Sunday, March 18, 2012

Garmin Oregon 450 and 450t announced

Garmin-Oregon-450t
UPDATE: I’ve posted a hands on review of the Garmin Oregon 450

Garmin just couldn’t wait until the Consumer Electronics Show to start releasing new models. In a blog post this morning, they announced the touchscreen Oregon 450 and 450t handhelds. The only significant difference between them is that the 450t adds preloaded 1:100,000 scale topo maps for the entire US, rather than just the basemap found on the 450. These new units add a tri-axial compass to the feature set found on the Oregon 400t, so you don’t have to hold it level while navigating the wilds. The 450 series lacks the geotagging digital camera found in the 550 and 550t. At this point, those appear to be the major differentiators. The 450 series includes the recent firmware improvements that brought custom map capabilities to other Oregon models. I’ll update this post with product links once those are available. DONE! Thanks to @doc_nl:

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SPOT 2 Satellite Messenger recall

SPOT-Satellite-2009 Ruh roh! SPOT LLC has announced a voluntary recall of some of its second generation SPOT Satellite Messenger (SPOT 2) units. According to the company:

Spot LLC is dedicated to providing the highest quality and best performance products to our customers, therefore, Spot LLC will be conducting a voluntary return on any new model SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger™ (SPOT 2) purchased since October 1, 2009. During recent testing, we discovered that some of the new SPOT 2 devices might not meet battery and messaging operating specifications.

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TomTom XXL 540-S

TomTom XXL 540-S review UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For a list of current TomTom models and their features, please see our TomTom comparison chart.

The TomTom XXL 540-S is one of TomTom’s first 5” models. It comes with preloaded maps of the US, Canada and Mexico, and 7 million points of interest.

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TomTom XL 325 SE

TomTom-XL-325-SE
UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For a list of current TomTom models and their features, please see our TomTom comparison chart.

The TomTom XL 325 SE (Walmart) is identical to the TomTom ONE 125 SE, except that it has a 4.3” wide-screen, instead of the 125 SE’s smaller 3.5” screen. Both models include text-to-speech, so you’ll hear “turn right, Oak Street,” instead of just “turn right.” What they don’t have is Advanced Lane Guidance and IQ Routes (which can result in improved routing), features found on the ONE 140-S and XL 340-S.

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TomTom XL 325

TomTom XL 325 review
UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For a list of current TomTom models and their features, please see our TomTom comparison chart.

The TomTom XL 325 is an entry level 4.3” wide-screen device in the TomTom line up. It includes preloaded maps of the entire United States.

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Garmin nuvi 285WT

Garmin nuvi 285WT review

UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For current recommendations, please refer to our auto GPS buyers guide.

NOTE: MSN Direct is ceasing operations on January 1, 2012.

The Garmin nüvi 285WTis one of the second-generation models in the nuvi 2×5 series, which I dubbed the “best entry level GPS on the market.” This series offers more mid-line features though; in addition to everything that made the 2×5 series a hit, the 285WT adds MSN Direct services and Bluetooth for hands-free cell phone use. It includes pre-loaded maps of the U.S. and Canada, has a 4.3″ wide touch-screen and comes with text-to-speech, so you’ll hear “drive one-half mile, then turn left on Oak Street,” instead of just “drive one-half mile, then turn left.”

The similarly appointed nuvi 265WT has lifetime NAVTEQ traffic instead of MSN Direct; otherwise it is identical to the 285WT.

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TomTom XL 340

TomTom XL 340
UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For a list of current TomTom models and their features, please see our TomTom comparison chart.

The TomTom XL 340 updates the XL 330, adding IQ Routes and Advanced Lane Guidance, and expanding map coverage to include Mexico, as well as the U.S. and Canada.

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Garmin nuvi 1250

Garmin-nuvi-1250-review

UPDATEThis model has been discontinued. For current recommendations, please refer to our auto GPS buyers guide.

The Garmin nüvi 1250 is a lower-level model in a line of Garmin GPS navigators introduced in 2009 (here is a list of more recent nuvi introductions). All of the units in the 1200, 1300 and 1400 series come with customizable data fields and the ability to utilize the pedestrian and mass transit features of Garmin’s CityXplorer maps. They also have text-to-speech, so you’ll hear “drive one-half mile, then turn left on Elm Street,” instead of just “drive one-half mile, then turn left.”

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TomTom GO 630

TomTom-GO-630-review

UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For a list of current TomTom models and their features, please see our TomTom comparison chart.

The TomTom GO 630 is essentially the GO 730 minus a few audio features; the 630 drops the FM transmitter, the MP3 player and iPod connectivity.

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Garmin Dakota 20 review

Garmin Dakota 20 review

Hands on with the Garmin Dakota 20

The Garmin Dakota 20 is a smaller version of Garmin’s successful Oregon models. It appears poised to replace the eTrex series, bringing all of the Oregon’s touch screen goodness while retaining the eTrex’s small form factor, light weight and long battery life.

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