Big screen, trucker-friendly Garmin dēzl 560LT and 560LMT

Update: Amazon now has the Garmin dezl 560LT and dezl 560LMT available for pre-order.

Update 2: Read a hands on trucker’s review of the Garmin dezl 560LMT.

As predicted, the crew from Olathe has unveiled some big-screen trucker-friendly navigators for CES – the Garmin dēzl 560LT and dēzl 560LMT. These 5” wide-screen models offer a built-in loudspeaker and a number of features geared to truckers, such as truck-specific POIs and truck speed limits, as well as hours, fuel and mileage logging.

The 560LT includes lifetime traffic, while the 560LMT goes it one better, adding lifetime map updates as well. While targeting truckers, these units are sure to appeal to RV drivers as well. List prices are $469.99 and $529.99 respectively, with the units slated to be available in the first quarter of 2011.

Here’s the full news release:

Garmin has unveiled OLATHE, Kan./January 4, 2011/Business Wire — Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, announced today the dēzl series, a new line of Garmin navigators designed exclusively for the over-the-road trucking industry.  The dēzl  boasts a large five-inch display, a built-in loudspeaker, and offers a number of additional user-friendly features including truck-specific points of interest (POIs) with The National Truck & Trailer Services (NTTS) Breakdown Directory, hours, fuel and mileage logging, truck speed limits and advanced navigation and route planning and calculation with Garmin’s nüRoute™ technology. The dēzl series will be showcased in the Garmin booth (South Hall #35831) at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show.

“The dēzl is designed to satisfy the navigation needs of the trucking industry,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales.  “Big enough to be seen and loud enough to be heard in the trucking environment, the dēzl is pre-loaded with truck-specific features that can save drivers time, money and fuel, making it the ultimate combination of practicality and convenience.”

The dēzl series is comprised of two models: the dēzl 560LT, a lifetime traffic-enabled model that notifies drivers of traffic delays and road construction and suggests detours around them; and the dēzl 560LMT that adds lifetime map updates, letting users download the most up-to-date maps and points of interest up to four times a year.

Garmin is the only navigation provider to incorporate locations in the NTTS Breakdown Directory – the most comprehensive guide to semi truck repair facilities nationwide – in addition to its points of interest content that are designed to be relevant to the trucking industry.  With more than 30,000 repair and heavy duty towing services for the continental United States and Canada, this preloaded guide provides fleets and owner operators with up-to-date information enabling them to make better decisions about over-the-road repair, compare prices, services and check availability 24 hours a day.

Safer, smarter routing in the cab

• Preloaded with detailed maps that provide turn-by-turn directions and call out streets by name, the dēzl devices feature specialized routing to support truck-related restrictions that are customizable by height, weight, length and hazardous materials. Simply enter your truck’s profile and dēzl guides you onto truck-verified roads that are suitable for your truck’s characteristics.  Users can maintain multiple truck profiles and can change the active profile at any point.
• To help you keep track of your time on the road, these units automatically archive the number of miles driven in a given state or province, and can aide drivers in logging fuel purchases and usage.  They can also help drivers log service hours by recording driving status and warn of violations in advance.  This data can be exported from the unit and can be beneficial in submitting the quarterly International Fuel Tax Agreement Documentation (IFTA) drivers are required to submit.
• dēzl can make finding pit stops a cinch with the exit services feature that allows drivers to quickly search for upcoming highway exits for food, fuel, lodging, rest areas, truck stops and weigh stations. 
• Lane assist with junction view helps you navigate with confidence while dēzl directs you to the appropriate lane, with realistic images of upcoming complex junctions where available.

nüRoute predictive routing

• Providing efficient routing and realistic arrival times, trafficTrends™ recommends routes using historical traffic data and recurring trends about traffic in your area at any given time or day.
• Making your commute easier than ever, the dēzl series remembers your frequent destinations and uses myTrends™ to predict your destination without you needing to activate a route, displaying your arrival time and best route based on relevant traffic information.

Customize your dēzl

• Users can give a one- to five-star rating to any point of interest.  When the unit is connected to a myGarmin account, they can submit their ratings and receive an updated community database of ratings from other users.
• Owners can save time by customizing their device’s main menu to display their favorite and most-used icons for quick navigation. 
• dēzl is portable and multimodal and can easily be switched from truck to car or RV/caravan mode, so that you can take it with you from vehicle to vehicle.

The dēzl 560LT has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $469.99, and the dēzl 560LTM is priced at $529.99.  Both devices are expected to be available in the first quarter of 2011. Visit www.garmin.com for more information.