Last weekend, Garmin was once again a proud supporter of the the ninth annual Mid-Atlantic Rockfish Shootout in Virgina Beach, VA. The Shootout is the largest Rockfish tournament in the country, and has helped Virginia Beach gain the distinction of being the "Rockfish Capital of the World." At this tourney, participants from more than 100 teams not only have to find the biggest Rockfish, they're also limited to finding their catch inside a 3-mile demarcation line along the coast. This time of year, Rockfish are limited to the 3-mile range, and illegal fishing outside the line is heavily enforced by local law enforcement and the Coast Guard. So to help keep anglers from going past the 3-mile line, every participating boat was outfitted with a GPSMAP 78sc handheld GPS. Thanks to the preloaded BlueChart g2 cartography, participants could view shorelines, depth contours – and most importantly, keep track of where they were fishing on the chart. At the end of each day, the units were turned in, and their daily track logs were reviewed during weigh-in. If the boat's track log went beyond the 3-mile line, they were instantly disqualified.

When it was all said and done, the tournament paid out over $174,000 and the local foodbanks were given all of the fish. To date, the tournament has given thousands of pounds of skinless rockfish filets to area foodbanks – an amazing way to give back to the community. Congratulations to the winning team on their 128.30-pound win, and thanks again to the Shootout team for letting Garmin be a part of such a great tournament!

Source: Garmin
Read more here:
GPSMAP 78sc helps keep participants "in line" at Rockfish Shootout

The Chicago Garmin Store offers football fans another reason to get excited about the New Year’s Day game between the Bears and the Minnesota Vikings: If Bears announcer Jeff Joniak guesses the score of this game correctly, Garmin will refund all purchases made at the store between Thanksgiving and Christmas, including auto, fitness and golf products*.

Jeff will make his guess, which could potentially give back hundreds of thousands of dollars to Chicago customers, on New Year’s Day. To kick off the promotion, Bears wide receiver Johnny Knox will appear for a meet and greet/autograph session at the Garmin Store the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (November 29) from 5-7 pm. Radio ads promoting Garmin’s offering will start airing in Chicago on November 13. 

One of the most energetic and exciting voices of the National Football League, Jeff Joniak entered his 11th season behind the microphone as the announcer of the Chicago Bears this year. 

The nation’s only Garmin retail store is located on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, providing customers an overview of the most popular GPS navigation devices, including automotive, aviation, fitness, outdoor and marine, plus hands-on product demonstrations, interactive kiosks and in-depth product training and seminars, coupled with exceptional customer service.

Whether it’s running, cycling, or other athletic pursuits, Garmin fitness devices are becoming essential tools for athletes both amateur and elite to help train and measure performance. Garmin’s personal navigation devices are great tools for football fans to get around and explore new cities when visiting for a game.

*Aviation, marine and outdoor handheld GPS products not part of the promotion.

Source: Garmin
Read more here:
Chicago Garmin Store Offers Refunds If Bears Announcer Guesses Game Score Correctly

Take it hiking. Take it hunting. Take it on the water. The Montana handheld GPS device is the most rugged, versitile and advanced Garmin handheld on the market and perfect for your next hunt!

With its 4 inch sunlight-readable display and glove-friendly touchscreen it is easier than ever to mark your favorite hunting spots. If you are out in the wilderness doing some recon and come across a pre-rut buck rub or a sign-post-rub you know there might just be a trophy buck in the area. So why not mark that exact location by taking a picture with the Montana's 5 megapixel auto focus camera that actually geotags the location and can guide you back from anywhere? Use the Montana with a subscription to Bird's eye satellite imagery and see the woods on your device just as you would if you were there. Once you've tagged your deer and are ready to head back to the truck, use Montana's "Track-Back" feature — that let's you follow the same route you entered in on — and back to the comfort and safety of your vehicle.

Montana offers two battery options to keep your device powered during your  remote hunting trips or other  outdoor adventures. When you have a chance to rest and recharge each night, a thin, light weight lithium ion battery pack, lasting up to 16 hours, comes in the box. For those trips where you’re off the  g rid, Montana also works on three AA batteries, giving users an additional 22 hours of use without being weighted down.

