By Grant Shepherd

SYDNEY, NSW: Garmin yesterday unveiled its flagship range of GPS devices with the nuvi 3700 series. Probably the best looking GPS on the market, the 3700 resembles a premium smartphone with a high resolution multi-touch display, slim profile and voice control.

According to Matt DeMoss, national sales and marketing manager, Garmin Australasia, the nuvi 3700 series is a milestone release in the portable navigation market, due to its world first technology and unique design.

“Personal navigation is entering a new era, and nuvi 3700 series has the stunning design and seamlessly intuitive interface to lead the way moving forward,” he said.

“Our designers and engineers were challenged to rethink an industry icon, and the result is as pristine as it is practical.”

The first thing you notice about the nuvi 3700 is the remarkable design. It looks very reminiscent of a iPhone measuring in at 8.95mm thick with a 4.3 inch WVGA display. There are two models in the range, including the nuvi 3790T and the nuvi 3760. The 3790T is the flagship release, with lifetime traffic alerts, voice activated navigation and 3D building and terrain view.

Some innovative features Garmin id offering the market includes the ability to use the device in landscape or portrait mode, multi-touch input for zooming in and out, and myTrends which predicts routes based on your most frequent destinations.

The ability to use voice control on the nuvi 3790T is also a great selling point. Consumers simply state a customised phrase, such as “voice control on” and the unit is ready to take voice commands. This is a great way to simplify the navigation process and also a much safer way to choose a location while driving.

Both units will be available from July with the nuvi 3790T coming at an RRP of $549 and the nuvi 3760 available for RRP $449.