Magellan RoadMate 1470

We all know that technology is on the roll and it helps us in numerous ways. Yes, some Stone Age guys may say that technology leads to disaster. But, does that mean that we need to avoid it and call it as one of the most bizarre alien concepts? Not really! When it can do good, use it to make the good, better! This thought really pulled me out of the nut shell to look into the box of Magellan Roadmate.

The general feel of the Magellan Roadmate 1470:

The first thing that captured my curious eyes was the piano-black casing made of plastic. The BIG 4.7 inch screen was a sheer pleasure to look at as the buttons on the screen looked big and the text was easier to read! Phew… At last! The possibility of malfunctioning external buttons is discarded. The unit did not keep any external button except for the power switch (placed on the top of the unit). All operations are to be done by the touch screen. Coming to back panel, did an outstanding job to impart a crisp look by using a silver plastic of matt-color!

Speaker and dimensions of Magellan Roadmate 1470:

When it comes to navigate through the roads, voice navigation is the most convenient form. I guess that everyone will agree to the fact. Looking at the screen and then concentrating back on the road can be a problem for some people. I am newbie and due to this it is at least difficult for me. Magellan Roadmate 1470 was probably designed to meet the requirements of people like me! This GPS navigation unit has an in-built speaker placed at the rear left hand corner of the unit. It is bigger than other GPS navigation units available in the market. Ah! What I like most is the crisp and clear sound. It never gets distorted even at high volumes. Now, if you want your eyes to do a lot of exercise and switch randomly between the screen and the road, the big screen accommodated in the 5.2 x 0.7 x 3.3 inches unit will surely solve your purpose.

The technical aspects:

This was kind of a surprise for me. The unit has a mounted Micro SD card slot but the card is not necessary to use the navigation unit itself! The only reason to use the slot is for backing up and restoring data. Also there is a USB connector, which is used to power up the unit either from the power adapter cable of the vehicle or you can also use the AC power adapter, which is optional.

The Mount:

The Magellan Roadmate 1470 comes with two types of mount. One can be used to mount the unit on the windshield and the other one (adhesive mount) can be used to mount the unit on the dashboard. The windshield mount has a lever at the base. I was really impressed with the design and the elegance. The lever ensures that the suction cup is secured to the windshield and mount has a cradle that is used to keep the GPS unit in place. The cradle has a tab and when I lowered the unit, the slot on back of the unit was aligned with the tab and finally rested on the foot of the cradle.

Design Flaw:

One thing I really found annoying is that the GPS unit needs to be connected to the USB power cable so as to make it work. The port where the power cable is to be plugged in is at the bottom of the unit. Once the unit is mounted on the cradle, the port goes out of sight and it can be difficult to plug the cable. I tried plugging the cable first and then mounting the device. I was awarded with frustration as that was not possible. I hope that Magellan will fix this.

Using the device:

When I powered the device by sliding the power button, it took 34 second to start and then prompted to select the language, time zone and measurement unit and then renders it as ‘ready to use’.

Functionality of Magellan Roadmate 1470:

Navigating with the GPS device was sheer pleasure for me. The quick spell function of the device allowed to find the city I was looking for from a list of cities and then entering the street address was another fun stuff. The quick spell function allowed only entering a valid street name by fading the keys of the onscreen keyboard, which would lead to an invalid entry. The next thing that I had to do was to enter the street and the building number and tap the ‘GO’ button. It was easy and it allowed me to search for POIs (points of interests). The added advantage is that the device allows you to find alternate route when you want to avoid a particular road. This feature is not present in every GPS navigation system.

Conclusion:

I will say that the price tag for this masterpiece is quite reasonable and justified at $249.99. The comfort and the ease of use ensure that the journey is comfortable and easy. I guess that everyone will like to pay for this!

Garmin zumo 550

Waiting for the Garmin zumo 550 was a bit long but it paid off! Released nearly a year after the Tom Tom Rider had hit the market, the zumo 550 has a bit of wonder stuff to attract your attention. I will not call myself to be a rich fellow but somehow I managed to adorn my garage with a car and a bike but I have a soft corner for the boy with two wheels and love to be with him most of the time. No! Don’t get me wrong fellows… I was just talking about my bike. And now the Garmin zumo 550 has given that extra bit of gloss to my little friend and guess what, it has become a super cool dude in no time. Thanks Garmin!

