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| Brand: Garmin
Category: CE
Buy New: £129.99
New (15) Used (1) from £119.07
Avg. Customer Rating:  55 reviews
Sales Rank: 950
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Fragile: No
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 6.6 x 6.4 x 3.4
MPN: 010-00656-02
Model: 010-00656-02
UPC: 753759072186
EAN: 0753759072186
ASIN: B000SDWGF6
Release Date: July 17, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Beaware of map update prices! August 3, 2008
Beware! Any map updates ahve to be purchased and are not cheap.Pity QVC didn't warn me!
my first Navi system. July 30, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I bought this as my first navigation system because of price and the widescreen. I would have liked a more expensive one with MP3 and all the bells and whistles, but I settled for a basic unit that only does navigation. I live on mainland Europe, so I am reviewing European use, not UK. But for me that shouldn't matter. It should still work the same.
For me, the best way of decribing it is "a bit hit and miss". On the whole I am happy with it, but it does tend to confuse me sometimes. I am not even sure if 4 stars was the correct rating to give it. On most occaisions it is great, and gets me to where I want quickly and easily. Yet on others it confuses. For instance, I made several shortish journeys recently where the Nuvi guided me there perfectly with no fuss whatsoever. And it turned out to be the optimum route. I'd say it's done this the majority of times for local trips. But it has also guided down one-way streets (the wrong way !), and told me to turn left/right when I can't, and taken me to a cul-de-sac by a motorway exit where there was nothing but trees and a field, that was supposed to have been a shop I wanted to go to. I eventually found the shop right down the other end of the road, quite a distance away, because it quite obviously wasn't at my "destination". It also gets very confused sometimes by a large roundabout nearby my home. The roundabout has around 5 exits, yet it is almost impossible to tell which one it is talking about, and which one it is indicating on the display. It's also confused me at motorway slip roads, especially when the slip road branches off into two motorways, and has proved that it can be a bit dangerous. I was told to "keep right" as I was driving along, and when I left the road I was on to join the motorway, I found out that I was joining the wrong motorway entry as the Nuvi suddenly changed and told me "keep left" to down the left branch, and had to go across the white lines to get on the correct one. From that point it can be dangerous. OK, I should have had my wits about me and not done that, but I find SatNavs divert your concentration and make you anxious that you're suddenly heading onto a motorway in completely the wrong direction. I tended to rely on the Satnav rather than look at the road signs to get an indication of where I am going. In future I won't, because it is quite dangerous if you suddenly make a knee-jerk reaction to change lanes.
So, it can be great, and the rest of the time you get endless "Recalculating" feedback when you've gone down the wrong road, but I have to say that when it has recalculated, it usually does a good job of it and gets you back on track quickly. Sadly this happens a few too many times, as I also find that the little car icon on the screen lags quite a bit behind your actual position. So when it says "Turn right" and you look at the map, you will see the icon travelling towards the turning, but in reality you've already reached it or driven past it. That is annoying, and is not a problem when you only see one right turning and ignore the map, but if there's a few, you're probably going to go down the wrong one. I read that the map lags behind your actual position if you have chosen to display the most map detail on the screen. But I changed it to a low setting and it still does it.
As for the rest - the picture facility is pretty pointless and can't see myself using that, but you never know. The extras are sometimes very useful, like listings of nearby petrol stations, restaurants, hotels, shops, banks/cash machines, entertainment, parks, attractions, etc.... So if you need a cash machine, you go to "banks" and it tells you where the nearest one is, and guides you to it.
I am very technically aware because I work in I.T and I am a total gadget freak. So I am pretty sure in my own mind that these problems are nothing to do with me. My considered opinion (for what that's worth) with any new technology, is that it will take time to get to the point where people can rely on it as much as they think they can rely on it. Many people think it's an "all-knowing" SatNav and will take them anywhere with no fuss. But working in I.T, I am not for one single second surprised that the mapping is not fully correct and it's got bugs and issues. There will be errors. I'd be shocked if there wasn't. It's the way technology is. You can never account for human error, either in programming it, or in using it - i.e. my reaction to switch lanes suddenly.
Would I buy it again knowing what I know now ? Yeah, I am sure I would. Just learn it's little peculiarities, and learn when to ignore it.
If you want a cheap SatNav, I doubt you'd do better. I know guys who spend hundreds more on top of the range TomTom's and others, and still get taken to wrong places and down one-way streets. Like I said, it's all new technology, and you can't beat this for what it is.
 Quality Sat Nav July 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This was my first purchase of a sat nav based on experience by others. This exceeds my expectations and I would recommend it highly. It's so simple to use and easy to programme favourites. The other selling points are noted on the product description - size, weight etc... and . Good value for money I would say and the battery life is decent. Also worth a mention is that it took me some considerable time to finaly decide on this product - I think I have made a good choice.
Wish I had read these reviews before I bought the Nuvi July 28, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Just wanted to say that I have only given this product 2 stars because I am not particularly happy with it. I used to have a Tom Tom which died the death recently and I was perfectly happy with it but the guy in the shop recommended the Garmin over the Tom Tom. Well, on looking at these reviews I am not the only one waiting 20 minutes for a satellite, it seems to be commonplace. I have updated it on their website using my own USB, but really when something is so new should you have to do this. The one good thing I will say about it is that it has an excellent clear screen and voice commands are clear.
Well designed and practical system July 16, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is the first navigation system that I have bought and, like other reviewers, I spent some time making my choice on the basis of Amazon and other reviews. I have used the system in Aberdeen, London and northern Italy and it has worked very well in all locations.
I have had no problems with satellite reception except when the unit was not powered from the lighter socket of a car with its engine running. I can't say for certain whether lack of signal is directly related to power supply, but it may be a factor. However, I have never had a signal problem with the engine running and the signal was detected within seconds in every new location.
The maps that came with the unit are mostly accurate and I was impressed with the way the system guided me through some small country roads in Tuscany and even smaller one-way "streets" in Florence. Obviously the maps become rather dated rather quickly and there were a few tricky moments with frenzied Italian drivers bearing down on us from all directions while the navigator calmly told us to turn right into a blocked off exit. However, ignoring the navigator usually yielded another solution, which followed a pause and the euphemistic "recalculating" (which is said in that "I told you to turn right you idiot" kind of way).
As mentioned in other reviews, it is better to keep an eye on the road plan rather than rely too much on the vocal instructions, which can occasionally be misleading. The display is very clear and the background reverts from light to dark or dark to light automatically depending on the external lighting conditions. This means that the unit does not dazzle at night but is also very clear in daylight.
One problem we came across was the need to enter a particular road for a destination and it would not recognise a simple instruction, such as "Airport". This may not be a general problem but it was a problem for our specific destination airport. I have had no problem with the cradle which sticks firmly to the windscreen.
In conclusion, this is an excellent navigation system with a great display and it saved us unimaginable grief on the roads of Italy. If you are going driving in Europe and want a mostly trouble-free navigation experience, this system will do the job at a reasonable price.
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