If hunting is not your sport, and you are still after an adventure — try the real life electronic game of modern day treasure hunting called Geocaching. Hidden treasure troves – known as caches – have been hidden around the world. Their coordinates have been uploaded to our website, OpenCaching.com, along with details and clues. All you have to do is load this information into a compatible GPS device and set out on an adventure to find them. If you want to take something from the cache, be sure to have something to leave behind for the next person to find.

With the Montana you can bring your Geocaching game to a whole new level! Make sure you have the most current firmware loaded by using our WebUpdater application. It'll take just a few minutes and ensure you are getting the most out of the Montana and all your Garmin handheld devices. To see all the great geocaching improvements and features we have added to the Montana check out our Trail Tech section.

Source: Garmin
Read more here:
Let the Montana guide you to bag the big one, and have the ultimate geocaching experience.

  Rugged communication at its best – the redesigned and upgraded Rino^® 610, 650 and 655t handheld two-way radios integrated with GPS. Boasting up to a 20-mile communication range the Rino 650 and 655t 5-watt FRS/GMRS radios have evolved to include a 2.6” glove-friendly touchscreen and are packed full of powerful features like a barometric altimeter, 3-axis tilt compensated compass and NOAA weather radio.  The Rino was announced in preparation for the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, CO, where it will be prominently displayed at the Garmin booth June 3-5.

“Whether you’re a hunter looking for peace of mind in the woods, a ski patroller monitoring conditions in the Rockies or simply want to enjoy the outdoors with the benefit of radio communication and GPS, the new Rino has what you need,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “Having the ability to know where someone is in your hunting group at all times and to communicate freely with them provides a new level of safety only found from Rino.”

Find Your Friends: Rino’s unique position reporting capability lets you send your exact location to other Rino users so they can see it on their map page. And after pairing for the first time you will be able to see your friends even in situations where they cannot call for help or tell you their position. You can also send unit-to-unit text messages to other Rino users in your area – it’s ideal for loud or windy conditions, or just when you don’t want to disturb the wildlife. Gone are the days of missing a note as Rino timestamps and records the notes you receive from contacts for later review or forwarding. Plus, improved audio performance means it’s easy to communicate with any other conventional FRS/GMRS radio in the area. The device can be useful in an emergency, or just a handy way to keep tabs on your hunting party, hiking partner, family or friends.

Weather Alerts, Wherever you Go: For added safety, Rino 650 and 655t feature a built-in NOAA weather radio that can help you avoid hazardous weather. The radio supports Specific Area Message Encoding, which allows you to see National Weather Service warnings and watches displayed county-by-county on the map screen so you can stay informed at a glance when you need to be in the know. The 650 and 655t are powered by a removable and rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack lasting up to 14 hours or up to 18 hours with the optional AA battery pack.

Turn On and Go: Each device in the Rino series has a high-sensitivity GPS receiver with HotFix^®, which automatically calculates and stores critical satellite information and can use that information to quickly calculate a position so you can spend more time active and less time waiting. And with multiple profiles like Marine, Recreational and Automotive to name a few, Rino can be customized to match whatever activity you might be performing. To see Rino in action visit, www.garmin.com/rino

Value Minded: Garmin’s Rino 610 is an entry level 1-watt FRS/GMRS radio handheld GPS radio is powered by four AA batteries, lasts up to 18 hours and comes pre-loaded with a worldwide basemap. With its spacious 1.7GB of internal memory Rino makes it easy to add maps with its wide array of detailed topographic, marine and road maps. Rino 610 lets you load TOPO U.S. 24K maps and hit the trail or BirdsEye Satellite Imagery (subscription required), which lets you download satellite images to your device and integrate them with your maps. In addition, Rino 610 is compatible with Custom Maps, free software that transforms paper and electronic maps into downloadable maps for your device.

Share Wirelessly: With Rino 650 and 655t, you can share your waypoints, tracks, routes and geocaches wirelessly with other compatible Garmin GPS devices. Once your Rino is connected via USB, download BaseCamp™ software (www.garmin.com/basecamp) to easily store and share your photos. BaseCamp also helps you view, plan and organize your maps (in 2D or 3D), waypoints, routes and tracks – including elevation profiles – and send them to your Garmin handheld.    

Document Your Journey: Never miss a memory with Rino 655t’s built-in 5-megapixel autofocus camera; you'll be able to capture the highlights of your outings. Each photo is automatically geotagged with the location of where it was taken, allowing you – or those you share your photos with – to easily navigate back to that spot in the future. Along with its camera, Rino 655t comes pre-loaded with TOPO 100k maps.

