Posts Tagged ‘garmin gps systems’

Garmin Nuvi GPS – More than GPS Navigation And Entertainment System

Have you heard of Garmin Nuvi GPS systems?

There are over 30 varieties of Garmin Nuvi GPS systems. It comes with an extensive POI database, 2D and 3D maps, turn-by-turn voice navigation, and tools like a picture view, world travel clock and currency converter, making it more than a navigation device.

garmin gps nuvi

250 – The Garmin Nuvi GPS 250 is a small step up in price from the 200 but offers a huge leap in features. It also has 2D and 3D maps, turn-by-turn voice instruction, and POIs. Even more, you get the picture viewer, world travel clock, currency converter and measurement converter for no extra charge.

It has the same features as the 250, but with a 4.3-inch screen instead of a 3.5-inch screen. For example, in addition to the street maps, POIs, and turn-by-turn instruction, you get an optional FM TMC traffic receiver, as well as entertainment features such as a MP3 player, audio book player, picture view, language translator, anti-theft feature, and a lot more.

360 – Also considered a pocket-sized travel assistant, the 360 gives you all of the features you love about the 350 with one extra – Bluetooth technology. Some include a FM transmitter, traffic alerts for road construction, a 4.3-inch large touchscreen display, customizable POIs, turn-by-turn voice navigation with street names called out, and language translation.

850 – Stepping it up a notch is the Garmin Nuvi GPS 850, an advanced navigator with speech recognition that let’s you make menu selections verbally, a widescreen display, FM translator, and tons of preloaded maps.

So, the Garmin nuvi is not just a GPS by any means. It includes the following features not found in other old GPS.

Navigation

The Garmin nuvi 360 comes with preloaded maps of Europe or North America.

Hands-free calls with Bluetooth wireless technology

The nuvi 360 along with its counterpart the nuvi 310 integrate wireless technology with a microphone and speaker that lets you make hands-free mobile phone calls. Simply dial numbers with the nuvi’s touch screen keypad to make a call on a compatible Bluetooth phone. To answer calls, just tap nuvi’s screen and speak directly into its built in microphone.

Simply find and dial it from nuvi’s extensive points of interest database – including hotels, restaurants, stores, and attractions.

Enjoy Travel Kit full of entertainment and useful tools

Nuvi includes many entertainment and travel tools including MP3 player, audio book player with optional content from Audible.com, JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converters and more.

Language Guide

Contains five bilingual dictionaries and a multilingual word bank and phrase bank that support nine languages and dialects.

Travel Guide

Gives you helpful and thorough reviews and recommendations for restaurants, hotels, shopping, nightlife, sporting events and tourist attractions. Travel Guide for the United States and Europe are currently available for purchase.

So take the time to look over the Garmin Nuvi GPS devices on the market. You are guaranteed to find the one you love.

Gps systems have come a long way since they were first designed for the US military. The first signal from NAVSTAR 1 was received on Feb. 22,  1978. NAVSTAR 1 was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and was the first of 24 satellites that make up the Global Positioning  System (GPS). The first generation of satellites that make up the Global Positioning Systems 24 satellites were launched between Feb. 22, 1978 and  Oct. 9, 1985. Since it First became operational the Global Positioning Systems has revolutionized the way America goes to war and provides a GPS  system in which the world relies on for precise navigation.

The Global Positioning System’s constellation of orbiting satellites is managed by the United States Air Force 50th Space Wing. The unit is the host  wing at Schriever Air Force Base, located in east Colorado Springs, Colorado. They are responsible for tracking and maintaining the command and  control, warning, navigational, and communications satellites for Air Force Space Command as well as the Global Positioning System satellites. Full  Operational Capability was declared by NAVSTAR in April 1995 (NAVSTAR is an acronym for NAVigation Satellite Timing and Ranging, and is the  official U.S. Government name given to the GPS satellite system).

The US government granted the Global Positioning System available for civilian use in the late 1980s and with no subscription fees or setup charges  to use the GPS system the civilian GPS market exploded, especially in the last decade. A new generation of sophisticated GPS satellites are replacing  the older satellites and there are now 34 GPS satellites in orbit that provide combat capability for military applications and aircraft navigation aids.  Civilian applications include ATMs, bank and stock market transactions as well as power grid management. Currently 31 of the 34 GPS satellites in  orbit transmit navigation and timing signals to civilian and military users around the world.

