GPS reviews, news, tips, tricks and deals
The Garmin nuvi 3550LM is one of the company’s new top of the line auto navigation units. As part of their Prestige series, this model basically offers the same feature set as the nuvi 3450LM, but with a larger 5″ screen. Which means you get a bevy of customization options, the new Exit Services feature and a large glass capacitive touchscreen.
In addition to the new zumo 350LM, Garmin has made a few other changes to their motorcycle-friendly lineup, adding lifetime maps to a couple of units – the zumo 660LM and 665LM
, while discontinuing the original 660 and 665, along with the zumo 550.
Here’s a list of posts covering a wide range of frequently asked questions (FAQs) about auto GPS receivers: read more
Well this isn’t what I expected to wake up to on Independence Day, but here it is; a Garmin nuvi 2598FL has cleared the FCC. And I would say that the model number is just a place holder, but the documents clearly state that it’s the marketing name and describe it as a connected personal navigation device. read more
UPDATE: GPS City is showing a June 29 availability date. They’ve posted some videos as well.
As we predicted last month, Garmin has introduced a new motorcycle-friendly navigator, the Garmin zumo 350LM. The 4.3″ unit offers Bluetooth and new features like Exit Services and TracBack, at an MSRP of $699.99. So much for my theory that this was a mid-range model! read more
Need to keep track of your mileage? There may be a built-in solution already in your nuvi. Garmin’s ecoRoute app automatically creates a mileage report that can be viewed on the screen or downloaded from the nuvi as a .csv file. The only trick is you have to select a destination; if you’re just driving around with your nuvi on, the mileage won’t be recorded. read more
Hitting the open road on your Harley this spring? There may be a GPS in your future. The Garmin zumo 340 and 350 have cleared the FCC, so we expect an official announcement in the near future, possibly even later today. Those low model numbers are especially welcome, since many folks are scared off by the 500 and 600 series price tags. These will be the first lower-end motorcycle-friendly units that Garmin has introduced in two years, since the zumo 220. Also noteworthy, these are the first models to drop the nuvi-like flat-form factor in favor of the more Rubenesque shape found on the zumo 550.
Did you know you can use a Garmin nuvi or dezl for fleet tracking? Yes, you can dispatch and message vehicles, track them using a Web interface and more. In order to do this though, you’ll have to turn to one of Garmin’s Mobile Resource Management (MRM) partners. These companies have taken Garmin’s Fleet Management Interface toolkit and built an end to end solution around it. So in addition to the cost of the navigation unit, you’ll also be paying for a transponder, data usage and access to a fleet tracking Web interface.
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Last month ABI Research issued a report saying that Personal Navigation Device (PND) manufacturers seem to be “moving away from mass market consumer goods to becoming low volume, high value.” While I take issue with their analysis showing that “nearly one-third of all products offered on the market are above the US$500 mark,” I do think they are onto something.
The fact is, we’re already seeing this trend. Garmin may be stepping up enforcement of their minimum advertised price (MAP) program — I’m not seeing PNDs discounted very much, especially at the high-end. We’re still seeing the upper-end of the Advanced nuvi series selling at their list price on Amazon, a full six months after these units started shipping. Significant discounts are mostly relegated to prior generation units. read more
The Garmin nüvi 3590LMT
