GPSFix

Updated: 5:20pm  (ET):   Added video and photo of camera lens.

Garmin officially announced (full text below) the Oregon 550 and 550t today. There are no major surprises here as most of the information about the new high end units has leaked out over the past several weeks. The major difference is that the 550 series will include a 3.2 megapixel camera featuring autofocus and a 4x digital zoom. As expected the GPS will geotag images with the location of where the photo was taken and will be the first Garmin handheld to include a 3-axis compass.  The “t” model will include preloaded maps, although there are no details on the maps I’m assuming that they will be the same versions offered on the 400t.   The complete list of differences from the Oregon 300/400t include (Garmin’s comparison of the 300/400t/550/550t):

• 3.2 Megapixel waterproof camera with 4x digital zoom and autofocus
• Image geotagging support, mark each image with the location of where it was taken
• 3-axis compass which can be held in any orientation (compass page also has different look with larger pointer, see gallery)
• Camera will work in landscape and portrait mode which suggests that the unit includes an accelerometer along with with the 3-axis  compass.  Might this open up the door for landscape mode navigation too?
• An “enhanced sunlight-readable touchscreen”, one of the common complaints about the current Oregon series.  Garmin claims the screen visibility and touch sensitivity have been improved.
• Garmin will be rolling out a photo service on myGarmin.com which provides a way to manage pictures and upload to Google’s Picasa.
• High speed USB (presumably USB 2.0).  I sort of expected this given the need to upload/download photos would be painful over USB 1.1 .
• Package includes precharged NiMH batteries and a charger and it looks like the unit only support NiMH batteries.  No mention of alkaline support on the product page.  Battery life is listed as 16 hours (same as 300/400t) which in my testing is pretty optimistic.
• Both units are advertised with 850MB of memory.  I’m glad to see that Garmin has gone back to actually specifying the amount of internal memory.
• Support for 200 saved tracks.  Although the 300/400t have been capable of this they are still only advertised to support 20 tracks.
• Increased capacity for 200 routes, 2000 waypoints, and 5000 geocaches
• US list price is $500 for the 550 and $600 for the 550t

Product availability for the 550 and 550t is July although GPSCity is claiming that Garmin is projecting mid-June “but that they are always late”. Watch here for more details as they become available.

Garmin’s video of the 550t in action which shows the camera lens.

Full text of Garmin’s blog post on the Oregon 550/550t

Picture Perfect: Oregon® 550/550t with built-in camera ready to do it all

May 7, 2009 – posted in On the Trail,

Oregon550Tcamera One of the most common questions we get is: “If I want one device for the trail, the bike, the car, the boat – which one can I get?” It’s a tough question, because Garmin makes so many great products tailor-made for your different activities, but the search for a versatile device just got easier with the newly announced Oregon 550 and Oregon 550t. And we added a camera to chronicle your adventures.

We’ve taken the popular Oregon touchscreen handheld and built in a 3.2 megapixel digital camera, which creates geotagged images, and a 3-axis compass into the popular series of intuitive touchscreen handhelds. The waterproof Oregon 550 and Oregon 550t (which features preloaded 100K topo maps for the entire U.S. in state-of-the-art 3D elevation perspective), have an easy-to-use interface and versatile features that make either the ideal solution for customers looking for a multipurpose GPS device.

There’s no need to tote a separate camera in your pack or pocket as Oregon 550’s 3.2 megapixel autofocus digital camera with 4x digital zoom automatically geotags each photo with the location of where it was taken, allowing you to mark, remember and navigate back to that exact spot in the future. With this waterproof digital camera, you can take and view pictures in landscape or portrait orientation, and 850 MB of internal memory offers ample storage. These pictures can then be printed or stored and shared online, making every trip even more memorable. Once your Oregon 550 is connected via USB, you can use my.Garmin.com to detect Oregon’s photos, simplify the selection and uploading processes and then store those photos on Picasa, a popular online photo sharing community for friends and families around the world.

