Garmin debuts 2013 Nuvi series

The new Nuvi 3597 features a slim chassis and a revised interface.

(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET)

LAS VEGAS -- There's life yet to be found in the portable navigation market. Garmin has just pulled the wraps off of its new line of Nuvi GPS navigators at CES 2013. We were able to get a brief hands-on with what appears to be the best Garmin Nuvi models yet.

A new magnetic cradle mount allows the Nuvi 3597 to be removed from the vehicle single-handedly.

(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET)

Before we get too carried away, the new Nuvi models largely behave like the old models, but there are a few new features that bear mentioning. Most interestingly, the new Nuvis boast a feature that Garmin calls Real Directions, which augments the standard turn-by-turn directions and text-to-speech spoken street names with a new set of more natural instructions that utilizes recognizable landmarks and buildings. So rather than simply saying turn left in 500 feet, the new top-of-the-line Nuvi 3597 may say turn left at the Starbucks. Garmin tells us that it has worked closely with map provider Navteq to vet the landmarks that Real Directions uses for visibility, permanence, and a variety of other attributes before including a landmark in its database. So, ideally, you shouldn't have to worry about being told to look for a landmark that no l... [Read more]





by Antuan Goodwin via CNET