Answer the call to adventure with nuvi 660, a sleek navigator and personal travel assistant. This preloaded navigator brings a colorful widescreen display to the nuvi family and features hands-free calling, including traffic alerts, an FM transmitter, and more.
nuvi 660 comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps, including a hefty points of interest (POIs) database with hotels, restaurants, fuel, ATMs and more. Simply touch the color screen to enter a destination, and nuvi takes you there with 2D or 3D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions. It even announces the name of exits and streets so you never have to take your eyes off the road. In addition, nuvi 660 accepts custom points of interest (POIs), such as school zones and safety cameras and lets you set proximity alerts to warn you of upcoming POIs. The European version even includes a preloaded safety camera database containing the location of safety cameras for parts of Europe.
วันศุกร์ที่ 25 เมษายน พ.ศ. 2551
Garmin nuvi 350
Garmin's nuvi 350 is a portable GPS navigator, traveler's reference and digital entertainment system, all in one. It is your pocket-sized personal travel assistant ready for adventure.
nuvi 350 comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps, including a hefty points of interest (POIs) database with hotels, restaurants, fuel, ATMs and more. Simply touch the color screen to enter a destination, and nuvi takes you there with 2D or 3D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions. It even announces the name of exits and streets so you never have to take your eyes off the road. In addition, nuvi 350 accepts custom points of interest (POIs), such as school zones and safety cameras and lets you set proximity alerts to warn you of upcoming POIs. The European version even includes a preloaded safety camera database containing the location of safety cameras for parts of Europe.
nuvi 350 comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps, including a hefty points of interest (POIs) database with hotels, restaurants, fuel, ATMs and more. Simply touch the color screen to enter a destination, and nuvi takes you there with 2D or 3D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions. It even announces the name of exits and streets so you never have to take your eyes off the road. In addition, nuvi 350 accepts custom points of interest (POIs), such as school zones and safety cameras and lets you set proximity alerts to warn you of upcoming POIs. The European version even includes a preloaded safety camera database containing the location of safety cameras for parts of Europe.
วันจันทร์ที่ 21 เมษายน พ.ศ. 2551
Garmin nüvi 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Amazon.com Product Description
What if one device could help you navigate anywhere in the U.S. and Canada, while offering travel tips, storing your favorite tunes and photos, providing translation assistance, and more? That device is here, and it's not much bigger than a deck of cards. The Garmin nüvi 350 is set to revolutionize what we expect from a GPS navigation device, or from any device for that matter.
What if one device could help you navigate anywhere in the U.S. and Canada, while offering travel tips, storing your favorite tunes and photos, providing translation assistance, and more? That device is here, and it's not much bigger than a deck of cards. The Garmin nüvi 350 is set to revolutionize what we expect from a GPS navigation device, or from any device for that matter.
Navigation
The nüvi 350 is first and foremost a personal GPS device. Wherever you go -- in your car or on foot-- the device offers extremely accurate position data, thanks to a high-sensitivity integrated GPS receiver by SiRF and WAAS-enabled, 12-satellite reception. Combined with detailed maps of the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico the nüvi 350 provides automatic routing, turn-by-turn voice directions, and touchscreen control-- making it easy to find your way anywhere. Plus, the unique "text-to-speech" feature calls out turns by street name, and you can choose from either 2D or 3D mapping perspectives when you're viewing your route on the display. Additionally, the nüvi 350 is compatible with Garmin's GTM 10 FM TMC traffic receiver*, which allows users to avoid traffic tie-ups by simply pushing a button that will calculate a new route.
Garmin nüvi 650 4.3-Inch Widescreen
GARMIN Nuvi 650 Auto Navigation North America. Garmin International is pleased to announce the new nüvi 650 GPS navigator and personal travel assistant. This affordable widescreen GPS navigator includes many of the same exciting features found in the nuvi 660, but does not include Bluetooth wireless technology or an FM transmitter. Items such as the AC charger, carrying case and FM traffic receiver are sold separately. The nuvi 650 comes preloaded with highly detailed City Navigator NT road maps for North America. This map database features nearly six million points of interest, including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs and attractions. The map data is provided by NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium quality mapping. Like the original nuvi models, the 650 has unique travelers reference tools like optional Garmin Travel Guide, Garmin Language Guide and SaversGuide.
วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 10 เมษายน พ.ศ. 2551
Best Handheld GPS Units
Handheld GPS units come in two types, mapping and non-mapping. Do you need a simple "non-mapping" GPS handheld unit just for finding your way back to the truck after a day of hiking? Or, do you need a "mapping" GPS you can use to map your trails, maybe plan your hiking paths days before your trip and download them from your PC to your GPS? A mapping GPS will have base maps, and allow loading additional maps into the unit. A non-mapping unit won't. Will you be using your handheld in the woods with a heavy canopy of leaves overhead? Some built-in antennas work better than others, but in deep cover, most will still have trouble seeing the satellites all the time. You might need a unit that can accept an external amplified antenna that can be attached to the top of your hat, or your backpack. Try it in the woods first and if you need one you can always add it later.
