Garmin Announced the GPSMAP 62 Series Handheld GPS

Jeremy Jones — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 14:48:15 +0000

Garmin announced the GPSMAP 62 Series. It’s the next version of the very popular 60 Series handhelds. I actually use the 60csx for Geocaching and really like it. The new 62 Series adds some nice improvements. The screen size is the same but the improvements came where it’s needed when you’re out in the woods. The 62 Series has a high-sensitivity GPS receiver and quad helix antenna. It also has a 3-axis tilt-compensated electronic compass to know which direction you are facing while standing still. That is a big deal when you are trying to zero in on a micro cache in the woods. It also features some paperless caching features that the 60 Series doesn’t. You can see location, terrain, difficulty, hints and description. The Colorado and Dakota have those features now and they are very helpful. Garmin has a geocaching page about paperless caching. There was no mention of price but I’m guessing it will be similar to the 60 Series. Retail for 60 Series is around $500 but you can find them a lot cheaper at Amazon.

Press Release Below:

OLATHE, Kan./June 2, 2010/Business Wire — Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced the GPSMAP 62 series of rugged outdoor handheld devices, bringing a sleek updated look, new mapping options and many technical innovations to a product line beloved by hunters, hikers and geocachers of all ages.

“The GPSMAP 60 series has been one of our most popular product lines, and the new GPSMAP 62 series improves the form and functionality to make a best-in-class device even better,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “Whether you’ve been using Garmin for years or are buying your first handheld, GPSMAP 62 is ideal as it combines our new breakthroughs in outdoor recreation technology with the comfortable feel of an old favorite.”

Boasting a 2.6” sunlight-readable color display, up to 20 hours of battery life and a high-sensitivity GPS receiver and quad helix antenna for unparalleled reception, the GPSMAP 62 series features three distinct waterproof models to suit various activities and interests. The basic GPSMAP 62 includes a built-in worldwide basemap with shaded relief. The GPSMAP 62s adds a 3-axis tilt-compensated electronic compass and wireless connectivity for sharing routes, tracks, waypoints and geocaches between other compatible Garmin handhelds. GPSMAP 62s also includes a barometric altimeter that tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude. Users can also plot barometric pressure over time, which can help keep an eye on changing weather conditions. In addition to these key features, GPSMAP 62st includes preloaded 100K topographic maps for the entire United States (or preloaded 50K topographic mapping of Canada for the Canadian version). Coverage on GPSMAP 62st includes major trails, urban and rural roads, interstates, highways, coastlines, rivers and lakes as well as national, state and local parks, forests and wilderness areas. In addition, you can search for points of interest by name or proximity to your location and view descriptive details for terrain contours, topo elevations, summits and geographical points.

To help each user maximize the mapping potential of Garmin handhelds, each model in the GPSMAP 62 series is compatible with Garmin’s subscription-based BirdsEye™ Satellite Imagery, the free online community at Garmin Connect™ as well as Garmin’s free Custom Maps utility for transferring paper or digital maps onto a compatible handheld.

Geocachers can help the environment and be more efficient by going paperless with the GPSMAP 62 series, quickly downloading cache information directly to the device. Each model stores and displays key information such as location, terrain, difficulty, hints and description, so that you don’t have to tote printouts with you. Learn more about geocaching, getting started and going paperless at www.garmin.com/geocaching.

Subscribers to BirdsEye Satellite Imagery can use BaseCamp™ software to quickly transfer high-resolution satellite images to any Garmin GPSMAP 62 device and seamlessly integrate those images into the handheld’s maps to get a true representation of the surroundings. More details can be found at www.garmin.com/birdseyesatimagery.

Customizing maps for your Garmin outdoor handheld has never been easier. Through a few simple steps, Garmin’s Custom Maps can bring the details, labels and landmarks of your existing paper or electronic map to a product in the GPSMAP 62 series, or a compatible Garmin Oregon, Dakota or Colorado. Compatible with both PC and Mac, this free utility complements the myriad of mapping products already offered for Garmin devices, including City Navigator®, NT for turn-by-turn directions on city streets, Blue Chart® g2, for marine charting, and TOPO U.S. 24K and 100K map software for incredible terrain detail (each sold separately). To walk through the steps, to find and share maps and to join discussions about Garmin Custom Maps, visit www.garmin.com/CustomMaps.

