Buy Two Way Radios is pleased to announce the 2008 lineup of Midland two way radios. Midland made tremendous gains in 2007 by improving their range and voice clarity across the board. Their flagship product, the GXT800VP4, has been extremely popular due to its performance, IP4 waterproofing, and group mode functionality. With so much success in 2007, we were excited to see what 2008 would bring! Their new models have enhancements that are interesting, to say the least.

More Channels (?)

Five of the eight new models have what Midland is calling "extra channels". The specific number of extra channels range from 6 with mid range models up to 20 with the new GXT900. Since the FCC only has 22 frequencies allocated to the FRS and GMRS services, we were quite curious to find out how these new channels are going to work. Midland wouldn't reveal much at this time, only saying that the "extra channels" would be fully compliant with GMRS.

One thing that I find particularly interesting about these new "channels" is the way it is being marketed. Instead of saying the GXT900 has 42 channels, the marketing materials say that it has "22 channels plus 20 extra channels". I also found it interesting that the manual leaves the frequencies for these "channels" blank. I guess that until the new products are actually available, we can only speculate as to how this will work.

More Power (?)

The most exciting (potential) enhancement is the power improvement in the higher end models. According to the FCC grant, the GXT950 has an output power of 5.33 watts (ERP). This would be a tremendous advance. Last year, the GXT850 was the most powerful radio in this class at 1.63 watts. I would normally take an FCC document at face value, but this is such a major difference that I am going to remain skeptical until we can validate this improvement with an actual performance test. Stay tuned!

Marketing Hype

As usual, the fantastic range claims continue to expand. This year, we're up to "30 miles range" on the high end models. In the meantime, we will continue to educate our customers as to the actual range that they can expect from their radios.

Certified Lead Free

Recently the public as soured toward Chinese imports due to high lead content being found in some toys. Midland has responded to this by removing lead from their products, and having them certified as Lead Free. They will be the only manufacturer in this class advertising lead free products, so that should win them some customers.

New Model Specifics

Here is a look at the highlights of each new model. Pricing information is not yet finalized. LXT models will be available in May, GXT models in June.

GXT950VP4 - Camouflage; 42 "channels"; Voice scrambling; NOAA channels/alerts; Group mode; Direct call; Vibrate alert; VOX; IP4 waterproof; 142 privacy codes; DC adapter; Headsets.
GXT900VP4 - 42 "channels"; Voice scrambling; NOAA channels/alerts; Group mode; Direct call; Vibrate alert; VOX; IP4 waterproof; 142 privacy codes; DC adapter; Headsets.
GXT775VP3 - Camouflage; 36 "channels"; NOAA channels/alerts; Vibrate alert; VOX.
GXT720VP3 - 36 "channels"; NOAA channels/alerts; Vibrate alert; VOX.
LXT460VP3 - 28 "channels"; NOAA channels/alerts; Vibrate alert.
LXT345VP3 - Camouflage; Low end model.
LXT340VP3 - Low end model.
LXT110 - Basic model, no charger, low power.

We look forward to providing you with more information once these models become available.

Posted by Jeff at 4:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)