Three new ones from Garmin: the c580, nuvi 680 and dog-tracking Astro

Garmin seems to have missed out on the holidays, but that doesn't mean they can't provide a few snappy little presents to the lost ones among us. Most interesting is Garmin's new Astro dog tracking system (pictured). The gadget is designed for hunters looking to keep track of, you guessed it, hunting dogs, and seems to provide quite a bit of innovation in a market we hardly knew existed. The system includes the DC 20 transmitter, which is strapped to the dog, and the Astro 220 receiver, which receives location data from the dog up to five miles away, and can double as a regular ol' handheld GPS unit when hunting season's over. The software allows you to mark coveys, measure acreage, track where the dog has been, and even lets you know if the dog is sitting or running or just generally slacking off. Up to ten dogs can be tracked simultaneously, and the system should be available in June for $650. Back to the beaten path, Garmin's new c580 has the traditional looks of a vehicle mounted GPS device, with a 3.5-inch touchscreen, while the nuvi 680 does it on the slim, with a 4.3-inch touchscreen to play with. Both players feature FM, and it appears at least the 680 has Bluetooth for handsfree interoperability with your phone, but most interesting is the MSN Direct functionality that Garmin has stuffed into these things, bringing movie showtimes, weather and other fun info to the portables. Unfortunately, all this fancy stuff doesn't come cheap: with the c580 hitting the streets in February for $800, while the nuvi 680 should hit in "early" '07 for a whoppin' $1000. Check out these two navigators after the break.

[Via Uber-Review, GPS Tracklog]

Read - 680 and c580
Read - Astro

Garmin c580

nuvi 680

[Marc @ Jan 5th 2007 12:47AM]

anything that comes with the msn you will get a 1 year subscription for free to try it out and then its like $9/month. and while the new 680 it starting out at $1000 msrp, the only difference between that and the nuvi 660 is the msn so it will probably drop in where the 660 is sitting at in msrp and thats around $800-900.

[Wouter @ Jan 5th 2007 5:16AM]

Wasn't Astro the dog from the Jetsons ? He did have a Antenna on his back, did he ! Hahahahahah, well found product name !

[granny down east @ Jan 5th 2007 8:12PM]

is the astro transmitter waterproof? if not = useless

[Matt @ Jan 5th 2007 8:20PM]

Yay, I always wanted to lay down a grand, and then fork out $120/year, so I can have MSN on my GPS unit. Alleluia, my dreams have come true.

/me removes tongue from cheek with crowbar

[srshea @ Jan 6th 2007 11:22AM]

The question is, since the MSN receiver is in the charger like the 660's traffic receiver, will you be able to upgrade your 660 to get the MSN content? Probably not but that would be great.

[Bean6 @ Jan 18th 2007 12:24AM]

$49.95 per year or $129.95 for a lifetime subscription.

http://garmin.msndirect.com/NavigationServicePlans.aspx

I'm pretty excited! Mine's on pre-order from tigergps.com ($837.36 no tax, free shipping).

[Chris @ Dec 20th 2007 10:03PM]

I purchased the Nuvi 680 for $649.99 with free shipping at http://www.electronicvortex.com It works great.