Garmin connected nuvi 1695 takes an immediate left turn out of FCC HQ

A new nuvi is coming down the highway, and it means business. Navigational business. It's the Garmin nuvi 1695, a connected GPS device that offers Bluetooth and GSM, much like the 1690 before it. In fact, it's not entirely clear what makes this different from the last year's 1690, but GPSTracklog speculates this will offer Garmin's traffic trends feature also found in the 3700, augmented by real-time updates from every other 1695 user similarly stuck in traffic. Seems like a good guess to us, but we're of course more curious about how much the thing will cost -- $500 for the 1690 when it was new was a bit of a bitter pill to swallow.

[yeoldgreat1 Posted Jul 7th 2010 8:25AM]

It just seems a bit overpriced (well the old one was) for a dedicated sat nav. Hopefully it'll knock the socks off copilot or tomtom on my hd2!

[yeoldgreat1 Posted Jul 7th 2010 8:28AM]

@yeoldgreat1
I mean what features could it have that would make it still a viable option for people with smart phones? How about it projects a HUD onto your windscreen with directions, weather info and CD track listings.

[Dev one Posted Jul 7th 2010 9:05AM]

@yeoldgreat1 Now that would be worth $500. Until then I will rely on the gps on my phone.

[dkratter14 Posted Jul 7th 2010 11:29AM]

@yeoldgreat1 I agree, unless there's a very compelling reason that I can't even think of to get a standalone GPS unit, I think these things are dead. I give it a couple more years before they disappear entirely.

[bstump Posted Jul 7th 2010 9:07AM]

I have a hunch there's little time left for dedicated GPS devices. Mobile phones are taking over the market. I have tested Google Maps Navigation on a DROID and it works awesome. I also have tested some navigation devices on my iPhone 4 and it does a VERY good job as well. Why get another device that you have to pay for a data plan for when you can just use your smartphone? Plus, smartphones that can run GPS are now in the $0-$200 range, which is about the same price as a low-to-mid-end dedicated GPS. I don't think there's going to be a market for dedicated GPS devices much longer.

[Upwad0n Posted Jul 7th 2010 9:43AM]

I feel like dedicated GPS units are going to be phased out and its going to be just awesome phones.

[firesign Posted Jul 7th 2010 10:18AM]

Call me old skool, but I don't WANT my GPS replaced by my phone. My nuvi has a bigger screen for one thing.

[sundaybiker Posted Jul 7th 2010 11:34AM]

I said the same thing, why pay for a GPS when you already have one on your phone? Well, stick your phone to the windshield and then try to text or talk or check your email, like you normally do while driving! :-) It's not gonna work or it's not gonna work right. I got a GPS and all I use it for all the directions related stuff while I txt and talk on my phone (allegedly).

[jimzakany Posted Jul 7th 2010 2:02PM]

@sundaybiker

I hope you're being facetious about texting and emailing while driving.

I have my phone on my windshield and it works just fine for talking as well as navigation. The screen is better than anything Garmin ever made, and I can tell it where to take me ("navigate to...").

[sundaybiker Posted Jul 7th 2010 3:49PM]

@jimzakany No, I actually text a lot and check my emails when stuck in traffic or driving slow, by the time I get to work I already read all my new emails. I also like the 4.7'screen on my GPS, I know it's not really worth having 2 devices for the same purpose but once you have them you enjoy using the extra features, rerouting suggestions pop up in slow traffic and other stuff while you are answering a post on FB or something. But if you only use the GPS feature on your phone rarely then that's OK, but if you need it most of the time then another GPS device comes in handy if you don't mind the cost.

[Tegeril Posted Jul 7th 2010 11:51AM]

Might this be the first device with feature parity to the now nearly 3 year old Dash Express?

[mrsmith76 Posted Jul 8th 2010 8:09AM]

@Tegeril

and 2 years behind TomTom in the UK and Europe! Garmin are supposed to be the Market leaders in GPS but tell me the last time they brought out a technology before anyone else? Discounting the hugely successful Nuviphone!! LMAO

[POZ Posted Jul 7th 2010 2:23PM]

I love Garmin. Would not use anything else - however, they need to concentrate on LESS models, and really building up recognition to the line by simply making awesome stuff without 1000 different numerical names. It is simply to many for people to grasp. Not everyone wants to click "compare" check boxes 50 times just to not understand what a feature actually is.