We're pleased to announce the new Garmin Drive™ product line – easy-to-use portable navigation devices (PNDs) specifically designed to help increase driver situational awareness. The launch of this new lineup marks a significant step forward in the evolution of PNDs from Garmin with four intuitively named models: Garmin Drive™, Garmin DriveSmart™, Garmin DriveAssist™ and Garmin DriveLuxe™. The 2016 Garmin Drive product line is being showcased in the Garmin booth (South Hall 4 #35811) at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show.
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“The most exciting development of the new Garmin Drive line is that driver awareness features typically seen in luxury vehicles are now accessible as an aftermarket solution for all drivers,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of worldwide sales. “There are many distractions that drivers encounter while running errands, driving to work or taking road trips. These new driver alerts can remove some of these burdens and help drivers stay aware on the road.”
The entire Garmin Drive lineup boasts a number of driver alerts to encourage safer driving and situational awareness. This includes warnings for upcoming sharp curves, railroad or animal crossings, alerts for users driving the wrong-way on a one-way street and more. Drivers also receive red light and speed camera alerts as well as vital timesaving traffic information with fast-approaching traffic jam notifications. For longer routes, a fatigue warning alert suggests potential break times and available rest areas or places to stop.
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In addition to the new driver awareness features, Garmin Drive includes preloaded data from Foursquare® POIs, adding millions of popular stores, restaurants and more. Various models offer options for lifetime maps and traffic updates. Other features designed to simplify navigation include Garmin Real Directions™, which guides drivers using recognizable landmarks, buildings and traffic lights; and Easy Route Shaping that lets drivers modify a route to include preferred cities or roads by touching the navigation screen.
The Garmin DriveSmart boasts all of the features from Garmin Drive and adds customizable smart notifications that allow drivers to display calls, text messages and app notifications on the navigation screen. Voice-activated navigation and Bluetooth® wireless technology for hands-free calling allow drivers to keep both hands safely on the wheel. Garmin DriveSmart can also access real-time services such as live traffic and weather radar through the Smartphone Link app.
Garmin DriveAssist builds on the Garmin DriveSmart and includes a built-in dash cam to serve as an eyewitness. The device continually records and automatically saves video footage on impact with the included microSD card. The integrated camera brings in more advanced driver awareness alerts, such as the Forward Collision and Lane Departure Warnings. Additionally, Garmin DriveAssist integrates the new “Go” Alert, a camera-assisted feature that notifies distracted drivers when traffic ahead of their vehicle begins to move. As drivers approach select destinations, Garmin Real Vision™ unveils a camera view on the screen of the device and an arrow points out the specific destination.
The stylish Garmin DriveLuxe is an impressive premium navigator housed in a beautiful forged metal design. Powered with a sleek magnetic mount, the Garmin DriveLuxe delivers innovative navigation features and adds HD Digital traffic – the fastest traffic avoidance solution offered by Garmin, with updates as often as every 30 seconds.
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All Garmin Drive devices can be paired with the Garmin BC™ 30 Wireless Backup Camera (sold separately) to easily see behind a vehicle when moving in reverse. Garmin Drive devices may also be paired with the new Garmin babyCam™ in-vehicle video monitor (sold separately, or bundled with Garmin Drive 50 USA LM) to view backseat passengers on the navigation screen.
The Garmin Drive lineup has models in different display sizes with various map regions and navigation features. Suggested retail prices range from $129.99 to $349.99. The Garmin Drive product line is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2016. For more information, visit explore.garmin.com/en-US/drive.