Garmin launches king-sized camping sat-nav with giant screen and voice controls
Making the great outdoors more welcoming
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Garminhas released a new standalone sat-nav specially designed for camping and hiking – particularly handy while overseas vacations are off the cards. The Garmin Camper 890 is specially designed for use in camper vans, with lots of thoughtfully designed features to make your journey safer and more fun.
A secure ball-and-socket mounting to hold it steady in either portrait or landscape orientation in your camper’s cab, while smart route plotting that takes into account the weight and height of your vehicle so you aren’t led to a weak bridge or narrow crossing that you can’t pass.
You’ll be warned about potential hazards like sharp turns and steep gradients along the way, and use directories of camping facilities to find electric hook-ups, showers, internet access points and other amenities.
The eight-inch touchscreen makes waypoints easier to see, but you can also use voice commands to control the device while keeping your hands on the wheel. You can even use it to make hands-free calls via Bluetooth.
Find your way
Relying on your phone’s GPS when camping isn’t a great idea; not only could you end up at an impasse, it will drain your battery quickly, which could leaving you without enough juice to make a call in an emergency, the relatively small screen can make it tricky to make out small details, and you’ll have a very limited selection of offline maps.
The Garmin Camper 890 comes with full European maps pre-installed, and extra maps for North America, South America, the Middle East and North Africa, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand can be downloaded before you head out.
Garmin has yet to announce an on-sale date, but the Camper 890 has a suggested retail price of £479.99 (about $610 / AU$870).
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Cat is TechRadar’s Homes Editor specializing in kitchen appliances and smart home technology. She’s been a tech journalist for 15 years, and is here to help you choose the right devices for your home and do more with them. When not working she’s a keen home baker, and makes a pretty mean macaron.
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