New Garmin StreetPilot!!

Lunch time, so time for a quick post… uh… and maybe I’ll get some food, maybe not. :-)

I’ve been holding off on replacing my GPS just because it isn’t the highest priority to spend money on even though it has a huge orange spot in the middle of the screen that makes it difficult to use. But the wait has paid off! Garmin has announced a new unit!!!

Garmin StreetPilot c330

Our StreetPilot “c-series” GPS navigators feature a simple touchscreen interface, with automatic route calculation to any destination and turn-by-turn voice-prompted directions along the way. Selecting a destination is straightforward and requires only a limited amount of input from the user. Plus, the StreetPilot c320 and StreetPilot c330 allow you to choose between a three-dimensional navigation view or the more traditional “bird’s eye” overhead view.

For the ultimate out-of-the-box convenience, the StreetPilot c330 comes pre-loaded with highly detailed MapSource City Select street data of the entire United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The database features an industry-leading five million-plus points of interest—including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs, and attractions. (The c320 comes with a 128 MB SD card and a MapSource City Select CD-ROM for data transfer from a PC via a USB connection.)

The centerpiece of both units is a bright, 3.5-inch diagonal, 16-bit color display that makes navigation a snap. The StreetPilot c330 features dual integrated speakers for high-quality voice prompts, and an internal lithium-ion battery for out-of-car route planning.

The new StreetPilot c-series boasts distinctive and sleek styling—the only buttons are a rotary volume knob and an on/off switch. The device is secured by a suction-mount cradle that fastens to the windshield for easy portability between vehicles. Users can customize their unit’s appearance with an array of colored faceplates (sold separately).

Suggested Retail Price:
$964.27 U.S.D. (for domestic US market only)

Expected Availability:
March 2005

(via gpsinformation.org)

No detailed reviews with screenshots and such yet. I can only hope that despite what they say about it being “Easy” they have retained all the features of previous StreetPilots. The only thing that could make me not want this would be if they removed some of the “geek features” like downloading tracks to your computer, entering destinations by latitude and longitude rather than by address, etc…. But Gramin has been pretty good about that sort of thing. If this thing is feature complete, then the larger screen plus preloaded nationwide maps and everything will make it a no brainer… once enough of the critical stuff is taken care of to make an optional thing such as this a reasonable way to spend money again.

Can’t wait to see detailed reviews of this thing once it is actually available!