Just like the car GPS, always consider the amount of internal memory your handheld unit comes with, because it will be the limiting factor when it comes to downloading detailed maps. More memory means more maps. Less memory just means you can't load as large of an area into your GPS. A very popular outdoor activity that requires a handheld GPS unit is Geocaching. Geocaching involves finding hidden treasure "caches" by using coordinates and direction-finding techniques enhanced by your GPS. Typically a cache consists of a waterproof container hidden from normal view that contains items left by previous Geocachers who have already found the treasure. Plus there's a logbook for signing after successfully finding the cache. Geocaching is a great family activity or for the sole adventurer who gets a thrill out of the hunt for hidden treasures! There are so many choices when it comes to selecting a handheld unit I can only offer you some of my personal favorites. Just compare each units specifications to find one that will do what you want it to. And then, which unit looks good to you. Buy that one. Also, you might want to take a look at our Best GPS chart.
At the moment, my first choices would include the outstanding Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx, Garmin 76CSx, Garmin Etrex Vista HCX, and Garmin Rino 530HCX. These units have about as many bells and whistles as anyone could hope for. Accurate and easy-to-read color screens, several modes and plenty of built-in memory, a basemap of the U.S., good battery life, waterproof, etc. (any Garmin handheld with an "X" on it's name means it will accept SD memory cards for unlimited expansion) and the Rino handhelds have a built-in two-way GMRS radio! If you want detailed road maps or topographic detail, you'll need to download it from optional software. For Garmin handhelds, the Mapsource Topo software (detailed ground elevations and topographic detail) or the Mapsource City Navigator software (detailed road maps). You may also want to consider adding GPS compatibilities to your laptop computer. You'll not only have a device that keeps you organized, but also keep you on track. Our selections include the top-of-the-line Garmin Mobile 10 and Garmin GPS-18. If you're a truck driver or drive an big RV, you would be really smart to look at the CoPilot GPS systems we're now offering. Specifically, the CoPilot Truck GPS and the CoPilot RV GPS.My next handheld GPS choices would include less expensive favorites (great for geocaching!) like the Garmin eTrex Legend and Garmin eTrex Vista. And there are certainly others that would do a fine job depending on what you want to use it for.
Just like the car GPS, always consider the amount of internal memory your handheld unit comes with, because it will be the limiting factor when it comes to downloading detailed maps. More memory means more maps. Less memory just means you can't load as large of an area into your GPS. A very popular outdoor activity that requires a handheld GPS unit is Geocaching. Geocaching involves finding hidden treasure "caches" by using coordinates and direction-finding techniques enhanced by your GPS. Typically a cache consists of a waterproof container hidden from normal view that contains items left by previous Geocachers who have already found the treasure. Plus there's a logbook for signing after successfully finding the cache. Geocaching is a great family activity or for the sole adventurer who gets a thrill out of the hunt for hidden treasures! There are so many choices when it comes to selecting a handheld unit I can only offer you some of my personal favorites. Just compare each units specifications to find one that will do what you want it to. And then, which unit looks good to you. Buy that one. Also, you might want to take a look at our Best GPS chart.
At the moment, my first choices would include the outstanding Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx, Garmin 76CSx, Garmin Etrex Vista HCX, and Garmin Rino 530HCX. These units have about as many bells and whistles as anyone could hope for. Accurate and easy-to-read color screens, several modes and plenty of built-in memory, a basemap of the U.S., good battery life, waterproof, etc. (any Garmin handheld with an "X" on it's name means it will accept SD memory cards for unlimited expansion) and the Rino handhelds have a built-in two-way GMRS radio! If you want detailed road maps or topographic detail, you'll need to download it from optional software. For Garmin handhelds, the Mapsource Topo software (detailed ground elevations and topographic detail) or the Mapsource City Navigator software (detailed road maps). You may also want to consider adding GPS compatibilities to your laptop computer. You'll not only have a device that keeps you organized, but also keep you on track. Our selections include the top-of-the-line Garmin Mobile 10 and Garmin GPS-18. If you're a truck driver or drive an big RV, you would be really smart to look at the CoPilot GPS systems we're now offering. Specifically, the CoPilot Truck GPS and the CoPilot RV GPS.My next handheld GPS choices would include less expensive favorites (great for geocaching!) like the Garmin eTrex Legend and Garmin eTrex Vista. And there are certainly others that would do a fine job depending on what you want to use it for.
Garmin Nuvi 660
the Garmin Nuvi 660 delivers a solid-performing and versatile GPS device that offers navigation basics, tools for the world traveler, Bluetooth, and more. If the Nuvi 660 is too much for you, Garmin offers other models in the Nuvi series with the same great performance, so there's sure to be a model to suit your needs
วันพุธที่ 9 เมษายน พ.ศ. 2551
Garmin nüvi 650
Product DescriptionGARMIN Nuvi 650 Auto Navigation North America. Garmin International is pleased to announce the new nüvi 650 GPS navigator and personal travel assistant. This affordable widescreen GPS navigator includes many of the same exciting features found in the nuvi 660, but does not include Bluetooth wireless technology or an FM transmitter. Items such as the AC charger, carrying case and FM traffic receiver are sold separately. The nuvi 650 comes preloaded with highly detailed City Navigator NT road maps for North America. This map database features nearly six million points of interest, including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs and attractions. The map data is provided by NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium quality mapping. Like the original nuvi models, the 650 has unique travelers reference tools like optional Garmin Travel Guide, Garmin Language Guide and SaversGuide
nüvi 350
The sleek, portable nüvi 350 is a GPS navigator, traveler’s reference and digital entertainment system, all in one. It is your pocket-sized personal travel assistant ready for adventure. Like the rest of the nüvi 300-series, you’re just a few screen taps away from anywhere.