Experiences will live on long after the activity has ended, thanks to Garmin Connect (http://garminconnect.com), the free-to-join online community of more than 20 million activities for sharing, storing, analyzing and enjoying at garminconnect.com. Outdoor and fitness enthusiasts alike can share activities on Facebook and Twitter, export to Google Earth or relive the activity in table view, calendar view or on a variety of maps including our new embedded Google Earth view.

Each device in the GPSMAP 62 series has a high-sensitivity GPS receiver with HotFix, which automatically calculates and stores critical satellite information and can use that information to quickly calculate a position. The GPSMAP 62 series is made even more versatile through its universal mounting system that is compatible with the same accessories as Garmin’s Oregon, Dakota and Colorado products. Other key upgrades include photo navigation and onboard memory for downloading maps. GPSMAP 62s and GPSMAP 62st models also feature high-speed USB for faster map transfers with your computer, as well as a 3-axis tilt-compensated electronic compass, which shows the user’s heading even when standing still, without the need to hold it level. In addition to the preloaded topographic details for the entire United States, GPSMAP 62st features 500 MB of available built-in memory. GPSMAP 62 and GPSMAP 62s are ready to be customized to fit any user’s activity, thanks to 1.7 GB of onboard memory.

The GPSMAP 62 series represents the latest breakthroughs from Garmin, which has spent 20 years developing technologies and innovations to enhance users’ lives, making Garmin a household name in the automotive, aviation, marine, wireless, outdoor and fitness industries. For more about features, pricing and availability, as well as information about Garmin’s other products and services, go to www.garmin.com, www.garmin.blogs.com and http://twitter.com/jakesjournal.

About Garmin International Inc.
Garmin International Inc. is a subsidiary of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation. Since 1989, this group of companies has designed, manufactured, marketed and sold navigation, communication and information devices and applications – most of which are enabled by GPS technology. Garmin’s products serve automotive, mobile, wireless, outdoor recreation, marine, aviation, and OEM applications. Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit Garmin’s virtual pressroom at www.garmin.com/newsroom or contact the Media Relations department at 913-397-8200. Garmin, GPSMAP, Bluechart, City Navigator, Colorado, Dakota, Foretrex and Oregon are registered trademarks and Garmin Connect is a trademark of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.

GPS Functionality On The iPod Touch

Jeremy Jones — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 04:09:44 +0000

The one feature I have been wanting on the iPod Touch, well the iPad too, is GPS. Location based services are hot right now and will continue to grow. TUAW has a write up for getting GPS functionality on the Touch. No it’s not built-in and hidden. No it won’t work unless you jailbreak the device. It requires a paid program purchased through Cydia called roqyBluetooth which is $11. You will also need a bluetooth GPS device which they provided a link to one for $20.

It’s going to take a little work and a little money but if you really want GPS on the iPod Touch you can make it happen. I’m just glad there are others interested in GPS on the iPod Touch. Maybe Apple will listen and add it to a new release.

BirdsEye Satellite Imagery from Garmin

Jeremy Jones — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:19:42 +0000

BirdsEye satellite imagery from Garmin will give you detailed images on your Garmin handheld devices. It only works with their expensive GPS line: Colorado, Dakota and Oregon. It’s also not a free service at $30. As someone that goes geocaching a lot having detailed maps will be very helpful. My only complaint is that you can only have the maps on one device. Even if everyone in your family has Colorado GPS units. It will be available in March and works with Mac and Windows.

Homer Simpson Voice on TomTom GPS

Jeremy Jones — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:52:59 +0000

TomTom has released the Homer Simpson voice for their GPS. Pretty cool to show off but if you really wanted to get somewhere he would probably annoy you. It would still provide some entertainment as your traveling down the road. Click the link above to hear a few samples.

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