While it’s not ready for release just yet, Garmin has announced that they are working on a new Android powered GPS unit designed for local and commercial fleets. The FleetTM 660 and 670 have unique customization options common to Android devices and allow for integration of applications from partners and companies as well as widgets to store important information. Basically, it’s a GPS that acts like a phone with a GPS navigation focus.
The devices have the latest navigation technology from Garmin like Real Directions, voice guidance, active lane guidance and lifetime traffic and maps. The 670 also has trucking-specific functions like route calculation based on truck attributes, special trucking POIs, Hours of Service (HOS) logging and International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) Documentation.
The press release says that both navigation devices are ‘optimized for in-cab use’ and feature dust-proff designs, high sensitivity GPS receivers, extra loud speakers, sunlight-readable 6 inch capacitive touch screen and a powered magnetic mount. Bluetooth and WiFi integration allow the device to connect to a black box data transponder and other devices for convenience.
The fleet 660 has suggested retail price of $399.99 and the fleet 670 has a suggested retail price of $449.99. Both devices are expected to become available in the fourth quarter of 2014, but have not received FCC approval yet.
Even though the price is a bit high, I might be tempted to get this for my automobile. I would like to be able to run Android apps on a GPS with a screen that size.