GARMIN OREGON 200 Hand Held Receiver Worldwide. Garmin International is pleased to announce Oregon; the newest member of the premium handheld line. This rugged unit with a high sensitivity GPS receiver offers innovative features such as a sunlight readable touchscreen for easy operation, as well as the ability to exchange waypoints, tracks, routes and geocaches wirelessly between units. In addition, you can customize your Oregon with five different user profiles: automotive, marine, recreation, fitness or geocache. The microSD card makes it simple to load optional maps for different types of adventures. The Oregons detailed mapping and high resolution color display enhance any outdoor adventure, whether on land or water

Features
3.0 inch Worldwide Basemap GPS Hand Held Receiver -High Sensitivity GPS Receiver for Improved Performance and Reception-Built In 3D Basemap /3D Elevation View-microSD Card Slot for Optional Mapping and Data Storage-Wireless Exchange of User Routes Tracks Waypoints Geocaches and Images-Electronic Compass/Barometric AltimeterTemperature Sensor

Tech Specs
GARMIN OREGON 200 Hand Held Receiver Worldwide

High sensitivity GPS receiver for improved performance and reception

Easy to use, touchscreen interface

microSD card slot for optional mapping and data storage

Electronic compass, barometric altimeter, temperature sensor

Built in 3D Basemap /Digital Elevation Model

3D elevation view

Wireless exchange of user routes, tracks, waypoints, geocaches and images

Unit dimensions: 4.5 in x 2.3 in x 1.4 in

Display size: 3 in color, touch screen

Pixels / H x W: 240 x 400

Waterproof standard: IEC 60529 IPX7

Battery type: two high capacity or lithium ion AA batteries

Weight: 6.8 oz with batteries

Part Number: 010-00697-00
—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-——
GARMIN OREGON 400C Hand Held Receiver North America. Garmin International is pleased to announce Oregon; the newest member of the premium handheld line. This rugged unit with a high sensitivity GPS receiver offers innovative features such as a sunlight readable touchscreen for easy operation, as well as the ability to exchange waypoints, tracks, routes and geocaches wirelessly between units. In addition, you can customize your Oregon with five different user profiles: automotive, marine, recreation, fitness or geocache. The microSD card makes it simple to load optional maps for different types of adventures. The Oregons detailed mapping and high resolution color display enhance any outdoor adventure, whether on land or water.

Features
3.0 in Hand Held GPS Receiver with U.S. Costal Charts Coverage-High Sensitivity GPS Receiver for Improved Performance and Reception-Wireless Exchange of User Routes Tracks Waypoints Geocaches and Images-Electronic Compass Barometric Altimeter Temperature Sensor-MicroSD Card Slot for Optional Mapping and Data Storage-Built In 3D Basemap / 3D Elevation View

Tech Specs
GARMIN OREGON 400C Hand Held Receiver North America

Saltwater mariners will love the preloaded detailed BlueChart g2 coverage for the coastal U.S. and the Bahamas in the 400c. The chart detail includes shoreline, depth contours, navaids and port plans.

High sensitivity GPS receiver for improved performance and reception

Easy to use, touchscreen interface

microSD card slot for optional mapping and data storage

Electronic compass, barometric altimeter, temperature sensor

Built in 3D Basemap /Digital Elevation Model

3D elevation view

Wireless exchange of user routes, tracks, waypoints, geocaches and images

Unit dimensions: 4.5 in x 2.3 in x 1.4 in

Display size: 3 in color, touch screen

Pixels / H x W: 240 x 400

Waterproof standard: IEC 60529 IPX7

Battery type: two high capacity or lithium ion AA batteries

Weight: 6.8 oz with batteries

Part Number: 010-00697-03

Full announcements are expected next month. [Groundspeak via GPSTracklog]

Sure, you might be worried that GLaDOS will trick you into thinking you're heading towards Six Flags or the bakery, all while directing you to drive into the gaping maw of an active volcano. But you've just got to keep telling yourself that it's just a voice on an otherwise-reliable Garmin Nuvi. It's actually not an official voicepack; it's a pet project of Ryan VanMiddlesworth. But if you own a Garmin Nuvi, you can go ahead and download it now. [Project Page via Engadget]

Mark Spoonauer's Laptop Mag is running an extensive UI video from their exclusive hands on of the Garmin nuvifone. [Laptop mag]

TOSHIBA EMPHASIZES INNOVATION AND STYLE WITH NEW QOSMIO FAMILY

Qosmio Series Consists of Three Distinct Models that Uniquely Sport a Quad Core HD Processor, Gaming Grade Graphics and GPS Chipset

IRVINE, Calif., (June 17, 2008) - Toshiba’s Digital Products Division (DPD),
today announced the expansion of its flagship Qosmio brand with three unique laptops, the Qosmio G55, Qosmio X305 and Qosmio F55. These new laptops are specifically designed for users who enjoy gaming, multimedia and advanced mobility technology.