Navigate With Ease
nüvi 350 comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator® NT street maps, including a hefty points of interest (POIs) database with hotels, restaurants, fuel, ATMs and more. Simply touch the color screen to enter a destination, and nüvi takes you there with 2-D or 3-D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions. It even announces the name of exits and streets so you never have to take your eyes off the road. In addition, nüvi 350 accepts custom points of interest (POIs), such as school zones and safety cameras and lets you set proximity alerts to warn you of upcoming POIs. The European version even includes a preloaded safety camera database containing the location of safety cameras for parts of Europe.
Add Traffic Alerts
Avoid traffic jams with the addition of an optional FM TMC traffic receiver and traffic services. By adding these to your nüvi, you are notified of accidents or road construction ahead on your route. Simply touch the screen to view traffic details or recalculate your route to avoid traffic.
Take It With You
Like the rest of the nüvi series, nüvi 350 sports a sleek, slim design and fits comfortably in your pocket or purse. Its rechargeable lithium-ion battery makes it convenient for navigation by car or foot.
Go Beyond Navigation
Navigation is just the beginning. nüvi 350 includes many “must have” entertainment and travel tools including MP3 player, audio book player (subscription to Audible.com required), JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. It also comes with Garmin Lock™, an anti-theft feature, and is compatible with our free Garmin Garage where you can download custom vehicles that show your location on the map. Optional plug-in SD cards let you add additional features to enhance your travel experience including language translation and detailed travel guides. Our SaversGuide® provides information on nearby merchants offering discounts to customize your nüvi whether you’re traveling or close to home.
nüvi 350: It's a whole nü way to travel.
From buy.garmin.com
Navigate With Ease
nüvi 350 comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator® NT street maps, including a hefty points of interest (POIs) database with hotels, restaurants, fuel, ATMs and more. Simply touch the color screen to enter a destination, and nüvi takes you there with 2-D or 3-D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions. It even announces the name of exits and streets so you never have to take your eyes off the road. In addition, nüvi 350 accepts custom points of interest (POIs), such as school zones and safety cameras and lets you set proximity alerts to warn you of upcoming POIs. The European version even includes a preloaded safety camera database containing the location of safety cameras for parts of Europe.
Add Traffic Alerts
Avoid traffic jams with the addition of an optional FM TMC traffic receiver and traffic services. By adding these to your nüvi, you are notified of accidents or road construction ahead on your route. Simply touch the screen to view traffic details or recalculate your route to avoid traffic.
Take It With You
Like the rest of the nüvi series, nüvi 350 sports a sleek, slim design and fits comfortably in your pocket or purse. Its rechargeable lithium-ion battery makes it convenient for navigation by car or foot.
Go Beyond Navigation
Navigation is just the beginning. nüvi 350 includes many “must have” entertainment and travel tools including MP3 player, audio book player (subscription to Audible.com required), JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. It also comes with Garmin Lock™, an anti-theft feature, and is compatible with our free Garmin Garage where you can download custom vehicles that show your location on the map. Optional plug-in SD cards let you add additional features to enhance your travel experience including language translation and detailed travel guides. Our SaversGuide® provides information on nearby merchants offering discounts to customize your nüvi whether you’re traveling or close to home.
nüvi 350: It's a whole nü way to travel.
From buy.garmin.com
วันอังคารที่ 8 เมษายน พ.ศ. 2551
Garmin Nuvi 200
The Garmin Nuvi 200 series has started to hit store shelves, and we’ve finally put enough miles on our Nuvi 200 to produce a comprehensive review. As the name implies, the Nuvi 200 series is designed to set a new mark for the entry level Nuvi series. Many have speculated that this new series will be a replacement for the StreetPilot “c” series. Here is what we think of the Nuvi 200, and where it fits into the bigger picture of auto GPS devices.
Garmin nüvi 350
Whether you're in the market for a portable GPS device or are just looking for that perfect electronic travel companion for your next trip to Europe, the nüvi 350 from Garmin may well have you prying the plastic out of your wallet.
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The nüvi 350 is a slim, portable GPS receiver that provides voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions and has many additional features that make it an indispensable travel companion. And its combination of stellar features and impressive performance earn it our Edtiors' Choice nod.
Measuring 3.9 by 2.9 by 0.9 inches and weighing in at just over 5 ounces, the nüvi 350 easily fits into a shirt pocket. It has a 3.5-inch diagonal (320- by 240-pixel) touch screen and a lithium ion battery that can run for up to eight hours. Its GPS feature set builds on those found in the Garmin "C" series, such as the C330, with the addition of text-to-speech (TTS) directional prompting. With TTS enabled, the nüvi 350 will prompt you with complete street names. For example, it would say, "in 0.7 miles, turn right onto Meadowlands Parkway." Without TTS, these instructions would say simply, "turn right in 0.7 miles."
Another perk to be found in the nüvi is compatibility with Garmin's optional GTM10 traffic receiver. We used this device when we tested the Garmin 2720 a short while ago; it provides live traffic updates in selected U.S. cities.
