Garmin Blog

Peg’s Posts: Explore more.

Signs of my addiction: Packing for a long weekend getaway to Phoenix, the first items to go in the suitcase are my running shoes, shorts, running shirts, socks and water bottles (for cycling and running). Not to mention three Forerunners and a nüvi. Now I’m set for a relaxing vacation. My husband has finally come to terms with my addiction and knows that when it’s just the two of us on vacation, we’re going somewhere warm and recreation-friendly. And by recreation, I don’t mean go-carts or golf carts (no offense to Caddy Carl), though we were surrounded by plenty of lush courses during our stay in Scottsdale. I prefer recreation that requires "me" power — biking, hiking, running. My husband picked the perfect place for us to stay in Scottsdale. We were less than a mile from a multi-use trail, which was ideal for some morning runs and even a short bike ride.

There are lots of reasons to love Garmin Connect, and one of my favs is that I can easily upload my activities to the site when I’m traveling. Better yet, I can use the Explore function to search for runs, rides or even hiking routes that other Garmin Connect users have uploaded. Not only does this give you an idea of where to find these great routes, but you can view all sorts of data for that activity. It’s what Garmin Connect does best—recording elevation, distance, timing and more, so you get a real-world picture of the route before you set out to explore it. Our last day in Phoenix, we made a quick stop at Papago Park outside Tempe. Didn’t have much time for our hike, but we did take in some beautiful sights with the sun setting over the mountain ridge. Alas, the setting sun signaled the end of our vacation and time to get back to reality. Would’ve loved to have stayed a few more days, especially when I saw signs at a nearby marina for Ironman Arizona, which is this weekend. I could’ve cheered on my friend Mike and some other triathletes from this area. Another time perhaps. I’ll be back to the sunny southwest again. And I’ve given my husband fair warning of my vacation wish for our 20th anniversary: hiking the Grand Canyon. He said he was thinking beach time, maybe Waikiki. We have a few years to see who wins out. I’ll keep you posted.

nüvi 1690: One of My Favorite Things

For the die hard Black Friday shoppers, this weekend is all about scouring the web and making a game plan for where they'll be at o' dark-thirty the day after Thanksgiving. Savvy consumers know they should also cross reference the ads with product reviews so that they're sure to get the biggest bang for the buck.

GPStracklog.com recently posted a review of the n ü vi 1690 and according to them, "They (Garmin) is the first manufacturer to get the connected personal navigation device model right, giving two years of free service and then keeping it to a low $5 per month.This replaces the 765T as my favorite model in the nuvi lineup. Like all nuvis, it's intuitive and a joy to use. And having access to Google Local Search is a definite plus."

Read the full review here and visit our minisite for a full 1690 product demo.

Jake's Journal: Custom Maps another reminder to keep software updated

A lot of people ask me for freebies. Here you go: Go get your Garmin. Update the software right now. You're at a computer - unless you're reading this on your phone, in which case I'll try to keep it short - so you don't have any excuses. Even if you just bought your Garmin yesterday, had it for years or will be opening it a month from now, our engineers may have been working on new software while it sat on a shelf, in your house or under the tree. Updating your software through my.Garmin.com is free, it's fast, it's easy and it makes your Garmin even better than before without costing a dime. And with as much as our engineers are able to pack into a software update, it should really be called a product upgrade.

Take, for example, this week's news about Custom Maps. Simply by updating the software on your Garmin Oregon, Dakota or Colorado and following a few simple steps, you can now transform existing paper and digital maps into downloadable content to overlay onto your device. Visit garmin.com/CustomMaps to learn more about this process that maximizes the potential of your product. To get an idea of the other aspects that can be added or improved upon through software updates, check out the newest post at GPSFix.com. While it focuses on Custom Maps, the entry also rattles off the other new benefits of the latest software updates. And it's not just outdoor handhelds that show how great products can be made even better. My fellow bloggers Carl and Peg have shown how recent software updates can improve the Approach G5 golf GPS or the Forerunner family of fitness watches. And many of these improvements are based on customer feedback, so whether you're talking to clerks at a retail store, my colleagues at a trade show or me during a race (that's how I passed a couple miles of the Chicago Marathon last month), your feedback is being heard. But enough from me, you're supposed to be updating your software. You can thank me later.

Cyclists around the world ride faster, farther with Garmin Edge 705

Time to check in with cyclists across the globe who are relying on Garmin's Edge 705 to get the most out of their training, touring and racing. While Team Garmin-Slipstream enjoys a brief offseason, American sprinting sensation Tyler Farrar just wrapped up a meet-and-greet at Cycle University in West Seattle, near his hometown of Wenatchee. We'll be announcing another chance for fans to meet Tyler, so stay tuned. Many of Tyler's fans are in the Washington State Bicycle Association, and we had a chance to sponsor more great cycling through the WSBA's Garmin Series for CAT4 women. "I was this year’s winner for the 2009 Garmin Series," wrote Jennifer Hamilton, pictured at left, "and I believe that because of your generous sponsorship, it helped to get more women out racing more often this year. I'm proof of that, I ended up racing a total of 30 races this year. The Garmin 705 is a wonderful new addition to my cycling gear and I’m amazed at all of the features it has. Thank you again for your investment to our women's racing community. It's because of you that the WSBA can continue to develop and support new bike racers and improve the quality of women’s bike racing in the Pacific Northwest." Congratulations, Jennifer, and thanks for sharing the highlights video from the races!