Out of the box:

Out of the box, the Garmin zumo 550 GPS navigation system for the bikers has left a lot to be desired with other GPS systems. The surprise element was the boat-loaded box! So, here is what I found in the box: a mount for the bikes, a plastic adhesive car mount to fix the navigation unit on the dashboard (just in case someday I have a bit more affection for my four wheeler), black colored face plates made of plastic (in case the gray color annoys you), car charger, a power cable which connects to the battery of the bike, an AC adapter, a USB cable to use it with the computer, tools needed for mounting the zumo 550 on the handles of the bike, City Navigator DVD, a screwdriver for the unit’s “safety screw”, owners’ manual CD-ROM, quick setup guide and some stickers. Well, isn’t that a boat-load? For me it is and I guess that same applies to you. But something I missed was a Bluetooth earpiece. But I guess that the company did a great thing by concentrating on the unit itself and not on a thing which is readily available in the market!

Let us see the design:

SEXY! A silver shell along with a couple of removable caps, one place on the top and the other at the bottom so that you can customize the design. And, this cool dude has an IPX7 standard. So, if you accidentally drop it in water, it will come out unhurt from a depth of three feet. But more than 30 minutes and better luck with a new zumo 550. The unit possesses a sturdy shell but for added security there is a safety screw! The screen of the unit is a bit on the smaller end with a size of 3.5 inches but is UV resistant and touch screen. It allows choosing large icons. A real handy feature! You can turn on the device by pressing the power button for a couple of seconds, which is place carefully on the right-hand lower corner! Four other buttons on the left allows a plethora of functions like zoom in and zoom out, menu scrolling, volume control and many more! There is an SD expansion slot, USB port and a mount connector of 24 pins. Guess what? There are many other features!

Navigation:

Garmin zumo 550 has a high sensitive GPS receiver and preloaded North American map that helps in proper navigation. The menu is quite simple and all that I had to do was to select the one that I wanted and then I had to either go to the sub menu or just put in the details and that is all! The navigation unit gave turn-by-turn as well as voice-guided directions. Additionally, the zumo 550 has TTS (text to speech) functionality. Among the other options are the automatic route calculations, detour, POI database of over 6 million POIs and also provides real time traffic updates via Total Traffic Network of Clear Channel but alas! You need to buy a traffic receiver, which is compatible with zumo 550. Everything cannot be given right? Whether you are a 2D lover or a 3D lover, see the maps in a way you want! I prefer it to be 3D. The integrated Bluetooth helps you to make hands free phone calls with the unit and your mobile once they are paired!

Conclusion – The Pain:

Well, a couple of glitches always remain and you accept them. In case of zumo 550, some of the POIs are out dated but detour can recalculate a more realistic tour but the calculations are a bit slow. Hopefully Garmin will fix this. However, I was quite happy to shell out $625 for this wonder boy!

TomTom XL340

Someone asked me: “Is GPS technology easy to use?” Instead of using words, I decided to take him for a drive even though he was a complete stranger! After an hour’s drive, he mentioned a POI and asked me to stop there. I navigated using my Tom Tom XL340 and reached there. It was a coffee shop and he offered a cup of coffee to me. I asked why? He said, “Because you have shown me something that I can use to be back at home right on time and avoid clashes with my family for being late!”

Was that a joke? Perhaps not! The  TomTom XL340 can real make a difference when it comes to navigating through the roads and surely it brings a marked difference in your lifestyle! And honestly, I never found anything else that can go against this claim of GPS technology! And honestly speaking, TomTom XL340 uses the complex and advanced technology in simplified state so that the road navigation becomes easy and simple. Advanced lane guidance, IQ Routes, fuel prices on day to day basis and many more features ensure that you desire for more.

