GPS, Garmin nuvi 3700 series breaks the GPS mold, uses another mold instead
By Donald Melanson 
posted April 19th 2010 12:30PM
posted April 19th 2010 12:30PM
Well, it's not everyday you see a navigation unit that truly stands out from the rest, but Garmin has managed to do that with its new 3700 series, which are both completely new, yet somewhat... familiar. Available in nüvi 3790T, nüvi 3760T and nüvi 3750 models, the devices are all just 9mm thick, and pack a 4.3-inch capacitive WVGA display (with full multitouch), Garmin's own EcoRoute and nüRoute with trafficTrends services, the usual 2D and 3D views, and a microSD card slot for expansion, among other standard fare. The 3790T and 3760T also add Bluetooth and free lifetime traffic alerts, while the 3790T is the only one of the lot with complete voice-activated navigation including a customizable wake-up phrase. Of course, the real news here is the design, which has earned Garmin a Red Dot Design Award, and features a brushed metal enclosure, a flush glass display and only the minimum buttons required on the side. As you might have guessed, however, these aren't exactly Garmin's new entry-level offerings, with the 3750, 3760T and 3790T set to run $349, $399 and $449 when they roll out sometime in the third quarter.
Very iPhonie.
@Miakandogadget
lol looks just like the new iPhone.
Was just gonna say NuviPhone 4G!?
@Miakandogadget I'd agree....except for the fact that this product is officially announced before any iphone 4g is.
@Miakandogadget actually the iphone HD/3gs2.0 or whatever theyre calling it is copying this so that means the new iphone is very Garminy
@oproski
looks better than the new iphone
@Indefinite Implosion
Of course they are. The new Apple design is groundbreaking. No other device, say recent (1-2 years) Nokia or HTC phones, or a certain tablet from HP, looks similar to this.
@urandom the new apple design is in no way groundbreaking, its a cheap knockoff of the EVO 4g mixed with this new Garmin with a much smaller screen and crappier OS... oh not to mention HDMI ftw? Apple no longer innovates, they just copy off of companies that are innovationg
@victor
bingo!
@urandom
Apple copied LG prada and GD880 Mini edge design
@Indefinite Implosion
Really, it's a bit chicken and egg.
@oproski
That was the first and only thing I thought when I saw this. iPhone HD + Nuvi.
@ANDREUOID
It'd be nice if the alleged iPhone prototype lets go of the seams and goes for the "softness and the flatness" as the engineer says in the video! :) I'll be happy!
@Miakandogadget Except no apps. Can't one get a ipod touch with downloaded maps for under $250? I'm no Apple fanboy but that is pretty compelling.
Also, pinch zooming sucks when you are driving and if this is like the current NUVI's and you can't transfer contacts between devices: fail.
@fastm3driver This isn't a phone, ameego. This is a standalone GPS unit. I think you have Nuvi mixed up with Nuvifone.
@SteveyAyo Apple copys off other people and then patents something everyone else figured would just be universal (ie multi touch.) Or they just file tons of hit and miss patents so they can sue any way.
PS love this. I hate having to dock and undock my phone to use for gps. I want to go back to PND, and this is a good option.
looks like apple totally ripped this company off...
@Miakandogadget
inb4 "looks like iPhone"
Oh wait... shit.
@SteveyAyo
The volume buttons on the iPhone remind me of my nintendo ds I. Haha.
As for the overall design, looks like any other 'smart phone'
@Miakandogadget Thats what the iPhone SHOULD be. The screen needs to be a 4.3!!!! Now that would be badass!!
It'll never happen because apple is a money grubbing whore and wont spend more money for a 4.3" screen when they can get away with selling the same 3.5 or whatever and have 100 million people buy the damn thing. I am seriously getting more pissed off at apple everyday. First with that bullshit iPhone 3GS that looks EXACTLY like the goddamn 3G. They they totally screw everyone who wants a 13" macbook pro by keeping old processors in it instead of updating them, assholes....
@benny90 and yes I'll probably end up getting the new iPhone anyway because no one else except for HTC knows how to build a badass phone and Windows 7 wont be out till fall. But I will not be buying a macbook now and will invest my money elsewhere. I mean really, how the hell can they update every other computer in their lineup and then shaft the 13s with a TINY spec change!! Oh well.
