GPS reviews, news, tips and tricks
Need to keep track of your mileage? There may be a built-in solution already in your nuvi. Garmin’s ecoRoute app automatically creates a mileage report that can be viewed on the screen or downloaded from the nuvi as a .csv file. The only trick is you have to select a destination; if you’re just driving around with your nuvi on, the mileage won’t be recorded. read more
Hitting the open road on your Harley this spring? There may be a GPS in your future. The Garmin zumo 340 and 350 have cleared the FCC, so we expect an official announcement in the near future, possibly even later today. Those low model numbers are especially welcome, since many folks are scared off by the 500 and 600 series price tags. These will be the first lower-end motorcycle-friendly units that Garmin has introduced in two years, since the zumo 220. Also noteworthy, these are the first models to drop the nuvi-like flat-form factor in favor of the more Rubenesque shape found on the zumo 550.
Did you know you can use a Garmin nuvi or dezl for fleet tracking? Yes, you can dispatch and message vehicles, track them using a Web interface and more. In order to do this though, you’ll have to turn to one of Garmin’s Mobile Resource Management (MRM) partners. These companies have taken Garmin’s Fleet Management Interface toolkit and built an end to end solution around it. So in addition to the cost of the navigation unit, you’ll also be paying for a transponder, data usage and access to a fleet tracking Web interface.
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Last month ABI Research issued a report saying that Personal Navigation Device (PND) manufacturers seem to be “moving away from mass market consumer goods to becoming low volume, high value.” While I take issue with their analysis showing that “nearly one-third of all products offered on the market are above the US$500 mark,” I do think they are onto something.
The fact is, we’re already seeing this trend. Garmin may be stepping up enforcement of their minimum advertised price (MAP) program — I’m not seeing PNDs discounted very much, especially at the high-end. We’re still seeing the upper-end of the Advanced nuvi series selling at their list price on Amazon, a full six months after these units started shipping. Significant discounts are mostly relegated to prior generation units. read more
The Garmin nüvi 3590LMT
After years of offering only crappy in-dash navigation and usurious map upgrades, we seem to be on the cusp of getting better options from the auto industry. Garmin today unveiled their first factory-installed infotainment system, letting you play songs from your phone’s jukebox or Pandora, access Garmin map updates, use voice commands, view a backup camera display and more. Now they just need to get the system on something besides a Suzuki. Oh, and I’ll add app integration and voice texting to my wish list.
Garmin has rolled out an updated version of their Smartphone Link Android app today, bringing three new free features – Garmin Tracker (seen above), dynamic parking and the ability to send addresses direct from the Google Maps application. To get the new functionality, you’ll need to update the app and your firmware. read more
I’m currently testing the Garmin nuvi 3590LMT, which has a 3-axis (AKA tri-axial) compass that allows the screen to rotate automatically. Which is nice, but it also rotates the map and position indicator, orienting them in the direction you are facing. This feature, found on the nuvi 2360 and the 34xx and 35xx series, makes these units ideal for pedestrian navigation. read more
Most people seem to tolerate Garmin’s ad-supported traffic pretty well, and consider it a fair trade in exchange for free lifetime traffic. While it’s true that the ads aren’t very intrusive, some folks are really bugged by them, so let’s look at ways to avoid the ads:
Last August, the Garmin nuvi Prestige series was announced, promising us a new feature – Bird’s Eye lane guidance to show you the proper lane with an overhead perspective. While I haven’t been crisscrossing the country much lately, it seems to me that, just like Junction View initially, this feature has been slow to roll out. Well, in case you haven’t seen it yet, the screenshot above shows what you can look forward to. The bird’s eye image pops up right before the standard junction view visual. read more
GPS Tracklog is written by Rich Owings, author of GPS Mapping.
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