The new Rino devices are expected to be available in the third quarter of 2011. The Rino 610 and 650 have a suggested retail price of $349 and $499.99, respectively. The Rino 655t has a suggested retail price of $599.99. Additional information about the Rino series is available at www.garmin.com or www.garmin.blogs.com. Garmin has spent more than 20 years developing technologies and innovations to enhance users’ lives, making it a household name in the automotive, aviation, marine, wireless, outdoor and fitness industries.

Source: Garmin
Read more here:
Garmin® Rolls Out New Rino® to Communicate, Locate and Explore

  Rugged communication at its best – the redesigned and upgraded Rino^® 610, 650 and 655t handheld two-way radios integrated with GPS. Boasting up to a 20-mile communication range the Rino 650 and 655t 5-watt FRS/GMRS radios have evolved to include a 2.6” glove-friendly touchscreen and are packed full of powerful features like a barometric altimeter, 3-axis tilt compensated compass and NOAA weather radio.  The Rino was announced in preparation for the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, CO, where it will be prominently displayed at the Garmin booth June 3-5.

“Whether you’re a hunter looking for peace of mind in the woods, a ski patroller monitoring conditions in the Rockies or simply want to enjoy the outdoors with the benefit of radio communication and GPS, the new Rino has what you need,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “Having the ability to know where someone is in your hunting group at all times and to communicate freely with them provides a new level of safety only found from Rino.”

Find Your Friends: Rino’s unique position reporting capability lets you send your exact location to other Rino users so they can see it on their map page. And after pairing for the first time you will be able to see your friends even in situations where they cannot call for help or tell you their position. You can also send unit-to-unit text messages to other Rino users in your area – it’s ideal for loud or windy conditions, or just when you don’t want to disturb the wildlife. Gone are the days of missing a note as Rino timestamps and records the notes you receive from contacts for later review or forwarding. Plus, improved audio performance means it’s easy to communicate with any other conventional FRS/GMRS radio in the area. The device can be useful in an emergency, or just a handy way to keep tabs on your hunting party, hiking partner, family or friends.

Weather Alerts, Wherever you Go: For added safety, Rino 650 and 655t feature a built-in NOAA weather radio that can help you avoid hazardous weather. The radio supports Specific Area Message Encoding, which allows you to see National Weather Service warnings and watches displayed county-by-county on the map screen so you can stay informed at a glance when you need to be in the know. The 650 and 655t are powered by a removable and rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack lasting up to 14 hours or up to 18 hours with the optional AA battery pack.

Turn On and Go: Each device in the Rino series has a high-sensitivity GPS receiver with HotFix^®, which automatically calculates and stores critical satellite information and can use that information to quickly calculate a position so you can spend more time active and less time waiting. And with multiple profiles like Marine, Recreational and Automotive to name a few, Rino can be customized to match whatever activity you might be performing. To see Rino in action visit, www.garmin.com/rino

Value Minded: Garmin’s Rino 610 is an entry level 1-watt FRS/GMRS radio handheld GPS radio is powered by four AA batteries, lasts up to 18 hours and comes pre-loaded with a worldwide basemap. With its spacious 1.7GB of internal memory Rino makes it easy to add maps with its wide array of detailed topographic, marine and road maps. Rino 610 lets you load TOPO U.S. 24K maps and hit the trail or BirdsEye Satellite Imagery (subscription required), which lets you download satellite images to your device and integrate them with your maps. In addition, Rino 610 is compatible with Custom Maps, free software that transforms paper and electronic maps into downloadable maps for your device.

Share Wirelessly: With Rino 650 and 655t, you can share your waypoints, tracks, routes and geocaches wirelessly with other compatible Garmin GPS devices. Once your Rino is connected via USB, download BaseCamp™ software (www.garmin.com/basecamp) to easily store and share your photos. BaseCamp also helps you view, plan and organize your maps (in 2D or 3D), waypoints, routes and tracks – including elevation profiles – and send them to your Garmin handheld.    

Document Your Journey: Never miss a memory with Rino 655t’s built-in 5-megapixel autofocus camera; you'll be able to capture the highlights of your outings. Each photo is automatically geotagged with the location of where it was taken, allowing you – or those you share your photos with – to easily navigate back to that spot in the future. Along with its camera, Rino 655t comes pre-loaded with TOPO 100k maps.