@urandom
Haha, right you guys, because Apple seen the Prada phone and somehow built it from scratch in the short time between their releases. Perhaps you guys also missed the fact that the iPad leak from a few months ago clearly shows the 4g iPhone prototype in the back coupled with the patent Apple received on the new iPhone ceramic backing years ago means they had this design in mind for quite some time. To me it looks like the iHaters are seriously threatened by the new iPhone so they're desperately grasping at whatever they can to minimize its presence. If only you guys could make it less obvious then it wouldn't look so sad.
@High
lol. what's sad is your pathetic post. what the hell is wrong with you apple apologists?
wow, that's some slick hardware, & garmin makes the best GPS on the market hands down!
Hmm at the familiar look....but hey, at least it is a sexy look!
Why couldn't they make the nuvi phone look this good and run this advanced software?
Fingers crossed that this is the precursor to the Nuvifone v2.0
Uhm, am a Garmin fan, (have one), but this whole video is way too Apple like, almost like a spoof (without the jokes), so a bit embarrassing, even if the product is good. All said, it is a good thing that the public are being given a chance to take more interest in manufacturing design.
Looks Good.
Lets hope they add Google Search and dont forget to throw in MP3 Playback....
Google search? With what connectivity to the Web?
But yes, the MP3 thing needs serious attention. There's no reason that a device like this can't totally replace an iPod, if they could just field a competent UI. And if you can't field a competent UI for something as simple as displaying and playing back media files, you need to find a new line of work.
I would think Garmin is in for a rude awakening since Apple recently got their iPhone ornamental design patent approved by the USPTO...
@sergio
BS. There is no way anyone should be given a Patent on a SHAPE. And besides if you look even harder you will see that there is no similarity.
The iPhone can only dream on being that thin
@SetThemStraight they only got it on the original iphone not the newest one which clearly is a knockoff of this and the evo
@SetThemStraight I think you need to learn a bit more about ornamental design patents and what they protect. http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/13/apple-granted-design-patent-for-original-iphone-ipod-touch/
@sergio this thing doesnt step on a single one of those patents
@SetThemStraight
At 9 mm, it's thicker than an iTouch, and 2mm thinner than and iPhone 3gs. Not exactly enough of a differance for the iPhone to be envious.
@SteveyAyo The iPhone 4 looks nothing like an evo, aside from the general rounded rectangle design.
Wait you mean they still make these? Haven't these guys seen the writing on the wall yet? Obviously Google needs to.......FINISH THEM.
Fuck.......
Bestbuy link is stating no MP3 on 3790 model. Hope this is not true...
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Garmin+-+n&%23252%3Bvi+3790t+GPS/9888961.p?skuId=9888961&id=1218189804048
cant wait for Garmin to sue Apple for stealing their hardware design, or HTC to sue Apple for making a cheap Evo knockoff... either way works
@SteveyAyo
Actually, if history is any teacher, Apple will sue Garmin for copying the form factor of the 4G iPhone.... in about 4 years when the patent is granted.
@whySoSerious
first, this isnt gonna be 4g... Apple doesnt even have 3g nailed down yet and 4g for att is years away
second, you cant sue for something that is four years old and designed before you even applied for a patent
third, if apple continues to fail at playing catch up to HTC, Android and WebOS then people will stop buying their products unless they have like some sort of crazy brainwashed cult like following... oh damn wait
@SteveyAyo
Lol, as I typed it, I realized how misleading the 4g was. I was actually using it to refer to the fourth generation iPhone.
Then again, now I'm not even sure if it IS the fourth iPhone. I don't like them, if you couldn't tell.
@whySoSerious lol i think the new iphone design is a good change but then again i like everything HTC has done lately
I rather integrate this GPS functionality into a smartphone so I don't have another device to carry around.
Kind of like the Nuviphone that Garmin promised, oh, I dunno, pre-Skeletor Steve Jobs.
Now all they need to do is add a really good mobile OS on it. And it will be an Instant Seller :D
Have never understood the need for such a device, of course that goes to having this functionality on a phone as well. People that bad at finding their way from place to place?
@Cringer
I didn't know they let people in prison comment on engadget blogs, let alone own gps units.
@EI8HT Well I run the prison library, extra privileges come with that position. I also do the warden's bookkeeping and laundry, which will one day help me escape prison.