GPS Tracklog

Garmin-Asus nuvifone M20

UPDATED with more images at end of post.

Garmin-Asus has announced their second release, the nuvifone M20. Running Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, the M20 is a dual-band 3.5G / tri-band GSM phone with Wi-Fi connectivity. Pricing and availability information are expected in the first half of 2009.

They also released specs for the nuvifone G60 today, ahead of the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week.

Keep reading for the full news release on the Garmin-Asus nuvifone M20.

Geek in the woods

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...

OnPar GPS

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").

Insignia NS-CNV10 review

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.”

Lowrance Endura Sierra, Safari and Outback

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)

Lowrance Endura handheld

UPDATE: I've now posted detailed information about the Lowrance Endura series.

Lowrance has unveiled the Endura handheld GPS series -- touchscreen models with a twist, in that they also have quite a few traditional buttons on them. Unfortunately, Lowrance hasn't posted a news release or model numbers, so we have few details at this time.

What we do know is that the mid-range unit will go for a reported $370 when in debuts in April. At least some models will come with pre-loaded specialized maps, such as marine charts.

Garmin eTrex Legend H and Vista H

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.

TomTom GO 740 LIVE launches in U.S.; no HD Traffic yet

NOTE: I haven't seen a formal news release on this, so I'm piecing it together from multiple sources, all linked to below. UPDATE: The news release is appended to the bottom of this post.

TomTom is announcing the GO 740 LIVE, a connected GPS with a built-in cellular modem, today at CES. Unfortunately, TomTom has not been able to nail down a carrier partner in the U.S. that would allow for crowd-sourced traffic data, ala Dash. So, for the time being anyway, you won't have access to near real-time data from other TomTom GO 740 users. It will instead utilize traffic data from INRIX. The GO 740 LIVE will come with a one-year subscription and, according to GPS Business News, "TomTom probably expects to have its HD Traffic ready when this one year free subscription comes to an end" (emphasis added).

Mio Moov S series

Mio will be announcing several new models at CES a little later today. As we predicted last week, these units will incorporate the Spirit interface with what they are now calling "slide screen" technology. Here are details on the new models, all slated to be available in the first half of 2009:

• Mio Moov S300 - 3.5" display, preloaded maps of the U.S. and Canada, text-to-speech and over 12 million POIs for an MSRP of $199.99
• Mio Moov S500 - All the features of the S300, with an extra wide 4.7" display for an MSRP of $249.99
• Mio Moov S556 - All the features of the S500, plus Bluetooth and Junction View for an MSRP of $299.99
• Mio Moov S700 - An RV-friendly 7" display, MAD Maps content, A/V input, preloaded maps of the U.S. and Canada, text-to-speech and over 12 million POIs for an MSRP of $299.99

New Garmin nuvi 865T; 8x0 series discontinued

I don't know why this wasn't included in this morning's news release; I spoke too soon when I speculated on the reasons for not releasing a nuvi 865T, because there's a product page up for it. Not only that, but the 8x0 series has been discontinued. Unless Garmin pulls a major change in the way they are doing things, the 865T will include lifetime NAVTEQ traffic.