“The Qosmio has long been the standard of excellence in the multimedia laptop space, in both styling and entertainment capabilities,” said Jeff Barney, vice president and general manager, Digital Products Division, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. “In an effort to take this standard to the next level for gamers and multimedia enthusiasts alike, the three new Qosmio models have been tailored specifically towards their personal interests, while staying true to the incredible user-experience that the Qosmio family is known for.”

Designed to meet the needs of a growing demographic of digital consumers, each new Qosmio harnesses unique features that set them apart from their respective Qosmio siblings.

The Qosmio G55 is the world’s first notebook to incorporate a parallel media co-processor, which is based on the revolutionary Cell processor1 technology co-developed by Toshiba, Sony and IBM. This technology is best known for its use within the popular Sony PlayStation® 3 and various supercomputers. Branded as the TOSHIBA Quad Core HD Processor, users have more power than ever to control and create personal movie projects with unmatched speed and efficiency. Additionally, the Qosmio G55 sports up to 500GB of hard drive storage space, and is the first laptop from Toshiba to include an expansive 18.4-inch diagonal widescreen TruBrite® high-definition display sporting a true 16:9 aspect ratio that’s perfect for serious filmmakers.

As high-definition digital camcorders become more affordable, people quickly learn that video editing is a time-intensive process. Video often must be converted from the camcorder’s format into one the editing software understands (called transcoding). Burning the video onto a DVD requires reducing the resolution to standard-definition and then transcoding the final product to a DVD Video MPEG2 format. A 10-minute video can take an hour or more to transcode using a high performance processor. Offloading that work from the CPU to the TOSHIBA Quad Core HD Processor boosts the transcoding speed up to 10 times2 faster. The Toshiba DVD Player software also takes advantage of this extra performance, upscaling DVD video to high definition.

Toshiba’s Qosmio X305 is a powerful gaming rig that’s built around a stunning 17.1-inch diagonal widescreen TruBrite high-definition display. Designed to provide gamers with the highest laptop performance possible, select Qosmio X305’s take advantage of the latest NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800 GTX GPU3, up to 1GB VRAM graphics memory, dual hard drives with up to 400GB of collective storage space, as well as leading-edge DDR3 RAM4. Collectively these features power a premium gaming machine that’s designed for high-level competition, while also looking the part of a gaming machine with an aggressively bold chassis and red-flamed Rogue design topped off with Toshiba’s Fusion™ finish.

The Qosmio F55 with its 15.4-inch diagonal widescreen TruBrite high-definition display is a worthy gaming machine that also takes mobility seriously. Sporting gaming grade NVIDIA GeForce 9700 GTS graphics users can enjoy a fluid and impressive gaming experience. Toshiba’s first laptop with a built-in GPS receiver and Garmin™ mapping software, the Qosmio F55 frees users from the need for an Internet connection when searching for millions of points of interest, as the built-in GPS system empowers users to determine their exact location in relation to their destination within moments.

Beyond the laptops, the new Qosmio family has the power to be extended into the living room through REGZA LINK™ HDMI technology. This standard feature enables simultaneous instant device configuration, and the ability to control REGZA LINK enabled devices, such as Toshiba’s REGZA™ HDTVs and a Qosmio laptop with a single remote.

Adding to their quality appeal, the Qosmio X305, Qosmio G55 and Qosmio F55 feature several prominent design characteristics that magnify the cutting-edge nature of the series. Each Qosmio sports a striking new chassis design and Fusion™ finish, Feathertouch multimedia buttons, a flush-mounted Touchpad, a high-speed eSATA port and Harman® Kardon high-fidelity bass reflex speakers with a built-in sub-woofer. These features do much to enhance the overall quality and premium feel of the new Qosmio series.
Each new Qosmio model will be available later this summer from a variety of major consumer electronics and computer stores nationwide or available directly from Toshiba at www.toshibadirect.com. Additional information is available at www.explore.toshiba.com/Qosmio.

All new Toshiba laptops are RoHS-compatible5, effectively reducing the environmental impact by restricting the use of lead, mercury and certain other hazardous substances. Beginning in the third Quarter of 2008, Toshiba will offer a computer trade-in and recycling program for all manufacturer’s PCs to reduce environmental impact and promote efficient utilization of resources. To learn more about this free PC recycling program or to find out how to recycle other consumer electronic products, please visit: www.toshiba.eztradein.com/toshiba.

One of neato aspects of the iPhone 3G's engineering is that it crams a whole bunch of wireless stuff, like 3G, Wi-Fi and GPS into just two antennas, which are integrated into the "metal ring around the camera, the audio jack, the metal screen bezel, and the iPhone circuitry itself." But that doesn't mean it's always going to get a solid GPS signal (same with most phones), like when it's indoors or between skyscrapers. So it uses assisted GPS, also known as aGPS or A-GPS, like most phones with "GPS," though it can mean a couple different things.

