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Garmin built up a substantial portfolio of GPS (global positioning system)-enabled handhelds, first based on the Palm OS and then also Windows Mobile, over the last few years. The company's run of devices that combine GPS with traditional PDA capabilities is apparently either coming to an end or is entering a period of limbo, however.

Due to growing competition—with integrated location-based services no longer so unique among more mainstream PDA and smartphone providers like Hewlett-Packard and Mitac—Garmin recently trimmed its inventory down to just one model, the Palm platform iQue 3000.

The latest casualties to join the company's list of discontinued handhelds include the iQue M3 and iQue M4 Pocket PCs. As Brighthand points out, however, if you're still interested in these or other no-longer available Garmin models, some retailers have them in stock.

In addition to the many newer devices that integrate GPS, Bluetooth has made it relatively easy to add the capability to those handhelds and handsets without the technology; through a wireless connection to an often small external GPS peripheral. For example, Palm offers just that in its GPS Navigator Smartphone Edition device for its Treos.

As for Garmin, the iQue 3000 was its cheapest Palm platform model (now only handheld period) when the company introduced it in January. With the iQue 3000, Garmin said it was attempting to expand the market for its products with an “entry level” device.

The iQue 3000 features Garmin's proprietary "where to" "view maps" interface. After entering a destination, the handheld chooses the fastest or shortest route to navigate the user from door to door, recalculating a route if the driver misses their turn and notifying them of their estimated arrival time.

The 2.8 x 4.7 x 0.7 inch, 5.2 ounce iQue 3000 integrates the Palm Address Book and Date Book with the GPS electronic map so that users can navigate directly to a specific address from the handheld's Palm OS applications.

Users may download detailed street information onto their iQue 3000 from the installation DVD, which the company says contains nearly six million points of interest; such as restaurants, hotels, transportation hubs, and banks. Map data is provided by NAVTEQ.

Hardware specifications include a 3-inch, 320 x 320 pixel resolution display plus a dedicated Graffiti writing area, not virtual Graffiti like newer Palm, Inc. devices.

While there is only 32 MB of RAM and 32 MB of ROM, users can expand storage with the iQue 3000's microSD card slot. Garmin bundles a 128 MB microSD card for North American buyers, or a 256 MB preprogrammed microSD card for European and Australian users.