Crave

(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET)

I've been eagerly anticipating the arrival of the Garmin Nuvi 1690. It's sort of a big deal.

As Garmin's second major foray into the world of Internet-connected PNDs and its first model powered by the nuLink data service, the Nuvi 1690 is poised to go head-up with not only our current favorite, the TomTom Go 740 Live, but also with the whole world of smartphone turn-by-turn apps.

But before I can test it, I have to open the darn thing up. Rather than just rip into the box with my teeth like I normally do, it was suggested that perhaps I should open the box like a civilized human being and share the unboxing experience with you, our beloved readers.

Check out our gallery to see the Nuvi 1690 unboxed.

The EcoRoute ESP will connect your Garmin Nuvi to your vehicle's diagnostics port.

(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET)

We stopped by Garmin's booth at the 2009 SEMA Show expecting a new GPS device or news of another OEM integration deal, but we stumbled upon something even better. Sometime next year, Garmin's Nuvi GPS devices will gain the ability to communicate with your car through ESP. In this case, we're not talking about psychic extra-sensory perception, but the EcoRoutes ESP module for Nuvi navigation devices.

The ESP module is a small hideaway box that communicates with Nuvi units via Bluetooth.

(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET)

The ESP module is a hideaway box that connects to (and is powered by) your vehicle's OBD-II diagnostics port. The device gathers information about your vehicle's performance and relays that info via a Bluetooth data connection to your Garmin Nuvi GPS device atop your dashboard.

Using the Nuvi's touch screen, users can view a set of customizable gauges, view and clear fault codes when the Check Engine light comes on, and monitor real-time fuel economy and emissions data. The unit also provides data logging for users who want to track their performance and interfaces with the EcoRoutes software that's already present on current Garmin devices.

Garmin's representatives were happy to give us a quick demo of the system in action at their booth on the show floor and it looks pretty slick. Pricing and availability were unavailable at the time of publication, but we're told to expect more information at CES in January 2010, so stay tuned.

We get a sneak peek at Microsoft's Project Pink, with leaked photos of a phone that isn't pink at all. We then dish about the Motorola Cliq, the finally released Garmin Nuvifone, MMS coming to the iPhone, and more.

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After its introduction almost two years ago and after numerous delays, Garmin and AT&T announced on Tuesday the upcoming availability of the Garmin Nuvifone G60.

The Nuvifone G60 will be sold in stores and online starting October 4 for $299 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. For the price, you're getting a smartphone with full GPS capabilities, including preloaded maps of North America, millions of points of interest, and voice-guided directions.

Just like Garmin's standlone portable navigation devices, the G60 will also feature the company's "Where am I?" feature that shows you your coordinates and the nearest address, intersection, gas station, hospital, and so forth in case of an emergency. Customers will also be able to get Premium Connected Services, which include real-time traffic, fuel prices, weather, white pages, movie info, and local events for an additional $5.99 per month after a 30-day trial.

The smartphone also offers a full HTML browser and is 3G-capable. You can also get online with Wi-Fi and access AT&T's 20,000 hot spots around the country. There's also a 3-megapixel camera with geotagging capabilities and 2GB of user-available memory with a microSD expansion slot (up to 16GB). Physically, the Nuvifone G60 measures 4.4 inches tall by 2.3 inches wide by 0.57 inch thick and features a 3.5-inch WVGA resistive touch screen and 2.5mm headset jack.

As far as the smartphone part, the Linux-based G60 offers standard personal information management tools (Calendar, 5,000-entry address book, notes, alarm clock, etc.), document viewing, and support for Hotmail, Gmail, AOL mail, POP3 and IMAP e-mail accounts. For the full list of features and specs, you can check out Garmin's Web site.

Now, that it's official and we have a launch date, what do you guys think? Anyone interested in getting one? Or would you rather stick with a standalone GPS or use a location-based service like TeleNav with a GPS-enabled smartphone or cell phone? Let us know!

Free data services? Now you're speaking my language, Garmin.

(Credit: Garmin)

We had our first peak at it when it was leaked by FCC documents back in July, but Garmin has just made the Nuvi 1690 official, clearing up the speculation around its newest connected PND. Here's the skinny:

The Nu Nuvi features a built-in cellular data connection, which allows it to access a service that Garmin has dubbed NuLink. The most interesting bit of news here is that the NuLink service will be free for the first two years of ownership, after which users will be given the option of discontinuing the NuLink service or paying a monthly service fee. At time of publication, we were unable to find out how much that service fee would be, but we'll update this post as soon as we know.

The Nuvi 1690 features a more curvaceous chassis and a smaller microSD card slot.

(Credit: Garmin)

Through NuLink, people will gain access to live traffic updates, weather data, and fuel prices, as well as movie times and airport flight statuses. Additionally, Google and White Pages searches will augment the Nuvi 1690's built-in points-of-interest database. The user can also push destination to the 1690 from a PC over the Internet and download Garmin alerts and updates through NuLink.

Social-networking buffs will be able to take advantage of Garmin's new Ciao position-aware social network that reports your location to the exisiting GyPsii and uLocate services and allows you to find and navigate to your friends.

The 1690 will also be packed with more practical features from the Nuvi lineup, including Bluetooth connectivity, a 4.3-inch color touch screen, text-to-speech, lane assist, and ecoRoutes. Interestingly, the SD card slot that we've come to expect from the Nuvi chassis has been downsized to a microSD slot. We'd prefer to keep the more robust full-size SD card, which stands up better to repeated insertions and removals.

The Nuvi 1690 should give the TomTom GO 740 Live a run for its money when it comes available later this year at an MSRP of $499.99.

Rafe and Tom talk navigation issues, take calls on the Verizon MiFi, and solve some pesky computer problems.

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Well, I'll be damned. I never thought I'd see this day, but after numerous delays, Garmin-Asus is finally releasing its Nuvifone models, starting with select Asian markets.

The Garmin-Asus Nuvifone G60 will be the first out the door and will go on sale in Taiwan on July 27, and then in Singapore and Malaysia by the end of August. The Garmin-Asus Nuvifone M20 will also go on sale in August, shipping in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia.

As for us here in the States (and Europe), Garmin-Asus says the Nuvifone G60 is on schedule for delivery in the second half of the year. However, there was no mention of a North American release of the Windows Mobile-based Nuvifone M20. However, I have to wonder, does it even matter? Today's market is full of so many capable and proven smartphones and mobile GPS solutions; is anyone going to go for this?

"Simple, yet effective" is probably the best way to describe Garmin's entry-level Nuvi 205W GPS device. This unit doesn't pack a lot of bells and whistles and focuses on getting the basics right, delivering a user experience that's easy for your chronically lost grandma to use.

The standout feature in this new model is a new "Where am I?" option that can come in handy during an emergency. But mostly, the 205W represents a significant performance boost over the older Nuvi 200 models.

The 205W is aimed at users who want the benefit of a big, responsive touch screen, but don't want to break the bank. Techies should go elsewhere for more full feature sets, perhaps looking further up Garmin's line or at competing TomTom models.

Check out the full review of the Garmin Nuvi 205W GPS navigator.