In the iPhone's case, it means location is determined with a combo of GPS, Wi-Fi and cell towers, depending on what's available—and all that data is crunched by the "assistance server." There are several benefits to A-GPS. It's wayyy faster for one. With vanilla GPS, to get a lock, you need several strong signals for a decent length of time. With A-GPS, the assistance server tells your phone where the closest satellites are and does the serious computational legwork, cutting down the number of frequencies the phone has to scan and the numbers it has to smash, making the whole process a lot faster. Also, the server can take paltry, choppy ones and make use of 'em. And this all makes it a lot more battery friendly too.

The nicest thing about the iPhone 3G's setup is that the you-are-here circle indicates how accurate the assistance server's guesstimation is, like when it derives your location in less than ideal conditions. Unlike some phones' A-GPS, Apple implies iPhone's A-GPS will still work without a cell signal (it "finds your location via GPS or by triangulating your position...") in case you're camping or just in the boonies. (Update: As commenters have pointed out, an issue would be getting the Google maps, which need to be downloaded via cell or Wi-Fi. A third-party app from TomTom or such with locally stored maps would solve that problem, so main issue is still the chip's capabilities to work without assistance.)

It's unknown how hard the GPS is going to punch the battery life. The iPhone turns it on and off "quickly and automatically" when needed. But we anticipate it'll sock it pretty good when the chip's actually active, especially for decent stretches—like during live tracking, possibly, but we think it might power on the receiver only at needed intervals to save juice, doing the rest of the crunching internally or by other means if they're available (like cell towers).

Okay, so the only hands on time we've had with the iPhone's GPS apps comes from Brian's brief time with it, and that did reveal a couple quirks. (Well for one, it couldn't quite find him.) Maps and photo geotagging both asked him for permission to use his location, which kinda bugged him, but since he got the first demo, I'm relatively certain it only does that the first time you use the phone, like the E911 option.
In case you're wondering about the live traffic info, that's been Google mojo for a while.

Hopes for a more robust or simply different navigation app from one of the majors like Garmin, TomTom or Telenav are foggy right now. TomTom says they've got one running already, but there's also a weird clause in the SDK that would seem to prohibit other GPS apps. On the other hand, big companies could talk to Apple directly (and very probably are) to get their apps okayed on the iPhone, which would be smart for both parties. It'll make the iPhone an even more serious GPS device, and it'll give the established makers a piece of the pie they fear losing. But we'd still like to see some sweet (and free) homebrew stuff too. [Giz Explains]

Something we missed, or you still wanna know? Send any questions about 3G, GPS, G-spots or anything else to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line.

Pretty much everything that fits a GPS module inside is rocking GPS, and more and more gadgets are getting GPS add ons (the PSP's looks particularly killer). While most of them don't touch high-end units in features or functionality, for your average trekker, they offer enough. So while more people than ever are using GPS, and that'll keep growing by leaps and bounds, the likes of Garmin and TomTom won't necessarily be reaping the windfall hawking the same old wares.

So yeah, they should worry about the iPhone. And the PSP. And everything else with a screen. When a technology truly becomes one of the masses, it's hard to hold on to it. [Popular Mechanics]

While the "communicating with medium earth orbit" part of GPS is totally free, you generally have to shell out for an online service like Garmin's to get any navigating done—unless you've got a dedicated device with tons of stored maps. This new fee is equivalent to 10 months of a normal subscription, and will carry on until you or your BlackBerry kicks the bucket, providing your handset doesn't become sentient (See Giz v Garmin, Supreme Court of the United States Case 497, 2132 AD). [Garmin via IntoMobile] -John Herrman

Let's start with the acronym: GPS stands for global positioning system. Originally a DARPA-funded joint project of the Air Force and Navy, this satellite network tells ya where stuff is, like bombers and cruise missiles in decades past, or you as of mid-2000 when the government made GPS of decent accuracy available for civilian electronics. (It was available before then, but wasn't good enough for reliable turn-by-turn app.) The soul of GPS is the constellation of at least 24 satellites way out in orbit. Signals from four separate birds are usually needed for a standard GPS receiver to peg your position.

The GPS goods most people are familiar with are ones you mount in your car (though like we said, GPS will fit just about anywhere now) with the biggest players being Garmin, TomTom and Magellan. They used to be a lot more expensive, but now you can get basic namebrand models for not much more than $200, and cheap knock-offs for even less.

