via the built-in speaker or through a compatible Bluetooth helmet or headset. Built to withstand the demands of the open road, zūmo 220 is waterproof, glove-friendly and resistant to fuel spray that can wear away at similar devices.

For spontaneous road trips or detailed route planning, zūmo 220 makes life easier with preloaded street-level maps of the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico and more than six million points of interest including gas stations, lodging, restaurants and other locations.

Complex interchanges come into focus through advanced routing capabilities such as lane assist with arrows that indicate the proper lane for efficient navigation. And zūmo 220 features HotFixTM, which automatically calculates and stores critical satellite information and can use that information to quickly calculate a position.

While riding, it’s also easy to access trip information directly from the zūmo’s motorcycle console page such as speed, heading, altitude, and a customizable fuel gauge that can be modified to the motorcycle’s maximum fuel range. In addition, with the zūmo’s powerful trip planning tools, zūmo owners can create and customize routes via computer and then transfer the saved route directly to the zūmo before they begin their journey.

With an expected availability date of March 2010 for an expected suggested retail price of $599.99, zūmo 220 is packaged with a motorcycle mount and an automotive mount for an easy transition between bike and car or truck. zūmo 220 is the latest breakthrough from Garmin, which has spent more than 20 years developing technologies and innovations to enhance users’ lives, making Garmin a household name in the automotive, aviation, marine, wireless, outdoor and fitness industries. For more about features and availability, as well as information about Garmin’s other products and services, go to www.garmin.com, www.garmin.com/pr and www.garmin.blogs.com.