A closer look into the design:

The touch screen of WQVGA wide-format is the immediate attraction and a loud and large speaker rules the rear. Speaker for navigation? Yes! The text-to-speech feature of the TomTom XL340 ensures quick recognition of the POIs and streets because the device is designed to read out their names. While the power button adorns the top of the device, an USB port at the bottom allows data connection from the car charger of 12 volts, which is included in the box pack. With on board storage capacity of 2GB, the device allows easy access to some pre-installed maps and a database of millions of POIs. I consider it as a drawback, because I am unable to increase the data storage capacity which would have been possible in case there was a Micro SD expansion slot. The EasyPort mount makes sure that the device is mounted on the windshield of the car. The mount easily integrates with the cradle of TomTom XL340. I find it quite easy to mount the unit on the windshield. All I need to do is to open the suction cup, place it on the windshield and then simply turn the ring provided for locking! It is as simple as 1,2,3 and go… Want to try it? If you read carefully, I mentioned about the cradle of TomTom XL340. The cradle is integrated and therefore makes the GPS unit a bit bulky by adding weight to the already big device. It therefore becomes difficult for those who want to carry it with themselves when they leave the car. But placing the same in a bag will make things simple and life easy! Carry a bag!

A talk on the features:

I can really continue for hours when it comes to the feature of my TomTom XL340 but I will not as I don’t want to sound talkative. The Advanced lane guidance is something that I like most because it give a complete and most comprehensive details about the lanes and also provides detailed illustrations of the very complex interchanges on the freeways. The text-to-speech function is supported with 14 different voices in three different languages…choose the one that soothes your ears. Another good thing is the Tom Tom Map share service. If you want to make changes to the street names, POIs and anything else, you can always do that and upload the same and get it approved and then let others share it with you. That is real fun! Isn’t it? I think I am an expert and Tom Tom must hire me! Jokes apart, you can real consider your chances to get approved if you think that you know a place in and out! The TomTom XL340 is really an intelligent fellow and it will calculate the fastest route from point A to point B based on historical data of your driving speed and time! This feature is termed as IQ Routes and remember that it will never be the same as the data of real time traffic. Why? The calculations are based on the historical data of your driving nature!

Performance:

Nope! It is not light! However, the boot as well as the satellite acquisition were fast and were completed within less than a minute! Also, the onscreen keyboard layout can be changed to suit your style. I personally love QWERTY but you can have A-Z or AZERTY layouts as well. You are free to choose! TomTom XL340 is a considerate fellow and understands that my fingertips are fat as pumpkins and therefore provided generously big keys for input!

Conclusion:

OK! It is enough of brain eating session and I guess that you people aren’t bored enough to take my head and bang it against the wall or ZIP my lips and tie my fingers! But still, I will like to say that you can go for it and experience the change. You will not be paying for something which is actually good for nothing!

Garmin nüvi 855

Garmin never seems to get tired of giving new GPS navigation devices to us! How fool of me! Why shall they be tired? It is their business. The Garmin nüvi 855 is a sheer eye candy for the GPS lovers like me and when it comes to simplicity of usage and sophistication of the technology, the nüvi 855 is in one word, a masterpiece.

The time isn’t perfect to loiter around with words of appreciation but to key down a true review of my experiences. So, fasten your seat belts and here we go.

Visibility and interface:

The Garmin nüvi 855 has a crisp and clean interface that allows clear visibility. I can have a clear view of the screen even with my semi-dusty eye glasses! It also allows voice-activated navigation (just in case the glasses are too dusty)! Jokes apart, the most outstanding feature of the device is that it supports junction view and provides lane assistance. I really love this feature.

Enhanced user experience:

The Garmin nüvi 855 has a set of advanced features, which help to enhance the experience of the users. They are discussed below:

• Speech recognition:

  This is a new innovative feature of the Garmin nüvi 855. The technology is extremely user friendly. At least I think it is user friendly because it never asked me to go through a different set up process (I really hate doing this) and nor did it offer any kind of training before I used the feature. Sorry fellows, I am a bit lazy dumbo out here! There is a wireless, which can be fixed with the steering wheel of the car. The push-to-talk feature of the remote helps to make your device recognize your voice command even when you are driving. Shall I call it ‘Artificial Intelligence’? I really don’t know but yes the feature is capable of recognizing various business establishments and more surprising fact is that, it can answer simple questions like the users location or the location of a particular place. More interesting is that the voice interactions of the device simulate real life interactions.

• Maps and POIs:

  The device comes with pre-installed maps (in large numbers) and millions of POIs. For maps, the device supports both 2D and 3D modes and gives at par performance in both the cases. Guess what, I love the 3D one! It looks so nice!

