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.
@EI8HT
You took the words right out of my month. For a second I thought I tuned into court TV
@Cringer I work in a large area and cannot be expected to know every road in it. Some of my jobs are three hours away in the sticks.
@Junyor Mynt I used to drive a truck for over 9 years and never had one. Had a road atlas which was used sometimes though. $300-$400 for something like this to me is pointless, sorry. I guess I do understand that not everyone is like me in this area though. I had to give the same directions to a woman 8 times the other day, pretty simple directions too (exit road A, turn on road B, go straight until road ends). Of course she probably would have had trouble turning this device on as well.
$350 is way too much for a GPS, I would rather get the iPhone version if it wasn't for the lack of multitasking. It's annoying receiving a call and getting disconnected from the Map.
@malexandria1:
You do realize that when you leave cell phone coverage you have no GPS in your phone, right?
@ewilts No, I didn't know that, suspected it, but didn't know it for a fact since Coverage really hasn't been an issue in my area. My issue with using the iPhone as a GPS is the lack of multi-tasking. I mean yes you can go back into the application after you take a call, but all the GPS apps I've been testing requires you to repeat the Destination setup process, instead of simply resuming the route you were previously on.
@ewilts That is not true, A-GPS works by giving an approximate location based on cell coverage, but the GPS still connects to the satellites after a while, which renders the cell tower triangulation pretty useless..
The iPhone's GPS is useless without $100 add-ons, because it doesn't store the maps. Therefore if you're not constantly connected to the cellular network, you can't navigate.
zune meets i phone, zphone
looks like the new iphone
@Stone632 I agree. The iPhone does look like this new Garmin.
It would have to have some majorly groundbreaking functionality at those prices, for me to want to have something that similar to my phone.. yet only doing one thing.
The days of the standalone GPS are numbered, and approaching fast.
I'm not going to buy one unless it supports Flash.
Wow capacitive screen on a gps device. Very nice.
where's my Apple Drank?
I really like the design. Very sleek. Unfortunately, it's a tough sell at that price point, especially considering the other offerings out today. I don't think the handheld GPS market is fading anytime soon, but with units cheaper than $100, it's hard to justify spending more unless you are heavily-dependent upon the unit or need the extra features.
I found one of these at the bar last night
looks like an editor can't spell mould correctly, yes it is mould for both the definition the editor is thinking of and the fungi.
Look at those morons messing up the comments section with their iphone hate.
nice looking, but glossy glass surface? in the car? you have enough sun glare in the car already from the dashboard. pretty annoying to have one more thing shinning in your eyes. i wonder what will happen when at night when someone following you flash a high beam. ;-)
"Shinning"?
I'd rather have it "shinning" me in the eyes than kneeing me in the groin.
But yes, the glossy screen is stupid. The epidemic regression to this crap and the abandonment of common sense is ruining computers, tablets, and devices of all kinds.
apple has always made unique and stylish computers since the late or mid 90's. this looks like an apple designed product. companies are realizing that comsumers want sexy products or they wont buy them. apple started this whole sexy computer look so for those who say apple is copying everyone now, well do your research and look at apples history before making a stupid comment like that.
I've never liked Garmin GPS for cars (though I like my motorcycle muvo). The main reason is that there is no way to display (get this) miles remaining on a trip. It only displays an estimated time of arrival. I want to know how many @#$#@'ing miles I have to go in the entire trip. Every other GPS on the planet displays this info on the main screen. I'm going tomtom next time.
@nbolmer - On any recent Garmin, you can touch the left information field on the map and select what information you want it to display. "Distance" or "Distance to Destination" is what you're looking for. On every Garmin I've worked with, you can touch the Speed field to see a trip dashboard that shows all kinds of information, including miles to the destination.
Hei???
Apple iPhone G4 is copying the design of this device!!!
Come on Apple, be creative!!!!
So confusing, so who's taking who's design ideas? The next iPhone will look very much like a Garmin and the Garmin looks kind of like an old iPhone except better.
So you consider rectangular to be a "design idea"?
@Information Central
I don't, but Apple sure seems like they do. And I was being sarcastic given the state of the "can't innovate, imitate" Apple holy grailer.
So, basically Garmin has made an iPhone 4 look-a-like GPS-device, and plan to charge more for it than the actual iPhone 4?
Hmm, good luck with that, Garmin.
damn you guy's, cause even when its not iPhone related, you will just draw a connection.
this and the new iphone look fantastic.
they use similar design language as htc and lg in these designs.
THIN! :-O