At a basic level, these all operate the same way, with variations in feature sets and UI: Your GPS receiver picks up signals from orbiting satellites and plots your position accordingly on pre-loaded maps. (The maps themselves typically come from one of just two companies, Navteq and Tele Atlas.) More recently, live traffic info (or something close to it) to avoid the Monday jam courtesy of an overturned 18-wheeler of pig lard has been the goal, with the pricey (but awesome) Dash Express delivering the up to the minute goods via GPRS cellular connection.

While GPS has gotten better in your car and on your wrist, the real excitement is its movements into cellphones and other gadgets such as cameras for location-based services (and maybe ads) and tricks like geo-tagging. Sprint's Instinct phone, for instance, makes a big a deal out of having real GPS while the iPhone has less accurate triangulation via cellphone towers, since being accurate to within several blocks isn't nearly as helpful as knowing where you are within a couple of meters. Friend finders and kid locators are options on pretty much every carrier.

As GPS modules get smaller and less power-hungry, you can expect GPS to keep showing up in ever smaller and crazier gadgets, since it'll be cheap and easy to cram it in. Manufacturers on everything from laptops to shoes are getting in on GPS mania, so even if you never owned a GPS device, odds are, you soon will.

Garmin(R) Provides Navigator for Samsung Mobile Phones

OLATHE, KA UNITED STATES

LAS VEGAS, March 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Garmin International
Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN), the global leader in satellite
navigation, announced today that select Samsung mobile phones will have the
benefit of Garmin's intuitive turn-by-turn, voice-prompted navigation
directly on the phone. Samsung Mobile Navigator by Garmin is based on the
popular Garmin Mobile(TM) XT navigation software, and Samsung phones with
this navigation capability are expected to be available in Europe and other
parts of the world in several months. Garmin will display the Samsung i780
and other examples of its mobile phone navigation solutions April 1-3,
2008, at the CTIA Wireless trade show in Las Vegas.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061026/CGTH082LOGO)

"Garmin is pleased to offer Samsung users a rich navigation experience
with the same intuitive user interface found on other Garmin personal
navigation devices," said Roger Jollis, Garmin's director of OEM & mobile
marketing. "Garmin's on-board and off-board phone navigation solutions are
now available on over 500 different handsets, including Samsung mobile
phones."

"We are pleased to provide Garmin's advanced navigation feature on
Samsung's i780 and other Windows Mobile based smartphones recently
introduced to the European market. As navigation features become rapidly
popular among various mobile features, Samsung is continuously investing to
provide the best of experience to our consumers," said YongBae Lee, vice
president of mobile communication division, Samsung Electronics, of Samsung
Electronics.

Marketed in major European countries, the Samsung i780 has a sleek
design packed with the latest in business and consumer features including
global positioning system (GPS) navigation, fast HSDPA and EDGE
connectivity, Bluetooth, 802.11b and g wireless capabilities, full touch
screen with stylus, QWERTY key pad, Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0
Professional operating system, 2.0-megapixel camera and front camera for
video calls. The i780 also delivers full Internet browsing, MP3 music and
FM radio.

The Garmin navigation software is on a plug-and-play microSD card, and
once a customer loads the card into the phone, the software automatically
installs. Customers may then use their phone to receive voice-prompted,
turn-by-turn directions to their destination. A 3D moving map on the
phone's display shows the user exactly where they are, and if a turn is
missed along the way, Samsung Mobile Navigator by Garmin automatically
calculates a new route. Users may key in a specific street address or
search millions of points of interest (POI) — places like hotels,
restaurants, shopping, and tourist attractions. Customers can also dial the
POI's phone number automatically — for reservations, hours of operation,
or other information.

Those using Samsung Mobile Navigator by Garmin also have access to
Garmin Online(TM), a free and subscription based online service that offers
dynamic content such as traffic, weather forecasts and safety cameras.
Garmin Online content varies by region.

Garmin Mobile(TM) Application to Offer New Features on BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows Mobile Smartphones OLATHE, KA UNITED STATES

LAS VEGAS, March 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Garmin International
Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN), the global leader in satellite
navigation, announced today upgrades to Garmin Mobile that include a new
user-friendly interface and Google Local(TM) search. These upgrades will be
available on a variety of handsets and platforms including BlackBerry,
Symbian and Windows Mobile smartphones. These new features are in addition
to a long list of rich features and real-time content included with Garmin
Mobile's current subscription based service that includes turn-by-turn,
voice prompted directions, as well as traffic, weather conditions and
forecasts, fuel prices and more. Garmin will display the Garmin Mobile
enhancements at its CTIA Wireless trade show booth (#6639) in Las Vegas,
Nevada, April 1-3, 2008.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061026/CGTH082LOGO)

When the new Garmin Mobile application is launched, customers will
first notice the new nuvi-like interface, with "Where To?" and "View Map"
icons on the smartphone display. Once "Where To?" is selected, colorful
icons such as "Address," "Recent Finds," "Food and Hotel" and "Google
Local" streamline the number of keystrokes required before selecting a
destination and receiving turn-by-turn, voice-prompted directions. If a
turn is missed en route, Garmin Mobile automatically recalculates the route
based on the user's current location. Garmin Mobile has an extensive points
of interest database — places like hotels, restaurants, ATMs, gas
stations, airports, and more — thanks to the over six-million integrated
points of interest and Google Local search. Garmin Mobile is also
integrated with the phone's address book so that users can navigate
directly to a contact's address stored on their smartphone.

