Astro220
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Garmin DC 30 GPS dog collar turns hunting into a videogame
Here's one for the hunters. Strap the Garmin DC 30 collar onto your hunting dog, fire up your Astro 220 receiver, and you'll not only know where your dog is, but you'll also know if he is running, pointing, or treeing, even in dense cover. Range is good for up to seven miles, and the tracking even covers the dog's direction so you can figure out where that delicious nubbin of turkey is hiding. The receiver can track up to 10 dogs at once, and the collar is good for 17-36 hours on one charge. The DC 30 is sold separately for $199.99 or for $649.99 as part of an Astro 220 combo, and should be available third-quarter 2008.UPDATE: Garmin was nice enough to send us proper shots of the actual DC 30. Thanks!
Three new ones from Garmin: the c580, nuvi 680 and dog-tracking Astro
Garmin seems to have missed out on the holidays, but that doesn't mean they can't provide a few snappy little presents to the lost ones among us. Most interesting is Garmin's new Astro dog tracking system (pictured). The gadget is designed for hunters looking to keep track of, you guessed it, hunting dogs, and seems to provide quite a bit of innovation in a market we hardly knew existed. The system includes the DC 20 transmitter, which is strapped to the dog, and the Astro 220 receiver, which receives location data from the dog up to five miles away, and can double as a regular ol' handheld GPS unit when hunting season's over. The software allows you to mark coveys, measure acreage, track where the dog has been, and even lets you know if the dog is sitting or running or just generally slacking off. Up to ten dogs can be tracked simultaneously, and the system should be available in June for $650. Back to the beaten path, Garmin's new c580 has the traditional looks of a vehicle mounted GPS device, with a 3.5-inch touchscreen, while the nuvi 680 does it on the slim, with a 4.3-inch touchscreen to play with. Both players feature FM, and it appears at least the 680 has Bluetooth for handsfree interoperability with your phone, but most interesting is the MSN Direct functionality that Garmin has stuffed into these things, bringing movie showtimes, weather and other fun info to the portables. Unfortunately, all this fancy stuff doesn't come cheap: with the c580 hitting the streets in February for $800, while the nuvi 680 should hit in "early" '07 for a whoppin' $1000. Check out these two navigators after the break.[Via Uber-Review, GPS Tracklog]Read - 680 and c580Read - Astro