In addition, the nüvi 350 is also the first GPS unit we've seen or reviewed that uses the new SiRFstar III GPS module. This module is the latest generation of GPS receiver chipsets from the manufacturer SiRF. It appears to indeed be extremely sensitive, with a fast time to first fix (TTFF). We were very impressed with the performance of this new module. Our first fix, called a cold start because the unit has to figure out where it is, took less than 90 seconds. Considering that the last known location for this unit was over 1,100 miles, away, at Garmin's facility in Kansas, we found that admirably fast. Subsequent fix times (known as warm fixes, because the unit has a general idea where it is) were even more impressive—in some cases less than two seconds. The SiRFstar III's reception sensitivity was also impressive. From within this reviewer's home office, about 10 feet from the nearest window, the nüvi 350 quickly achieved a lock on six to seven satellites. We observed similar results testing it on an aisle seat on a bus. Even while standing in the aisle on a New Jersey Transit commuter train, we had a good enough lock (until we entered a tunnel under the Hudson River) to determine the train's speed and direction.
We also tested the pedestrian navigation profile in one of the world's most challenging environments—Manhattan. Most GPS units fail miserably when you try to use them in Manhattan's "canyons." Not the nüvi; it kept a lock on five or more satellites throughout our walk between Penn Station and our offices on East 28th Street and Park Avenue. One truly inspiring feat: The device maintained satellite lock even while we were walking under construction scaffolding.
Like all of Garmin's recently released automotive GPS products, the nüvi 350 is extremely easy to use. The only button on it is the power on/off button; all features and functions are accessed via the touch screen. Like other Garmin products, the main screen has selections for "Where to?" and "View Map," but the nüvi 350 adds a third top-level entry, "Travel Kit." Since most of the GPS features mirror the C330/C340 closely, we'll focus on the new features found in the Travel Kit
Garmin's NuVi 350 and 300> Compact Car Navigator GPS Product Review
Where does NuVi fit in Garmin's Product line?
The Garmin NuVi is a really neat evolution in small Car Navigators. NuVi is billed as a "Personal Travel Assistant" and not just as a GPS Car Navigator. The NuVi 350 includes complete USA and the best available "all Canada" maps PLUS it has about 700 megabytes of user memory left for other user maps, audio/music/image file storage and other data files. (The European NuVi 300 edition has 200mbytes of USER MAP MEMORY in addition to Garmin/NavTeq's "all Europe" maps. See the Garmin website Mapping section for road coverage detail..) The NuVi has few vestiges of an off road/hiking/marine GPS unit. It is strictly designed as a Car Navigator with a pedestrian capability similar to QUEST models.. Track back, compass page for Off Road routes, and related hiking/marine features are NOT available in NuVi. The unit has an OFF ROAD mode but basically it just gives you a line from A to B if you put in a destination in off road mode. The destination still has to be a POI or an address. There is no way to put in a lon/lat directly into the unit but you can "point" to a location and have that "point" be entered as a destination. HOWEVER... We think the NuVi is an outstanding Car Navigator and "personal travel assistant" and it is not sold as having hiking or marine features. Please read on.
Special Features
The NuVi continues Garmin's line of simpler to use GPS car navigators. NuVi will easily fit into your shirt picket and can operate on internal battery power for 4 to 8 hours. NuVi recharges automatically when plugged into AC or DC power using the proper adapters. The NuVi is functionally more akin to the Garmin QUEST, and SP2720 models than to Garmin's general purpose handhelds. UNlike the QUEST and StreetPilot 2720 models, NuVi has a speaker built into the unit. Fidelity on voice is fine for voice and audio books, but on MP3 music, a feed to an external amplified speaker system would be nice. The NuVi does not have TrackBack, or a compass page and other hiking based features but only a GOTO function which means it has little offroad and hiking utility. NuVi can operate with Garmin's GTM-10 RDS Traffic radio to provide real time traffic information on the screen of the unit. NuVi also has a "Travel Kit" which includes Language Guide, MP3 player, audible book player, picture viewer, world clock, currency and measurement converters, and calculator. The 700 megs of user storage can be used for music, books, images, or additional Garmin maps AND the Nuvi includes a SD memory card slot so you can even add additional user memory. NuVi includes two USB ports, but the one on the rear of the mounting adapter can only be used for external power input. The USB-2 (full version 2 speed capability) port on the side can be used for map/MP3/Audio Book/image/file loading.
An Articulated Suction Cup cradle to attach NuVi to the windshield of your car is included in the kit. The suction cup has a 'snap on" ball joint connection to the NuVi's cradle. The cradle has a USB connector for that power cable (no real USB connectivity) which allows use of the USB connection on the SIDE of the unit for data I/O with the GTM-10 while powering the unit via the rear USB connection.
The Garmin NuVi is a really neat evolution in small Car Navigators. NuVi is billed as a "Personal Travel Assistant" and not just as a GPS Car Navigator. The NuVi 350 includes complete USA and the best available "all Canada" maps PLUS it has about 700 megabytes of user memory left for other user maps, audio/music/image file storage and other data files. (The European NuVi 300 edition has 200mbytes of USER MAP MEMORY in addition to Garmin/NavTeq's "all Europe" maps. See the Garmin website Mapping section for road coverage detail..) The NuVi has few vestiges of an off road/hiking/marine GPS unit. It is strictly designed as a Car Navigator with a pedestrian capability similar to QUEST models.. Track back, compass page for Off Road routes, and related hiking/marine features are NOT available in NuVi. The unit has an OFF ROAD mode but basically it just gives you a line from A to B if you put in a destination in off road mode. The destination still has to be a POI or an address. There is no way to put in a lon/lat directly into the unit but you can "point" to a location and have that "point" be entered as a destination. HOWEVER... We think the NuVi is an outstanding Car Navigator and "personal travel assistant" and it is not sold as having hiking or marine features. Please read on.