The Google Local search capability lets users harness points of
interest information via the World Wide Web. It allows users to look for
locations by typing in key word searches as they would if they were on
their desktop computer. If looking for a coffee shop with free Wi-Fi
access, simply type the phrase in the search box and a list of venues will
appear based on proximity to the user's current location. In addition,
Garmin has created a "quick search" feature that lets users search Google
Local via categories — such as food, lodging, fuel, and more — rather
than typing a word or phrase into the Google Local search box. Detailed
information can be displayed including descriptions, business address &
phone numbers, and a user-contributed rating, where applicable. Once the
user selects a location, they can save the destination to their favorites
folder, call the destination, or navigate to it with Garmin's intuitive
turn-by-turn, voice-prompted directions.

In addition to navigation, Garmin Mobile includes free access to
constantly-updating information like real-time traffic, fuel prices,
weather forecasts, and more.

Since Garmin Mobile is a subscription based solution, mapping data is
stored on Garmin's servers, not on the device itself. Therefore, customers
have the advantage of the most up-to-date mapping information available
directly from Garmin's servers. In order to access Garmin's network, the
smartphone must have a data plan for network access.

Google's will be available starting tomorrow; the MapQuest version (explained here and shown above) will launch later in the month. Of course, for the time being this will require a USB connection—unlike the Dash, which does it all wirelessly—so to call this process "hassle free" would be giving it too much credit. We still expect the nuvifone will be the real answer to all our Garmin-related prayers. In case this sounded familiar, TomTom already has an identical Google Maps feature. [Google Press Release; MapQuest Press Release]

The 255 units will also include street level voice prompts while the the less expensive 205 units will offer mapping choices such as the contiguous United States, Canada or regional sections of Europe. The nuvi 255W, 255, 205W and 205 will be priced at $373, $320, $266, and $213 respectively. [Garmin]

Features include:
• Google local search
• Garmin Online services - traffic, weather, fuel prices, hotel discounts, etc.
• nuvi-like navigation on the road or in pedestrian mode
• Email, text, IM functions
• Camera, video camera, MP3 and MPEG4/AAC

Garmin is promising to deliver it in the 3rd quarter, and says that while the PND market isn't dying, the cellphone is clearly a ripe opportunity. Only one problem, as quipster and NPD analyst Ross Rubin pointed out: "Hello and Welcome to nuvifone!" Damn, now I'll never get that voice out of my head. Have a look at all those pictures and the official press release below.

Garmin n vifone Takes Personal Navigation and Communication to the Next Level

New York/January 30, 2008/PR Newswire — Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN) and the world's leading GPS manufacturer, today announced its entrance into the mobile phone market with the n vifone, an all-in-one, sleek and slim, touchscreen device that combines a premium phone, mobile web-browser, and cutting-edge personal navigator. The n vifone is a work of art in features, design and functionality and is destined to transform how individuals connect, communicate and navigate their life.

"The n vifone is an all-in-one device offering unmatched integration of utility and function in a single mobile device," said Cliff Pemble, Garmin's president and COO. "This is the breakthrough product that cell phone and GPS users around the world have been longing for — a single device that does it all."

The n vifone is an innovative mobile phone that has a wide range of advanced yet easy-to-use features. The all touchscreen device is the first of its kind to integrate premium 3.5G mobile phone capability with an internet browser, data connectivity, personal messaging, and personal navigation functions in one device. When powered on, the 3.5-inch touchscreen display reveals three primary icons — "Call," "Search," and "View Map" which allow the user to effortlessly master the n vifone's functions.

The n vifone is the ultimate multi-tasker. Calls are easily initiated by tapping the "Call" button and selecting a name from the contact list or by using the on-screen keypad. When the user is trying to juggle talking on their phone while entering their vehicle to start a trip, the n vifone makes the transition simple. When the n vifone is docked onto the vehicle mount, it automatically turns on the GPS, activates the navigation menu, and enables hands-free calling so that the user never misses a beat in the conversation and is able to begin routing to their destination with ease.

Customers familiar with Garmin's industry leading n vi product line will feel right at home using the n vifone's personal navigation features. It includes preloaded maps of North America, Eastern and Western Europe, or both, and allows drivers to quickly find a specific street address, establishment's name or search for a destination by category using the n vifone's built-in database with millions of points of interest. Turn-by-turn, voice-prompted directions guide the user to their destination. If they miss a turn along the route, n vifone automatically recalculates a route and gets them back on track, speaking the names of the streets along the way.