• Easy to use functions:

  The functionality of the device is easy and simple. The Garmin nüvi 855 provides a wide screen interface that allows the users to have a clear and non-clumsy look at the maps and every single detail. The functions are easy and intuitive and are in the style of easy wizards. The Garmin nüvi 855 turns out to be a great companion for the pedestrians. The ‘where am I’ functionality shows the details and the exact location of the place where the person is currently stationed. More importantly, the ultra slim and sleek design of the model ensures that the pedestrians can easily carry the device in their pockets.

• Direction:

  The Garmin nüvi 855 is capable of giving highly accurate directions as it is coupled with the new HotFix Satellite Prediction technique. All that I had to do was to give a destination to the device either by voice instruction or by the touch screen and the device generated a plan -a real smart fellow pent in a small box! The direction is then dictated by the Garmin nüvi 855 and you can enjoy a smooth drive based on the voice instructions. Is that not easy and simple. Just to add up to the flavor, the nüvi 855 is capable of recognizing the road signs and as well as the junctions so that the drivers can pick up the correct lane.

Conclusion:

Navigation seems to be an easy task with the new Garmin nüvi 855. The enhanced features and the simplicity of usage properly justify the price of $499. The additional micro SD card slot is yet another justification of the price! Grab it guys!

Nextar Q3

I have a friend who drives to earn his livelihood. Well, that is not a big issue! He is using the Nextar Q3 and the way he was bouncing off the ground made me decide that I must have a look at it. Before anything else, I would like to mention that this GPS system is made for cars. If you want to claim yourself as Vasco da Gama, probably the good old paper maps are for you and if, in case you do not want to get lost in a big continent like the USA, the Nextar Q3 is undoubtedly a smart choice. Well, I really cannot say that it does not have any cons! If I do, I may be the most cynical human being on Earth and the Almighty is obviously waiting to grab me by neck!

Jokes apart, the Nextar Q3 discards the concept of getting lost! While Nextar Q3 imparts accuracy to your driving skills with the aid of satellite based way finding! I was amazed to find the built in maps of all the 50 states of America. Even catchier of all the features is the presence of more than 1.6 million POI (points of interest). The points of interest included in the Nextar Q3, range from hospitals, landmarks, restaurants, ATMs, airports and many more.

Device specifications:

Let us now have a look at the specifications of the model. No wonder, this is the first thing that we look at for a quick overview of any device or gadget that we buy.

The included device specifications look quite interesting however, the presence of additional accessories undoubtedly make it one of the most favorite GPS devices available in the market. Well, stay excited while I give you a quick list of the available accessories. You will surely love them. Once I had a look at the list, I could understand why my friend was bouncing!

Additional accessories:

Below mentioned is an exhaustive list of additional accessories, which are available with the Nextar Q3.

• Mounting cradle
• Dashboard mounting disk
• Suction cup mounting bracket
• Carry pouch
• USB cable
• AC adapter
• Port adapter for car accessory/DC adapter
• Day and night mode. It is notable that night mode features additional lights on the screen for better view.

The features and the additional accessories ensure that you can always keep track of your destination and be on time even when you are out for a business meeting in any unfamiliar part of the town.

As I said earlier, there are several shortcomings of the product. It is not perfect. Though it is an awesome product, I had some unexpected experiences. I will discuss them in the next section.

Cons:

• The system crashed several times and every time I used the product, the date and time had to be reset. This is annoying.
• Yet another aspect that I do not like is the customer service. Every time you call up a number, you will be speaking to an automated machine. I will rather like to speak to a human being.

Conclusion:

Apart from the cons that the device has, I liked the device a lot with respect to its overall features and performance. The simplicity of usage is wonderful and no doubt, it will bag some good ratings from me!

If you’ve ever watched one of those TV shows that feature traffic cops chasing and arresting criminals then you can’t fail to have seen episodes featuring car chases themselves. They inevitably feature video recordings of the vehicle being chased, shot from within the police vehicle, which often as not provides vital evidence to prove that a vehicle was being driven dangerously and in doing so was breaking the law. Well, you too can now have an on-board GPS video camera recording your journeys, linked to your GPS unit.

On-board and in-car video.

