Garmin's nuLink! 1695 attracts high-end GPS buyers, nuvi 2200 and 2300 mop up the rest
Looks like Garmin's cellular nüLink! service was something of a success -- it's now become the brand of the company's new top-tier GPS. The Garmin nüLink! 1695 replaces the nüvi 1690 with a model nigh-identical on the outside but for a larger, 5-inch touchscreen, but imbued with the traffic trending features of the 3700 series -- in other words, pretty much just what we expected. Unfortunately for spendthrifts lusting after its connected search functions (including traffic, weather, Google, fuel prices, flight times and more) and new integrated services store, the price is about what we expected as well, starting at $450 for the unit with a year of nüLink data and $5 a month thereafter. However, if that's out of your price range Garmin's not going to let you go without a fight -- it's also introduced no fewer than eleven new nüvi 2200 and 2300 series PNDs with a wide variety of features at nearly every wallet size. Press releases after the break, and find the full lineup at our source link.
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Garmin® Introduces the nüLink!™ 1695 for Super-Sized Connected Navigation
OLATHE, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced the nüLink! 1695 – a 5-inch touchscreen portable navigation device (PND) that connects drivers with relevant, online information from Garmin's nüLink! service, including links to online information like Google™ Local Search, traffic, weather, fuel prices, flight status, and other real-time, location-relevant content, plus it uses nüRoute™ technology with trafficTrends™ and myTrends™ to make your daily commute easier than ever. The U.S. version of the nüLink! 1695 comes with one year of free Garmin nüLink! services out-of-the-box, and is also the first device to offer the nüLink! Store where customers can purchase optional premium services.
"The nüLink! 1695 is designed to give drivers a full variety of accurate, up-to-the-minute information that they can access quickly, on a full-size, 5-inch touchscreen display," said Dan Bartel, Garmin's vice president of worldwide sales. "When you add the power of Google Local Searches and nüRoute historical information, the nüLink! 1695 delivers the ultimate navigation experience."
The nüLink! 1695 has a comprehensive set of points of interest (POIs) search capabilities thanks to nüLink!'s Google Local Search and white page telephone listings. Google Local Search brings online POIs to customers' fingertips and lets them search for destinations by name or key words just like they are accustomed to doing on their personal computer. Detailed search results are displayed for many POIs, including a location description, business address, phone number and popularity rating. Customers can also use the nüLink!'s white page telephone listing feature to search for a person's street address by their first and last name or phone number.
In addition to the local search capabilities, Garmin nüLink! offers a plethora of other online services that will help you travel like a local. Convenient services like local events and movie listings help customers find interesting activities wherever they might travel. Real-time flight status takes the stress out of traveling to the airport with up-to-the minute arrival and departure information for major air carriers. Plus, the Garmin nüLink! traffic feature provides the best-in-class information from NAVTEQ™, a world leader in premium-quality mapping, to help customers navigate in and around congestion. In addition to the standard included services, the nüLink! 1695 offers the nüLink! Store where customers can purchase optional premium services that offer information like real-time advanced weather with Nexrad radar and severe weather alerts, and premium safety camera alerts.
With nüLink! 1695 customers will receive efficient routing and realistic arrival times with trafficTrends, which recommends routes using historical data and recurring trends that Garmin has collected about traffic in your area at any given time of day. And making your commute easier than ever, the nüLink! 1695 remembers your frequent favorite destinations and uses myTrends to predict your destination without you needing to activate a route, displaying your arrival time and best route based on relevant traffic information. In addition, the nüLink! 1695 includes lane assist with junction view so drivers will see a realistic presentation of road signs and junctions along the route, as well as arrows that indicate the proper lane for navigation where available.
The nüLink! 1695 comes standard with ecoRoute™, an innovative application that helps customers stretch their dollars and conserve fuel by creating routes that are optimized for using less fuel. When a user selects the "less fuel" option, the 1695 will determine a fuel efficient route based on fuel consumption rates, estimated driving speeds and vehicle acceleration data. Customers can then develop better driving habits by reviewing the results of ecoRoute's Fuel Report and Mileage Report. When used in combination with nüLink!'s fuel prices, customers can not only optimize their routes but also can choose their refueling locations in order to minimize the cost of vehicle operation.