The n vifone is Garmin's first device to include Google local search capability, which harnesses the vast point of interest information available from the world wide web. N vifone users can search for locations like "coffee shops" and Google will sort the results based on the user's current location and relevance. Information provided by Google includes a web-based rating so that users can select the most appropriate destination and route directly to it. In addition, the n vifone includes a web browser incorporating premium features and touchscreen operation for an optimum mobile browsing experience. The n vifone also includes personal messaging functions, including email, text, and instant messaging.

For the ultimate in safety, the "Where am I?" feature lets users touch the screen at any time to display the exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and gas stations. The n vifone also helps drivers find their car in an unfamiliar spot or crowded parking lot by automatically marking the position in which it was last removed from the vehicle mount.

In addition to navigation, the n vifone includes access to Garmin Online , an online service offering constantly-updating information such as real-time traffic, fuel prices, stock prices, sport scores, news reports, local events and weather forecasts.

The n vifone also includes numerous mobile entertainment applications. The built-in camera allows individuals to take a picture that will automatically be tagged with the exact latitude and longitude reference of where the image was taken. The user may then save the image so they can navigate back to the location, or email the image to a recipient who can navigate directly to the location. The n vifone also provides direct access to millions of geo-located landmark and sightseeing photographs available through Google's Panoramio picture sharing site. The Panoramio photo search feature enhances the enjoyment and adventure of sightseeing in an otherwise unfamiliar location. Other multimedia functions of the n vifone include a built-in video camera, MP3 and MPEG4/AAC.

Garmin anticipates that the n vifone will be available in the third quarter of 2008. Specific details about pricing and sales partners will be announced in the future. Additional information about n vifone is available at www.garmin.com/nuvifone.

• After Warner's announcement, HD DVD won't be attending CES this week, a fact that only looks worse after they put their logo on the press bags. Adding insult to HD DVD's injury, New Line Cinema also joined the Blu-ray exclusive crew.

• WowWee showed us three robots aiming to attack AIBOs, Robosapiens and autonomous helicopters everywhere. The only thing missing was a robot to bring us beer. Luckily, Inter Active Toy covered that with the RC Cooler.

• Other good finds included the Celestron SkyScout Scope, Cobra's OLED radar detectors, and an in-dash CD player for audiophiles. On the GPS front, Magellan's 5340 with built-in Google local search and Garmin's 880 with voice recognition stood out the most. Finally, Logitech unveiled a whole bunch of stuff, including a networked music player, a sleek set of speakers, and an IR remote with capacitive touch.

So far, so good, CES. We'll be looking forward to the press conferences today, and the floor opening on Monday. Until then, keep up with all of our CES 2008 coverage to date.

The 400t has 3D elevation, 400i has shoreline details and boat ramps, 400c has maps of the coastal US and the Bahamas, and the 300 has a worldwide basemap for Richard Branson and his ilk. They get 15 hours of life on two AA batteries, and will be available for $499 (300), and $599 (all the other ones).
The Catch: These only work if you make sure to take enough spare AA batteries with you when you go out. Plan on getting lost for a couple days and pack accordingly.

Athletic types can record data regarding speed, distance, heart rate and location as well as info about courses, goals and specific workouts to help them train more efficiently. Users can even send the collected data from one 405 to another wirelessly. And if that wasn't cool enough, the computer will sync with the watch as soon as the user enters the room. The Forerunner 405 will be available for $299 sometime later this year.
The Catch: Despite being described as featuring "lower power consumption than other wireless protocols" one has to wonder whether all of this functionality will be a major battery drain.

The 260w adds almost another inch of screen real estate to the speedy, stripped down but highly recommended 200 series, stretching it to 4.3 inches. And when is a wider screen not an improvement? It's also got built-in Bluetooth for hands-free calling, using the system's own speech recognition to chug through contacts, and its music player supports MP3, Ogg (!) and FLAC (!!). And of course MSN Direct—the version of which is the only real update in the 700 series' new 780 model.

Super-Sized GPS Navigation: Garmin® nüvi® 5000

Olathe, Kansas/January 3, 2008/PR Newswire — Garmin International, Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN), today announced a new series of nüvi navigators designed specifically for those seeking premium navigation features on a large, 5.2-inch touchscreen display. The nüvi 5000 was announced in conjunction with the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and will be on display at the Garmin booth (South Hall 4, booth #35832).

"The nuvi 5000 is ideal for those with larger vehicles that need navigation on a big screen" said Dan Bartel, Garmin's vice president of worldwide sales. "With its easy-to-use interface and route planning features, it puts drivers in total control of the road."

