Hardware Archives - Page 6 of 33

Pedestrian-friendly Garmin nuvi 1200 and 1300 series

March 3, 2009 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

UPDATE: Read my hands on Garmin nuvi 1200 review. I’ve also posted pages for the Garmin nuvi 1250, nuvi 1260T, nuvi 1300, nuvi 1350, nuvi 1350T, nuvi 1370T and nuvi 1390T.

Garmin has announced eight (!) new nuvi models that come with urban pedestrian navigation enhancements. Significantly thinner than previous models, “the nüvi 1200 and 1300 series are the first nüvi devices to offer pedestrian navigation capability enabled through optional CityXplorer™ maps. CityXplorer maps are available for select tourist destinations in
both North America and Europe, and can easily be downloaded directly to the nüvi.”
read more

Filed Under: Auto, Garmin, Garmin auto GPS, Hardware

New Navigon introductions feature MyRoutes

March 2, 2009 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

Navigon is announcing three new models today — the 3300 max, 4300T and 7300T. The big news is the MyRoutes feature, which provides up to three route choices with distance and ETA calculated for all entered destinations, factoring in speed limits, construction and traffic. As you can see above, route options are displayed on a map with ETA and driving time.

Filed Under: Auto, Hardware, Navigon, Navigon auto GPS

Geek in the woods

January 29, 2009 By Rich Owings 5 Comments

I was out testing the DeLorme PN-40 on the trails this afternoon, and thought I'd share this geek pic. That's the PN-40, Oregon 400T and 60CSx, left to right. I've got a review of both the PN-40 and its RAM mount coming. Honest, I do…

Filed Under: Hardware

OnPar GPS

January 27, 2009 By Rich Owings 1 Comment

Looks like the Garmin Approach G5 may have some competition. Savant GPS has announced the OnPar GPS, which they claim is the “first hand held color touch screen GPS rangefinder,” and with availability slated for next month, it does indeed look like they’ll beat Garmin to market.

It looks quite attractive and perhaps even more robust than the Approach, but I have my doubts that they’ll be able to match Garmin’s skills when it comes to creating an intuitive interface. No word on price yet, but the screen is a wee bit bigger than that of the Garmin Approach (3.5″ vs. 3″).

Filed Under: Handheld/Sport, Hardware, Other handheld GPS

Insignia NS-CNV10 review

January 26, 2009 By Rich Owings 3 Comments

The Insignia NS-CNV10 is a connected GPS navigator available exclusively from BestBuy. It includes a one year subscription for connectivity which gives you access to Google Local search, live traffic, and gas prices. The CNV10 is a 3.5” model with text-to-speech, so you’ll hear “in one mile, make a left turn on Main Street,” rather than just “in one mile, make a left turn.”

Filed Under: Auto, GPS Reviews, Hardware, Other auto GPS Tagged With: Insignia NS-CNV10

Lowrance Endura Sierra, Safari and Outback

January 22, 2009 By Rich Owings 10 Comments

UPDATE: Read my Lowrance Endura Out&Back and Lowrance Endura Sierra review

Lowrance has posted details on their new Endura handheld series. Each model has a 2.7″ touch-screen and a micro-SD slot for maps. All three are scheduled to be available in May, not April as we reported this morning.

Endura Sierra – This top of the line model (pictured at right) comes with a barometric altimeter, tri-axial compass, 4 GB of internal memory and preloaded “Accuterra^TM high-resolution topographic maps, extensive outdoor trail networks and Points of Interest, as well as the NAVTEQ® road network for the contiguous 48 states with an upgrade option for full-featured turn-by-turn navigation.” (MSRP $549)

Filed Under: Handheld/Sport, Hardware, Lowrance, Lowrance handheld GPS

Garmin eTrex Legend H and Vista H

January 14, 2009 By Rich Owings 7 Comments

ETrex Legend H

UPDATE: The Garmin eTrex Vista H now has its own page on GPS Tracklog.

Garmin has responded to the state of the economy with two new entry-level handheld GPS units, the eTrex Legend H (pictured at left) and eTrex Vista H. These are monochome units, with internal memory only (no micro-SD slot). The Vista H will include a barometric altimeter and electronic compass. MSRP is $149.99 and $199.99.

Filed Under: Garmin, Garmin handheld GPS, Handheld/Sport, Hardware

Magellan Maestro 4350 review

January 5, 2009 By Rich Owings 2 Comments

The Magellan Maestro 4350 is one of several new models introduced by Magellan in 2008. This 4.3” wide screen navigator includes the updated “OneTouch” user interface, six million POIs, and text-to-speech. It also comes preloaded with maps of the entire U.S. and Canada, Bluetooth, live traffic and 3D buildings. Other features include AAA TourBook, an FM transmitter and QuickSpell auto-complete.

Filed Under: Auto, GPS Reviews, Hardware, Magellan, Magellan auto GPS Tagged With: Magellan Maestro 4350

GPS predictions for 2009

December 30, 2008 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: These are predictions and nothing more, so keep your sense of humor and please don’t sue me.

Auto GPS predictions

A nuvi 8×5 series will bring lane assist and voice recognition together in one unit
Garmin discontinues the nuvi 200 series; all Garmin nuvi models will now have text-to-speech
Crowdsourced HD traffic comes to the US with the stateside introduction of the TomTom GO LIVE series
TomTom releases a GPS receiver that utilizes alternative positioning information for improved accuracy in urban canyons
More manufacturers display multiple route options visually, ala Dash and Insignia
Navigon folds, caught between Nextar on the low end and MiTAC’s aggressive promotion of the Magellan line
Red light camera alerts will move closer to the mainstream
More downward feature creep — expect to see Lane Assist on some mid-range Garmins, more units with lifetime traffic, larger screens, etc.
Garmin announces a desktop application (possibly a
revamped MapSource) that allows planning routes with POIs and
transferring them to Garmin units with current City Navigator maps; it
will be set up to allow users to opt into sharing anonymized tracklogs
ala TomTom HOME
Said application will support wireless transfer of data via ANT or Bluetooth

Filed Under: Dash, Garmin, Hardware, Magellan, Mio, Navigon, The business of GPS, TomTom Tagged With: GPS predictions

You got a handheld GPS — Now what?

December 27, 2008 By Rich Owings 8 Comments

Garmin gift

Congratulations on the shiny new toy. Here are a baker’s dozen things to try out that will help you get more from it:

Use it around town – This is something I highly recommend before trying it in the backcountry. For Garmin units, there are a couple of easy ways to transfer locations to them with the computer cable that comes with most models. You can search for a destination on Google Maps and send it to your GPS, as I discussed yesterday. An even better way to get to know your new toy — um — tool, is to go geocaching. Head over to geocaching.com and set up a free account and then enter your zip code. You’ll be amazed how many geocaches are nearby.

Filed Under: Handheld/Sport, Hardware