Special Features
The NuVi continues Garmin's line of simpler to use GPS car navigators. NuVi will easily fit into your shirt picket and can operate on internal battery power for 4 to 8 hours. NuVi recharges automatically when plugged into AC or DC power using the proper adapters. The NuVi is functionally more akin to the Garmin QUEST, and SP2720 models than to Garmin's general purpose handhelds. UNlike the QUEST and StreetPilot 2720 models, NuVi has a speaker built into the unit. Fidelity on voice is fine for voice and audio books, but on MP3 music, a feed to an external amplified speaker system would be nice. The NuVi does not have TrackBack, or a compass page and other hiking based features but only a GOTO function which means it has little offroad and hiking utility. NuVi can operate with Garmin's GTM-10 RDS Traffic radio to provide real time traffic information on the screen of the unit. NuVi also has a "Travel Kit" which includes Language Guide, MP3 player, audible book player, picture viewer, world clock, currency and measurement converters, and calculator. The 700 megs of user storage can be used for music, books, images, or additional Garmin maps AND the Nuvi includes a SD memory card slot so you can even add additional user memory. NuVi includes two USB ports, but the one on the rear of the mounting adapter can only be used for external power input. The USB-2 (full version 2 speed capability) port on the side can be used for map/MP3/Audio Book/image/file loading.
NuVi GPS, Display, and Mechanical Features
These compact units (3.87" W x 2.91" H x 0.87" D) have the GPS antenna integral to the unit. The antenna flips out for navigation and folds flat into the back of the unit for storage. The unit is designed to snap into a small suction cup mount and attach to your windshield. and provide visual and audio directions for navigating your vehicle on unfamiliar streets and roads. Unfortunately (for the kids), Garmin did not choose to put any games in this model. The NuVi continues Garmin's marketing plan of "Market Specialization" which means to position various models for specific functionality and leave out specific features of interest to a specific group of users. For example, our "ideal" general purpose GPS receiver would have a color screen, CF or SD card memory, full marine and hiking feature set, full car navigation capabilities and a rechargeable battery pack with external power capability. Lets see how the NuVi fits these requirements.
The NuVi's screen is a high brightness and is very daylight viewable WHEN the backlight is turned ON. The screen brightness and readability falls between the brighter SP26xx/27xx models and the c3xx models with less readable screens. The NuVi has an adjustable brightness and audio level control and no contrast control is needed. NuVi has no marine feature set and NO features for hiking or geocache activity are provided. . NuVi does have a rechargeable battery pack which will run the unit with backlight for several hours and it does have the capability of being run from external 12volt power (furnished voltage regulator/cigar plug cable required). Note that the NuVi internal battery is charged anytime the unit is running on external 12volt power from either the 12volt power cable OR by a USB connection to a laptop or other computer's USB connector (Computer must be ON to power or charge the NuVi). Note: On my Dell 8200, plugging in the USB from NuVi with NuVi having low battery charge results in a "USB Port Overload" alarm on my laptop. This does not seem to cause any problem except you cannot communicate with the NuVi until the battery is charged enough for the alarm to go away.) The Lithium Ion battery is sealed into the package and is not normally user serviceable. The battery pack is NOT a "snap in" battery pack and replacement requires disassembly.
An Articulated Suction Cup cradle to attach NuVi to the windshield of your car is included in the kit. The suction cup has a 'snap on" ball joint connection to the NuVi's cradle. The cradle has a USB connector for that power cable (no real USB connectivity) which allows use of the USB connection on the SIDE of the unit for data I/O with the GTM-10 while powering the unit via the rear USB connection.
The features of the miniaturized NuVi make it a direct competitor to the Magellan RoadMate units and to the StreetPilot 26xx/27xx models. Our Magellan RoadMate and Garmin StreetPilot reviews can be found in the FEATURES section of our GPS INFORMATION WEBSITE. As stated before, NuVi is NOT a direct competitor to the full featured hiking and marine oriented handheld units and it is NOT suited for geocache hunting..
Street priced at about $450 , (Check Latest Prices Here.) the NuVi, despite its compact size, is a high quality, full featured car navigator with MP3, Talking Book, and Automatic Traffic Information services. When we drove our usual 600+ mile assorted city/suburban/rural route testing, we were very pleased to note that the NuVi provided the best overall routing score of any GPS tested to date. It very slightly surpassed our previous high scoring SP26xx models by providing satisfactory routes in every one of our route generation tests. While NuVi is not one of the lowest priced Automatic Car Navigator units available, its small shirt pocket size along with excellent route generation capability and MP3 and Audio Books plus Automatic Traffic Information (optional) capability make it "Joe's Choice" Car navigator for 2005..
What about map loading and Map Memory?
