The Magellan Triton 1500
Magellan Triton 1500 review
January 24, 2008 By 12 Comments
Garmin nuvi 850 and 880 announced
January 3, 2008 By 11 Comments
UPDATE: Read my Garmin nuvi 850 review and Garmin nuvi 880 review
Garmin just announced the Garmin nuvi 800 series, the first nuvis to feature speech recognition.
In keeping with Garmin’s heritage of elegant user interface design, the nuvi 800 series’ speech recognition technology sets the new industry standard for simple and intuitive use. Users mount a push-to-talk wireless remote to their steering wheel, which is used to activate voice commands — no additional setup or “training” is required. Once activated, the user can effortlessly manipulate controls by speaking the words that correspond to buttons that are on the touchscreen display, so that almost any common task can be performed without ever touching the unit.
Garmin has also streamlined the way users can perform complex points of interest searches. Driving in an unfamiliar area and hungry for some spaghetti? Simply say, “find nearest Italian restaurant,” and you’re offered a menu of nearby pasta purveyors. Use a voice command to select the establishment of your choice, and the nuvi 800 series gives you turn-by-turn directions to dinner. The nuvi 880 also knows the names of many large business brands, so a user need only say, “find nearest Starbucks” for a quick caffeine fix.
Garmin Colorado images and specs
January 3, 2008 By 3 Comments
UPDATE: Read our Garmin Colorado 300 review, Garmin Colorado 400c review and Garmin Colorado 400t review.
Early last month, we let the cat out of the bag on the Garmin Colorado handheld series. I’m expecting the official announcement no later than tomorrow, but here’s a sneak preview for you, replete with specs and lots of eye candy for you geocachers and other outdoor enthusiasts out there. I’ll have more to say next week after meeting with Garmin at CES.
Garmin nuvi 770 review
December 22, 2007 By 9 Comments
UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For current recommendations, please refer to our auto GPS buyers guide.
UPDATE 2: The latest trans-Atlantic navigators to be introduced are the Garmin nuvi 2475LT and nuvi 2370LT.
The Garmin nuvi 770
- Multi-destination routing
- Automatic sorting of multiple destinations to provide an efficient route
- Tracklog recording
- Speed limit display for many interstates and highways
- The newer internal antenna found on the nuvi 200 series
- Automatic marking of your last position when the unit is turned off (to help you find your car in mega-mall parking lots)
- A "Where am I" safety feature that gives your current location,
nearest address, nearest intersection, along with quick access to POIs
for the nearest hospitals, police stations and gas stations - Finally, MSN Direct is available as an add on option
Magellan Triton 1500 – First impressions
December 17, 2007 By 49 Comments
UPDATE: Read my Magellan Triton 1500 review.
I’ve had a few days to try my new Magellan Triton 1500 and have decided to post some initial impressions, since a full review isn’t likely till after the holidays.
Cable snafu
After a stumbling introduction, Magellan seems to be going the extra mile to assist folks who received units without cables (short of moving their tech support back to the U.S.!). If you were one of the unlucky recipients of a Triton 1500 sans cable, email me at rich at makeyourownmaps dot com and I’ll try to put you in touch with someone who can help.
Hardware
The Triton 1500 fits nicely in my hand and feels solid. I like the touch screen and am finding it relatively easy to move back and forth between it and the button controls. I am not finding it necessary to use the stylus that often.
The buttons are stiff, and will take a little getting used to. They are backlit, which is a nice feature. One of the worst things I can say about the hardware at this point is that the screen isn’t that bright. You have to hold it at the proper angle to view it in sunlight, and even then it is difficult. It is nowhere near as bright as my Garmin 60CSx. I’m assuming that Magellan made compromises here to save some money and to be able to bring the unit to market at a lower price point.
More on the Garmin Colorado series
December 10, 2007 By 3 Comments
UPDATE: Read our Garmin Colorado 300 review, Garmin Colorado 400c review and Garmin Colorado 400t review.
It appears that the Garmin Colorado series is real, and that it may be capable of showing aerial photos (raster imagery), as shown in the image above. It’s high time Garmin took this step; after all, DeLorme, Magellan and even Bushnell have beat them to the punch with units that allow for the display of aerial photos and / or USGS topo maps. We forecast back in August that we would soon see a Garmin handheld with this capability.
Mio C720t review
December 10, 2007 By 4 Comments
UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For current recommendations, please refer to our auto GPS buyers guide or check out our other Mio GPS reviews.
I’ve spent the last few weeks trying out the Mio C720t
Magellan Maestro 3250 review
December 3, 2007 By Leave a Comment
The Magellan Maestro 3250
Magellan Tritons available but…
November 30, 2007 By 1 Comment
UPDATE: Read my Magellan Triton 1500 review.
The long-awaited Magellan Triton series is starting to show up at e-tailers and retailers, but there are good reasons to look before you leap. The Triton 300 is available at some Sportsmans Warehouse stores according to this report. Radio Shack is showing the 300 and 1500 as available, while NewEgg lists the 1500 as out of stock.
I received a Triton 1500 from NewEgg.com yesterday, but was disappointed to find that the USB cable, VantagePoint software and manual were missing. I wasn’t the only one to receive a 1500 without all of the accessories.
Please note that this problem may be limited to the 1500s, as the one report I’ve seen on a 300 said the cable was included.
Magellan RoadMate 1200 review
November 30, 2007 By 1 Comment
The Magellan RoadMate 1200
