I bought this Garmin Nuvi to replace its twin which was broken when replacing a battery. It's an older Garmin, so none of the bells and whistles of more recent versions, but still works. We have a United Kingdom map card which we will insert in this model for use on a trip to Scotland this summer. The UK map card is up-to-date so we are hoping that it will be useful. Renting a GPS for our rental car was much more expensive and involved deposits and international mail, so updating our Garmin seemed a better option.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This unit is no better than the TomTom, that it replaced. The TomTom unit - when new - showed my street connecting to another. There is not - and never has been - any such connection. I tried to advise TomTom. But the extra-terrestrials in charge at Tom-Tom did not have on their home page, a place marked "Fix Map Errors". I was told to look through their FAQs, hundreds of them. I never did submit the correction. Perhaps it is the case with all GPS units, that when streets are close together, the unit refreshes too slowly for driver to turn, where s/he is supposed to turn. Unlike the Tom-Tom, this unit does not give misleading indications are to the next steps, i.e., showing a distance to a point, whereat one would think a turn would be needed, but at which no turn is needed. This unit does do something that TomTom does, that seems wrong. An instruction, will be given: "Turn Left in .2 miles then turn left." The problem: there's no indication how far after the first left turn, the second left turn is to be made. If the purpose of the second instruction is to get the driver to stay on the left, after making the left turn, that's what the instruction should say: "Turn Left in .2 miles and keep left." Otherwise, the instruction needs to give the distance to the second left turn. The instruction, "Turn Left in point two miles" needs to be changed, so that it is "Turn Left in zero point two miles". The word "point" is very softly voiced, so it is not clear whether one is to turn in two-tenths of a mile or in two miles. In short, this unit is better than nothing, but is not user-friendly. It does not store conveniently frequently used destinations. It does not have a feature that allows one to choose "major roads only", as a way to avoid narrow streets, where a single vehicle can trap all behind it. With GPS units, one has to buy to learn if the unit is worthwhile, as there's no way to test one for a week or two.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I guess I've been very pleased with the use of the gps. I shopped and researched several weeks before picking this model. It was important to get the Canadian maps and a little bit to have the wide screen. This is my first gps, so I took people's advice on the wide screen, but I'm not sure if it really matters that much. The screen is very clear and the touch screen is easy to work with. The mode where it switches from daytime screen to night screen is very nice to avoid having a very bright daytime look to a black background that is not distracting. It is very accurate on time of arrival and actual speed travelling. Accessories are easy to obtain, so you can get a case and different mounts very easily. My only problem is that I can't figure out how to create a map in mapquest and import it onto the gps. All I can manage is to put the places that are end points for a trip. I bought a 2 gb SD for it, but the files that are saved locations are only a few kb each, so this was a huge overkill. The other feature that is helpful is "quickest" vs "shortest". Even shortest trys to use major roads, so that hasn't been trying to put me onto back roads, but only state roads. I just wouldn't call it excellent, but a good value for the cost.Read full review
Pros: The wide screen is easy to read, the system is 99.9% accurate right out of the box, and the price is reasonable. The website offers free customization to include voices and vehicle icons. Cons: This particular system does not have bluetooth capabilities, but there are more expensive models that offer this feature. Summary: I really like this product and have even named it Dr. Nightmare! Cheesy, but with downloadable voices, it's really fun to use. This model allows for customization, so family pictures can be added. When the system is not in use you can run a slideshow of all your family pictures! The screen color changes based on the lighting so it is really easy to read day or night. The most important reason I like the system so much is because it's accurate. Right out of the box without downloading the system update, it provided great directions. The system also has an SD slot which allows for supplementary maps etc. Without a doubt I recommend this system.Read full review
Most features are very easy to use, the graphics are very good, the sound clarity is ok, less human-like than others, but still understandable, the battery life is almost 5-7 Hours, you can put your own pics on a SD card and load them on it, view them on it, doesn't have mp3, not sure if you can download it, the screen size is great, the best feature about this one is that you can record your track, so if you are driving in an open rural area where no map is existing this feature is very handy, you just follow back the track you made, this will also work on the sea or river, so if you're driving in new subdivisions sometimes it's very hard to get out of it, especially in the dark, this feature will help you get back to where you came from. the qwerty keyboard is also very importent as the other layout keyboard confuses me, over all it's a very good one compaired to others in it's price range.Read full review