The built-in 3-axis compass and enhanced sunlight-readable touchscreen are two other key additions to the Oregon 550 and Oregon 550t. The 3-axis tilt-compensated electronic compass shows your heading even when you’re standing still, without holding it level. And Oregon’s glove-friendly, color 3-inch touchscreen display is brighter and easier than ever to read and use in all conditions, responsive to the touch of your finger, yet resistant to the forces of nature. Weighing only 6.8 ounces, the Oregon 550 and Oregon 550t come with two precharged AA NiMH batteries. These batteries provide up to 16 hours of life on a single charge and don’t lose energy when not in use. The included battery charger saves you money and reduces waste as batteries get recharged and reused. Also in the box is a carabiner clip and USB cable for high-speed USB connections. A microSD card slot provides even more storage for photos, mapping and memory and allows you to view pictures from other devices with Oregon’s picture viewer.

Highlighting its versatility, Oregon lets you customize five profiles — automotive, marine, recreation, fitness or geocaching — making the most useful features the easiest to access through shortcuts.

On the trail: With its high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver and HotFix™ satellite prediction, Oregon 550 locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover and deep canyons. And you can store up to 2,000 waypoints, 200 routes, 5,000 geocaches and a tracklog of up to 10,000 points and 200 saved tracks. On the mountain: The built-in barometric altimeter tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude, and you can keep an eye on changing weather conditions by plotting pressure over time. On vacation: Explore with confidence, thanks to the detailed U.S. topographic maps preloaded in the 550t or the worldwide shaded relief basemap in the 550. On a mission: The simple-to-use touchscreen interface makes it easy to navigate efficiently and tackle your task quickly. In a group: With Oregon 550, you can share your waypoints, tracks, routes and geocaches wirelessly other Oregon and Colorado users. Out geocaching: Go paperless with Oregon, which can store up to 5,000 caches, by quickly downloading cache information from Geocaching.com. Oregon stores and displays key information such as location, terrain, difficulty, hints and description, so that you don’t have to tote printouts with you. (And lucky geocachers may even stumble upon a limited-edition Oregon geocoin.)
And Oregon does the work of several devices, just by adding various accessories to suit your activity or optional MapSource® microSD cards preloaded with detailed maps.

On the road: Optional City Navigator mapping provides detailed street maps, millions of preloaded points of interest and onscreen turn-by-turn directions to your destination, and an optional Auto Nav kit adds a suction mount and car charger. On a hunt or on a hike: Using a separate TOPO U.S. 24K DVD or microSD card brings you the highest level of topographic detail available, with maps comparable to 1:24,000 scale USGS maps, featuring terrain contours, topo elevations, summits, routable roads and trails, parks, coastlines, rivers, lakes and geographical points. On the water: Add BlueChart® g2 maps, which provide everything you need for a great day on the water, including depth contours, navaids and harbors. On the run or on a bike: Ideal for a trail workout, the lightweight Oregon is compatible with Garmin’s heart-rate monitors and speed/cadence sensors, and an optional handlebar mount makes it easy to track your speed, distance, elevation and location.

And wherever you are, whatever you’re doing and whomever you’re with, you’ll always have Oregon 550’s built-in camera to capture the moment, record the location and share the memories.

Oregon 550 and Oregon 550t are the latest breakthroughs from Garmin, which has spent 20 years using technology and innovation to enhance users’ lives, making Garmin a household name in the automotive, aviation, marine, wireless, outdoor and fitness industries. For more about features, pricing and availability, as well as information about Garmin’s other products and services, go to www.garmin.com, www.garmin.blogs.com and http://twitter.com/jakesjournal.

Related posts:

1. Garmin Oregon 550t — Picture Perfect?
2. Garmin Oregon 550t – A (Geotagged) Picture is Worth A Thousand Words
3. More than a Rumor? Garmin Oregon 550 Photo
4. Leaked: Camera Equipped Garmin Oregon 550
5. Garmin Oregon x50 Software 2.3 Available