GPS News

Head out to Amazon, Target, RadioShack and Sears for some good deals on GPS. Magellan Roadmate 1430 and Garmin nuvi 205W that are selling at deep discounts at Target. Amazon is selling the Garmin nuvi 260 and Garmin nüvi 270 3.5-Inch GPS Navigator at whopping 70% discounts. RadioShack is enticing buyers with discounted Mio Moov 310 Portable GPS Receiver. For some good bargains on Magellan GPS, head out to Sears.

Here are some up to date deep discount GPS deals from Amazon:

The Nuvi 255W were released by Garmin earlier this year and has a reputation now as a solid entry level unit in the Garmin nuvi line. The Garmin 255W offers a series of new tweaks that you will appreciate and enjoy.

The Garmin 255W feature several upgraded features:

• New faster processor, making for a faster routing and map drawing.
• New shaded elevation maps.
• Now compatible with optional TMC traffic receivers, or MSN Direct service (Gas prices, traffic, local events, stocks, news, and weather.
• Garmin HotFix capability to automatically calculate and store satellite locations so that you will be able to turn the unit on and go a lot faster greatly reducing satellite acquisition time.
• Geolocated Picture capability - Download geotagged photos to the Garmin to be able to navigate to a loaded picture; works with Google’s Panoramio photo sharing community and Garmin Connect Photos website.

The subtle changes don’t sell themselves in any huge way as breakthrough innovations, but these changes add up to a whole lot more in use than the quick read might lead you to believe.

Read the full Garmin 255W review.

GPS devices are some of the most popular electronics gadgets today. Smash and grab thieves can steal your GPS in less time than even the fastest unit can lock onto satellites, so to keep your GPS unit, and your car’s windows intact, here are a few simple precautions:

* Take your unit with you whenever you leave your car.
* Remove the suction cup mount from the windshield and wipe away any telltale marks.
* Better yet, ditch the suction mount altogether and buy a friction mount. These weighted mounts grip nearly any shape dash and are easy to hide under the seat or in the glove compartment. They don’t fall off the windshield or leave suction cup marks behind.

This is my favorite type of GPS mount. I can easily grab the entire mount/GPS assembly and place it on the passenger seat before I pull into a parking lot, ensuring that no one sees me disconnecting and hiding my GPS.

Magellan recently introduced a new unit in the popular Roadmate lineup in the form of the Roadmate 1430.

Magellan Roadmate 1430

The RoadMate 1430 doesn’t have the Bluetooth, AAA TourData, or Voice Recognition found on the higher-end Magellan Maestro models, but it does have a excellent set of core navigation capabilities aimed at the driver more concerned with ease of use.

At present the RoadMate 1430 is the most expensive RoadMate, with 6 million Points of Interest (POIs), text-to-speech (speaks actual street names), and live traffic. The RoadMate 1430 retails for $399, but can be found at Amazon for considerably less.

Read the full Magellan Roadmate 1430 Review and the current Top 10 GPS.

Garmin nuvi 785T

Garmin will start shipping the much anticipated nuvi 785T soon. It features a bright 4.3-Inch Diagonal Touch Screen Color Display and adds enhanced MSN Direct traffic receiver and full coverage mapping for  USA, Canada and Puerto Rico.

The preloaded map data features nearly six million points of interest, including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs and attractions. The map data is provided by NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping. It features 3D buildings, lane assist and lifetime traffic alerts from NAVTEQ. You can now take advantage of Garmin’s first premium traffic service without subscription fees.

Price is listed at $799 and Amazon is currently offering it at $699 with free shipping on pre-order.

Microsoft announced that Mio Technology, a producer of portable navigation devices (PNDs) with integrated Global Positioning Systems (GPSs), announced that it has expanded its support of the Windows Embedded offerings and will be shipping its next-generation PNDs on the Windows Embedded NavReady 2009 platform.