With its large, touchscreen interface, the nüvi 5000 makes it easier than ever to obtain voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions, route calculation, and automatic rerouting if a motorist strays off course. Route planning is a cinch as the nüvi 5000 will save 10 routes, specify via points and preview simulated turns on the big screen. Additionally, it auto sorts multiple destinations providing the driver with the most direct and efficient route for errands, deliveries or sales calls. Drivers who want to keep track of where they have been can turn on the track log feature and see an electronic bread crumb trail that shows their previously traveled route on the display. If a driver wants to avoid an area, the nüvi's routing can be customized by choosing to avoid select roads and areas. Garmin has also made it possible for customers to supplement the pre-loaded maps with custom points of interest such as school zones and safety cameras.

All routing information is displayed on a digital elevation map that shows detail about the surrounding terrain. Users can select a configurable vehicle icon, which allow the user to travel along their route with a fun, customized vehicle-shaped icon - instead of a simple wedge shape graphic. The nüvi also displays speed limits for major highways and Interstates.

Customers also have the opportunity to receive dynamic content from either MSN Direct (U.S. only) or FM TMC (Traffic Message Channel) traffic receiver. Those selecting the optional MSN Direct receiver will receive enhanced, up-to-date traffic information, fuel prices, weather reports, enhanced movie listings, and news and stocks information for major metropolitan areas in the United States. In addition, owners may plan trips and look up destinations from their computer, via Microsoft Local Live, and then send locations and routes to the nüvi 5000. Customers who purchase the optional FM TMC traffic receiver will receive up-to-date traffic information for metropolitan areas in the United States and select European countries.

In addition, the nüvi 5000 displays a video signal from an external analog source, such as a back-up camera. When an external video source is active, the user may revert to the map display by touching anywhere on the screen.

Customers also have several entertainment options to choose from - an internal MP3 player, audio book player and games. The built-in MP3 player lets users browse music by artist, album, song or genre. Music can be loaded onto an SD card and is "drag-and-drop" easy - no special software is required. The nüvi 5000 is also compatible with audible.com, a subscription based audio book service. A handful of games are preloaded on the nüvi to help passengers pass the time. Additional games will be available in the future at HYPERLINK "http://www.garmin.com/games" www.garmin.com/games. All music or speech files can be emitted over the vehicle's existing speakers, through the nüvi's built-in FM wireless transmitter or via the unit's 3.5mm stereo output jack. The entertainment audio is muted when navigation instructions are given.

The nüvi 5000 is expected to be available in North America in February for a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $799.99. It will be available in Europe in the second quarter of 2008.

I have had my hands on one of the prototypes, should be released spring '08. The large round button allows quick navigation to various functions from each page activated from options button on top right of unit (as you look at it.....opens a "window" on screen). Nice form factor overall, easy one handed operation and fast processor.

I work in a marine store and all the Garmin reps have 'em in hand to evaluate.

Nice unit, retail will be in the $500 + range, street price remains to be seen.

There's a famous and oft-cited work by Barry Schwartz called The Paradox of Choice that says when we have too much to choose from, we collapse in a heap of indecision. At the book's crux is a simple finding: if shoppers taste 6 different jams, they will pick one. If the same shoppers are offered samples of 24 different jams, they walk away with nothing.

Over the years, I've heard many arguments for multiple product lines: Different editions go to different retailers. Some consumers ask for a certain feature while others specifically steer clear of it. To be fair to Garmin, not all of the products listed on its website are for sale in America, and some of them are older than peat moss. But that simply shows product spam is as much a marketing problem as a manufacturing one: if it's out-of-date or not sold in a particular region, don't confuse shoppers by proudly displaying it on the website they visit.

The cellphone industry gets particularly out of hand. We laugh about Motorola's one-trick pony, the RAZR, but for most handset makers, the opposite is true. Most have 30 different ponies all more or less doing the same tricks. Sony Ericsson lists 34 phones as for sale in the US market, compatible for the most part with just two of the four nationwide carriers. Samsung lists 20 for AT&T, 20 for Sprint, 21 for T-Mobile and (a mere) 18 for Verizon Wireless. LG has a similarly busy lineup. There are some overlaps in there, sure, but it's still more than plenty.

When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1996, one of the first things he did was streamline the company's product offering. It's been a gospel truth among corporate reformers since the mid 1990s, but even Apple and RIM, companies praised for having a simple product set, are starting to slide into Spamsville. Why does AT&T sell both a BlackBerry 8320 Curve without Wi-Fi and an 8820 with Wi-Fi, while T-Mobile sells a third almost identical phone, the 8320 Curve with Wi-Fi? And there's no need to get started on the frustration that Apple is offering too many competing choices with its current iPod lineup, rather than the small, medium and large that we've grown to expect. It's not spam yet, but it does cause a similar customer confusion.