The nüLink! 1695 also has Bluetooth® Wireless Technology that makes it possible to receive and place phone calls directly from the device. It can be paired with over 200 Bluetooth enabled phones, and a driver can retrieve and dial numbers using a supported phone's contact list, the phone's call history log, or the nüLink! 1695's preloaded points of interest database.
The U.S. version of the nüLink! 1695 has preloaded maps of North America and is expected to be available in September 2010 for a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $449.99. In the U.S., the first year of Garmin nüLink! is free, and after that, the subscription renewal price for data services is $5.00/month. Fuel prices in the U.S. are updated daily. nüLink! coverage area information is available at www.garmin.com/nulink.
Garmin® nüvi® Gets Personal at a Low Price, Bringing nüRoute Technology to Entry-Level Devices
OLATHE, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced two new series of budget-friendly nüvi personal navigation devices. The nüvi 2200 and nüvi 2300 families feature multi-stop route planning, route previews and innovative nüRoute technology with trafficTrends™ and myTrends™ to make the daily commute or vacation travel easier than ever.
"Mixing business with pleasure, the feature-filled 2200 and 2300 products prove there's a nüvi for every lifestyle and every budget," said Dan Bartel, Garmin's vice president of worldwide sales. "At work, at home and on vacation, we're all trying to do more with less, and these nüvis can help you save time, save money and save gas every day, on every trip."
For the busy parent or college student focused on multi-tasking and making the most of every minute and dollar, the nüvi 2200 series with a 3.5" touchscreen interface fits easily into a pocket or purse, features easy-to-use multi-stop routing to plan daily errands and activities, and includes Garmin's ecoRoute fuel-efficient navigation to help drivers conserve fuel and money along the way (www.garmin.com/ecoroute). For those everyday trips, nüvi 2200 models automatically remember your frequent favorite destinations and use myTrends to predict your destination without you needing to activate a route, displaying your travel time and best route. For vacations, nüvi 2200 models' enhanced pedestrian mode can provide public transit options through optional cityXplorer™ content. Available for many major cities and areas at www.garmin.com, cityXplorer helps you navigate like a local by foot or using a combination of buses, metro and suburban rail systems.
For the jet-set professional heading across town or across the world, nüvi 2300 models feature a widescreen 4.3" touchscreen display that lets users preview multiple routes. Cross-country travelers and commuters alike will appreciate the high-end features of the nüvi 2360LT without the high-end price tag. Wherever their appointments take them, nüvi 2360LT owners can go hands-free with Bluetooth wireless technology and compatible phones, or get efficient routing and realistic arrival times with trafficTrends, which recommends routes using historical data and recurring trends that Garmin has collected about traffic in your area at any given time of day. Many of the new nüvi models even feature free lifetime traffic alerts, denoted by the "LT" in the product name.
The dual orientation of nüvi 2360LT is ideal for use while driving or walking, as it lets users see their preloaded maps and intuitive menus in landscape or portrait modes. And the road ahead comes to life with nüvi 2360LT through 3D terrain and shaded topography that provides unrivaled context and situational awareness. When driving, travelers with nüvi 2360LT and other compatible nüvis can tap into ecoRoute HD, an easy-to-install device that transforms nüvi into a real-time diagnostic computer. This not only provides fuel and mileage reports, but you get more accurate fuel consumption/conservation data by tapping into the vehicle's diagnostic system.
All of the newly announced models in the 2200 series and 2300 series feature millions of preloaded points of interest and turn-by-turn directions with spoken street names, and certain models feature a speed limit indicator that displays speed limits for most major roads and alerts drivers who are exceeding the limit. Preloaded mapping is also enhanced as North American coverage (2250, 2250LT, 2350, 2350LT and 2360LT) includes Mexico. Coverage of the lower 48 states (2200, 2300) now also includes Hawaii, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Grand Bahama Island, Nassau and the Cayman Islands. The transatlantic model, nüvi 2370LT, includes detailed mapping for North America and Europe.
