When GPS devices first started to become popular as options on vehicles, they were mainly limited to high-end luxury cars. As the price of GPS technology has come down, more and more vehicles and motorcycles are adding GPS options and many are opting for portable navigation devices.

Garmin and BMW have announced the introduction of a new GPS device that is customized for BMW motorcycle owners called the BMW Motrrad Navigator IV. The device has custom BMW features including a custom mount, preloaded BMW dealer database, and audio and Bluetooth capabilities.

Garmin makes GPS devices for just about every possible need. You can get a Garmin GPS for your car, you can get Garmin GPS in your airplane, and you can get Garmin GPS for your motorcycle. You can even get Garmin GPS for your wrist.

Gaming has announced two new wrist wearable GPS units called the Foretrex 401 and Foretrex 301. Both of the devices have high-sensitivity; WAAS-enabled GPS receivers and a USB interface in a waterproof device designed for skiers, campers, and military personnel to wear.

This one is for guys who like to jump out of planes. Garmin has a new version of the Foretrex. The 401 is 20% smaller than the original Foretrex 101 and 201, though the display is the same size. It also sports a 2-axis digital compass, barometric altimeter and a USB 2.0 port. The most interesting feature is the Jumpmaster function, designed for static, HAHO and HALO skydiving, with options including forward throw, windspeed and HARP to ensure a safe landing.

The Foretrex 401 uses AAA batteries for up to 24 hours of use, and it has the ability to swap batteries on the road. You can get it for $250 starting June 16th.

GPS is becoming so common that even people who don’t really need one are getting them. Last time I saw my grandmother she had a GPS in the car. This is the same woman who goes nowhere she hasn’t been going for the last 30 years and is so cheap she washes paper plates. GPS has gone mainstream for sure.

Gamin has introduced new GPS units called the Oregon 550 and Oregon 550t. Both of the devices integrate a 3.2-megapixel camera that can geotag images and a 3-axis compass. The devices are designed to be carried on outdoor excursions rather than mounted in car.

The last time I took my family on vacation without a GPS, I was irritated before we got out of town. I tried to let my wife read the map, which was a bad idea. Perhaps schools should teach basic map reading to girls when they take them out of class that one day during health to learn about girly parts and pregnancy. The easy remedy to this is to use GPS, which can be a marriage saver.

Garmin has announced a new GPS device called the nuvi 1490T that has a thin profile and a large 5-inch screen. The large screen is touch enabled and can save five different routes to allow route planning in advance.

I really like GPS devices and have owned several of them over the years. GPS is much better than having to stop and ask directions or having to listen to the wife tell me I need to stop and ask directions. I always figured that the big rigs on the road had built-in GPS, and I am sure many do.

Garmin has announced a new GPS device for long haul truckers that may make some want to upgrade even if their rig has GPS built-in. The new nuvi 465T is a GPS device that allows truckers to put in the length, width, height, and weight of their truck along with cargo type and the GPS device will find routes that the truck can safely and legally take.

GPS devices are becoming very common for not only automotive use, but for those needing directions when walking or riding a bike. Garmin is one of the biggest names in GPS navigation and the company announced several new GPS models at CeBIT 2009 in Germany today.

The new models are in the nuvi 1200 and 1300 families and all offer thin profiles with the ability to give directions when driving or walking. One new feature of all the devices is optional CityXplorer maps that are available for select tourist destinations around the globe.

The Nuviphone M20 from Garmin and Asus will be out later in the year, but it won’t be the first collaboration to arrive. The first will be the Nuviphone G60 and here are the details and specs.

The device will feature a 3.5″ touchscreen display, HSDPA/3G connectivity, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, Built-in accelerometer, Pre-loaded maps of your region, 3 megapixel camera with geo-tagging ability, and the Ciao! location-based social tool

Watches today do more than watches could do in the past. I have seen watches that have cell phones built-in and watches that connect to the Internet. Garmin is a brand closely associated with GPS devices, but the company has a wider range of products and has introduced a new watch.