Garmin's work with women's cycling obviously goes far beyond Washington, as our technology is on the handlebars of the world's best in mountain biking. German cross-country cyclist Sabine Spitz, the 2008 gold medalist in Beijing and 2009 world champion, has been busy with her Edge 705. Sabine, pictured above right, tracks her training on Garmin Connect and shares her data on Twitter. But don't think that Edge 705 is just for racing. Our friends Mollie and Geraldine at BikesandBiscuits.com and Conde Nast Traveler used their 705's mapping and navigation features to plan an awe-inspiring two-month bike tour of the south, fueled by curiosity and motivated by culinary delicacies. Read their blog, and join us in envying their adventures.

Wish List Wednesday: Best Gifts for Pilots

There are only five weeks left until Christmas and if you haven't begun your shopping yet, it's time to start. Don't panic. We're here to help. Every Wednesday between now and December 25, we'll give you a few ideas for those you love who need a sense of direction -- pilots, boaters, runners, cyclists, golfers, hikers, drivers, geocachers, cell phone users, and hunters, just to name a few. This week we're focusing on those who have caught the flying bug.

If you're looking for the ultimate aviation gift for under the tree, now is the time to upgrade your favorite pilot's airplane avionics. Every pilot would be thrilled with a new G600 all-glass retrofit flight deck or the GTS 800 traffic receiver. Since we have a rebate on these and other products of up to $7000, you can give this ultimate gift without breaking Santa's bank.

If the pilot in your life already has a fully equipped plane, we recommend our newest touchscreen handheld, the aera, which will take pilots from the plane to the car. The aera 560 is our top of the line model and it has advanced features like XM WX satellite weather, SafeTaxi, AOPA Airport Directory, street mapping with turn-by-turn voice prompted directions and traffic support in automotive mode. Watch the video to learn more. If you want a bigger screen than the aera, check out the 696, which also has a rebate between now and the end of the year.

Santa never forgets stocking stuffers, and neither should you. All good flights (even those with a sleigh and reindeer) begin with good planning and training. Make sure you don't forget to add Pilot My-Cast by Garmin and eLearning to your list. Pilot My-Cast lets pilots check the weather and file a flight plan directly from their cell phone. It's currently available with all major carriers and with the most popular phones, including the BlackBerry. It'll also be available on the iPhone before the holidays. Watch this Pilot My-Cast video to learn more. eLearning is an online, highly interactive training program that will help the pilot in your life make the most of their Garmin aviation equipment. Here's a video with more details.

If you want to see any of these products in person, you can always visit our Chicago Store or any Garmin aviation dealer.

Garmin Makes Custom Maps Free and Easy

It's free, it's easy and it lets you get even more out of your Garmin handheld. Custom Maps, a free, simple process compatible with Mac and PC, can transform the maps you currently have – in paper or digital form – into downloadable maps for your Oregon, Dakota or Colorado handheld.

“Free Custom Maps can be used by anyone wanting to bring their favorite locations to life,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “Potential users include new students on college campuses, experienced hunters on game areas, and the millions of visitors to zoos, amusement parks and botanical gardens.”

Through a few easy steps, Garmin’s Custom Maps can bring the details, labels and landmarks on a user’s existing paper or electronic map to a compatible Garmin handheld.

This free service 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).

Before you begin converting your existing maps to Custom Maps, be sure to install the latest software for your Oregon, Dakota or Colorado. Connect your outdoor handheld via USB and visit http://my.garmin.com for the fast and free software update. Once software has been updated, the simple steps can begin.

The first step to creating Custom Maps is to save your existing map in JPG format, either by scanning a paper map or converting a digital file. The second step is to georeference your new map image, which can be done easily by using Google Earth to line up key landmarks with those depicted on the map. The final step is to save your Custom Maps to your Garmin device and you’re ready to go explore. To see these steps in further detail, to find and share maps with other users and to join discussions about Garmin Custom Maps, visit www.garmin.com/CustomMaps. Custom Maps should only be created from maps that are in the public domain, for which you hold the copyright, or that you have permission to use from the copyright holder. The original map’s accuracy in scale and illustration is also an important factor in creating quality Custom Maps.

The power of Custom Maps is exemplified through paper and digital maps labeled for specific events and purposes, such as a college graduation invitation that lists campus building names and locations; a roadmap of a parade, marathon, 5K or bike race; a pamphlet for a nearby park that lists trailheads; or a historic illustration of an area as it once stood, allowing you to bridge generations through existing locations and imagination. Give it a try today!

