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Garmin's zūmo 660 motorcycle GPS shipping this month
Hot on the heels of Mio's introduction of its C523 V2 motorcycle-centric navigator comes good news for American bikers. Garmin's zūmo 660, which was originally announced at CES with a monstrous $800 price tag, is apparently set to ship before the end of this month. Aside from the widescreen design, advanced Junction and 3D building views, Bluetooth connectivity, large-format keyboard, the device also includes a 4.3-inch sunlight-readable panel, ruggedized and waterproof chassis and a built-in feature that hunts down other obnoxiously loud exhaust pipes. Yeah, we're just kiddin' on that last part, but at least you'll have this bad boy before you make the trek to Myrtle Beach next month and Sturgis in August.[Via I4U News]
Garmin's nuvi 660 reviewed
You've been teased enough -- first we showed you a snazzy gallery of the upcoming nüvi 660, only to lead you on a bit more with an official announcement, and now the lucky folks at PC Mag have ran themselves around at the mercy of Garmin's latest GPS unit, only to conclude that it was everything they'd hoped for. Sporting the same Bluetooth functionality that showed up on the nüvi 360, as well as the acutely accurate NAVTEQ maps, the nüvi 660 somehow found a few clever ways to improve on a nearly flawless predecessor. Reviewers praised the 4.3-inch QVGA widescreen display as "impressive," SD slot, the lightweight, pocket-friendly design, and better than expected "3 to 7 hour" battery life. While Garmin stuffed a (very appreciated) plethora of bells and whistles on the 660, this thing isn't worth much if it can't get you around, right? The review crew calms our final worries by citing the unit's impeccable ability to provide quick turn-by-turn directions, while also packing a myriad of POIs to go along with the real-time traffic information. The only notable digs came from the ho hum FM transmitter (has there ever been an impressive one?) and the lack of multipoint routing, but we'd recommend hitting the read link anyway to find out if "the best shirt-pocket GPS" is worth the admittedly steep $1,000 asking price.
Garmin nvi 660 and 610 announced
Just two days ago we teased you with pictures, and so to celebrate September we've got the full info on the nouveau nüvi 660. It's got a 4.3-inch screen, an FM transmitter, and Bluetooth support. The 660 also includes an "integrated traffic receiver" to avoid congestion and road construction, give the driver advance voice notification of upcoming hazards, and appropriately route around it. In the US, this Total Traffic Network is included free for three months, and then will cost $60 for 15 months of service. The FM transmitter will play MP3s and phone calls over the car speakers connected via Bluetooth. In Europe, where the FM transmitter is not available, nüviheads can purchase the nüvi 610 (one of nine regional maps), or buy full European mapping with the 660. The North American version of the 660 comes with complete maps of the US, Canada and Puerto Rico, and, as always, one can load up updated maps and other media via the USB port or SD card slot. Expect it to hit U.S. retailers later this month with an MSRP of $1076.91 -- but we have no idea how Garmin came up with such a precise figure.[Via GPSLodge]
Shots of Garmin's Nvi 660 surface
Oh you know we were damned curious to see what the front side of the widescreen Garmin Nüvi 660 looked like. Unfortunately for us, it looks remarkably like like the Nüvi 300 and 360, but that doesn't mean we're not gonna write about it. As you may know, according to best buy this device should have a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 display, 700MB of internal storage, SD slot (duh), and all the rest of the GPS power that makes a Garmin a Garmin. Sorry though, still no price or release.[Thanks, the Aviator]
Upcoming Garmin nvi spotted on FCC site
Well, well, well; that chatty little birdy over at the FCC came buzzing by our offices once again today, and let us know that Garmin's got a new nüvi GPS device / multimedia player in the pipeline. Because Garmin double pinky swore the FCC birdy to secrecy, all that's known at this point is that the new model will be part of the 6xx series (the 660, perhaps?), and that it contains both a Bluetooth radio and FM transmitter. So in other words, we pretty much know nothing at all. Still, we can tell by the pictures (of the back of the device -- thanks a lot, Garmin) that the upcoming nüvi retains the same form factor as the older models, so we're expecting either a souped up 360 or a same-speced model at a lower price point. Oh, and if anyone cares to go through the 43-page testing documentation to dig for more details (good luck with that), please be our guests; just remember to come back and report your findings in the comments section, as we and your fellow readers will be eternally grateful.Update: That was certainly a slap in the face; Garmin won't tell us jack about the 660, but it has no problem spilling the beans to e-tailer buy.com. Thanks to eagle-eyed reader AMtech, we now know that the nuvi 660 will feature a 4.3-inch, 480 x 272 pixel display (compared to the 360's 3.5-inch QVGA screen) and come bundled with either the GTM 20 or GTM 21 traffic receiver (optional on the 360). Oddly enough, though -- at least if buy.com's got the accurate specs -- the 660 will only sport 700MB of internal storage, quite a drop from the 2GB preloaded on a 360 ( you can still upgrade via SD, however). Oh, and if you were hoping for a price break, keep dreaming: buy's got this one listed at an even $1,000.
Rig of the Day: Pizza box
Ah, the pizza box Macs: Flat, broad squares of loveliness. I knew someone who had a Centris 660AV just like this one, which she refused to replace up until only two or three years ago (and its replacement was a 350MHz G3 iMac). Sometimes it's hard to let go."old workhorse" posted by glug.For the month of April, the theme for our Rig of the Day will be "Vintage Macs" in honor of Apple's anniversary. If you'd like to see your own rig featured here, simply upload photos into our group Flickr pool. Let's see your vintage Macs (Apples and Newtons, too)! We'll select an image every day to highlight.Speaking of flat vintage Macs, does anyone have a nice shot of a TAM out there?
