Garmin has added new features to its 2017 range of personal navigation devices (PND) including live traffic services, Wi-Fi connectivity, advanced driver assist, and an integrated dashcam model.
The new range dubbed Drive, DriveSmart, DriveAssist and DriveLux will be in Australia in February 2017. Users can view the Australian website for details.
Adam Howarth, General Manager Garmin Australasia, said, “Thanks to the enhanced feature set of our 2017 Drive navigators, consumers now have access to a range of extra benefits such as free live traffic, plus new travel information.”
Garmin have always had reliable, easy to use, GPS, PND and iTWire looks forward to reviewing some of the new range soon.
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The new Garmin Drive navigators include driver alerts for upcoming sharp curves, railroad or animal crossings, driving the wrong-way on a one-way street, red light cameras2, speed cameras and more.
Garmin Real Directions simplifies navigation by guiding drivers using recognisable landmarks, buildings and traffic lights. A new Watch Link feature adds navigation to a driver’s wrist via pairing with a Connect IQ-compatible Garmin smartwatch – useful for guidance to and from a parked vehicle.
Drive 51 (5”) and 61 (6”) are entry level and add free real-time services, such as live traffic (LMT version), LiveTrack, to share their location with friends, a preloaded TripAdvisor for rating of popular travel points of interest - hotels, restaurants and attractions.
DriveSmart 51 (5”) and 61 (6.95” edge to edge), adds built-in Wi-Fi for map and software updates3 when connected to a Wi-Fi home network. It includes hands-free Bluetooth calling4, voice-activated navigation, and smartphone pairing to receive text messages and app alerts.
DriveAssist 51 (5”) adds a built-in dash cam with audio to the included microSD card. It has advanced driver awareness alerts such as Forward Collision and Lane Departure Warnings. Garmin Real Vision shows a live camera view on the display with an arrow pointing out the specific destination. The “Go” Alert notifies distracted drivers when standstill traffic ahead of their vehicle begins to move.
DriveAssist can can send an automatic text (SOS function), Travelapse can turn long hours of driving footage into a short video recap and via the free Garmin VIRB app, drivers can create Travelapse videos and share them on social media.
DriveLuxe 51 (5”) is a premium navigator that includes the full feature set offered in the Garmin DriveSmart series, framed into a sleek metal design.
Price (LM = lifetime map, LMT = add real-time traffic, S=Smart features – some require a smartphone connection)
- Drive 51, LM, A$179
- Drive 51, LMT-S, A$199
- Drive 61 LM, A$229
- Drive 61 LMT-S A$249
- DriveSmart 51 LMT-S, A$279
- DriveSmart 61 LMT-S A$329
- DriveAssist 51 LMT-S, A$449
- DriveLuxe 51, LMT-S A$499
