My-Cast OneLook: Intuitive Weather App for the iPhone

Our friends at Digital Cyclone (a Garmin subsidiary) have just launched My-Cast OneLook for the iPhone. If you're a weather junkie like this blogger or you want to be able to access reliable weather data on your phone 24/7, this iPhone app is for you. My-Cast OneLook is the iPhone's most concise weather app and it gives you a complete weather snapshot for anywhere in the U.S.:

    * Current conditions, hourly and extended forecasts
    * Animated NEXRAD radar
    * Cloud imagery
    * StormWatch that will tell you about watches, warnings and advisories from the National Weather Service
    * Almanac data plotted in relation to forecast

Locations are remembered for quick recall.

Download today from iTunes!

Mac and Forerunner 405: Update software and GPS wirelessly

More great news for Mac users! Now you're able to update your Forerunner 405 software and GPS chipset using your Mac and wireless USB ANT stick.  Through ANT Agent for Mac and our communicator plugin, you can also now send workouts and courses to the Forerunner 405 from Training Center. So in a nutshell, Mac users training with a Forerunner 405 now have most of the same functions available as those using a PC.

Garmin Connect news: Forerunner 405 and 50 are now Mac compatible

We recently released software that will allow Mac users to upload their fitness activities recorded with the Forerunner 405 or 50 to Garmin Connect via the wireless USB ANT Stick. The software is called ANT Agent for Mac users. You can also send goals to your device when uploading your history/activities.

Soon you’ll be able to update your device software and GPS chipset to keep your device up to date. With future releases you’ll be able to send workouts and courses to the Forerunner 405 from Training Center and Garmin Connect, and independently send goals to the Forerunner 405 from Garmin Connect.  Future releases will also enable you to update your Forerunner 405’s device software and GPS chipset.

Hit the Road with RoadTrip!

Listen up, Apple fans! We’ve just made organizing your waypoints, viewing map data, and saving your favorite map locations even easier on your Mac. Introducing RoadTrip – our newest resource for managing your map and waypoint information. With RoadTrip, you can create, view, and edit routes and also transfer saved waypoints, routes, and tracks between your GPS device and your computer. This is especially helpful if you’re recently purchased a newer Garmin unit but still have data saved in an older device. To learn more about RoadTrip, visit our dedicated Apple section on Garmin.com. Take a look and then take RoadTrip for a spin – it’s sure to help you make the most of your Garmin GPS. 

Alton Brown Makes Waves With Garmin

In case you missed it, the Food Network aired the first installment last night of Feasting on Waves, Alton Brown's culinary journey through the Caribbean.  Alton is probably best known for his show Good Eats, but he's done a couple of other very entertaining "Feasting" series on motorcycle.

So what's this got to do with Garmin?  A lot, actually.  It turns out Alton is a big fan of Garmin.  We sent him the venerable StreetPilot 2820 during his first series, and he used a Colorado 400C loaded with a BlueChart g2 card of the Caribbean to find his way around this time.  It turns out Alton is a card-carrying techie -- check out Gizmodo's weekend feature on the man.

And tune in every Sunday night at 10p.m. Eastern to the Food Network to catch the latest installment of our favorite cook's Caribbean culinary quest.

Garmin's New York Surprise

As you may have heard, last night was a big night for us in the Big Apple.  We invited more than a hundred financial analysts, media, and industry muckety-mucks to a party at Gotham Hall, a beautiful space in midtown Manhattan.  Ostensibly, the purpose was to unveil our Super Bowl ad and to discuss "the future of Garmin and its products." Seems tame enough.

But we had a trick up our sleeve -- the nüvifone.  It's safe to say we took the audience by surprise -- ok, that's an understatement.  As we made the announcement, the audience collectively reached for their BlackBerries and iPhones to send the big news back to their offices.  In fact, there was so much wireless activity that it momentarily conked out our presentation!  No worries though, we recovered and the audience was dazzled.

Stay glued to this space for more reaction to both the nüvifone and the Super Bowl spot.

Garmin at Macworld

Several Garmin team members are at Macworld this week, and if you're at the show we encourage you to stop by and say hi! There has been much speculation about what Mac-related products we're working on, but the guessing is over. Here's the press release and we also have a new place on our site where you can find all things Mac.

Chet's Corner: It's Finally About Time for Macworld!

While the rest of the Consumer Electronics world is focusing on the CES Show in Las Vegas, us Mac-Lovers are just biding their time waiting for our time in the sun.  Well we're only a week away from the Macworld Expo in San Francisco and we've got all kinds of news about what Garmin will be showing this year. 

