"By adding Google Local search and Panoramio to Garmin Mobile XT, customers will have more points of interest and navigation options than ever before," said Charles Morse, Garmin's director of mobile and online marketing. "Garmin Mobile XT is already compatible with over 100 GPS smartphones, and we expect this number to increase as more smartphones are introduced with internal GPS."

The Google Local search capability on Garmin Mobile XT allows users to harness more points of interest information via the world wide web. By selecting "Where to?" and "Google Local", customers can type in keywords as they would if they were on their desktop computer.

In addition, Garmin has created a "quick search" feature that lets users search Google Local via categories -- such as food, lodging, fuel, and more -- rather than typing a keyword into the Google Local search box. Search results are based on the user's current location and are sorted by geographic relevance.

Detailed information can be displayed including descriptions, business address and phone numbers, and a rating from Google. Once the user selects a location, they can save the destination to their favorites folder, call the destination, or navigate to it with Garmin's intuitive turn-by-turn, voice-prompted directions.

Thanks to the integration with Google's Panoramio service, customers also have access to millions of geo-located landmark and sightseeing photographs directly from Garmin Mobile XT.

Images and relevant information are displayed based on proximity to the individual's current location. After viewing the images on their smartphone, users can navigate directly to the place the photo was taken, or save the image and location for future reference.

Garmin Mobile XT is an easy-to-use application that is preloaded on a microSD card (with miniSD and standard SD card adapters) for plug-and-play installation. Once the microSD card is inserted into a compatible smartphone with embedded GPS, the Garmin Mobile XT application will install and launch automatically.

Customers are then greeted with Garmin's intuitive "Where to?" and "View map" welcome screen. With a few screen or button taps, customers can easily route to a specific street address or choose from preloaded points of interest -- such as restaurants, hotels, ATMs, and gas stations. In addition to turn-by-turn, voice prompted directions, users will also see their exact position on a detailed moving map. If a turn is missed along the way, a new route will be recalculated automatically.

In addition to navigation, Garmin Mobile XT includes access to Garmin Online so that customers have useful, updated information at their fingertips, such as traffic, weather forecasts, and safety cameras.

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