The new Rino devices are expected to be available in the third quarter of 2011. The Rino 610 and 650 have a suggested retail price of $349 and $499.99, respectively. The Rino 655t has a suggested retail price of $599.99. Additional information about the Rino series is available at www.garmin.com or www.garmin.blogs.com. Garmin has spent more than 20 years developing technologies and innovations to enhance users’ lives, making it a household name in the automotive, aviation, marine, wireless, outdoor and fitness industries.

Source: Garmin
Read more here:
Garmin® Rolls Out New Rino® to Communicate, Locate and Explore

Today we announced the redesigned and upgraded eTrex handheld GPS device – evolving from one of the world’s most reliable and popular handhelds, with millions sold. This entry level option has been given enhanced ergonomics, an improved interface, paperless geocaching and in certain models, a 65k color screen with expanded mapping capabilities. These new additions – along with up to 25 hours of battery life – make the new eTrex more versatile and user-friendly, while maintaining its storied toughness and durability. The eTrex was announced in preparation for the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, CO, where it will be prominently displayed at the Garmin booth June 3-5.

  “The eTrex has been a staple within our handheld GPS lineup for over 10 years and has been a favorite  among hikers, hunters and geocachers who want the basics; simple, compact, lightweight and accurate,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “Using our industry leading experience and innovative technology, we designed the new eTrex to stand up against whatever Mother Nature throws at it.”

Go Green, Go Paperless: Take this powerful pocket-size GPS device with you on your next geocaching adventure and leave the paper print-outs at home. The new eTrex series supports geocaching GPX files for downloading geocache locations and details straight to the unit using its high-speed USB connection. The eTrex stores and displays key information, including location, terrain, difficulty, hints and descriptions, which means no more manually entering coordinates and those paper print outs! To start paperless geocaching, simply upload the GPX file to your unit and start hunting for caches. Caches can be downloaded from OpenCaching.com, a completely free online community for creating, sharing and finding geocaches around the world.

Save Green: For the budget savvy consumer looking for a basic GPS device, Garmin offers eTrex 10.  This basic handheld GPS is armed with a sunlight-readable monochrome display and a worldwide basemap making it easier than ever to know where you are and where you are headed next. eTrex 10 is the perfect device for families looking to get into the growing community of geocaching,  yet is robust enough for an avid hunter to mark his or her favorite spots with. To see eTrex in action visit, www.garmin.com/etrex

See The Way: View a wide array of detailed topographic, marine, and road maps on eTrex 20 and 30, thanks to the enhanced 2.2 inch 65k color, sunlight readable display. Sold separately, those maps include TOPO U.S. 24K to hit the trail, BlueChart® g2 preloaded cards for a great day on the water or City Navigator® maps for turn-by-turn routing on roads. Download BaseCamp™ (www.garmin.com/basecamp), a free utility that allows users to plan and manage trips, routes, tracks, and waypoints and transfer them between the computer and eTrex. BaseCamp lets users view both 24K and 100K topo maps in 2D or 3D renderings. Another convenient window depicts the elevation profile currently displayed. And with Track Draw, users can trace a fluid track and get an immediate elevation profile to determine the difficulty of their hike or geocaching adventure.

Stay on Course: eTrex 30 takes all the features mentioned and adds a built-in 3-axis tilt-compensated electronic compass, which shows your heading even when you’re standing still, without holding it level. Also added is a barometric altimeter which tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude and wireless unit-to-unit data transfer with compatible devices. This top of the line offering within the new eTrex series was designed for the outdoor enthusiasts who want easy access to the most amount of information in small compact product.

The new eTrex devices are expected to be available in the third quarter of 2011. The eTrex 10 and 20 have a suggested retail price of $119.99 and $199.99, respectively.  The eTrex 30 has a suggested retail price of $299.99. Additional information about the eTrex series is available at www.garmin.com or www.garmin.blogs.com. Garmin has spent more than 20 years developing technologies and innovations to enhance users’ lives, making it a household name in the automotive, aviation, marine, wireless, outdoor and fitness industries.

Source: Garmin
Read more here:
The New eTrex: Garmin’s Best Selling GPS Handheld Just Got Better