It would be easy to assume that the new watch offers GPS capability, but it doesn’t. The watch monitors data from your workouts and saves it for wireless transmission to your computer for analysis. The watch is compatible with any ANT+ fitness device like heart rate monitors, foot pods, or home and gym equipment.

I used to ride a bike frequently, when I was like 12 and couldn’t drive. Since then I try and not get out in the Texas heat on a bicycle with moronic rednecks flying by seeing how close to you they can get with their giant cow trailer pulling mirrors. I do know several people who like cycling though.

For those of you who are really into cycling Garmin has announced that its Team Garmin Edition Edge 705 is now available. The cycling computer comes in orange representing the uniform color of the Garmin-Chipotle cycling team.

It really sucks when you get lost and it’s even worse if you happen to have a wife or significant other in the car at the time to tell you that you should have stopped for directions. The easy way to avoid this is to get a navigation unit, but for some the thought of cluttering up their car with a navigation unit is unbearable. Kenwood’s new products that feature built-in navigation in-dash may be just the ticket.

Garmin and Kenwood announced today that they were extending their relationship. Gamin will be the exclusive navigation supplier for Kenwood’s new 2008 line of in-dash automotive electronics. Garmin and Kenwood also say that they will work together on advertising for the new Kenwood products featuring Garmin navigation.

Garmin has a new exercise gadget debuting at CES this year called the Forerunner 405, designed for runners to aid in training and track routes. The new 405 is also a little more stylish than previous models with similar functionality, keeping the size to a minimum so the gadget doesn’t look like such a gaudy chunk of electronics on your wrist.

The Forerunner 405 is GPS enabled and allows outdoor runners to keep track of their speed, distance, heart rate and location through the watch. This model also features a cool new bezel around the display that lets users navigate and change settings on the watch by simply tapping it and sliding their finger around the metal circle.

Garmin is showcasing at CES the new flagship for its popular line of nüvi GPS devices. This model is known as the Garmin nüvi 880 and it is set to price at around $1,070.

The Garmin nüvi 880 has a long list of features to make even the most picky GPS users happy. To start off, advanced speech recognition technology, communicated to the 880 through a push-to-talk wireless remote, lets you activate a variety of voice commands which correspond to most common tasks on the unit. The Garmin nüvi 880 also draws upon the MSN Direct network to provide a variety of on-demand information points, including traffic, fuel prices, movie listings and news/stocks.

Sure it’s nice to be able to get the same functionality of your electronic gadgets into a smaller package, but smaller isn’t always better for everything. Having a pocket-sized GPS mounted to your dash can sometimes be like an eye chart test for finding destinations and points of interesting while driving your vehicle in traffic. Due to this Garmin is debuting a larger line of GPS units with a big 5.2-inch touch screen, and is packing it with features.

The big screen makes viewing and interacting with the touchscreen easier at arms length, and since they had the extra room they threw in quite a few extra tools. For starters you still get the voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions, but it will also save up to 10 routes, keep track of where you have been, find points of interest as well as school zones and safety cams, shows terrain info and you can even have a little vehicle icon instead of the generic arrow representing your car. A couple of other pretty nifty features include an external video input which lets you have video connected to the GPS, such as a back-up camera on your big rig and an FM transmitter so you can listen to the MP3’s loaded on the device through the car’s FM stereo, not to mention the loaded games and audio books owners can take advantage of.

Garmin unveiled today two new integrated personal training systems for recreational and advanced cyclists. The more interesting of these is the Edge 705, priced at around $550 and expected to be available in December.

The Garmin Edge 705 wlll let users monitor, in some cases wirelessly, GPS position, power, heart rate, speed, cadence, altitude and gradient on the same 2.2-inch color display. Street navigation is available, cyclists can share data wirelessly and data collected by the Edge 705 can be shared online with others through the Garmin Connect Web site.