Garmin Nuvi 3790t

Note: This is just the blog, not the official site.  For more information directly from the source, CLICK HERE

The Garmin Nuvi 3790t can be used for navigation by car or by foot.  It is contained in a slender thin casing, as thin as a #2 pencil, which enables you to mount it in your car for road guidance or you can just carry it with you when you are walking around. The Garmin Nuvi 3790t is a highly advanced global positioning system and offers more features than the 3760t and 3750 combined.  The device has a multi-touch display with 4.3″ diagonally and as such fits perfectly in your hand.  You can use the device vertically or horizontally – which is cool ..

It supplies dual orientation offerings through its 4.3 inch LCD display, lane assist features and junction views through three dimensional map views. It has bluetooth compatibility which means that you can hook up the device to any compatible cell phone and thus control your calls hands free.  It also has speech recognition functions so that you can verbally command the operation of the device.  All this comes at a price which is very reasonable.

The Garmin 3790t weighs just four ounces and can be carried anywhere. It is preloaded with maps of North America.  It is equipped with nuRoute, myTrends, Garmin Connect and voice guidance that announces distances and street names. You can expand the range of guidance by adding more maps offered by Garmin too.

The LCD display has a 800 x 480 pixel resolution thus making the display wide and attractive and you can see 3D renderings clearly. You can connect this device to your computer through a USB port. The Garmin 3790t also allows you to use microSD data cards.

The device is very practical in that it has the ability to sort out your routes, provide automatic rerouting functions, and allows you to select different routes based on time, distance and speed.  You can determine routes that will avoid tolls and major highways.  Through its “Where Am I” function you can find out what is nearby your immediate location. This device will allow you to add your own points of interest – it will also locate your car in any big parking lot. (Remember the famous Seinfield episode where the foursome spent hours trying to locate their car?)

Other nice features include the ability to share photographs and access to a world clock that automatically changes time as you travel between time zones.  Calculators and currency conversion are also included this making this a useful tool when you travel abroad.  Your investment in the device is protected as it is equipped with anti-theft features.

Compared to its earlier models, the 265W/265WT, the Garmin 3790T has more advanced display capabilities and also has the applications, eco-route, traffic trends, myTrends that the earlier models do not.

The Garmin Nuvi 3790t is well built, designed with panache and it is decently priced.

Note: This is just the blog, not the official site.  For more information directly from the source, CLICK HERE

Are Stand Alone GPS Devices Obsolete?

Garmin Nuvi 3790t

Note: This is just the blog, not the official site.  For more information directly from the source, CLICK HERE

Perhaps you could have held this view a few months ago before Garmin recently launched its latest flagship, the Garmin Nuvi 3790T.  Sure, your cell phone or laptop could have the same functionality as the Garmin Nuvi 200 series.  However, the Garmin 3790t has so much more – at a level of functionality, size and price that makes it worthwhile to add to your growing collection of “must-have” electronic goodies.

These extra features include:

* you can orient the device horizontally (for easy attachment in your car) or vertically (for ease of use while walking – like a cell).

* an built-in app called Traffic Trends – an artificial intelligent software app that accustoms your GPS to the ebb and flow of daily traffic in and around routes you normally take.

* another built-in app called myTrends which allows your device to learn your normal routes.

These apps will enable your GPS to start calculating traffic problems up ahead and thus reroute you.

* Unlike many other GPS devices you don’t need to subscribe to services for real time traffic and weather.  These are included in your initial purchase – so there are no monthly subscriptions.  You have lifetime access to Garmin’s traffic information.

* The device comes pre-loaded with USA, Canada and Mexico maps.

The Garmin 3790t has really raised the standard when it comes to personal map technology.

It provides much more functionality than those services that can be loaded onto your cell or laptop – functionality that you just can’t be without.

Note: This is just the blog, not the official site.  For more information directly from the source, CLICK HERE

The Main GPS Brands Available

Owing to its easy to use, convenient and accurate navigation technology the GPS unit has become an integral part of our traveling guidance needs, be it by car, truck, motorcycle, boats and planes.  The unit allows you to quickly plan the safest and shortest route to your intended destination.  GPS units can be portable and hence be a life saver in an emergency. GPS units can be dedicated and are particularly useful as such in cars where wise travel decisions can be taken – thus leading to hassle-free driving.   Because of this these electronic items have become an increasing and integral part of the automotive accessory market.

