SquareTrade Warranty Blog

Eight new Magellan GPS models debut at CES.

Holy crap!  The GPS market just got even more crowded and highly expensive with the CES debut of eight new Magellan GPS devices. 

Sure, they start small with a redesigned el cheapo Roadmate 1212 priced at $299, and let you pony up an extra $30 to get live traffic reports on the RoadMate 1230.  Sure, they're introducing a new 1400 series RoadMate that basically just ups the 1200 series screen from 3.5" to 4.3".  Sure, the 3200 series is getting a new addition with a voice-enabled Maestro Elite 3270.  But that's where the sanity ends and they start going all kinds of crazy on us with their new Maestro 5300 series. 

Take a deep breath here: the Maestro 5310 and 5340+GPRS come with a 3-month real time traffic subscription, text-to-speech, a programmable and "patent pending" OneTouch interface for favorite functions and/or searches, PC connectivity to upload addresses and notes, a built-in AAA TourBook travel guide and Google Local Search, so you can instantly locate any business, restaurant, or event in your vicinity.  Loosely translated: the 5310 will price at $700 - that's $200 more than any other North American GPS they offer.  The 5340, which comes with even more real-time features, hasn't even got a price tag announced as yet, which makes us giddy with terror.

Abject horror aside, this is a pretty interesting move to make.  Magellan clearly thinks there's an open market for an upscale GPS system, one that does just about everything you want to happen in a car (save for the actual driving, but GM's working on that), and they're not shy about charging you accordingly.  As such, it might be a good idea to slap a SquareTrade GPS warranty on that investment, and consider putting Accidental Damage coverage on it as well. 

So, with Goodyear getting in the GPS game and everybody else eyeing the market greedily, it should be fun to see how market leader Garmin responds.  And how quickly.

 

UPDATE: the 5340 will price out at a cool $1000.  Nope, they're definately not martketing these at collage students.

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Magellan GPS warranty

Goodyear gets its GPS on.

If, right at this very moment, you're saying to yourself Self, doesn't Goodyear make tires?  How is it they're suddenly getting into the consumer electronics market? then you're totally ignoring the fact that tires and GPS devices are both car-related, and Lord knows Goodyear's put enough tires on enough cars to know everything car-related.  Right?

So we'll see the official debut of not one, not five, but eight Goodyear GPS devices at CES, from the no-frills GY100K keychain (SiRF Star III, Bluetooth, 10-hour battery life) to the more robust GY540 with its 4.3" touchscreen, 2GB internal storage and MP3/AVI playback and a remote control to clip onto your steering wheel, among other things.  The official press release refers to this as a "rugged GPS system," which make mean it'll take a fair amount of damage, or it could just refer to the fact that they whole thing is encased in rubber.  Hey, it IS Goodyear.

Nevertheless, given that this is a new and untested product, it might behoove you to put a SquareTrade GPS warranty on it.  That "protective rubber" might mean you don't need our Accidental Damage coverage, but if they thing just stops working due to normal use  mechanical/electrical failure, you'll be totally covered for not a lot of money.  And then you can go buy a Garmin with your refund.

GPS warranty, Goodyear warranty, Goodyear insurance

Garmin unveils new Nuvi GPS devices.

You can really tell there's a massive electronics trade show kicking off in the next few days. 

Garmin's taken the lid off four new Garmin nuvi GPS devices and some of them are coming with a new trick up their sleeve: voice recognition.  The new 4.3" Garmin 880 will take your spoken instructions - forget picking through menus and typing in searches with one hand on the wheel - and direct you to the nearest gas station, big box store, or fast food franchise of your choice.  And other places, too, we expect.  No word yet if you can program a voice search, too, but that would seem like a no-brainer to us.

If that's not enough power for you, the nuvi 5000 has a 5.2" screen and all the usual bells and whistles that come with Garmin's $800-range products.  The 700 series gets a new member with the Garmin 780 and its MSN Direct content, while the highly popular Nuvi 260 becomes the 260w, adds another inch of screen space, and still remains dear in our hearts.  No idea if they'll have voice recognition as well (probably not), but word is they'll all hit shelves next month or sooner.  And they'll all be eligible for a SquareTrade GPS warranty when they do, with an option for Accidental Damage coverage.  It's a rough world out there, after all.

GPS warranty, Garmin warranty, Garmin nuvi

Amazon's Top Sellers of 2007 include some surprises.

We love you, Amazon.  You make holiday shopping so easy that we buy way too much, and yet always feel surprised when yet another smiley-face box shows up on our doorstep.  And then we lie to our spouses and say "Yes, honey, that one's for you, too." 

We know we're not alone in our unnatural love.  As if to hammer the point home, Amazon has just released its Best Of 2007 lists, and it wasn't all the obvious choices this year.

2007 Top Selling Electronics
Out of all the gadgets, trinkets, and assorted cool stuff available in the entire universe, the top selling piece of consumer electronics on Amazon was the Canon PowerShot A570 IS 7.1MP digital camera.  We're honestly not sure why, aside from the fact that it's the cheapest camera in the PowerShot line, and only by about twenty bucks at that.  The all-around best camera is arguably the PowerShot SD850 IS, but the SD750 and SD1000 are both better options to the A570 for not a lot more money.  You confuse us, Amazon.

The popular but elusive Nintendo Wii was the top seller in Video Games, despite the fact that you can't order (or even pre-order) a Wii from Amazon.  You can, however, buy them for about $150 over list price through Amazon Merchants.  It still blew away the competition, and our Amazon is only getting table scraps out of it.  Sigh.

