GPS Tracklog

Garmin TOPO U.S. 24K goes nationwide

UPDATE: The Mountain Central card (Colorado and Utah) has now been released.

I knew something was up when Garmin named their last topo product with the soon to be dated moniker TOPO U.S. 2008.  Now it's official, Garmin will be releasing 1:24,000 scale topo maps of at least the 48 contiguous United States, complete with routable roads and trails. Previously available only for some National Park areas, this software will be known as TOPO U.S. 24K.

These will be available by region -- the Pacific Northwest (WA & OR) is already out, with California / Nevada scheduled to be available in July. The remainder of the U.S. is "coming soon." The maps will come pre-loaded on micro-SD cards with an SD card adapter at $99.99 a pop.

Dash Express becomes the first GPS to learn your shortcuts

Dash Express users will be getting a major software update today, delivered wirelessly of course. There are lots of changes, so we'll delve right in and start with the most important.

MyRoutes automatically learns your preferred routes

How long have we pined for a GPS smart enough to learn our favorite shortcuts? Well wait no longer boys and girls -- the Dash Express gets bragging rights as the first GPS to do this. The MyRoute shortcut is shown in pink in the image above. Some details...

Garmin inks mobile social networking deal with GyPSii

Garmin has signed a multi-year deal with GyPSii, a mobile social networking company. The press release (PDF) says the deal is for a "range of Garmin products."  We can probably expect to see GyPSii on the forthcoming nuvifone, but is is unclear what other devices might utilize it. Garmin has previously been reluctant to develop connected PNDs, due to consumer resistance to a monthly service plan in addition to their cell phone contract. Nevertheless, this statement implies that either connected Garmin PNDs are on the way, or plans are underway for multiple nuvifone models.

Connected Mio Moov 380 headed to U.S.

The Mio Moov 380 has cleared the FCC, so we now have another GPS with two-way connectivity coming to the U.S. to compete with the Dash Express and the forthcoming Magellan Maestro Elite 5340+GPRS and Garmin nuvifone.

The Mio Moov 380 will have a built-in SIM card as well as a micro-SD card slot. No word on pricing, who their carrier or search partner is, or what the monthly connection fee will be.

DeLorme PN-40 boasts impressive specs

DeLorme is announcing the PN-40 handheld GPS today. Scheduled for release this fall, the PN-40 appears to be something akin to the PN-20 on steroids. Slow map redraws on the PN-20 were a common complaint, which has been addressed somewhat with new firmware, but the PN-40 is slated to have a dual-core processor for rapid screen re-draws. Here's what Chip Noble, who manages DeLorme's User Interface Design department, has to say about it:

Geohashing - New GPS sport requires planning and caution

Geohashing is a new GPS sport where participants are sent to random coordinates to meet. Each day, new coordinates are automatically generated for each 1°x1° square of latitude and longitude.

Garmin nuvi 850 review

The Garmin nuvi 850 is a member of the 800 series nuvi family, the first Garmin products to feature voice recognition. I covered that feature thoroughly in my hands on review of the Garmin nuvi 880, so this review will primarily cover the differences between the two units and how to get a deal on the nuvi 850 with an MSN Direct receiver.

Garmin nuvi 880 in stock

Talk about timing. No sooner did I post my Garmin nuvi 880 review than it shows up in stock at GPSNow, which received a shipment today. The price is $999.99 including FREE FedEx Priority Overnight shipping. Order by 5 p.m. Central time and it ships today.

As with the 850, don't expect a big price break on Garmin's first voice recognition models anytime soon, as Garmin has invoked the dreaded minimum resale price on dealers.

Garmin nuvi 880 review

Killer app voice recognition makes Garmin nuvi 880 the best GPS on the market

The Garmin nuvi 880 is the top of the line unit in the nuvi 800 series, the first Garmin products to feature voice recognition. And while it may not be the first GPS with this feature, it is far and away the best. It is a breeze to use and makes it much easier and safer to navigate on the go.

GolfLogix 2008 review

The GolfLogix 2008 is the best-selling GPS for golfers. Why is it so popular? For one, it's made by Garmin, the most popular GPS manufacturer in the world. It's also built on the high-sensitivity eTrex platform, which translates into great accuracy (the GolfLogix 2007 used an older, less accurate GPS chipset).

As you can see in the image above, the GolfLogix provides your distance to the front, center and back of the green. It also shows up to six hazards per hole, and identifies bunkers, water, lay-ups and carries.