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!