GPS reviews, news, tips, tricks and deals
UPDATE: Read my hands on review of the Garmin GTU 10.
Well, well, look what showed up on the FCC website this morning. With the GTU 10, Garmin apparently has a GSM/GPRS tracking device up their sleeve. While they’ve offered up commercial fleet tracking solutions in the past, bundled with their navigators, this is the first time they’ve produced a discrete remote GPS tracking device (at least as far as I’m aware).
Consumer Reports has a navigation faceoff story today, judging the contenders by six different factors. Dedicated navigation units were the clear winner in two, mobile phones in one, with the other three criteria giving results that were a bit muddied.
With apps that mimic your TomTom or whatever, and function as an all-in-one device, you’d think it would be a slam dunk for cell phones to win this one. But I’m going to take a different approach and say that their ability to do it all is in fact their Achilles’ heel.
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 335T
UPDATE: Check out my Garmin Approach S1 resource page, with links to hands on reviews and more.
Garmin has announced a Forerunner-like sportswatch for golfers, the Approach S1. Listing for $249.99, the S1 will offer golfers an easy to carry device that provides basic stats, rather than full maps of courses. S1 users will be able to display the (constantly updated) distance to the front, back and middle of greens for 14,000 preloaded courses in the US and Canada.
Wow, how much can the mobile navigation market change in just a couple of days? Following Garmin’s announcement yesterday that they will develop navigation apps for multiple platforms, Navigon reveals that they are bringing MobileNavigator to the US Android marketplace. I thought perhaps that TomTom had decided to take on the free Google Maps Navigation juggernaut last week, but (as suspected) it turns out that they are only providing maps for HTC, and not navigation. So Navigon becomes the first top-tier navigation app maker to go mano-a-mano with Google, to see if folks will pony up or settle for what the search giant gives us for free.
TOPO Afghanistan
is being announced today by North Hollywood Cartography, an authorized Garmin MPC developer. This is actually the third-generation of the product; the first was released through GPS File Depot. The next iteration included the entire country. The newest version adds a digital elevation model for 3D viewing in BaseCamp and compatible Garmin receivers. Geographic points of interest including wadi (arroyos/dry creek beds), summits, kariz and settlements.
Sales will be through government distributors and to individuals affiliated with the ISAF or other government users.
While there are military issue GPS receivers being used in Afghanistan, I’ve been impressed by the number of comments and questions I’ve heard over the years from troops using their own standard, commercially available handheld units in the field.
The Garmin Edge 800
The Garmin Forerunner 210
Well, well. I think I missed the story in Waypoints when I said BirdsEye goes international. What’s new is not the international coverage; it’s the BirdsEye Select products that bring detailed raster topo imagery to Garmin handhelds.
The UK has had such imagery for awhile, and I’m not sure what all the differences are between the Garmin GB Discoverer series (which offers both 1:50K and 1:25K scale maps) and the Garmin Select product at 1:25K. Perhaps some of our friends across the pond can chime in.
What’s interesting to me though, is this bringing us closer to seeing a quality USGS topo product from Garmin. At least I’m hoping that’s the plan.
The DeLorme Earthmate PN-60