GPS video recorders – GPS video recording for a memory of your journey

Not the only make or model of sat nav that is capable of working with this technology, but certainly one of the market leaders, is the Garmin nuvi 2565RT. To this GPS unit you can attach a small video recorder facing forwards, using the USB connector at the back of the GPS unit, like a DDR-10 that can record 720p in HD. The camera records a video of everything occurring in front of your vehicle as you drive directly onto a microSD memory in the GPS card slot. You can play the video back on the GPS screen or, if you prefer, show it on a netbook or other computing device either directly from the microSD card or after uploading the video recordings to your hard-drive or even somewhere on the internet.

GPS video recording uses.

Just because you can – should you? OK, so you can connect a video recorder to your GPS to record a journey – but why should you? Well there are probably three main reasons for doing this. First of all if you’re off on a particularly interesting drive and want to record the views to enjoy again later at your leisure, then having a video recording of what you saw ahead of you must surely be something to consider. Not forgetting off course, and (ah em) needless to say if you’re driving off-road, you can recapture the thrills and fun of your drive too. Also, and secondly, by taking pictures through your GPS unit you can then reshow geotagged photos if you pass by that location again – meaning that you can compare an old view with a new one. Think of how different a mountain drive might look in the autumn and fall? Finally, if you are concerned about being in an auto wreck – then having a video recording of your driving could help you when making an insurance claim if someone else tries to make out that the wreck was your fault.

Mio c220

The first thing that comes to my mind when I look at a GPS device is that it will help you with the navigation. That is true because, a GPS device was originally designed for that purpose. I was really surprised when I came across a GPS device with additional features like video, music and contacts! Well, nothing is impossible-it is technology! I hope you have seen the TERMINATOR-series by Arnold Schwarzenegger-everything is possible!

Mio seems to have a different game plan. Mio C220 is a simple unit giving good navigation at a very affordable price-a comfortable $250! Ah! The good old concept is back! Instead of blabbering a lot, let us now navigate into the details.

Design:

With a tidy design, the Mio C220 is all set to be used straight away when pulled out of the box. The ease of use and the compact design (by compact design, I mean the size and the weight, which are 4.2×3.2×0.9 inches and 3.8 ounces respectively), makes it a handy companion whenever I am out on the road. The integrated GPS receiver discards the need of carrying an extra bulky part that can be annoying. The design actually makes it usable with multiple vehicles. Guess what? I could actually pack it in my suitcase when I am out for a vacation. I really did not find enough elements in the design to describe apart from the antenna jack (external) and a power button, which are placed on the top and a USB port, which is placed at the bottom! Well, two more things, which need attention, are 3.5mm headphone jack and one SD card slot, which are placed on the right side of the device. Now that is a neat and clean design. Inevitably, a GPS device will have a screen and Mio C220 is not an exception. The unit is bundled with a TFT touch screen. It is a 65,000-color display of 3.5 inches. The screen was quite responsive to my touches! However, a problem bothered me a lot. The screen can barely be seen in broad daylight and the colors seem to fade out…So, use it under the shade!

Keyboard Talk:

I really disliked the onscreen keyboard. The keys are really small and cramped. The absence of included stylus requires you to pay close attention when you are entering the address.

Map View and Icons:

When I entered the map view, what I found was that the icons for zooming in and zooming out actually blended quite nicely with the background and something that really bothered me was that I actually had to adjust the volume by four taps through different menus. The Graphic of a little speaker on the map is nearly useless and can only be used for muting the sound! If there would be  some external features for adjusting the volume and zooming in and out gestures, it would have been better.

Features:

Using a 20SiRF starIII GPS (WAAS enabled), the Mio C220 has an included 1 GB SD card which has the map of USA preloaded on it. The unit is also capable of storing the data of the last visited places. This allowed me to have a list to choose from. For multipoint trips, the unit also allowed me to add stops along the route.

The Mio C220 also has a database of over 3.5 million POI (points of interest), which include ATM’s, gas stations,, lodgings, restaurants, concert halls, amusement parks and many more. This is truly awesome and I liked this feature a lot. The unit also has a dual navigation guidance, which works great. There is a text and voice guidance for directions turn-by-turn. Now, I will give a 10 star rating to the device for calculating the directions by fastest, most economical or shortest routes.

Additionally you can enjoy a 2D or 3D representation of a map. I really giggled out my happiness to find a night mode that changes the color scheme for better viewing.

A cockpit tool to show the direction of the next turn, distance to be covered to reach the destination, estimated time of arrival and some other handy features make it a useful device.