Keep posted to the Garmin blog for some announcements about what new Mac-compatible software and hardware Garmin will be showing at our booth in the Moscone Center next week. 

Let's just say that we have a new software product codenamed "Bobcat" that we will be showing and I think you're going to like it. 

Garmin on the Hugh Thompson Show

A few weeks ago, Garmin hosted Hugh Thompson at the beautiful Garmin Store in Chicago.  Hugh is best described as the irrepressible host of a tech-oriented talk show on the new AT&T Tech Channel.  We showed him the latest in GPS, and even dipped into our showcase of "used and abused" units. 

And if that wasn't enough, we introduced Hugh to the lovely and talented Karen Jacobsen.  Those of you who use Garmin probably know her better as "Australian Karen," the sultry guiding voice from down under. 

Click here to see the store and meet Karen.

Chet's Corner: More Mac Software...

I just posted yesterday about the new 2008 City Navigator Map Update being Mac compatible. Well now I am here to tell you about MapManager and MapInstall for Mac. These two beta software programs have been released today and what they allow you to do is convert any MapSource programs you have for your PC into mapping that will work on your Mac. (That's right...you don't have to purchase anything else!).

A quick rundown of the process goes like this:

1. Convert the existing MapSource maps on your PC using the MapConverter program. 
2. Transfer those to your Mac by way of Writeable DVD, USB Thumb Drive, or Network Connection
3. Install the maps to the Mac
4. Install the maps to your device. 

Now here is a more involved walk through, with pictures:

1. Download the MapConverter program from the Garmin website by clicking here.  Run the program on the PC.  This will find all installed MapSource programs and allow you to convert them. 
   
   Please note the location at the bottom of this window is where the converted file will be stored on your PC.  Its default location is the My Documents folder:
   
2. MapConverter will convert the files and then compress them into a file:
   
3. Once the compression is finished, find the compressed file in your "My Documents" folder and transfer it to the Mac.  This can be done with a USB Thumb Drive, network connection, or in this case, a writeable DVD disk. 
   
   Burn the file to the DVD:
   
   
4. On the Mac, load the compressed file onto the machine and double-click on the file to decompress it.  This decompressed file will be placed in the "Documents" folder on the Mac:
   
5. Download the MapInstall for Mac program from the Garmin website by clicking here.  When the file is opened on the Mac, it includes MapInstall, MapManager, and a Read ME file that explains the process. 
   
6. Drag the MapInstall and MapManager files to your Applications folder.  The first program to run is the MapManager.  This program will take the converted map file and load it to the Mac.  Once the application is open, click on File > Open and select the converted map file from the Documents folder:
   
7. MapManager will load the file into the MapInstall program:
   
8. Open the MapInstall program on the Mac.  At this time, also connect the Garmin device to the Mac via the USB connection.  (Note: It is a good idea to make sure that the device firmware is up to date before loading maps to the device.  Download the Mac WebUpdater here.)
   
9. Now it is time to select the maps to load to the device.  Use the zoom bar and directional buttons on the left side of the map to navigate.  The indicator at the bottom of the screen indicates how much memory is available on the device.  Click on the areas you wish to load:
   
10. The maps will now be transferred to the device:
    

The maps are now loaded to the GPS device.  Please remember that this is beta software.  If any errors are found, please submit them to the following email address:

mac.mapinstall.200beta@garmin.com

If you have any other questions about this, feel free to comment.

Chet's Corner: City Nav 2008 map updates are Mac compatible!

Today's post has one sole purpose, to bring attention to the fact that our City Navigator 2008 Mapping Updates are Mac compatible. This means you can update the maps on the device, straight from your Mac, Intel or not. It's just another step in our quest to be fully Mac compatible.

It's actually about as simple as it gets. Here is a walk through of the process:

First, insert the DVD into the Mac and run the Map Update program. You will see a welcome screen:

Accept the licensing agreement:

Plug your Garmin device in, and select it in the list:

The Map Updater will now connect to the Garmin server to establish a connection to verify the update:

Enter the Product Key as it appears on the back of the Map Update Disk:

Once everything is verified, the map update process will begin:

Once it's finished, the device is updated and you're ready to go!  It really is that simple:

It's time to upgrade your maps!

