Archives for 2009

Pedestrian-friendly Garmin nuvi 1200 and 1300 series

March 3, 2009 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

UPDATE: Read my hands on Garmin nuvi 1200 review. I’ve also posted pages for the Garmin nuvi 1250, nuvi 1260T, nuvi 1300, nuvi 1350, nuvi 1350T, nuvi 1370T and nuvi 1390T.

Garmin has announced eight (!) new nuvi models that come with urban pedestrian navigation enhancements. Significantly thinner than previous models, “the nüvi 1200 and 1300 series are the first nüvi devices to offer pedestrian navigation capability enabled through optional CityXplorer™ maps. CityXplorer maps are available for select tourist destinations in
both North America and Europe, and can easily be downloaded directly to the nüvi.”
read more

Filed Under: Auto, Garmin, Garmin auto GPS, Hardware

New Navigon introductions feature MyRoutes

March 2, 2009 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

Navigon is announcing three new models today — the 3300 max, 4300T and 7300T. The big news is the MyRoutes feature, which provides up to three route choices with distance and ETA calculated for all entered destinations, factoring in speed limits, construction and traffic. As you can see above, route options are displayed on a map with ETA and driving time.

Filed Under: Auto, Hardware, Navigon, Navigon auto GPS

DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 review

February 24, 2009 By Rich Owings 43 Comments

DeLorme PN-40 review

Hands on with the DeLorme Earthmate PN-40

UPDATE: Two newer models have now been introduced, the DeLorme PN-60 and the DeLorme PN-60w.

The DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 updates the PN-20, which was already one of the most innovative GPS receivers out there. Quite simply, the PN-40 rocks, adding the following new features:

A dual-core processor makes map redraws and menu navigation very fast, correcting the biggest flaw in the PN-20
Tri-axial electronic compass (meaning there is no need to hold it dead level)
Barometric altimeter
SDHC high-capacity SD card support
A more detailed base map

Filed Under: DeLorme handheld GPS, GPS Reviews Tagged With: DeLorme Earthmate PN-40

DeLorme PN-40 RAM mount

February 18, 2009 By Rich Owings 6 Comments

UPDATE: Check out my hands-on review of the DeLorme PN-40.

While working on my DeLorme PN-40 review, I've also been testing a RAM mount for it on my bike. Bottom line — like most RAM mounts, it's rock solid. I tried a couple of different setups, including a new type of rail mount. Read on for the details…

Filed Under: Accessories, DeLorme, DeLorme handheld GPS, Handheld/Sport

Moving GPS Tracklog phase one

February 4, 2009 By Rich Owings 2 Comments

When I started this site, way back in August 2005, I knew very little about blogging. So while I bought the gpstracklog.com domain, I used the TypePad subdomain, for some pretty stupid reasons.

Now it’s time to cut those ties and move completely over to gpstracklog.com, in preparation for even more changes. If all goes well, it should happen tonight and in the wee hours Thursday morning.

Can you hear / see me now?

With a little luck, you readers shouldn’t have to do much of anything. I would encourage you to update your bookmarks to gpstracklog.com. But the old links will still work, at least for the time being, and our RSS feed address should stay the same. If you do notice anything really weird or can’t access the site / feed for an extended period of time, please drop me a line at my richowings gmail address. Don’t forget to add the @ and the .com.

Filed Under: More GPS News

Geek in the woods

January 29, 2009 By Rich Owings 5 Comments

I was out testing the DeLorme PN-40 on the trails this afternoon, and thought I'd share this geek pic. That's the PN-40, Oregon 400T and 60CSx, left to right. I've got a review of both the PN-40 and its RAM mount coming. Honest, I do…

Filed Under: Hardware

OnPar GPS

January 27, 2009 By Rich Owings 1 Comment

Looks like the Garmin Approach G5 may have some competition. Savant GPS has announced the OnPar GPS, which they claim is the “first hand held color touch screen GPS rangefinder,” and with availability slated for next month, it does indeed look like they’ll beat Garmin to market.

It looks quite attractive and perhaps even more robust than the Approach, but I have my doubts that they’ll be able to match Garmin’s skills when it comes to creating an intuitive interface. No word on price yet, but the screen is a wee bit bigger than that of the Garmin Approach (3.5″ vs. 3″).

Filed Under: Handheld/Sport, Hardware, Other handheld GPS

Insignia NS-CNV10 review

January 26, 2009 By Rich Owings 3 Comments

The Insignia NS-CNV10 is a connected GPS navigator available exclusively from BestBuy. It includes a one year subscription for connectivity which gives you access to Google Local search, live traffic, and gas prices. The CNV10 is a 3.5” model with text-to-speech, so you’ll hear “in one mile, make a left turn on Main Street,” rather than just “in one mile, make a left turn.”

Filed Under: Auto, GPS Reviews, Hardware, Other auto GPS Tagged With: Insignia NS-CNV10

Lowrance Endura Sierra, Safari and Outback

January 22, 2009 By Rich Owings 10 Comments

UPDATE: Read my Lowrance Endura Out&Back and Lowrance Endura Sierra review

Lowrance has posted details on their new Endura handheld series. Each model has a 2.7″ touch-screen and a micro-SD slot for maps. All three are scheduled to be available in May, not April as we reported this morning.

Endura Sierra – This top of the line model (pictured at right) comes with a barometric altimeter, tri-axial compass, 4 GB of internal memory and preloaded “Accuterra^TM high-resolution topographic maps, extensive outdoor trail networks and Points of Interest, as well as the NAVTEQ® road network for the contiguous 48 states with an upgrade option for full-featured turn-by-turn navigation.” (MSRP $549)

Filed Under: Handheld/Sport, Hardware, Lowrance, Lowrance handheld GPS

MiTAC completes purchase of Magellan

January 14, 2009 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

MiTAC has announced the completion of their purchase of Magellan’s consumer products division, and revealed some insights into their strategy and future plans:

The Mio and Magellan product lines will coexist in the U.S., though they will share technological expertise
Mio will add new “GPS-based lifestyle products” to their line, so maybe we’ll soon see their Mobile Internet Device that was on display at CES

UPDATE: TWICE is reporting that this or a similar device (they are calling it a UMPC ) will hit the market this fall at around $299.

Filed Under: Magellan, Mio, The business of GPS