Perhaps it is inevitable. Fittingly, today, even the real Spam now comes with an impressive seven different choices. We will investigate this issue to make sure we're not being unjustly cruel to certain companies who have more than enough reason to do what they do. But the alternatives speak clearly. Compared to Samsung's 31 LCDs, Sony has 21 (and no plasmas), while Panasonic has just 12 plasmas and 3 LCDs. Garmin's chief competitor in the portable navigator space, TomTom, has only recently expanded its lineup to just six models, and business is booming. Motorola has just seven different core phones in the US at the moment, with various editions and tweaks available across all carriers. The streamline strategy worked with RAZR, though we're not sure the public will support the RAZR2 with as much fervor, in spite of its technical excellence. The reason wouldn't be spam-induced consumer confusion, though. If the RAZR2 fails, it's because of its lame-tastic name.

Tell us what you think? We'd love to hear your defense of product spamming, or your own finger pointing at any particularly offensive product spammers that have been bugging the crap out of you.

Thanks to Adrian, Charlie, Brian and Sam!

It bears a resemblance to the pricier Nuvi 680 (now selling on the street for about $670) which we think is more likely its predecessor. If that's the case, it'll have quite a feature set. To give you an idea of a possible jumping-off point for this alleged Nuvi 700, the Nuvi 680 has a 4.3-inch touchscreen, traffic reports, an FM transmitter to send its voice directions to your car radio and MSN direct for feeding weather info and a lot more content into the device.

Given the precipitously plummeting prices of GPS units lately, Garmin's price tag on this upcoming navigator will be one of the more interesting parts of the intro. [NaviGadget]

There's also a heart rate monitor that looks exactly the same as the one included with Garmin's superb Forerunner 305 GPS-based sports watch. The Forerunner 50's heart rate, mileage and speed data can be uploaded to your PC via the Garmin USB ANT Stick, using a low-power wireless protocol called ANT+Sport, the same used in the Nike+ iPod.

The coolness continues when that data is sent up to Garmin's online training site, letting you keep track of each workout and share with your friends and competitors. Sounds a whole lot like Nike's idea, but let's just hope it works a little better.

The entire package with the watch, USB receiver, foot pod and heart rate monitor will be available in October for $199. But for now, we'll stick with our Forerunner 305, which you can find on sale for not much more than that. [Garmin]

Besides being a source of comic relief, calling out the street names with this text-to-speech capability can actually be useful—keeping your eyes on the road and away from that map on the Nuvi 260's smallish 3.5-inch screen. Garmin says this Nuvi 260 will be shipping this month, and it'll retail for just under $500. And that's a "budget" unit? Expect (hope for) discounts forthwith. [Press Release]

Garmin Nuvi 200 Series Get Wider [Navigadget]

The two coolest things about these walkie-talkies is that they're so waterproof you can dunk them under 3 feet of water for 30 minutes, plus they can show you the location of whomever you're talking to right there on your screen. You can also do "location polling," letting you can see the location of all other Garmin Rhinos within range. With one of these things, it's virtually impossible for outdoorsy types to get lost in the woods. Great for marauding bands of deer-slaying hunters.

See the next page for pricing and a huge pic of the 530HCx.

The 520HCx is $450, $32 less than the retail price of its predecessor. The 530HCx, which adds a seven-channel weather receiver, an electronic compass and an altimeter, will cost you $500, and that's $35.70 less than its less-feature-rich forebear. Both will be available in June. – Charlie White

Press Release [Garmin, via GPS Lodge]

Bad pun, I know, but I couldn't resist. We've already reported on the TomTom and Garmin cellphone rumors earlier this week. And now here comes some more news that makes the rumors about the SatNavvers wanting to multi-task seem even more likely.

Mike Goodenough, from the UK office of Route 66, has been quoted as saying that "Nokia's goal is to be at the top of navigation." Route 66 is, of course, the company that puts the GPS software on Nokia 6610s. And it won't just be Nokia's top-end cells that will be getting GPS—even Nokia's pay-as-you-go phones are expected to have the chips in them. – Ad Dugdale

Soon all Nokias will have a GPS Chip [NaviGadget]

Garmin and TomTom Making Phones? [NaviGadget]

Now I've gotten my hands on that cheap-o Nuvi 200 and I have to say, testing them side by side, they gave nearly identical performances in terms of warning me of turns, locking onto satellites, and ease of use. It thankfully didn't have the neat, but flawed MSNDirect service, and MP3 player. One thing omitted that I missed? The text-to-speech ability for reading street names during nav. Still, I'm in love with how it does the basics.

Here it is: A sub-$500 navigator with a kick-ass UI and pathfinding performance. Highly recommended.
– Brian Lam
Garmin Nuvi 200 [Gizmodo]