San Jose — Garmin International is continuing to offer portable GPS devices through BMW dealers, with two new customized models based on the Nuvi 880 with voice recognition and the Nuvi 760.
The Nuvi 880 version can use voice command to input a destination addresses, answer Bluetooth hands free phone calls or play music on the device’s MP3 player. It also responds to commands such as ‘go home.’
Called the Portable Navigation System Pro, it has preloaded maps of North America and offers MSN Direct’s real-time traffic reports, gas prices, weather conditions, movie times, stock quotes, current events and more.
A second model, the Portable Navigation System Plus, based on the Nuvi 760, offers Bluetooth, MP3 player and has an SD slot for maps offered on an SD card. It also includes the ability to provide real-time traffic updates.
Both devices may be used with “specially engineered” mounts for the BMW 1 series, BMW 3 series and BMW X3 models. The mounts do not require a suction cup and are crash-tested for safety and fitted by the dealer.
For BMW 1 and 3 series vehicles manufactured from September 2007 and later, the navigation directions are issued through the vehicle’s sound system. When navigating and listening to the car’s sound system simultaneously, the GPS device will mute the entertainment audio so the driver can hear the navigation commands.
The new portable navigation systems also automatically mark the map position when removed from the mount so the user can navigate back to his parked car if he takes the device with him.
The units are available now at prices determined by BMW.