Sunday, March 18, 2012

2015 Nuvi Essentials Boast New Budget Features

The Garmin 2015 Nuvi Essential Series is the first budget-friendly line that supports a backup camera

The Garmin 2015 Nuvi Essential Series is the first budget-friendly line that supports a backup camera

Garmin announced the details of its 2015 Nuvi Essentials series at the International Consumer Electronics Show going on this week. This year’s entry-level devices include several features that have never been available to the lower-end markets before, along with other Garmin essentials like lane assist, junction view, street name, speed limit, arrival time estimates, Up Ahead (to show nearby services) and more.

The new features that normally only are available to the more expensive devices include Garmin Real Directions, which provides actual landmarks, buildings and stop lights as references for easy-to-follow directions; millions of preloaded POIs from Foursquare along with the ability to search new and popular destinations, and the most talked-about feature, support for backup cameras like the BC 30 backup camera, which is available for $169.99. read more

Magellan Introduces New RoadMate Devices

Magellan_RoadMate 5375T-LMB_HR

As part of the International CES Conference taking place this week, Magellan has introduced several new GPS devices in their RoadMate line, including three for personal use and two for commercial trucking. None of the units are available yet, but the personal ones actually look pretty nice. Here’s the information Magellan gave me: read more

TomTom Technology in New Fiat

tomtom-logo_1

TomTom, the dutch-based navigation company, has announced a new partnership with Fiat on their newest automobile, the Fiat 500X. The new Fiat, which is expected to ship in Europe in 2015, will feature TomTom’s Uconnect infotainment system, which will include TomTom Traffic, TomTom Speed Cameras, TomTom Weather and TomTom Places. read more

Magellan Introduces 7-inch GPS Family

RM9465T-LMB-0-Large-Pop-up-Image

Magellan introduced three new device yesterday dubbed the RoadMate family. All three devices feature huge seven inch screens designed for safer driving and navigation in larger vehicles. With screens this size, the days of squinting at the map while driving down the road are long past.

The three new devices introduced are the RoadMate 9400-LM, 9412T-LM and 9465T-LMB. All three have brightly colored touchscreen displays and spoken street names. Here are some of the other features the GPS family shares:

read more

TomTom, Jeep Partner on New Jeep Renegade

tomtom-logo_1

TomTom and Jeep have announced a partnership today for Jeep’s newest vehicle line, the Jeep Renegade. The Renegade line will all be outfitted with TomTom’s UConnect 5″ Radio Nav infotainment system integrated into the dashboard.

The TomTom UConnect 5″ Radio Nav offers turn-by-turn navigation, traffic information to avoid jams and work areas, and POI searches. Other features include a Help Me! emergency menu, advanced lane guidance that show realistic intersections, safety warnings when approaching schools, fuel-efficient routes, speeding alerts and more. I didn’t see any information whether or not lifetime maps comes with the purchase of a vehicle. read more

Garmin nuvi 50LM Still Going Strong

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The Garmin nuvi 50LM was released in 2011 and is still one of the best entry-level GPS units available. In fact, if you do a quick search on Amazon or Google, you’ll find that it’s one of the most searched GPS units. Currently, the Garmin nuvi 50LM is ranked #96 on Amazon’s top 100 electronics. That’s 96 out of all of the electronics that Amazon sells, and it is three years old! With as fast as technology moves, that’s quite a testament to the quality of this unit. Check out our extensive hands-on review of nuvi 50LM for a preview of what to expect. read more

Garmin Introduces Foursquare to Advanced Nuvi Series

nuvi advanced series
Yesterday, Garmin introduced the 2014 Nuvi Advanced Series, the first Nuvi line to come with Foursquare venues designed to help users find and explore new businesses. The new GPS devices also come with Direct Access to help navigate to complexes like malls and airports and traditional advanced Garmin features like Active Lane Guidance, Real Directions, multi-touch displays and Photo Real and Bird’s Eye Junction View. read more

FAQ for Buying Automotive GPS

Auto GPS buyers guide

If you aren’t a hobbyist in the GPS field, then the sheer number of options for purchasing an automotive GPS unit can be quite daunting. The alphabet and number soup at the end of the twenty billion models with the same (or similar) name can be incredibly confusing and unless you know exactly what you want, some of the charts and guides we have aren’t going to be much help.

So, for those of you looking to buy your first (or just a new) GPS unit, I am going to break things down a little bit. Here are a few common questions (and answers!) consumers have when considering which units to purchase:

How much should I expect to spend on a unit?

If you’ve never bought a GPS unit before, this is probably the first question you’re wondering. And, ironically, it’s one of the harder questions, especially if you’re new to the world of GPS. read more

Garmin Announces First Android Powered Fleet GPS

fleetTM 660

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. read more

Magellan SmartGPS 5390 Now Available Online

SmartGPS 5390

Magellan has announced the increased availability of their SmartGPS 5390 unit, designed to create a connected car experience with enhanced navigation. It is available now at BestBuy.com, Costco.com, Amazon.com, and magellangps.com for $229.99.

Featuring a sleek and stylish appearance, the Magellan SmartGPS 5390 is designed to let users have the connected car experience without the price tag. The device displays locations of lowest gas prices, Foursquare/Yelp user reviews of POIs, red-light camera alerts, weather and traffic reports, and automatic cloud syncing to add contacts and destinations to your device. And, of course, GPS directions and routing. read more