Because of this increasing market demand there are many GPS brands and models available in the market today.  The main three brands are Garmin, Tom Tom and Magellan and for travel GPS systems these are considered the major players.

The Garmin brand is the most authoritative for GPS devices specifically designed for cars, motorcycles, aviation, marine, and outdoor recreational activities such as fishing and hiking.  It has established a sound reputation by developing highly functional, easy-to-use and practical GPS devices. The brand has combined multi-media connectivity with communication among their products. Such pure innovation, convenience, performance and value in the design of its digital navigation tools gives rise to great convenience to our daily commutes and long drives while providing excellent value for money.  This is evidenced by the runaway success of its Garmin Nuvi model series.  This has helped Garmin maintain its steady growth in the functionality, creativity, design and popularity of its GPS devices – overseen by the company’s founders, Gary Burrell and Dr. Min Kao.

The Tom Tom brand is used  in more than 30 countries as a serious car navigation system. It offers quality map base data, speed profile applications and custom navigation features and this gains a clear advantage over lesser known brands.

The Magellan brand, with its award-winning series, the Maestro and the RoadMate together with over 200 key patents in GPS technologies, has established itself as a leader in the high-tech innovation GPS markets.    It supports phone-based GPS applications via kits and software GPS solutions in addition to providing mobile navigation and mapping systems. It has secured long-term partnerships with companies like NAVTEQ, The Auto Club Group and the National Geographic to innovate more GPS features and programs.

In addition to Garmin, Tom Tom and Magellan there are lesser known brands that make good GPS devices.  This is good for the GPS industry as a whole as it will keep the main players on their toes to continually meet the public’s growing demand for direction giving, route saving, navigating and surveying functionalities.

How Does GPS Navigation Work?

The US Department of Defense developed a navigation system termed the Global Positioning System (GPS).  Approval of the use of GPS technology for cars was granted in 1978. The GPS plots your current location into its digital map display at the same time as it discloses the location in latitude and longitude form.  In this way traveling distance and time can be calculated quickly and easily.

The safety features of vehicle travel, even fishing, hunting and hiking, were significantly increased by the GPS automatic tracking and automatic routing and re-routing features.

This is a vast improvement on manually finding your location on a map through using a compass, and other tools to establish your bearings with the required three points of reference. GPS receivers automatically determines your location through its trilateration calculation.

There are 30 satellites constantly orbiting the earth, called Navstars, driving the GPS system. Each of them emit signals which are used to determine your position. These signals are accessed by a GPS network through its receivers. The exact time of signal receipt is noted as this is used to carry out algorithmic calculations and analysis to determine the distance between the receiver and the satellite.  An interesting aside here is that the atomic clock in each satellite has to be periodically adjusted to account for the fact that time goes faster in orbit compared to time on earth.  This is based on a phenomenon that Einstein first postulated in his Theory of Relativity early last century.  Unless these adjustments are made GPS positions can be in error by up to 6 miles.

Signals from three or four satellites set the three points used in the trilateration calculation.

Precise calculations with up to 12 yards deviation are achieved – though this depends on the brand or model of receiver used. As the clock in the receiver is not atomic signals received by a fourth satellite adjusts and corrects any discrepancy.

To meet specific navigation needs for various applications there are many types of GPS devices.

In addition to car GPS there are GPS devices tailored to other activities such as aviation and fishing.  The main function of an aviation GPS is to help the user to plan and determine the shortest possible route between destinations.  This results in great savings in fuel and traveling time.

Commercial and recreational fishing are greatly assisted by the GPS fishfinder. This portable unit allows fishing folk to target a particular type of fish with sonar feeds along with temperature, weather and other parameters.

GPS units have been developed for geocaching adventures. This is a recreational activity of hunting for and finding a hidden object by means of GPS coordinates posted on a web site.

GPS has also been adapted for cell (mobile) phones although this has not replaced the need for stand-alone units for the car.

All in all, GPS applications, their usefulness for convenience, safety and recreation, have become enmeshed in our daily life – far beyond any military roots.