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.

The Garmin Chicago storeis cracking into the holiday season with a family of Garmin-themed nutcrackers now on display. Each of the six life-size nutcrackers features a different product line, showcasing an array of Garmin devices. After only a few days on the avenue, the stylish holiday figures are already drawing tons of attention!
 
Although the Aviator is not placed directly in the windows, he is featuring one of the newest Garmin products, the aera. Customers are nutty to see the latest aviation device, creatively placed in the Aviator’s mouth.   

Garmin Chicago welcomes you to visit the store this holiday season. Product experts are on-hand to answer all your GPS questions and point you to the perfect device. Give-a-Garmin to the pilot, driver, hiker, biker, runner, hunter or boater in your life – we’ve got something for everyone! And, beginning on November 27, the Chicago store will stay open later, giving you more time to find the ultimate holiday gift. Visit the store’s calendar to see updated store hours.  

 

I keep a copy of the Dec. 2006 issue of Runner’s World at my desk. It’s the annual “heroes of running” issue and one page is carefully marked so I can refer to it often. The story is on Molly Barker, who was honored as a hero for her role as founder and vision keeper of Girls on the Run, a program that instills self-confidence and educates young girls through a curriculum-based running program. This week, I had the pleasure of meeting Molly at a local conference for women involved with this organization. Molly confided that she’d been wanting to check out a Garmin fitness watch and I think I know which watch would fit this go-getter gal to a “T”.

My pick for Molly: our newest fitness watch, FR60 LTD, shown here gracing the wrist of U.S. record-holder Deena Kastor at this year’s Chicago Marathon. FR60 just might be the hottest fitness watch on the streets, trails or even in the gym this winter, thanks to its ability to track and store your indoor or outdoor workouts. The pink and white colors and slim styling of the newest FR60 fit right in with Molly’s girl-powered personality. Or, she might like the lilac model or the sleek black FR60 with silver bezel, like my SoleMate and speed session friend Cheryl just bought. Styling aside, the next feature any girl on the run would love about FR60 is that you can literally take it out of the box and take off with it. Very easy to use, doesn’t need to be charged and it’s non-GPS, so you don’t have to wait for it to acquire satellites. Distance and pace data comes from a tiny, highly accurate foot pod that snaps on your shoe laces. The LTD version also comes with our premium soft strap heart rate monitor. For those who haven’t tried this one, soft strap = very comfy, even for long, sweltery runs.

Last and possibly best feature: automatic, wireless uploads to Garmin Connect. Since Molly spends many of her days criss-crossing the country attending speaking engagements, Girls on the Run 5k races and other events, she doesn’t have time to log her runs on paper or fiddle with software that resides on her computer. With the magic of FR60’s wireless technology, the data dumps to Garmin Connect when in range of the computer. Garmin Connect is our online site where fitness folks go to store, analyze and share data, explore new routes and even set and record goals.