Have you taken advantage of the great Cyber Monday deals yet? If not, you’d better get busy because the clock is ticking. And while you’re surfing for the best deals, stop by our site and we’ll help you sharpen your Cyber Monday keyboard skills. If you’re really good at our Give-a-Garmin game, you’ll also have a chance to win 10 new Garmin GPS devices.

Whether you’re shopping for a gift or getting acquainted with your new purchase, we want you to know as much as possible about the Garmin you’re checking out. That’s why we’re always adding more quick feature-specific tutorials to our online learning center. These helpful step-by-step videos bring to life the features and functions of Garmin’s products, to help you out before you hit the stores or after you’ve hit the power button. Our newest videos focus on the Dakota series of touchscreen handhelds, which are perfect for hiking, camping and geocaching with your family and friends. From acquiring GPS signals to navigating to your destination, Jake walks you through the process with vivid screenshots and scenic examples. And keep checking the learning center, because Oregon tutorials are right around the corner. 

But our learning center isn’t just for fans of flannel and fleece. Runners, cyclists and gym-goers can learn about the FR60 fitness watch, Forerunner 405′s GPS-based features or the various cycling options for Edge 705. Golfers can focus on improving their game with the touchscreen Approach G5 and its more than 10,000 preloaded courses. Pilots can reach new heights with information about flyGarmin, Pilot My-Cast and GPSMAP 696. Boaters and fishermen can find new depths with Garmin’s Marine Network. And businesspeople and travelers alike will appreciate the navigation options at their fingertips with nüvifone G60. But no matter your hobbies, we wish you all a safe and happy holiday season.

Energy, enthusiasm, intelligence and curiosity. That’s what local Boy Scouts brought to a Kansas City park the past couple weekends, and all I had to supply were some basic Garmin handhelds and a little know-how. OK, my know-how wasn’t even needed, because as soon as these youngsters got their hands on a GPS device, they were off and running. We recently supplied local troops with a few dozen lean and green Geko units – our tiny-yet-tough outdoor handhelds – as the Boy Scouts consider adding Geocaching as a merit category. If the past two weeks are any indication, they’ll be earning their badges in record time. Here are a few pictures taken Sunday, when the local NBC affiliate joined us as the Scouts learned about the Geko, the new touchscreen Dakota and the Oregon 550t with built-in camera – all while discovering limited-edition Garmin geocoins. As I mentioned on the air, I’m all for any activity that gets kids (and adults, for that matter) more engaged with the environment, education, recreation and technology. And the timing was perfect, as it gave me yet another reason to give thanks this holiday season that all of those elements add up to a good day at the office (or the park…).  

There are only four weeks left until Christmas and if you haven’t begun your shopping yet, it’s time to start. Don’t panic. We’re here to help. Every Wednesday between now and December 25, we’ll give you a few ideas for those you love who need a sense of direction — pilots, boaters, runners, cyclists, golfers, hikers, drivers, geocachers, cell phone users, and hunters, just to name a few. This week we’re focusing on those who love to be on the water.

If you’re looking for the ultimate gift to outfit the helm, give the gift of touchscreen and put put a GPSMAP 5215 under the tree. Any boater would love the true “big picture” navigation offered on the huge 15″ screen of this network plotter. This touchscreen MFD is sleek, super-bright and easy to use – the perfect gift for the boater who wants functionality at their fingertips. If space at the helm is an issue, the new GPSMAP 546 is a compact chartplotter, that packs a lot of punch.    

If the boater in your life already has a full electronics suite at the helm, we recommend the GPSMAP 640- a full-featured marine chartplotter and an on-the-road navigator that comes ready to go with preloaded BlueChart g2 data and City Navigator NT road maps for North America. This amphibian navigator is powerful and portable, and with 5.2-inch touchscreen display, your boater will always know the way whether they’re on land or at sea.

If it’s stocking stuffers you’re after, give your boater the gift of planning with our latest marine trip-planning software – HomePort. This PC application lets boaters plan and organize routes from the convenience of their computer and gives them the ability to view map details such as underwater hazards and hidden obstacles – a gift that even the most experienced navigator will appreciate!

For more information about Garmin’s marine product line, check out the Garmin Marine minisite, or you can always visit our Chicago Store, or marine dealer for closer look.

This years’ Thanksgiving feast at Garmin is going to include a few extra items around the dinning room table. My thoughts are wondering as I can smell the Apple pie, Apple cinnamon cake, caramelized fried Apples, Apple bread pudding, and of course hot Apple cider with a cinnamon stirring stick.  The reason for the extra dishes this year is because Garmin invited a special guest that is worth celebrating.  Mac compatibility has come to flyGarmin, Garmin’s aviation website.  This is a homecoming that many people have been asking about and several of Garmin’s current aviation units are on the guest list.  The list is below and only requires the installation of the Mac version of the Communicator Plug-in to work.  This is one Thanksgiving for the photo albums.

This is the current list of products but there will be more to join the party in the months to come:

• G1000
• Perspective by Garmin
• G300
• G3X
• G500
• G600
• G900X
• G950
• GMX 200
• aera 500
• aera 510
• aera 550
• aera 560
• GPSMAP 496

‘Tis the season to give. And what’s the one thing everyone wants? If you guessed “time” then you’re on the same page as this blogger. We don’t have a GPS device that can turn back the clock, but we do have several that will help you save minutes by routing you around traffic. NPR recently reviewed a nüvi 1390T with lifetime free traffic and compared it to a smartphone navigation app. According to them, “Friday night
I was driving home from the airport. Before I even realized there was a
traffic jam ahead, Garmin adjusted the route and suggested I stay to
the left and take a different freeway. A minute later I saw that my
normal route was totally backed up. This was an impressive time saver,
and completely automatic. It excels compared to Google Nav…”

When you’re looking at our automotive product line, make sure you consider products with a “T” (that stands for traffic), such as the nüvi 1260T, 1350T or 1490T. Each of these nüvis come with free, lifetime traffic with no monthly fees or maintenance costs. Traffic coverage is available in most major cities and this coverage map will show you if your stomping grounds are covered.