Another mobile-TV PND from Garmin

Garmin has announced that it is developing a portable navigation device (PND) that will support mobile digital video broadcasts in both Japan and South Korea. This follows Garmin’s launch of the nuvi 900T PND on March 4th.

The nuvi 900T supports the DVB-H mobile television standard, and has a 4.3 inch WQVGA touch screen display. It features an MP3 player so that users can play music and audio books, and comes with games pre-loaded. It can communicate with mobile phones using Bluetooth, allowing users to make hands free calls.

Garmin’s venture into DVB-H is contrary to most PND manufacturers, who are producing DVB-T models. Garmin said that theirs is a deliberate move to differentiate their models from those of competitors.

Garmin also recently launched a number of entry level PNDs as part of their 2×5 series. Some of these include GPS chipsets from MediaTek, a Taiwan-based maker of chipset solutions.

These nuvi 2.5 PNDs have either a 3.5 or a 4.3 inch screen and a shaded elevation map display. The microprocessors in the 2×5s have 333 MHz processors, enhancing both map drawing and route planning capabilities.