Garmin
Since the early 1990s,
Garmin has been a leader in GPS technology.
Garmin GPS navigation systems started with
Garmin handheld GPS and marine units, later branching out into GPS for aviation, cars, laptops and -- most recently -- mobile phones. The accompanying collection of
Garmin GPS Accessories makes all of their GPS units easily portable and compatible with most vehicles. In nearly every way, Garmin GPS has become a leader in navigation on land, air and water.
Outdoor and handheld Garmin GPS units seek to make navigating trails and waterways easier, providing you with map data for the most rugged terrain and revealing topographical features that you can only get from a bird's-eye perspective. Garmin focuses on long battery life and high sensitivity for handheld GPS units, making them rugged, weather-resistant and reliable for whatever type of landscape or climate you find yourself in. Garmin GPS also finds a home on varying sizes of watercraft, enabling fish-finding, radar and communications for marine applications.
The most versatile of the company's product offerings has probably been the Garmin Nuvi series, from the
Garmin automotive GPS family. Since 2007, succeeding versions of the Nuvi have offered an increasingly robust array of features, including text-to-speech, Web browsing, lane-assist and voice recognition. Live traffic updates and smart route calculations make navigating any city simpler and more fuel-efficient. All these features move Garmin GPS devices closer to mobile computers and smart phones than simple navigation units alone. Watch for Garmin GPS units that hold the specific features you need, as the variety between each model adds and drops certain functionality that you may or may not need.
Garmin Mobile technology, like the Garminfone and apps for smart phones, have gone a long way toward melding advanced Garmin GPS features with mobile technology. Some smart phones featuring Garmin XT mobile software enable navigation and calling simultaneously, not to mention the coordinating abilities that navigation and Web browsing offer to mobile users. By entering the mobile market, Garmin seeks to solidify its position not just as a GPS navigation leader, but also as a mobile electronics pioneer that fuses location-based information with cell phone communication and connectivity.