NuVi comes "ready to operate" with pre-installed USA/Canada -or- Europe maps. NuVi uses a USB data interface for other map loading and data input/output and for loading MP3 and Audio Book files. It has no standard NMEA input/output capability and it cannot be used to up/download waypoints, routes and tracks to MapSource by conventional MapSource methods Instead, you can save waypoints in Garmin's GPX Waypoint format or Garmin's GPI Custom POI files by uploading to NuVi memory using special MapSource features or the new Garmin POI loader. (See NuVi Manual page 51 and 54 for more details.) The side USB port is also used to connect to the (optional) RDS Traffic Data Radio. Just for reference, the NuVi 350 700meg user memory will hold approximately the UK, France, Germany and a bit more in addition to the built in USA/Canada maps. CitySelect or CityNavigator maps (including Europe/South Africa/Australia/Middle East maps) are operable in NuVi. As a rough planning guide, a rule of thumb for calculating storage card capacity is: 4 megabyte for every million population.
The USA coverage area for the NuVi's CityNavigator maps is the entire USA and ALL of Canada. NuVi allows a user to automatically route using both the built in maps and/or any other Garmin CitySelect or CityNavigator maps. As of December 2005, Garmin is shipping the NuVi with its new CityNavigator 7 map system. (CitySelect/CityNavigator automatic routing maps are only available for the USA, Europe, South Africa and Australia as of December 2005. However, Garmin Licensees are providing maps for a dozen (plus) other areas such as Chile, etc.) Check Garmin's Cartography site for a list of countries and vendors to contact.
Other maps compatible with NuVi include: CityNavigator (Navteq Maps, the best GPS routable maps available in areas covered), MapSource MetroGuide USA (MetroGuide 6 uses Navteq Maps. Prior versions used Etak Maps, good maps but not quite as up to date as Navteq and only USA version 4.01 has autorouting capability within NuVi). Roads & Recreation, USA Topo, and WorldMap CD ROMs also work with NuVi, but without automatic guidance. Probably most other Garmin maps will load and operate, but Garmin supports only the above.
The NuVi is straightforward to use, and we think the manual is a lot better than average. Still, there is no substitute for a few hours of "playing around" with the unit in consort with the manual for quick learning and discovery of available features.
The NuVi provides automated guidance on a par with the very best of the GPS units we have previously tested. It is relatively quick to compute a route. Five to fifteen seconds is typical. Route Quality is rated "very good" and NuVi routinely gives routing "the same as I would have chosen". Sometimes the route generated is "just OK", but after all, these devices are just machines and they are operating without the local traffic knowledge an individual user has. The downside for NuVi as compared to the $3000 models is that many of the more expensive models have some sort of "dead reckoning" capability to permit navigation to continue for short intervals when signals are lost. Such signal loss can happen in "city canyons" such as NYC, Chicago, LA, and London where high rise buildings can block the satellite signals. In fact, NuVi/2610/2620/2720 and other Garmin models do have "poor man's dead reckoning" in that when signal is lost, the GPS assumes you continued on your last heading and speed for up to 30 seconds. The "real dead reckoning" capability is available in the Garmin StreetPilot 2650/2660 and in a few other units such as the VDO Dayton MS5000. The 2650/2660 will require a connection to the automobile speedometer output and backup light to be able to function in dead reckoning mode. Without these inputs, it will function same as the NuVi/2610.
The SP2610 that we normally use to benchmark route generation quality has a feature that allows the user to select options such as "quick", "better", and "best" routing. These take increasingly longer compute times. The NuVi has no such selection like other late Garmin units. But.. The NuVi (in our experiments) generates as good and occasionally better routes than does the SP2610. We are very pleased to note this as, in our opinion, the major job of a GPS Car Navigator is to generate good routes from A to B. . With NuVi, the calculation of a 400 mile route usually takes about 10 seconds. This compares to up to half a minute with the SP2610. One trial route from Atlanta to an address in Los Angeles took about half a minute with the SP2610 and about 15 seconds with the NuVi which is an improvement. Off Route, reroute recalculation typically takes a few seconds and it (generally) tries to take you back as quickly as possible to your ORIGINAL route. It does this the first THREE times it goes "off route, recalculating". On the fourth "off route" it figures out you are serious about not going back to the original route and does a complete recalculate which on a local (25 mile) route usually takes just a few seconds. (SP-III ver 2.50 is using this same algorithm and it seems to be confusing some folks, but I personally like the speed so much I am willing to put up with the first three reroutes not necessarily taking you the optimum route. If you do not like the "partial reroute" offered, you can always press the ROUTE key and then press "recalculate".)
The NuVi does not permit the download of ROUTES from MapSource to the GPS for execution. You CANNOT download a series of waypoints and then integrate these into a route since only ONE VIA is permitted. Frankly, using the PC is not the thing you will USUALLY want to do as the NuVi is much easier and more convenient to use as compared with generating routes on the PC and then having to download routes to the GPS navigator. The NuVi uses a USB connection for user map and data loading for music, talking books, images, etcGarmin nüvi 350
Whether you're in the market for a portable GPS device or are just looking for that perfect electronic travel companion for your next trip to Europe, the nüvi 350 from Garmin may well have you prying the plastic out of your wallet.
The nüvi 350 is a slim, portable GPS receiver that provides voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions and has many additional features that make it an indispensable travel companion. And its combination of stellar features and impressive performance earn it our Edtiors' Choice nod.
