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Saturday, July 12, 2008

Garmin’s Touchscreen Oregon™ Series Gives Outdoor Enthusiasts the World at their Fingertips

Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today introduced the Oregon series of handheld GPS devices for outdoor, marine and fitness enthusiasts, combining an intuitive touchscreen interface, rugged, resilient design and a variety of preloaded mapping options.

“The Oregon’s vibrant screen is responsive to the touch of your finger, yet resistant to the forces of nature,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “Combining the touchscreen interface of our iconic automotive devices with the preloaded features of the acclaimed Colorado series makes this the ultimate outdoor handheld.”

Easy to learn and simple to use, the waterproof Oregon features a high-sensitivity GPS receiver, preloaded mapping and a high-resolution, color 3-inch screen that reacts as users tap or drag through menus and options. On a mountain or an ocean, satellite reception is even faster than before thanks to Garmin’s new HotFixTM feature, which automatically calculates and stores critical satellite information and can use that information to quickly calculate a position without waiting for data collection from the satellites.

The Oregon 400t gives hikers preloaded U.S. topographic maps in state-of-the-art 3D elevation perspective. The Oregon 400i offers anglers shoreline details, depth contours and boat ramps for U.S. inland lakes and navigable rivers. The Oregon 400c is a saltwater specialist, providing chart coverage for the coastal U.S. and Bahamas. The Oregon 300 features a worldwide basemap with shaded relief. The Oregon 200 provides a basemap that can be easily supplemented with additional mapping or charts for your adventures on land or at sea.

Garmin knows its users have many interests, so the Oregon lets you customize five profiles — automotive, marine, recreation, fitness or geocaching — making the most beneficial features for each activity the easiest to access through quick shortcuts.The Oregon series plays well with others, as the 400t, 400c, 400i and 300 allow for wireless exchange of tracks, waypoints and geocaches between other Oregon units and Colorado models. Each of these models is equipped with a barometric altimeter and electronic compass and is compatible with Garmin’s heart-rate monitors and speed/cadence sensors.

Geocaching is even easier with the Oregon, which quickly downloads online information for every cache, such as location, terrain, difficulty, hints and description, so that you don’t have to tote printouts with you. Cachers and collectors will be hunting for a limited-edition geocoin minted to commemorate the launch of the Oregon series.

Oregon users can experience Wherigo™, the newest GPS-based activity from Groundspeak, the people who made geocaching a worldwide phenomenon. Wherigo (pronounced "where I go") is a toolset for creating and completing adventure games, historical tours or other innovative activities in the real world.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Garmin Colorado

If you live in North America and likes outdoor activity, this Garmin Colorado will be on your top wish list.

This rugged, advanced handheld is packed with detailed topographic maps for all your hiking adventures not to mention 3-D map view, a high-sensitivity receiver, barometric altimeter, electronic compass, SD card slot, picture viewer and color display. Exchange tracks, waypoints, routes and geocaches wirelessly between similar units. Slim, lightweight and waterproof, Colorado is the perfect companion for all your outdoor pursuits.

Share Wirelessly
With Colorado 300 you can share your waypoints, tracks, routes and geocaches wirelessly with other Colorado users. Now you can send your favorite hike to your buddy to enjoy or the location of a cache to find. Sharing data is easy. Just select "send" to transfer your information to other Colorado units.

Keep Your Fix
With its high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver, Colorado 300 locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover and deep canyons. The advantage is clear — whether you’re in deep woods or just near tall buildings and trees, you can count on Colorado to help you find your way when you need it the most.

Colorado's preloaded U.S. topographic maps, 3-D map view and a built-in worldwide basemap with shaded relief give you all the tools for serious climbing or hiking. Map detail includes national, state and local parks and forests, along with terrain contours, elevation information, trails, rivers, lakes and points of interest.

Just in case you’re wondering how steep that hill really is, Colorado’s 3-D map view helps you visualize your surroundings — giving you a better perspective of the elevation.

The Colorado also accepts SD cards, so you can use Garmin preprogrammed SD cards to add maps that serve any and all of your outdoor activities on land or water. Just take your pick from a wide selection, including street maps, topographic maps, coastal charts or inland lake data. The card slot is located inside the waterproof battery compartment, so you don't have to worry about getting it wet.

Colorado's innovative Rock ‘n Roller input wheel for easy one-handed operation and intuitive screen interface make it as easy to navigate the device as the outdoors.

Customize Colorado's interface based on your favorite activity. Even show off photos of your excursions with its picture viewer.

Colorado has a built-in electronic compass that provides bearing information even while you're standing still.

Its barometric altimeter tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude. View elevation data before you begin your ascent or descent. You can even use the altimeter to plot barometric pressure over time, which can help you keep an eye on changing weather conditions.

Specifications:

* Unit dimensions, WxHxD: 2.4" x 5.5" x 1.4" (6.0 x 13.9 x 3.5 cm)

* Display size, WxH: 1.53"W x 2.55"H (3.8 x 6.3 cm); 3" diag (7.6 cm)

* Display resolution, WxH: 240 x 400 pixels

* Display type: Transflective color TFT

* Weight: 7.3 oz (206.9 g) with batteries

* Battery: 2 AA or 2 NiMH batteries (not included)

* Battery life: 15 hours (claimed)

* Waterproof: yes

* Floats: no

* High-sensitivity receiver: yes

* PC interface: USB

Maps & Memory:

* Basemap: yes

* Preloaded maps: yes (topographic)

* Ability to add maps: yes

* Built-in memory: yes

* Accepts data cards: SD card (not included)

* Waypoints/favorites/locations: 1,000

* Routes: 50

* Track log: 10,000 points, 20 saved tracks

Features:

* Automatic routing (turn by turn routing on roads): yes (with optional mapping for detailed roads)

* Electronic compass: yes

* Barometric altimeter: yes

* Geocaching mode: yes (paperless)

* Outdoor GPS games: yes

* Hunt/fish calendar: yes

* Sun and moon information: yes

* Tide tables: yes

* Area calculation: yes

* Custom POIs (ability to add additional points of interest): yes

* Unit-to-unit transfer (shares data wirelessly with similar units): yes

* Picture viewer: yes