It's that time of year again... time to upgrade your maps for your Garmin GPS. If you don't want to take it from us, take it from the guys at GPS Magazine. Notorious for their routing tests, the GPS Mag crew took our older version 8 maps on a test drive against the latest and greatest version 9 (City Navigator 2008) maps. The outcome?  We think you'll be pleasantly surprised. "The new maps retain Garmin's excellent routing engine and update its aging map database." Although on occasion, both versions provided identical routes, things like new street names to reflect recent construction changes proved to be very valuable in their travels. Along with the new street names, new exit names popped up, too. "Garmin's new maps appear to be a significant improvement over the previous maps." With the dynamic and ever-changing construction everywhere these days, it's essential to have these mapping updates. Take a look at all three routing tests and see the difference for yourself. Click here to upgrade today!

Chet's Corner: Let's Try This Again...

Okay, so maybe I got a little ahead of myself yesterday.  It seems some of you were having trouble getting into the  Yearbook for the GPS Academy.  I can guarantee that it is now fixed and we can now proceed with the contest. 

Really...it's gonna work this time...I promise.  Makes you wonder if things would go more smoothly if Chet was involved.  I run a tight ship ya know...

Chet's Corner: Check out the GPS Academy!!!

Today I have the esteemed pleasure of announcing a new feature for the summer on Garmin.com.  It's called the GPS Academy.  I highly recommend that you take a few minutes to take a class or two from Miss GPS and maybe even take a Driver's Ed course from Coach.  They'll give you just the knowledge you need to keep that backseat driver quiet this summer. 

Heck, I'll even make it worth your time.  The first 5 people to go through the GPS academy, get 100% on the quiz, and upload their pic to the yearbook gets some cool Garmin swag!!  I mean really...what more can you ask for? 

Another good thing...you don't even have to look at my mug this time.  Apparently it was more important to have some talent that's a little easier to look at.  Oh well...I'll see plenty of the spotlight this summer...don't you worry. 

P.S.  Don't forget to get back at Miss GPS if you get sent to Detention!!

Yao Ming TV

We're debuting a new TV commercial this week that features the nuvi and our tall friend, NBA superstar Yao Ming. The spot will run on more than a dozen channels and will air throughout the summer travel season.

Garmin.com's New Look

Ta Da! Have you seen our new website yet? Isn't it great?! If you haven't visited, hurry up and go to Garmin.com.  You'll see a brand new look on our product pages. Our ultimate goal in this redesign was to make it easy for you to learn about our products. After all, we announce about 70 products a year. That's a big list to choose from, but it means you can get a device that's tailored to your exact wants and needs.

A big thanks to our web designers -- many of whom also work tirelessly on the lil Garmin Blog.  They're working with some cutting-edge tools, too.  Recently, the fellas took time out of their busy day to talk with the folks from Adobe about the new killer apps they're using.  Click here to see these normally behind-the-scenes guys take center stage (once the page opens, click on the "Web Premium" box, and follow the link from there to the video).

Chet's Corner: Mac Betas...

I didn't post last week because I didn't want to post again until I had something tangible to report to you.  In the last week or so, Mac Beta software for POI Loader and WebUpdater have been put on the website.  This is a big step because this works with all of our direct-USB enabled devices. 

I feel that the most important of these is WebUpdater.  This program will check automatically for software updates for your device as well as any other updates that we have released for it short of mapping updates. 

Here are the links to download these software programs:

Mac WebUpdater

Mac POI Loader

Remember this is just beta software.  There will be full release versions available once testing is finished.

Chet's Corner: Apple Days

For the rest of this week, I will be in beautiful Cupertino, California -- the home of Apple.  I am making this trip to be part of their annual "Apple Days."  This is their version of "Take your kids to work day."

I will be facilitating a geocache course that is designed to be educational as well as fun.  This also gives me a chance to enlighten more people on the fun that can be had with this electronic version of treasure hunting.  If you have any questions you would like me to answer about geocaching, please let me know.  I'll be back next week with more GPS tips.

GRMN Reports Record Fourth Quarter Revenues

Our 2006 numbers are in and it was another remarkable year. Our total year end revenue was $1.77 billion, up 73% from $1.03 billion in fiscal 2005. In 2006, we introduced over 70 products and sold 5.4 million units. See the complete fourth quarter earnings report here and listen to the conference call webcast here.

Win a nüvi 660!

We mentioned our win a nüvi 660 contest last week, and here are the nitty-gritty details.  It's very straightforward. Make a YouTube™ video spoofing our Super Bowl commercial or Super Bowl music video. The theme of your masterpiece should show your “Inner Garmin Man” or how you fight your personal “Driving Demons.”  Once your video is done, post it on YouTube and then fill out the entry form. The contest ends on March 1, so grab your camera and start filming!