Measuring 3.9 by 2.9 by 0.9 inches and weighing in at just over 5 ounces, the nüvi 350 easily fits into a shirt pocket. It has a 3.5-inch diagonal (320- by 240-pixel) touch screen and a lithium ion battery that can run for up to eight hours. Its GPS feature set builds on those found in the Garmin "C" series, such as the C330, with the addition of text-to-speech (TTS) directional prompting. With TTS enabled, the nüvi 350 will prompt you with complete street names. For example, it would say, "in 0.7 miles, turn right onto Meadowlands Parkway." Without TTS, these instructions would say simply, "turn right in 0.7 miles."
Another perk to be found in the nüvi is compatibility with Garmin's optional GTM10 traffic receiver. We used this device when we tested the Garmin 2720 a short while ago; it provides live traffic updates in selected U.S. cities.
In addition, the nüvi 350 is also the first GPS unit we've seen or reviewed that uses the new SiRFstar III GPS module. This module is the latest generation of GPS receiver chipsets from the manufacturer SiRF. It appears to indeed be extremely sensitive, with a fast time to first fix (TTFF). We were very impressed with the performance of this new module. Our first fix, called a cold start because the unit has to figure out where it is, took less than 90 seconds. Considering that the last known location for this unit was over 1,100 miles, away, at Garmin's facility in Kansas, we found that admirably fast. Subsequent fix times (known as warm fixes, because the unit has a general idea where it is) were even more impressive—in some cases less than two seconds. The SiRFstar III's reception sensitivity was also impressive. From within this reviewer's home office, about 10 feet from the nearest window, the nüvi 350 quickly achieved a lock on six to seven satellites. We observed similar results testing it on an aisle seat on a bus. Even while standing in the aisle on a New Jersey Transit commuter train, we had a good enough lock (until we entered a tunnel under the Hudson River) to determine the train's speed and direction.
We also tested the pedestrian navigation profile in one of the world's most challenging environments—Manhattan. Most GPS units fail miserably when you try to use them in Manhattan's "canyons." Not the nüvi; it kept a lock on five or more satellites throughout our walk between Penn Station and our offices on East 28th Street and Park Avenue. One truly inspiring feat: The device maintained satellite lock even while we were walking under construction scaffolding.
Like all of Garmin's recently released automotive GPS products, the nüvi 350 is extremely easy to use. The only button on it is the power on/off button; all features and functions are accessed via the touch screen. Like other Garmin products, the main screen has selections for "Where to?" and "View Map," but the nüvi 350 adds a third top-level entry, "Travel Kit." Since most of the GPS features mirror the C330/C340 closely, we'll focus on the new features found in the Travel Kit.
From http://www.pcmag.com/
The nüvi 350 is a slim, portable GPS receiver that provides voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions and has many additional features that make it an indispensable travel companion. And its combination of stellar features and impressive performance earn it our Edtiors' Choice nod.
Measuring 3.9 by 2.9 by 0.9 inches and weighing in at just over 5 ounces, the nüvi 350 easily fits into a shirt pocket. It has a 3.5-inch diagonal (320- by 240-pixel) touch screen and a lithium ion battery that can run for up to eight hours. Its GPS feature set builds on those found in the Garmin "C" series, such as the C330, with the addition of text-to-speech (TTS) directional prompting. With TTS enabled, the nüvi 350 will prompt you with complete street names. For example, it would say, "in 0.7 miles, turn right onto Meadowlands Parkway." Without TTS, these instructions would say simply, "turn right in 0.7 miles."
Another perk to be found in the nüvi is compatibility with Garmin's optional GTM10 traffic receiver. We used this device when we tested the Garmin 2720 a short while ago; it provides live traffic updates in selected U.S. cities.
In addition, the nüvi 350 is also the first GPS unit we've seen or reviewed that uses the new SiRFstar III GPS module. This module is the latest generation of GPS receiver chipsets from the manufacturer SiRF. It appears to indeed be extremely sensitive, with a fast time to first fix (TTFF). We were very impressed with the performance of this new module. Our first fix, called a cold start because the unit has to figure out where it is, took less than 90 seconds. Considering that the last known location for this unit was over 1,100 miles, away, at Garmin's facility in Kansas, we found that admirably fast. Subsequent fix times (known as warm fixes, because the unit has a general idea where it is) were even more impressive—in some cases less than two seconds. The SiRFstar III's reception sensitivity was also impressive. From within this reviewer's home office, about 10 feet from the nearest window, the nüvi 350 quickly achieved a lock on six to seven satellites. We observed similar results testing it on an aisle seat on a bus. Even while standing in the aisle on a New Jersey Transit commuter train, we had a good enough lock (until we entered a tunnel under the Hudson River) to determine the train's speed and direction.
We also tested the pedestrian navigation profile in one of the world's most challenging environments—Manhattan. Most GPS units fail miserably when you try to use them in Manhattan's "canyons." Not the nüvi; it kept a lock on five or more satellites throughout our walk between Penn Station and our offices on East 28th Street and Park Avenue. One truly inspiring feat: The device maintained satellite lock even while we were walking under construction scaffolding.
