Rich Owings, Author at GPS Tracklog

Magellan RoadMate 1412 review

September 8, 2008 By Rich Owings 3 Comments

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The Magellan RoadMate 1412 is one of Magellan’s most popular GPS navigators.The 1412 has a 4.3″ color touch screen, pre-loaded maps of the entire U.S. and Canada, and 6 million points of interest (POIs). It also features text-to-speech, so you’ll hear “approaching right turn, Maple Street” instead of just “approaching right turn.”

Filed Under: Auto, GPS Reviews, Hardware, Magellan, Magellan auto GPS

Garmin nuvi 255W review

September 8, 2008 By Rich Owings 212 Comments

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UPDATE: The nuvi 2×5 series has been officially discontinued. For current recommendations, see our auto GPS buyers guide.

The Garmin nüvi 255W is one of Garmin’s entry level navigators and, as part of the nuvi 2×5 series, it’s loaded with features previously unavailable in the nuvi line or found only in high-end models. More about that in a moment; first the basics.

Filed Under: Auto, Garmin, Garmin auto GPS, GPS Reviews, Hardware Tagged With: Garmin nuvi 255W

Garmin lifetime traffic to be supported by ads

September 5, 2008 By Rich Owings 6 Comments

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UPDATE: Read my hands on Garmin nuvi 755T review for my impressions of the ad supported traffic feature. I’ve also posted a hands on Garmin nuvi 265WT review which discusses this feature.

What Garmin didn’t tell us when they announced the nuvi 7×5 series and the latest nuvi 2×5 models, is that the lifetime traffic feature would be ad-supported. PC Magazine got hold of a nuvi 755T to review and had this to say:

Filed Under: Garmin, The business of GPS

Garmin Oregon 300 review

September 5, 2008 By Rich Owings 3 Comments

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UPDATE: The Oregon 300 has been discontinued. For current recommendations, check out our handheld GPS buyers guide or our Garmin handheld GPS comparison chart.

The Garmin Oregon 300 is one of Garmin’s first touch-screen handhelds for backcountry use. The Oregon 300 comes with a built-in worldwide basemap with shaded relief. Unlike the Oregon 400 series, the 300 doesn’t come with pre-loaded detailed maps. Don’t let that dissuade you though – there are plenty of free maps available for Garmin units. Here’s how this model compares to other units in the Oregon series:

Filed Under: Garmin, Garmin handheld GPS, GPS Reviews, Handheld/Sport, Hardware Tagged With: Garmin Oregon 300, Oregon

Garmin nuvi 205 review

September 4, 2008 By Rich Owings 11 Comments

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UPDATE: The nuvi 2×5 series has been officially discontinued. For current recommendations, see our auto GPS buyers guide.

The Garmin nuvi 205 is one of Garmin’s popular entry level navigators. Like the rest of the 2×5 series, it comes with features previously unavailable in the nuvi line or found only in high-end models. Before we get into the details, let’s look at the basics.

Filed Under: Auto, Garmin, Garmin auto GPS, GPS Reviews, Hardware Tagged With: Garmin nuvi 205

What the SiRF patent dispute means for GPS receivers

August 28, 2008 By Rich Owings 5 Comments

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A U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) judge has recommended that the ITC "bar from importation into the U.S. infringing chips of SiRF Technology," including GPS devcies that have those chipsets in them. The chips have been found to infringe upon Broadcom’s patents.

The question I have is, how is this going to affect the GPS market? DigiTimes is reporting that Mitac, parent company of Mio, is going to stop using SiRF chipsets in the fourth quarter.

Filed Under: The business of GPS

National Geographic TOPO! adds support for new Garmin units

August 15, 2008 By Rich Owings 6 Comments

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National Geographic has released TOPO! version 4.5, adding support for Garmin Oregon, Colorado, Edge and nuvi models. A Mac OS X version is also available. This is a welcome improvement, as too few mapping software programs support these models.

Filed Under: Garmin, Maps, Software

Garmin discontinues older nuvi models

August 11, 2008 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

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With so many nuvis in the marketplace, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Garmin has now discontinued it’s earliest nuvi models, including all of the 300 series and most of the 600 series. The discontinued models are as follows:

Filed Under: Garmin, Hardware

Garmin Oregon 400t review

August 11, 2008 By Rich Owings 56 Comments

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UPDATE: The Oregon 400t has been discontinued; we recommend the Oregon 450t, which has a greatly improved screen, as an alternative.

The Garmin Oregon 400T is Garmin’s first foray into touch-screen handhelds for backcountry use. Before we get into the interface though, let’s look at the basics. The Oregon 400t comes with pre-loaded topo maps of the United States and a built-in worldwide basemap with shaded relief. Here’s how this model compares to other units in the Oregon series:

Filed Under: Garmin, Garmin handheld GPS, GPS Reviews, Handheld/Sport, Hardware Tagged With: Garmin Oregon 400t, Oregon

Happy birthday to us!

August 11, 2008 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

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Three years ago today, I started GPS Tracklog. Coincidentally, one year ago today, my son was born. As you can see, like his dad, he’s very excited to have his hands on a new Garmin Oregon.

Filed Under: More GPS News