Give-a-Garmin holiday ads unveiled as Nutcrackers come to life

What happens to the toys when the shopkeeper leaves for the day? Now we know. One of Garmin's two new holiday commercials follows an outgoing Nutcracker set on going out. After a long day manning his post at the store, this lovable character with a huge head and even bigger personality uses his nüvi to navigate nightlife. But before this model of mobility could venture out into the world, he had to take shape in Santa's workshop - which for a few weeks outsourced some work to Garmin headquarters. In addition to creating the look and feel of all of Garmin's amazing GPS products, our design engineers were responsible for crafting the statues currently standing guard in Chicago at Garmin's only retail outlet on Michigan Ave. The Nutcrackers at the Garmin Store represent our various product lines - fitness, marine, aviation, outdoors, mobile and automotive - and they serve as reminders that there's a Garmin for everyone on your gift list. Our second holiday ad also displays the diversity in Garmin's product line, tracking the adventures of a knight to remember, a multi-sport leprechaun, a camera-friendly Yeti, a swingin Scot and a squirrel. Enjoy, and be sure to stop back often for gift ideas and interviews with this colorful cast.

Top-of-the-line MFDs, AIS 600 and more introduced at METS

METS - the world's largest exhibition of equipment, materials, and systems for the international marine leisure industry, kicks off tomorrow in Amsterdam, and our Garmin colleagues across the pond are going to be busy showing off tons of new Garmin marine equipment. First up, we just announced our new GPSMAP 6000 and 7000 series MFDs for the sport fishing and cruising yacht markets. These new top-of-the-line network chartplotters feature the smoothest, most detail-rich displays in Garmin's chartplotter lineup, and with Garmin's new G Motion™ technology, map panning and zooming has never been so smooth and seamless! Both touchscreen (7000 series) and traditional soft-key (6000 series) displays ranging from 8-15 inches will be available, and all units offer "plug-and-play" access to on-board sensors with NMEA 2000 and Garmin Marine Network connectivity. For a closer look these stunning displays, check out the online demo.

Garmin also announced the AIS 600, the company's first AIS transceiver for vessel tracking and collision avoidance. The AIS 600 features an active splitter that eliminates the need for two VHF antennas and also offers Garmin's new ClearTrack™ technology that ensures seamless interaction between the VHF and AIS. Garmin is proud to be the first manufacturer to bring this unique technology to the AIS market.

In addition to these new product announcements, Garmin is also excited to be a nominee for the METS DAME design award in the marine electronics category for the GPSMAP 620 - a rugged full-featured marine chartplotter that pulls double duty with an automotive mode that's ready to go as soon as you reach the shore.

New cast of characters giddy to Give-a-Garmin in holiday ads

As we near the holiday season, our latest and greatest Give a Garmin holiday commercials get ready to hit the airwaves. The ads this year feature a fun cast of characters – including a fitness-obsessed Leprechaun, a cool and collected Nutcracker and our in-house Yeti .... We finished shooting the spots just weeks ago, and now it’s business as usual back at Garmin. And in the coming weeks, we plan on keeping our new colleagues busy. We'll have them introduce themselves to all of our blog readers, and we've assigned some homework. Every week through December, our Wish List Wednesday will give you gift ideas from each of our product lines for those hard-to-shop-for pilots, boaters, hikers, geocachers, hunters, runners, cyclists, golfers and travelers in your life. Starting this weekend, be sure to tune in and see for yourself.

Jake's Journal: Living vicariously through Edward Norton

As a fan of the movies "Rounders" and "Fight Club," I was obviously thrilled with Garmin's decision to support the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust and its Maasai Marathon team, a group of 30 runners led by conservationist/Oscar nominee Edward Norton and three Maasai warriors, who ran the ING New York City Marathon. As a Garmin employee, I was excited to be a part of such a great global effort by helping the MWCT promote conservation, education and health services within the Maasai community. And as a runner, I was jealous that I wouldn't be running with Edward through the five boroughs of New York, where last year I loved my 26.2-mile tour. Fortunately, there's Garmin Connect to help me (and everyone around the world) feel like I was there with Edward and his Maasai friends.

"What a day. Went great. Did 3:48. Hoped for 3:30 but this course was tough! 14-19 was toughest. 2nd wind, sailed from 20 to end. great fun," Edward wrote on Twitter just hours after the race. Even though I was back home, I was able to relive that tough course and my own second wind thanks to his updates at twitter.com/edwardnorton, where he continues to raise funds and awareness for the Maasai through giveaways and experiences that you can't buy (a few lucky winners met Edward at his post-race party). "Sponsor Dave $34 in the next 14 hrs for a chance to win 2 Garmin watches. Pink and Blue. I'm running in my Garmin," he wrote before the race. And everyone who visits www.maasaimarathon.com sees the link to Edward's Garmin Connect account, where you can find his training runs with Garmin’s Forerunner 405CX and the details for his NYC Marathon. "Just posted my marathon run on Garmin Connect," Edward wrote (yes, he does his own tweeting), "Very cool app. All details mile by mile w/moving Google Map track." Very cool, indeed. So whether you're a fan, a runner or someone who wants to help a great cause, check out www.maasaimarathon.com and give us a shout on Twitter at @EdwardNorton and @JakesJournal.