Details of a new Garmin nuvi GPS navigation device have emerged courtesy of a freshly-spotted FCC filing, with the new model packing 3G connectivity. The Garmin nuvi 2598FL is listed as a “connected personal navigation device” and comes with not only Bluetooth but GSM/GPRS and HSPA+ radios for high-speed data on the move.
Exactly what the nuvi 2598FL will do with all that connectivity isn’t specified, since Garmin has cruelly insisted on confidentiality on the user manual. However, based on previous PNDs it’s not hard to speculate: the Bluetooth is most likely there for hands-free calling with a cellphone, while the 3G connection will presumably take advantage of Garmin’s nüLink! feature.
nüLink!, a riot of umlaut and exclamation point, offers Google Local Search with points-of-interest, live traffic information and fuel pricing, weather and flight news, a currency converter, and White Pages records. There’s also the ability to remotely program the PND from your computer, with a “Send to GPS” feature.
Although internet-connected PNDs have been found elsewhere for some time, the relatively small amounts of data most use has seen them often make do with GPRS connections rather than 3G. It’s not clear whether Garmin will push the envelope with the 2598FL’s faster radio, though we’d be very keen to see what Android, Google Maps, and Google Now might achieve in a PND form-factor.
[via GPSTracklog]
Garmin nuvi 2598FL 3G satnav outed by FCC is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
