Mention Garmin and what comes to your mind straight away? Why, GPS, of course! The company isn’t about to go belly up anytime soon with more and more people jumping aboard the GPS bandwagon, and their latest portable navigation device would be the nüvi 1690, where it will come equipped with a built-in wireless module that enables customers to access Garmin’s nüLink! service which will offer direct links to selected online information including Google local search, traffic, weather, fuel prices, movie listings, flight status, local events, white page telephone listings and Ciao!. Ciao! is actually Garmin’s exclusive location-based social networking system which will hook up with multiple networks to form a solitary portal specially for Garmin users. All US-based nüvi 1690 will be equipped with a couple of years’ worth of Garmin nüLink! service for free.

The nüvi 1690 when used in combination with nüLink! will basically place the most comprehensive set of POI search capabilities in your hands, unrivalled by any other PNDs in the market. With Google’s local search, you are automatically able to bring online points of interest (POIs) to your fingertips in a snap, letting you look for destinations using names or keywords – similar to what one does on a computer. In addition, Garmin has also thrown in a “quick search” function that enables one to look through various categories including food, lodging and fuel, doing away with the need to type a word or phrase into the search box.

The nüvi 1690 also holds the distinction of being Garmin’s first mobile navigation device that is able to turn traditional social networking into location-enabled social networking through the use of Ciao!, a patent-pending social network application which will connect multiple location-centric social networks into a single application. This allows you to share your current location with family and friends, while seeing where they’re at as well. The US-bound nüvi 1690 will also be equipped with Bluetooth connectivity, where it will come preloaded with maps of North America. Exepect to fork out $499.99 for this delectable puppy.

Press Release