Like all of Garmin's recently released automotive GPS products, the nüvi 350 is extremely easy to use. The only button on it is the power on/off button; all features and functions are accessed via the touch screen. Like other Garmin products, the main screen has selections for "Where to?" and "View Map," but the nüvi 350 adds a third top-level entry, "Travel Kit." Since most of the GPS features mirror the C330/C340 closely, we'll focus on the new features found in the Travel Kit.
From http://www.pcmag.com/
Garmin Magellan Maestro 3140 Text-to-Speech
Text-to-Speech - Maestro 3140 OnlyThe Maestro 3140 comes with a text-to-speech engine that reads street names off which can be helpful when navigating. This is a major feature that is distinctive versus the Maestro 3100, so you need to ask yourself if it’s worth the extra money to get this unit over the Maestro 3100.
More and more entry-level units are going text-to-speech, and I think that it’s a great trend. That’s a good thing in my mind, as I think that by having the street name read aloud, it makes things easier on you, the driver, when navigating in unfamiliar territory where streets come one after another.
The performance is the Text-to-speech engine in the Maestro is good, but has one flaw that makes it an aggravation; small and annoying, not un-functional. The good news is that the voice is clear and fairly accurate in reading a lot of road names. When announcing turns the unit uses the non-text-to-speech phrases then tacks on the street name at the end, in a different voice. So you get:Voice One: “Turn in 400 yards”Voice Two: “Spring Street”
Sometimes that phrasing is hardly separated and sometimes that phrasing is separated by enough of a pause to think that the GPS had to turn the page on an imaginary script to read the next word. Unfortunate mis-step here.
More and more entry-level units are going text-to-speech, and I think that it’s a great trend. That’s a good thing in my mind, as I think that by having the street name read aloud, it makes things easier on you, the driver, when navigating in unfamiliar territory where streets come one after another.
The performance is the Text-to-speech engine in the Maestro is good, but has one flaw that makes it an aggravation; small and annoying, not un-functional. The good news is that the voice is clear and fairly accurate in reading a lot of road names. When announcing turns the unit uses the non-text-to-speech phrases then tacks on the street name at the end, in a different voice. So you get:Voice One: “Turn in 400 yards”Voice Two: “Spring Street”
Sometimes that phrasing is hardly separated and sometimes that phrasing is separated by enough of a pause to think that the GPS had to turn the page on an imaginary script to read the next word. Unfortunate mis-step here.
Magellan Maestro 3100/3140 Full Review
The Magellan Maestro 3100 and 4100 series was introduced a while ago and in the meantime the Magellan 3200/4200 series has been introduced, bringing a fresh face and a few more features to make the line more enticing. A lot of readers have asked for a first hand review of the Magellan 3100 series from me, as they are showing up in increasing numbers at great prices and ahead of the holiday shopping season, I thought I would get some thoughts down to help people decide what to buy in this complex market.
The maestro 3100 has 48 state maps and has verbal instructions, as well as 750 thousand POI (NOT a lot), and some basic features that come on Magellan units these days like QuickSpell. The unit is based on the SiRF star III chipset and a 3.5-inch screen. I picked the Maestro 3140, which adds North American NAVTEQ-based Maps, has 4.5 million POI, Bluetooth, “AAA” Points of Interest information and Text-to-speech. The units are not tiny but small enough to fit in a shirt pocket, as they have a compact flat form factor. The units are touch screen based, and have no external buttons except for the power switch and a reset button. The Maestro 3100, and 3140 are coming in at some pretty compelling prices, so, are they worth it, and will they get you from here to there with ease and confidence? I was not overly impressed with the previous incarnation of Magellan’s flat form factor product, the RoadMate 2000 unit, and thought it was dated in its interface’s design components. The Maestro has a lot of improved features, so let’s check things out.
From http://www.gpslodge.com/
The maestro 3100 has 48 state maps and has verbal instructions, as well as 750 thousand POI (NOT a lot), and some basic features that come on Magellan units these days like QuickSpell. The unit is based on the SiRF star III chipset and a 3.5-inch screen. I picked the Maestro 3140, which adds North American NAVTEQ-based Maps, has 4.5 million POI, Bluetooth, “AAA” Points of Interest information and Text-to-speech. The units are not tiny but small enough to fit in a shirt pocket, as they have a compact flat form factor. The units are touch screen based, and have no external buttons except for the power switch and a reset button. The Maestro 3100, and 3140 are coming in at some pretty compelling prices, so, are they worth it, and will they get you from here to there with ease and confidence? I was not overly impressed with the previous incarnation of Magellan’s flat form factor product, the RoadMate 2000 unit, and thought it was dated in its interface’s design components. The Maestro has a lot of improved features, so let’s check things out.
From http://www.gpslodge.com/
Review: Garmin Nuvi 660 Review by the GPS Lodge
In the short time I have had the Garmin Nuvi 660, I have to say that it’s the best GPS I have ever used. It has all of the features that make a GPS worth loving, and with its super bright widescreen, it really stands out in the sun. The slim form factor, at less than an inch thick, is great. For those who are familiar with the Garmin interface, this won’t be a huge departure from what you are used to, simplicity and ease of use reign. The integrated traffic TMC traffic receiver is a welcome addition that allows you to be aware of all the traffic issues that you can now avoid with your smart Nuvi 660 doing the navigating.
From GPS Lodge
From GPS Lodge
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