Gps for civilian use

The civilian GPS system wasn’t always as it is today and the US military is still keeping the most accurate Global Positioning Systems available  classified for national security. But GPS upgrades for two new civilian signals to enhanced user accuracy and reliability, particularly with respect to  aviation safety were planned in 1998. Then on May 2, 2000 “Selective Availability” was discontinued as a result of the 1996 executive order, allowing  users to receive a non-degraded GPS signal globally, and in 2004 QUALCOMM announced the successful tests of assisted GPS for mobile phones that  led the way for the GPS aided cell phones that are widely used today.

In 2005, the first third generation GPS satellite was launched and began transmitting a second civilian signal for enhanced user performance. Then in  September of 2007 the Air Force completed a four-phase transition of the Global Positioning Systems ground segment to it’s new Architecture  Evolution Plan. The ground segment’s provide command and control of the satellites and generates the navigation message for satellites to  broadcast to the users GPS device to calculate their earth’s position. The new Gps satellites include new high-powered, anti-jam military-code, along  with other accuracy, reliability, and data integrity improvements for both civil and military users. This modernized version of the world’s greatest free  utility was designed to ensure the US has the most precise and secure positioning, navigation and timing capability through 2030.

Europe and Russia develop their own GPS

In 2004 the United States signed an agreement with the European Community establishing cooperation with Europe’s planned Galileo system.  Galileo is a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) that is currently being built by the European Union and is separate from but complimentary to  the United States Global Positioning System. The European Union’s Galileo system should be operational by 2013. The European Community’s  political aim is to provide an independent GPS system that the European nations can rely on in times of war or political disagreement, because both  Russia or the USA could disable use of their national systems by others (through encryption).

The Russian GPS system GLONASS is a radio-based satellite navigation system that was developed by the former Soviet Union and now operated for  the Russian government by the Russian Space Forces. Like the European GPS system the Russian GPS system also functions separate from but is  complimentary to the United States Global Positioning System. Russia began launching satellites for their GPS system into space on October 12, 1982 and was completed in 1995. The system rapidly fell into disrepair fallowing the collapse of the Russian economy but in 2001 the Russian  government began restoring the system with hopes of restoring global coverage by the end of 2009.

GPS Systems today

Depending on the GPS unit a GPS receiver only needs a signal from 3-4 satellites to calculate the units position and will work in any weather  conditions, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day. There are no subscription fees or set up fees like with a cell phone to operate GPS receivers and  although some GPS receivers have extra features like real time traffic updates that will have a monthly charge, some GPS receivers like Garmins Nuvi  “T” series come with free live traffic for the life of the unit. Today’s GPS is extremely accurate thanks to their parallel multi-channel design. Garmin’s  12 parallel channel receivers are very quick to lock onto satellites when first turned on and they maintain a strong lock even in dense foliage or city’s  with tall buildings because they continuously track signals from up to 12 satellites at any given time. Even if a 12 parallel channel GPS receiver loses  signals from 8 satellites at once it will still function properly.

WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) was developed by the Federal Aviation Administration to augment the Global Positioning System to  improve its accuracy, integrity, and availability. WAAS was originally intended to enable aircraft to rely on GPS for all phases of flight, including the precision approach to airport’s within its coverage area. All though originally intended for aviation most GPS receivers today are WAAS-enabled  including automotive, boating chartplotters and hand-held units. WAAS uses a network of ground based reference stations, in North America and  Hawaii, to measure small variations in the GPS satellites’ signals.

Measurements from these reference stations are routed to master stations and  then they send correction messages to geostationary WAAS satellites. Those satellites then broadcast the correction messages back to Earth, where  WAAS-enabled GPS receivers use the correction data while computing their positions to improve accuracy. WAAS enabled GPS receivers are accurate  to within 3 meters and that make them the most accurate GPS receivers for civilian use on the market today. In fact a WAAS-enabled GPS receiver can even give you directions right down to the lane your car is traveling in (as long as the mapping program supports “lane assist” directions) and With no additional equipment or fees required to take advantage of WAAS-enabled GPS receivers they are becoming as common as cell phone’s.

Jeff Sanders

Garmin GPS Systems

www.GpsFrontier.com [http://www.gpsfrontier.com]