An unusual
cellular phone built by
Garmin.
This unit is a cool
combination of an
analog phone (
AMPS) and a
GPS reciever. The GPS part is
already loaded with a
suprisingly detailed street map and is capable of most all popular
navigation functions, like making routes, creating and storing tracks, calculating fuel usage, etc. Since it's phone is ananlog, it lacks some
digital features like
caller id, advanced
voice mail and
multiline conversations. However it does have
speed dial and keeps a log of
unanswered calls.
One neat feature (which I've
disabled) is the ability to call the phone and with a
computer or another Navtalk and download it's GPS info (MY location). Another
feature can, for an extra
service fee, will allow you to hold down a
button and the unit will
automatically send your location to
emergency services, which will dispatch help to wherever you are.
There is another version of the phone that recently came out that allows communication while in an
airplane. Not sure how this one works though.
Like all
technological forerunners, it is a bit big and heavy. The battery life is not the best and accessories are hard to get. The keypad is always exposed and it's easy to hit
buttons by
accident, even when it's in it's
holster. So I always
lock the phone, to keep it from dialing by accident. Non-gadget people like to make fun of it, I just tell them it's ahead of it's time. After all, in a few years
All cell phones will have GPS capability.