“Our adoption of Windows Embedded NavReady 2009 is a significant step in our ongoing mission to create superior customer experiences on PND to consumer devices,” said Samuel Wang, president of Mio Technology. “Having a category-specific platform like Windows Embedded NavReady 2009 dramatically simplifies the process of building a connected GPS navigation device, helping us achieve our goal of delivering an outstanding customer experience to drivers and other consumers.”

For Mio Technology, using NavReady 2009 delivers multiple business and technical benefits:

1. Improved time to market and reduced risk. Windows Embedded NavReady 2009 provides a common development environment with familiar Windows Embedded tools such as Platform Builder, lowering development costs and reducing time to market. The platform also delivers production-quality code tailored for the PND, so building a fully integrated Windows Embedded NavReady2009 solution is fast, easy and low-risk.

2. Seamless connectivity. Windows Embedded NavReady 2009 utilizes broader Microsoft content and services assets, enabling Mio Technology PNDs to easily connect and enable online services such as Internet-based Microsoft Live Search on devices to find up-to-date points of interest similar to those provided by Live Search Maps, Bluetooth-capable mobile phones, Windows-based PCs and the Internet.

3. Richer customer experiences. Windows Embedded NavReady 2009 helps enable MSN Direct technologies that make it easy for users to subscribe and access real-time traffic conditions, fuel prices, weather data, local points of interest and more.

At a press conference recently TomTom unveiled the new 540, 740 and 940 connected devices. These utilize a GPRS data connection to provide access to dynamic routing information which takes into account current road conditions. The TomTom GO 740 LIVE and 940 LIVE which will be connected devices through their cellular networked HD module. This will offer high quality up-to-date traffic data feeds with available traffic data and information from other users who are also using the TomTom HD service. The service will also offer fuel prices to subscribers. The units will be available in Europe, and carry a 9.95 Euro monthly price.

TomTom has brought Google to the table as a partner for search on the GPS, and will deliver results that are easily routed to with the touch of a button.

Firstly, note that there are two parts to any GPS. The GPS unit itself and the operating system of that unit, also called the firmware. The second part is the detailed map software that is loaded either onto the unit or onto a memory card inserted into the unit.

Firmware Updates:

Firmware updates are free for all Garmin GPS units and the update files are available for download off the Garmin website. Garmin also have a download utility program called WebUpdater that you download once onto your computer and which you then run directly from your computer while your GPS unit is connected to your PC. The program will automatically identify your GPS unit, log itself into the Garmin database and download all the relevant update files directly to your connected Garmin GPS unit. These firmware updates also include any new or updated voice files, Bluetooth software (if your Garmin GPS unit is Bluetooth enabled), vehicle icons, firmware improvements and bug fixes for your unit. Once the program has run, you simply disconnect your GPS unit from your PC and let it reboot and update itself (this can take a minute or two depending on the unit).

Important Note: ALWAYS remove any memory cards from the unit BEFORE doing a firmware update.

NAVIGON has unveiled its new, high-end NAVIGON 7200T. For those looking for both design style and substance, the Navigon 7200T combines an elegant black housing with an extra-wide 4.3-inch flatscreen  that provides photo-realistic images of almost every highway intersection and exit complete with sign text and lane guidance.  It features a host of next generation features such as Voice Destination Entry, allowing drivers to specify their destination by simply speaking the address, and Landmark View 3D, which brings a new dimension to the map with hundreds of richly-textured 3D landmarks across the U.S. and Canada.

The NAVIGON 7200T employs NAVIGON’s next generation software, on average requiring fewer clicks than any other GPS product to enter a destination. Another big plus is that Navigon gives you free real-time traffic updates for the life of your device. No subscriptions or additional hardware needed.

Garmin has just released its annual map update. The 2009 Map Update retails for around $69, and can be purchased as an electronic download or a physical DVD disc. This map update may only be installed on one compatible unit. If you purchased a Garmin GPS recently, Garmin will give you the update for free. The update packet size is about 2GB, so download it over a broadband connection rather than a dialup. It contains more than 8 million miles of road coverage and about 6 million updated points of interest. It includes postal code support for Canada.