Win Garmin Man's nüvi 660

Long before we launched our Super Bowl plans we realized that there's a little piece of Garmin Man and Maposaurus inside all of us.  We want you to have a chance to relax. Release the stress that's been building as you fight your own monsters. We want to see the strength of your "Inner Garmin Man." 

What?  Timeout.... Forget the shrink mumbo-jumbo. We're launching another contest. This one has a HUGE prize. You could win a nüvi 660. Feel free to get a jumpstart on this contest over the weekend, but you'll need to come back on Monday for details on how to submit your video. 

The concept is pretty simple though... make a YouTube(TM) video spoofing our Super Bowl commercial or Super Bowl music video. Your YouTube video should illustrate your "Inner Garmin Man" or how you fight your personal "Driving Demons."  An expert panel, led by our pal Chet, will choose the winner (and nuvi 660 recipient) on March 1, 2007.

Visit the Garmin blog next week and we'll tell give you the details on how to submit your work of art.

(click on the jump to see full contest rules)

Win Garmin Man's Magical Map-Busting Silver Bullet

This item you see here to the left is a one-of-a-kind silver bullet used by Garmin Man to slay the dreaded Maposaurus.  It derives its power through a polymerized space age alloy of nuvite and...

Aw heck, folks, it's just a thermos.  But it is limited edition, and it does keep your favorite beverage hot or cold fairly well.  And it can be yours if you're the first to send us the lyrics to the music video.  Now get to work.

Maposaurus: Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Our little buddy Maposaurus might be a luddite when it comes to navigation, but like 34 million other beings on this planet, he's a 21st century MySpacer.  Click here to get an eyeful of the Swami of Origami in full digital MySpace glory. 

Be Garmin Man's Friend

Garmin Man has been so busy saving the world that he hasn't spent much time on his personal life.  This unfortunate plight has put him in a time crunch. As soon as the Super Bowl commercial airs, everyone will want a piece of him because he is famous and no one will take the time to get to know the real Garmin Man. Being the proactive guy that he is, Garmin Man has decided to let the world get to know him before the commercial airs. Check out his MySpace page and sign up to be his friend,  http://www.myspace.com/garminman 

And to see a behind the scenes interview during the filming of the Super Bowl music video, watch his YouTube interview here.

Hot Off The Press: Grab Your Garmin Super Bowl News Here

The buzz has begun. Everyone is talking about Super Bowl commercials....and a few are even talking about the game. If you're interested in reading about Garmin's Super Bowl commercial and others, here are some article links: The New York Times, USA Today, Associated Press and The Kansas City Star.  And if you're just joining us and need to catch up, watch our Super Bowl music video here. More to come soon!

Chet's Corner: Mac Training Center

I'm sorry that I didn't post yesterday but Garmin Man was up late last night putting the finishing touches on the downloadable version of Garmin Training Center for Mac and I had to stand in for him.  Hey, someone's gotta be second in line to fight off the evil Map-o-saurus when Garmin Man is otherwise engaged.  It's a tough job, but I feel it's the least I can do.  Of course, his shiny silver suit may say it's one-size-fits-all, but we all know what that means.  I just do the job in street clothes.  Anyway, you can now download the Mac version of Training Center from our website while it's still hot. Get it here.

Grab Your Garmin, Take On the World

Shooting this 30-second Super Bowl spot was a huge amount of fun... so much fun in fact, we realized that we had FAR more good footage than we could use in 30 seconds.  So, being the high-tech hipsters that we are, we commissioned a music video.  Click on the graphic to view this epic piece of cinematography.

And here's the first of many contests:  the first commenter to tell us our musician's former band affiliations wins some cool Garmin schwag.

Chet's Corner: Macworld Expo

As many of you know, Garmin recently attended the Macworld Expo in San Francisco.  For my post today I just wanted to reiterate what our stance is on Mac support at this time. 

We started shipping our Mac-compatible version of Training Center at the Expo.  This will be available for download on the Garmin website by the end of this month.  This product will be compatible with our Forerunner 205/305 and Edge 205/305 units. 

Our next step are Mac-compatible versions of our WebUpdater software that is used to updated unit firmware and the POI Loader application for Custom POI's.  Both of these software programs will be available to download in Q1 of this year. 

This is only the beginning.  We are not going to stop working on reaching full compatibility for all of our software titles.  It has taken longer than we thought it would but we are just as committed now as we were when we started this last year.  Thanks for your patience.

