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January 8, 2002
Garmin® Charges into the Two-Way Radio Market
with Rino®' GPS Devices
OLATHE, Kan. Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin
Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN), today introduced its first two GPS-enabled
handheld devices for the Family Radio Service (FRS) and high-performance
General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) markets the Rino
110 and Rino 120. These GPS devices integrate radio functionality
to provide two-way voice communications up to two miles using
FRS channels and up to five miles using GMRS channels.
Inspired by the distinctive offset FRS and GPS antennas that
give the devices its Rhinoceros-like appearance, Garmin designed
the Rino series as powerful, robust Radios Integrated with Navigation
for the Outdoors. They are also the only waterproof two-way radios
on the market.
What really separates the Rino from the rest of the FRS/GMRS
herd is the ability to "beam" your exact location to
another Rino user within a two-mile range.
Garmin has received a waiver from the Federal Communications
Commission, making it possible for the company to provide "peer-to-peer
position reporting" on the Rino series using the FRS spectrum.
Garmin also has a patent pending on this technology. So you can
transmit your location to a friend or family member, and they
can see the distance and bearing from your position to theirs
on a Rino display. In short, this could be a life-saving feature
in an outdoor emergency by helping rescuers pinpoint your location
or it could be used simply for rounding up the family at an amusement
park.
"We have brought together two great technologies in the
Rino to deliver a compact communications and navigation device
to outdoor enthusiasts," said Gary Kelley, Garmin's
director of marketing. "This rugged device is for everyone
who prefers to travel light, but who wants the safety and comfort
offered by a GPS device with FRS/GMRS capabilities."
The Rino boasts GARMIN's traditional tough, lightweight
and waterproof design to handle the rigors of any outdoor adventure.
And because the Rino has standard FRS capabilities, you can talk
to friends or family who own conventional FRS radios. The Rino
goes beyond the normal two-mile FRS range to support additional
voice communications capabilities using GMRS, delivering a range
of up to five miles.
The Rino 110, in its bright yellow case, will offer standard
FRS/GMRS features like 22 channels, 38 squelch codes and external
voice activation (VOX). It also incorporates GARMINs powerful
12-channel GPS receiver for position accuracy of less than 10
feet when enabled to receive enhanced GPS data from the Wide Area
Augmentation System (WAAS). The Rino 110 has standard navigation
features like extensive waypoint storage, TracBack® technology,
multiple position formats (including MGRS and Loran TD) and a
built-in trip computer.
The olive-colored Rino 120 takes all the features of the Rino
110 and adds a basemap of North and South America that includes
major cities, highways, thoroughfares, rivers, lakes, coastlines
state and national borders, and railways. The Rino 120 has eight
megabytes of internal memory for downloadable cartography from
GARMIN's exclusive line of MapSource® CD-ROMs providing
topographic, bathymetric, and street-level map information. It
also incorporates a voice scrambler for secure communications
and a vibration mode for "silent" calls from other Rino
users.
Other specific features of the Rino 110 and Rino 120:
- Ergonomic design for one-hand operation, with Call, Press-To-Talk
(PTT) and Mode buttons on the side, Power/Backlighting button
on top, and dedicated map zoom buttons in front
- Centrally located "thumb stick" allows for channel
selection and volume adjustment in FRS mode and quick map
panning,
enter and selection functions in GPS mode
- Quad-helix GPS antenna and 12-channel parallel receiver for
accuracy of 20 feet or less in normal mode, 10 feet or less
when WAAS-enabled
- Waterproof construction to IPX-7 standards (immersible in
one meter of water for up to 30 mins.)
- Storage of up to 500 waypoints, with graphic identification,
and 20 reversible route
- More than 10 position formats and over 100 map datums
- Trip computer with speed tracking, sunrise/sunset read out,
trip timer and trip distance
- Clock, stopwatch and alarm functions
- High-resolution display with 160x160 pixels
- Battery life of 15 hours (typical use) on three AA batteries
- Backlit display
- Lightweight design: Rino 110 weighs 8 oz., while the Rino
120 weighs 8.5 oz.
The Rino 110 and 120 are expected to be available in the second
quarter of 2002 with a manufacturers suggested retail price
of $194.27 and $267.84, respectively. The Rino 110 will ship standard
with a lanyard, belt clip and user's manual, while the Rino
120 package will also include a PC interface cable.
About Garmin:
Garmin International Inc. is a member of the Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq:
GRMN) group of companies, which design and manufacture navigation,
communication and information devices most of which are
enabled by GPS technology. Garmin's products serve the aviation,
marine, outdoor recreation, automotive, wireless and OEM markets.
Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and its principal
subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and United
Kingdom. For more information, visit the Virtual Press Room at
www.garmin.com/pressroom, or contact the Media Relations department
at 913-397-8200. GARMIN and TracBack are registered trademarks,
and Rino and MapSource are trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.
Notice on forward-looking statements:
This press release contains forward-looking statements respecting
Garmin Ltd. and its business. Any statements regarding the company's
future financial position, revenues, earnings, product introductions,
plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results
may differ materially. There could be a number of factors affecting
future results, including those factors identified in Garmin's
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 30, 2000
filed by Garmin with the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission
file number 0-31983). Garmin will not update any forward-looking
statements in this press release to reflect future events or developments. |