Garmin Nuvi 660 Personal Navigation Device Teardown

High-end shirt-pocket portable navigation system with a very thin design (only 23mm) and plenty of features such as 4.3 touch-screen, 16M color WQVGA TFT landscape display, built-in Bluetooth for hands-free functionality, FM transmitter (US, Australia, & New Zealand only) to send voice prompts and MP3s to the vehicle stereo, FM traffic receiver (North America only) which is integrated in the car adapter, an internal rechargeable battery, built-in MP3 player and picture viewer, 2GB internal storage pre-loaded with City Navigator which provides street-level detail plus point of interests in North America or Europe. The device also comes with an SD Memory card slot for map expandability. In terms of navigation features, the nuvi 660 provides turn-by-turn voice instructions, custom road preference, automatic off-route recalculation and a trip computer which has resettable odometer, timers and shows average and maximum speeds.

The Garmin nuvi 660 not only serves navigational purposes, but also provides entertainment such as a MP3 player and picture viewer. The higher-end nuvi 670 basically has the same features set but with European map added making it a transatlantic nuvi. However, besides adding more preloaded map and other details, the trend of portable GPS devices is definitely to go multimedia with MP3 player, picture viewer and even video player built-into the devices.

Competition / Competing Devices

The Garmin nuvi 660 is relatively expensive in the market. With its price tag at $965, it is more expensive than the top of the line TomTom GO 910 which is selling for 349.99 (~$685USD). There are only 2 noticeable differences feature-wise: the nuvi 660 has a 4.3" display in oppose to a 4.0" display in the TomTom and the nuvi 660 has built-in FM transmitter (and receiver for US version) whereas the TomTom does not. The premium a user would pay over other similar featured systems is for the emphasized shirt-pocket design (and probably the brand name). Garmin created the shirt-pocket GPS market with the nuvi 350 and now the 660 becomes the first shirt-pocket device with WQVGA, 4.3" display. With its high price tag, thin design with a large display, it seems that the 660 stands alone and does not have real comparable competitors.

Garmin Nuvi 660 Personal Navigation Device Main Image

Announced September 1, 2006 per Garmin's press release

Pricing and Availability

Suggested retail price $964.27 per Garmin's web site

Volume Estimations

For the purposes of calculating amortized fixed costs such as test set-ups or the amortization of mechanical component tooling, etc., we formulate an approximate lifetime production volume estimate. In the case of the Garmin nuvi 660 we have assumed a lifetime production volume of 175,000 units.

As a reminder, volume production assumptions primarily affect our cost analysis in terms of amortized NRE and tooling costs, especially for custom components specific to the model being analyzed (mechanical components especially).

Function / Performance

No testing was performed on the Garmin nuvi 660.

Garmin Nuvi 660 Personal Navigation Device Cost Analysis

Garmin Nuvi 660 Personal Navigation Device Cost Analysis

Main Cost Drivers Representing approximately 60% of total materials costs - including box contents

Core Device Only

Sharp - LQ043T1DG01 - Display Module w/ Touchscreen (Resistive) - 4.3' Wide SVGA LCD

Samsung Semiconductor - K9WAG08U1A-Y - Flash - NAND, SLC, 16Gb, 2.7-3.6V

Texas instruments - D751623BZHK - CPU - OMAP Processor

SiRF - GSC3f-7879 - GPS - SiRFstarIII

Main PCB - Asia Circuits - 12-Layer - FR4, Lead-Free

Battery - Li-Polymer - 3.7V, 1200mAh, w/ 2 Discrete Wire and 2-Position Pin Socket

Samsung Semiconductor - K4X56163PF-FGC3 - SDRAM - Mobile DDR, 256Mb (16Mx16)

FM Transmitter Module - Contains Niigata Seimitsu NS73 FM Transmitter IC

Garmin Nuvi 660 Personal Navigation Device - Enclosure Main Rear & Components

Garmin Nuvi 660 Personal Navigation Device - Enclosure Main Rear & Components

Manufacturing NotesCountry of Origin / EMS provider

This Garmin nuvi 660 was produced (final assembly, that is) in Taiwan, per markings on the retail box.

With respect to subassemblies, unless specifically labeled, it was assumed that PCBAs and plastics, etc are also from local suppliers and EMS providers in China. We generally assume that where not noted, that sub-assemblies and some custom manufactured items (plastics, mechanicals, etc.) will be produced in the lowest cost region in the absence of proof to the contrary. We therefore assumed that the PCBA was assembled in China, and that the custom mechanical components were also produced in China. This is not known - and these are merely assumptions.

Design for Manufacturing / Complexity

The only comparison we would draw here is between the nuvi 660 and TomTom ONE as they have similar form factor in general. The total component count for the Garmin nuvi 660 is at 691 components (versus 534 in the TomTom) with mechanical components at a count of 68 (versus 54 in the TomTom). The higher components counts (both mechanical and total) are attributed to the more features generally and mechanically the adjustable GPS antenna (resides on the GPS receiver PCB). Without sacrificing functionality, it is inarguably that the design of nuvi 660 is fairly simple and efficient.

Component counts have a direct bearing on the overall manufacturing cycle times and costs, and also can increase or decrease overall yields and re-work. Our calculations of manufacturing costs factor counts and more qualitative complexities in the design.

Design Notes

The core design is based on the SiRF Star III GPS chip which is same as the one in the previously analyzed TomTom ONE with the exception that the chip in the nuvi 660 has built-in Flash. On top of that, a TI OMAP IC, as oppoed to a Samsung processor in the TomTom, performs all processing related functions. The front end is simple with mainly the SiRF chip and a ceramic GPS antenna. The hands-free function is handled by the Parrot 4+ IC which interfaces with the Infineon Bluetooth chip. Overall, the SiRF chip and the OMAP processor represent the core design.

Here is a summary of the major components used in Garmin Nuvi 660 design.

Main PCBCPU

Texas Instruments - OMAP Applications Processor - Exact Model Unknown

User Interface

Infineon - PMB8753 - Bluetooth - Single Chip Solution, V2.0+EDR, Integrates ARM7TDMI Core, 130nm Process

Parrot - Parrot 4+ - Handsfree Solution - Interfaces with Bluetooth® Modules, CAN and GSM/GPRS Controllers

Wolfson Microelectronics - WM8753LGEB - Codec - Dual, Hi-Fi Stereo & Voice

Memory

Samsung - K4X56163PF-FGC3 - SDRAM - Mobile DDR, 256Mb (16Mx16), 133MHz@CL3, 1.8V, Pb Free

Samsung - K9WAG08U1A-Y - Flash - NAND, SLC, 16Gb, 2.7-3.6V

Power Management

Linear Technology - LTC3455EUF - Power Management IC - Integrated Dual Synchrounous Step Down DC/DC Converter, USB Power Controller & Li-Ion Battery Charger

GPS Receiver PCB
RF Receiver

SiRF - GSC3f-7879 - GPS - SiRFstarIII, 50MHz ARM7TDMI CPU, 1Mb SRAM, 4Mb Flash, 20-Channel GPS, 3.0V, 10 GPIO Ports

Display Module

Sharp - LQ043T1DG01 - 4.3' Wide SVGA LCD, 480 x 272 Pixels , 16M Color TFT Brightness: 500cd, Contrast: 300:1, w/ Touchscreen

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Garmin Nuvi 660 Personal Navigation Device - Box Contents

Garmin Nuvi 660 Personal Navigation Device - Box Contents