Performance:

Performance wise, the Mio C220 has a slow start and takes nearly three minutes to capture the satellite fix. The receiver was indeed a good performer, which did a great job by keeping a lock on t he GPS fix. The device has a great deal of accuracy. The inbuilt lithium ion battery is estimated to have a runtime of 4.5 hours. The device also has an inbuilt memory of 256 MB. The TFT screen has a resolution of 320×240 pixels, which is good enough for a small device like this.

Conclusion:

This portable navigation system is good enough for experienced users, as they will know how to handle. If you are a first time user, make sure that you carry it under the shade so that you do not complain about the blurred screen under the sun!

Navigon 7200T

OK, now there is something that can stand up against the heavily popular navigation units like Garmin or Tom Tom. Not really an easy task if some people think that they can surpass these two great walls. However, some do succeed and Navigon is one among those successful people. Navigon is looking forward to capture some consumer market with the new Navigon 7200T. Perhaps you may be a little bothered about the previous releases from Navigon! Even I was but a face to face interaction with this device has changed my thinking line. Yes! I do admit that some of the previous glitches still make their presence felt but I noticed a marked difference in terms of functionality and the added features. I guess that it is time to go for a ride with the new Navigon 7200T.

Design and looks:

The good old black is back. The black matte casing of the new Navigon 7200T gives it a new glow that attracts people. Size still remains a modest one to be used in your personal car and also you can carry it along with you for vacations. I really love this feature and I can use it even with rented cars! Great! Ain’t it?

The company really gave a sophisticated look to the model with the flat screen and I also noticed a marked difference in terms of the sharpness and brightness of the screen. Well, this time people will not say that I don’t have a choice! Responsiveness of the touch screen has increased and the onscreen keyboard of the unit was also lucky to have a bigger size! The option of predictive text has been added to make life simple. Wow! A great thing for lazy people like me!

User interface and usage:

The user interface of the Navigon 7200T is quite intuitive and there are four major options in the main menu. It includes: My Destinations, New Destination, Voice Entry and Take Me Home. However, things were once again annoying while using the map as I had to tap through options to get the map access. The interface is not really as clean as the Tom Tom or the Garmin models. But, compared to the other Navigon units, the interface is undoubtedly simple! Coming back to the usage and navigation, things were impressive. The Navigon 7200T has included maps of Canada, Puerto Rico, United States and U.S. Virgin Islands. Ah! The marked improvement was finally there. I managed to enter address using voice. All I had to do was to read something sitting inside my car so that the Navigon 7200T could learn my voice and understand the environment. However the sad news is that the voice command can only be used for entering address and not for any other purpose. Routes were calculated in fast, optimum or short mode and gave me the option to avoid toll roads and highways. I could really save some bucks.

The POI database is really huge and contains all the major categories. A 2D and 3D map mode makes navigation much more complete than ever before. It even allows 3D views of the landmarks. Great! One thing that really took me off the ground out of sheer happiness was the support for multi-destination routing. Yes folks, it allowed me to add multiple stops on my trip! Now, visual aid is a general thing that you find in any GPS system and the Navigon 7200T is not an exception. The additional features were the audible prompts, which included the functionality, which is popularly known as TTS (Text-to-speech). My ears had a treat when the unit prompted the street names! The integrated Bluetooth allows to pair the Bluetooth enabled phone and make calls while using the GPS unit as a hands free speaker. There was something that was a surprising element for me. The Navigon 7200T offers something free and that for the entire life time! Will you like to guess? Alright, let me help you with that. It is nothing other than lifetime free and real-time traffic updates. The sad picture is that I really cannot avoid dining with my wife in a restaurant by blaming the traffic. She knows also has a Navigon 7200T with her!

Conclusion:

Though a bit slow on performance, the Navigon 7200T can be a great asset for those who want some good help with navigation and is bored of using a Garmin or a Tom Tom. So, there is no point waiting. Grab and enjoy!

Garmin nüvi 760

It is better that I call the Garmin nüvi 760 the flagship GPS navigation unit from the auto line of Garmin. Being a GPS connoisseur, I always look for advanced features in any GPS navigation unit and the nüvi 760 is perhaps the perfect little device that is going to be a delight for the techno freaks like me! At least I was happy! And I guess that instead of beating around the bush, it is time that I take you to a tour of my experience with the new Garmin nüvi 760.

