October 03, 2008

Garmin GPSMAP 640 - Hybrid marine and auto unit

Garmin_gpsmap_640

Garmin is announcing the GPSMAP 640 today, a new hybrid marine and auto navigator. The 600 series represents a completely new product line for Garmin. Nuvi-like in appearance, the 640 features a 5.2" touchscreen, the same size as that found on the nuvi 5000.

With a couple of extra-wide screen models out now, I'm betting we'll see some more 5.2" automotive nuvis announced early next year at CES. The other item of interest for non-boaters is the availability of XM WX Satellite Weather™, which I'd love to see on the nuvi series and Garmin handhelds. And as long as I'm wishing, if Garmin can put aerial imagery on this and other marine units, why not make it available for the rest of us too?

The 640 is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2009. More about the GPSMAP 640 from the news release...

Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd., the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced the GPSMAP 640 – an ultra portable and rugged touchscreen navigator that comes preloaded with a comprehens

Oct 3, 2008 12:13:15 PM | Garmin, Hardware, Marine

2 Comments

Garmin Rocks

Unfortunately, Garmin decided to disallow the use of the XM weather NEXRAD radar and other weather features while in automotive mode.

Posted by: Garmin Rocks | March 27, 2009 at 11:45 PM

Rich Owings

Wow; I'm shocked.

Posted by: Rich Owings | March 28, 2009 at 07:59 AM

The comments to this entry are closed.

NEXT POST
Magellan Maestro 4210 review The is Magellan Maestro 4210 a wide-screen version of the Maestro 3210. Other than bumping the screen to 4.3", it offers the same feature set including pre-loaded maps of the U.S. and Canada, six million points of interest (POIs), and AAA TourBook, which rates restaurants, lodging and more. What it doesn't have is text-to-speech, so you'll hear "approaching right turn" instead of "approaching right turn, Maple Street." Nor does it have Bluetooth or live traffic capabilities. Compare prices on the Magellan Maestro 4210 To see how the 4210 stacks up against other units, check out my Magellan auto GPS comparison chart. More Magellan Maestro 4210 reviews Consumer-authored Magellan Maestro 4210 reviews are being posted at Amazon I'll be posting more hands on GPS reviews as they appear, but in the meantime, here are some... Other Magellan Maestro 4210 resources A PDF version of the Magellan Maestro 4210 owners manual A Magellan Maestro 4210 FAQ Our other Magellan Maestro reviews There is a Magellan Maestro message forum at GpsPasSion And there is a Magellan GPS message forum at Yahoo, and an alt.satellite.gps.magellan UseNet group The official Magellan Maestro 4210 web page <a href="http://adserve.bizrate.com/pp/content/tal/publisherID-3986/assetID-723/assetTypeID-9/placementID-17/showProducts-2/showRandom-0/start-1/sort-default/cache-1/noLog-1/noScript-1/onlyOffers-1/categoryID-11210000/tokenID-7X/keyword-Magellan%20Maestro%204210/style-">BizRate</a> Compare prices on the Magellan Maestro 4210 at...
PREVIOUS POST
More on Best Buy Insignia GPS There isn't a lot of information to be had yet about the forthcoming connected GPS units from Best Buy, but I do have a couple of things for you, including the promo photo above. It shows multiple route options, ala the Dash Express. There's no indication that they'll use crowd-sourced, anonymized cell phone data for traffic though. Of course it's always possible that they've struck a deal with Dash or IntelliOne; I've been waiting awhile for someone to announce a partnership with the latter. There's also this tidbit from First Glimpse... "You can keep your maps updated with a little help from Geek Squad. In addition to subscribing to Geek Squad’s Map Update Service, which keeps your device flush with the latest updates, you can visit the Geek Squad counter in person for a free quarterly map update. The first year’s map service subscription is free when you purchase either unit." That, along with the apparent thinness of the unit, make me think they haven't included a WiFi connection for over the air map updates. I hope to have some more information on the Insignia PND series next week. Via Engadget.

Rich Owings

The Typepad Team

Search

Recent Comments