And for your third head-scratcher in a row, the top-selling computer was the Nokia Internet tablet PC.  Really?  It's not clear whether this is the tally for the N800, the N810, the N770, or all of the above (unfair, but it would explain much).  Sure, it's a neat little device and all, but it just feels strange that the #1 computer is essentially a slider smartphone by another name.  Maybe that's just a sign of Things To Come.

2007 Most Popular Electronics
What's getting the highest ranks (aside from us) by Amazon users?  Well, it 's the Wii.  But besides the Wii, people are really digging their Garmin nüvi 350 3.5-inch portable GPS navigator, and so they should.  It's a nifty little device, even though it doesn't have a built-in radar detector.  Yet.  Whereas on the computer front, the MacAddicts are universally praising the Apple MacBook Pro (also the most gifted computer for 2007), and then voted up Apple Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard for good measure.  What, Vista didn't make the list?

2007 Most Wanted Electronics
Wii.  Duh. 

But for those of you who still haven't seen a Wii in the wild, the gadget everybody wanted most was the Apple 4GB iPod Nano.  They got it, too, as the 4GB Nano topped the "bought as gift" list.  And while the masses may've liked the Macbook Pro and given the Macbook Pro, what they really wanted all along was the under-$400 Asus Eee 4G-Galaxy 7-inch PC.  Again, we're not sure which model (or if they're lumped in together), but we don't care.  Let's here it for the Budget Notebook!

Like we said, interesting list, and if you got one, gave one, or are getting one before January 6, you can put a SquareTrade Warranty on it for 20% Off our already low price.  Just use coupon code WARRANTYSANTA on the checkout page.

Amazon Best Electronics of 2007, Apple iPod Nano  warrant, insurancey

Uniden GPS to double as Radar Detector.

Okay, enough with that Christmas malarkey.  It's time to get down to brass tacks, and they don't get any brassier than CES.  Or, as we like to call it, Christmas Part II.  And a bunch of electronics news is already breaking ahead of the conference (running Jan. 7-10 in good ol' Las Vegas) to get us ready for the main course.

First up: prepare to put the Uniden MapTrax GPS up alongside the likes of Garmin, Magellan, and TomTom.  It's okay if you haven't heard of a Uniden making a GPS before, because they've only recently gotten into the game.  Along with phones and CB products and scanners, what they're really known for are top quality cop-foiling radar detectors, and some genius has decided that those are two great tastes that naturally go together.  They're set to become the first GPS with built-in radar detection, and the official announcement will happen at CES.

Uniden currently has three MapTrax GPS models on the market (the pic's their GPS402 with a 4" touchscreen), and there's nothing specific on which ones will get the radar detecting upgrade, or even if it'll become a brand standard.  We also don't know how it will flag you about that smokey on your tail, but just so long as it does, we're sold.  We'll even put a SquareTrade GPS warranty on it with optional Accidental Damage coverage if you want to buy one with all the money you'll be saving by not getting speeding tickets.

Uniden MapTrax GPS, Uniden radar detector, GPS warranty

Circuit City 5-Hour Internet Deals: Cheap Magellan GPS!

Okay, yes, we've been hyping Circuit City a lot lately, but it's not our fault.  They're making us spend so much money, and yet save so much money.  Maybe we need help.

Their new thing is a series of internet-only deals that last five hours on one day, from 11am to 4pm EST.  Today's item: a Magellan RoadMate 1200 GPS device that's going for only $140, a nice 60% off the normal price. 

And because you get it for so little money, you can put a SquareTrade GPS warranty on it for very little money, too, with or without Accidental Damage coverage.  Particularly if you use our 20% Off coupon.

You've only got a few hours left on this sucker if you want it, and they're limiting these sales to stock on hand, so Early Bird and all that.

Cyber Monday Deals: Circuit City, Xbox 360, iPod Sales, Oh My.

Any survivors out there?  Well, if you can still type with broken fingers and crushed spirits, feel free to use your office's precious bandwidth to scout out a few really good deals still in effect on the internet.

First and foremost, Circuit City is offering a 10% discount on any and all purchases over $249, but for in-store pickups only.  Hope that's not a reflection on their normal shipping charges.  PayPal is also giving you 20% cash back if you do business with any of their PayPal-friendly etailers, like Overstock.com, Ritz Camera, Toys R Us and HP.

Wal-Mart's extended its evil Cyber Monday deals through the whole week, and there are several choice items up for nicely discounted grabs.  Our favorites: a TomTom One GPS Bundle for $162, an HP 7 MP digital camera with printer and 1 GB memory card for $188, and a super-special Xbox 360 Premium package with two games bundled and a third for free (you choose from a list that includes Game Of the Year contenders Halo 3, Mass Effect, and Bioshock), a messenger bag, and an extra wireless controller, all for $399.  The Xbox is a today-only deal.

Best Buy's advertising a sale on all their Apple iPods, but really, it's pretty weak stuff.  Your iPod Nano sale price: ten bucks off.  Your iPod Touch sale price: fifteen bucks off.  Your iPod Shuffle sale price: four bucks off.  Rah.  We're much more excited about their $100 off TomTom GPS sale, which drops the price of the TomTom One even below Wal-Mart's, only it applies to every TomTom model. 

And then there's us: you can get a three-year SquareTrade warranty on all this stuff for 20-35% Off its normal price (which is already about 40% less than Circuit City or Best Buy's warranties), even if you add extra years of protection or Accidental Damage coverage.

Stay strong, folks.  It's not even December yet.  Just wait until you have to go find a tree.

iPod warranty, holiday savings