Feel and design

Not to exaggerate, the Garmin nüvi 760 is sexy enough to accompany you and your girlfriend in the public. At least, I was happy to take it out in public. With an aesthetic black look on the face, it has grabbed a crispy look and the screen becomes easier to read – is that not one of the most wanted features of GPS units? Yet another noticeable feature is that the flip-up antenna is gone as compared to the 300 and 600 models of nüvi. This is perhaps the drawback if you think that 20 seconds can impact your business or social and personal life. Garmin nüvi 760 takes nearly 20 seconds more before the inbuilt GPS chip gets activated. It really did not bother me. The slider switch to turn the device on and off can be used as a hold button to stop the touch screen activities. There is a SD card slot and a headphone jack place on the left side of the unit. I always desire to have extra map coverage and multimedia files and this is what the SD card slot is used for. Simple! The maps are already loaded in the internal memory of the device. The device also has an USB port place at the bottom to let you connect to the computer. It also acts as a power/mount connector!

Mount talk

Compared to the other GPS navigation systems, the nüvi 760 has a power connector chipping out only one-fourth of an inch at the bottom. It therefore, can be easily mounted quite low on the dashboard. The mount has a socket joint and this makes it easier to tilt the unit to a comfortable angle to easily access the eject button, which is also located at the bottom location. As usual the mount and the device has a design, which is nearly perfect. The ball and the socket joint of the mount allows easy adjustment for the GPS screen visibility. Just to add a different point, the power adapter has a dual role to play. It also acts as an antenna for the FM TMC traffic – just a perfect thing for people like me who hate to keep rolled cables in their pocket or car!

Navigation and use

Seriously speaking guys, ‘IT IS SIMPLE’! Power on the device and you will have to follow the following steps in sequence:

• Select Where to…
• Put in the address…
• Put in the state name…
• Put in the city name…
• Put in the street number…
• Put in the street name…
• Select ‘GO’…and you are done!

What annoys me the most is that the device will not accommodate any spelling mistake, which most of the GPS navigation units in the market allow! But, Garmin nüvi 760 knows a way to make up for the frustration. It allows or rather supports QWERTY keyboards! Incredible!

Extras for navigation

Garmin nüvi 760 has a big list of POIs and all I had to do was to select the one of my interest from the list. Another added advantage was that it allowed me to add points on the route. It allows to put a start point, an end point and 50 other points all along the route between the start and the end point and thereby allowing multi destination routing. This GPS unit has in literal sense the most perfect multi destination routing. The nüvi 760 has a detour option but needs a lot of improvement. I was by no means impressed by this function. If you have a problem in the route you take, it will not allow you to get an alternate route for the existing route and then continue along the same. Rather, it will calculate a completely new route to your final destination! I do not like this one!

The GPS unit provides TTS (text to speech, which is clear and easy to understand). At least easy for me! The frequency of voice prompts and the instructions is moderate and is not too chatty. However, it is not a very acceptable frequency on highway speed where most of us rely on the voice rather than the map.

The moderate FM transistor seems to give an average performance. I must rather say, ‘at par performance’! You can either tune in manually or the Garmin nüvi 760 will do that for you and select the best FM station available at that moment!

Speaking of Bluetooth, you need to check the compatibility of your phone’s Bluetooth with that of the nüvi 760. I was unlucky that mine was not compatible. If you are lucky and can pair your phone with the GPS unit, you can place calls and also receive calls from your 760!

Something interesting

I heard that the unit will trace the car and the exact parking location in case you forget that! It indeed did! I picked up the Garmin nüvi 760 from my car and went to a different place. Two simple reasons were there. First, I wanted to test the claim and next, I wanted to keep it away from the thieves. Amazing! It remembered the exact co-ordinates of its last location and the time of its removal from that location. So, if you don’t find your car in that location, it is definitely stolen! Sorry folks… Garmin nüvi 760 is a GPS navigation unit and not a cop to trace the thieves!

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, the Garmin nüvi 760 has lovely set of features and a couple of drawbacks (just as others do) but still, it is one of the most handy devices that you can get in the market. By far the worst thing about the device is that, it is too expensive and is priced at $857.13. You will get similar products at half of this price. But mind it, I said similar not identical. It is Garmin nüvi 760, something that makes you a proud owner!