It’s such a simple idea, I can’t believe it took this long for it to happen. The Garmin nüvi 1690 has a SIM card built-in to the unit that offers live connections to things like weather, flight information, Google search over the internet and the ability to navigate to your 1690-toting friends’ locations.
To hell with buying an iPhone app for your satnav needs – nothing beats a standalone unit, and these latest nüvi devices from Garmin look pretty tasty.
Following a small software update last week, a swath of Garmin’s product line started exhibiting some troubling symptoms, like freezing, constant update prompts, and death. Now, Garmin has apologised, rolled out a firmware fix, and will repair bricked units.
Garmin’s had a tiny stylistic brain-fart with some new Nuvi GPSs. Imagine a cheesy glimmering gadget suckered-on to your windshield, sending glittering—and distracting—shafts of light into your car… that’s kind of what you’ve got in the “light rose” and “black diamond” editions of the Nuvi 250 and 760. They’re covered in coloured faux-diamonds. Yuck. The red, white and blue editions (also new) we can appreciate. But in a few years, in a look back at recent gadget history, crystal-covered GPS units will be consigned to the “what the hell were they thinking?” category. [Aving via Navigadget] galleryPost('garminstyle', 3, '');
Garmin’s dropping four new models to the higher-end 7×5 lineup with the nüvi 755T, 765T, 775T and the 785T. All models will include lifetime traffic alerts via NAVTEQ Traffic and Bluetooth connectivity, but the updated 7×5 series will include the most exciting new features: a 4.3″ touchscreen, a 3-D transparent view of buildings, and lane assist. Garmin is also dropping their budget friendly 2×5 series with three new models: the nüvi 265T, 265WT and 275T. I’d probably opt for the high end line with lane suggestions, but take the 765T with Bluetooth and skip the fancier models. Parsing Garmin’s huge lineup is always challenging, but the differences are detailed here:
Garmin has just announced a new member of the Nuvi GPS range, the 500 series. In a first for Nuvi, the rugged, waterproof 500 units are specifically designed to be multipurpose, with maps for driving, walking, cycling and boating built in. For out-doorsy types, there’s a shaded digital elevation map option, and a dedicated compass page and tracklog. Plus the battery is a swappable 8-hour Li-ion type, so you can carry a spare for extended trips away from a power source. The 500 comes with City Navigator, and topographic maps of the US, while the 550 has highway coverage of the US and Canada, but no topographic data. The units are on show at the British International Motor show in London form today, and go on sale soon in the US for US$499. Press release below.
