OLATHE, Kan. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — April 4, 2013 — Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced an updated version of the Garmin Pilot app for the iPad and iPhone that incorporates Garmin’s best-in-class dynamic navigation maps. The new dynamic maps enable numerous capabilities including track-up orientation, faster map rendering, higher resolution at tighter zoom levels and SafeTaxi® integration on the moving map.
“Garmin has been providing the industry with best-in-class dynamic mapping for over 20 years. Any pilot who has ever used a Garmin aviation portable is familiar with the inherent benefits and improved user experience that come from our dynamic maps,” said Carl Wolf, Garmin’s vice president of aviation sales and marketing. “We have drawn upon those years of experience to offer this same capability with our Garmin Pilot app, demonstrating our continued commitment to bringing industry-leading aviation features to tablets and smart phones.”
Dynamic Maps
With the new dynamic maps, pilots can now choose between track-up or north-up moving map orientation. When in track-up mode, maps will dynamically adjust to the pilot’s direction of flight, ensuring the maps turn smoothly and labels are always upright and easy to read. This is in contrast to traditional static maps where labels appear in a fixed position and orientation, and when the map is rotated, labels may appear sideways or upside down. Garmin’s dynamic maps are also highly configurable, giving pilots the ability to tailor it to their personal preferences including customization of map color, visibility range and label sizes for airports, NAVAIDs and more. Pilots will now enjoy faster map rendering and the ability to zoom in tighter with consistent map resolution. And when zooming into an airport, Garmin’s exclusive SafeTaxi airport diagrams (subscription required) now automatically appear directly on the moving map without the need to switch to a dedicated airport diagram page.
Track-Up
In addition to dynamic track-up on the moving map, pilots also now have the option for track-up orientation on static sectionals and en route charts, ensuring that sectionals rotate based on the pilot’s direction of flight and the aircraft is always traveling up the screen.
Cloud Trip Syncing
Enhancements to Garmin Pilot’s cloud computing technology enable seamless connectivity and information sharing between all Garmin Pilot-enabled mobile devices. Now all trips, aircraft, bookmarked flight plans, pilot details and user waypoints are automatically saved to the cloud and tied to the pilot’s username, so pilots with two devices, like a tablet and a smart phone, can log in and access their information from each one.
Chart Annotation
The ability to annotate charts is another new feature of Garmin Pilot that allows the user to highlight or make notes on approach charts and on the Airport Facilities Directory. Pilots can highlight relevant information, like minimums for example, for faster and more intuitive reference. Plus, all annotations are saved until the next chart cycle.
Every Garmin Pilot release also incorporates customer-requested features and improvements. This release includes scratch pad improvements, flight conditions color options and enhanced trip planning capabilities that are a direct result of customer comments.
The latest version of Garmin Pilot is available immediately as a free update for existing iOS Garmin Pilot subscribers. For new customers, it is available in the Apple App Store as a free download for the first 30 days. After that, pilots can pay a monthly fee of $9.99 or an annual subscription of $74.99. Pilots can optionally upgrade the standard FliteCharts to geo-referenced FliteCharts for an additional $49.99 annually. Geo-referenced SafeTaxi diagrams are available for an additional $24.99 annually. Customers using Garmin Pilot on the Android platform can expect comparable features later this year. For more information, visit www.garmin.com.
Garmin’s aviation business segment is a leading provider of solutions to OEM, aftermarket, military and government customers. Garmin’s portfolio includes navigation, communication, flight control, hazard avoidance, surveillance, and other products and services that are known for innovation, reliability, and value.
About Garmin
Garmin International Inc. is a subsidiary of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation. Since 1989, this group of companies has designed, manufactured, marketed and sold navigation, communication and information devices and applications – most of which are enabled by GPS technology. Garmin’s products serve automotive, mobile, wireless, outdoor recreation, marine, aviation, and OEM applications. A component of the S&P 500 index, Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in Switzerland, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit Garmin's virtual pressroom at www.garmin.com/pressroom or contact the Media Relations department at 913-397-8200. Garmin Pilot is a trademark and Garmin and SafeTaxi are registered trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.
All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
Notice on Forward-Looking Statements:
This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Garmin Ltd. and its business. Such statements are based on management’s current expectations. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual results could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Garmin, including, but not limited to, the risk factors listed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 29, 2012, filed by Garmin with the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission file number 0-31983). A copy of such Form 10-K is available at www.garmin.com/aboutGarmin/invRelations/finReports.html. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Garmin undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
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Garmin International Inc.
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