 

Inside Macworld

If you didn’t make it to San Fran this week for the huge Macworld conference and expo, we’ve got the pics right here. Our loyal Mac fans have been anxiously waiting for Mac compatibility, and we’re happy to be the first GPS manufacturer to offer direct Mac support. Garmin Training Center software is now compatible with Mac OS X version 10.4 "Tiger." This software for our Forerunner and Edge fitness products lets you analyze and store workout data, create and schedule advanced workouts and download courses for training. Our web-based analysis application, MotionBased.com, has offered Mac compatibility since last spring. Macworld attendees will have a chance to snag a CD with the new Mac-compatible Garmin TC software. Others can download it from our site later this month.

To Mac Owners

Good news for Mac users who also use the Forerunner or Edge.  Garmin Training Center is now compatible with Mac! If you'll be at Macworld next week, make sure you stop by our booth to pick up a free Training Center software CD. If you're not planning to be in San Francisco, visit our website in late January and you'll be able to download the software for free.

Merry Christmas To All...

On behalf of Chet, Peg, Prop, Spinner, Tailwheel, and all of us at Garmin, we'd like to wish you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Festive Kwanzaa, and an all-around sincerely splendiferous 2007.  We hope Santa brought you a Garmin... but if not, we hope you'll learn the Greatness of Garmin soon.  We'll talk to you after the holiday.

Chicago Store Grand Opening: The Complete Skinny

You saw 'em here first, folks.  We're opening the Chicago Store on Saturday, but we wanted to give you a glimpse inside the store before we officially open our doors.  Pretty cool, eh?  We'll be giving away limited edition (and very cool looking) t-shirts to anyone who stops by the store.  Click on the jump for more photos (or check our Flickr account on the left-hand column), and to see a complete list of Saturday's speakers, click here.

We'll be Back at Macworld

Garmin will again be showing our wares at Macworld Expo, which runs January 8-12, 2007 in San Francisco.  On a related note, we've also been getting a number of questions from the Mac community asking for an update on our OS X compatibility timeline.  We're sticking by our revised timeline -- that is, we're aiming for Training Center compatibility by the end of 2006.  We'll also have an update on a timeline for completion of our other hardware and software applications.  Thanks to all the die-hard Mac fans for staying with us, and we think you'll agree that it was worth the wait!

Garmin - Mac Update

Hi folks... today's post is a quick update from Garmin on the timeline for Mac compatibility.  Click here to read.

A Forerunner in Paris...

Here's a cool link to a fellow who's using the Forerunner 305 in Paris (click here for his English language blog, and click here for the French language version).  He ran the equivalent of a half-marathon and loaded it into MotionBased.com using their newly-created MacAgent for the Mac platform.

MotionBased is Moving to Mac

Back in January at Macworld, Garmin announced that it would make the lion's share of its products and services Mac compatible by the end of the year.  Well, that initiative is now starting to bear fruit.  Our buddies over at MotionBased.com last week announced their first steps toward making their service compatible with Macs.  Now Mac users can have access to the MotionBased Digest, Trail Network, Dashboard, Google Maps, and Google Earth.  And this week, those crazy guys at MB have devised their very own Mac Widget for MotionBased.  If you haven't yet experienced the greatness of MotionBased and its many capabilities, what are you waiting for?

Garmin's Mac Outpost in the Desert...

We told you in an earlier post about our larger offices around the world, but did you know Garmin also has a small office in Tempe, Arizona that's doing some big-time work?  This office is charged with the exciting task of developing Mac applications for Garmin customers by the end of 2006 -- the first major GPS designer and manufacturer to announce direct support for Mac OS X.  Many in Tempe are long-time Mac users... so watch this blog for more updates on our Mac progress.

Tempe also develops and maintains Windows applications such as MapSource™, nRoute™ and Garmin Training Center™. We strive to make the lives of our Garmin customers better by providing free software like WebUpdater™, POILoader™ and gStart™.

Blessed with a sunny climate and challenging topography, Arizona is also an ideal place for us to test and use Garmin devices while biking, hiking, and geocaching.

Once you go Mac, you'll never go back

Yes, it's true. Garmin is joining the Mac world. Since we made this announcement at Macworld Expo in January 2006, we've received dozens of "thank you" emails from Mac users.  First, thanks for the emails and keep sending them. We love hearing from you. Second, we will use this blog to keep you updated on our progress. Stay tuned...

http://www.garmin.com/pressroom/corporate/011006.html