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| Brand: Garmin
Category: CE
Buy New: £122.99
New (13) Used (1) from £117.99
Rating:  63 reviews
Sales Rank: 684
Media: Electronics
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 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 16-20 of 63
my first Navi system. July 30, 2008
Sausage
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. br / br /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. br / br /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. br / br /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. br / br /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. br / br /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. br /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. br /
 Quality Sat Nav July 28, 2008
Richard K. Norman (London)
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.
Well designed and practical system July 16, 2008
Dr. J. H. Beattie (Scotland, UK)
6 out of 6 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. br / br /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. br / br /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). br / br /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. br / br /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. br / br /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.
 some good points, but quite a few problems June 29, 2008
S. Gerhand
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have owned one of these for a year now. I chose this because a friend had a Tom Tom, which was extremely unreliable in certain parts of the country. This unit has come down in price a lot, and now represents considerably better value than when I purchased it a year ago. br / br /First the good points. I find it great in big cities, especially London. When navigating myself, I always attempted the simplest routes. The Garmin picks routes which are quicker, but usually more complex, so that I would not have attempted them otherwise. It has saved me a considerable amount of time on these journeys. br / br /It has also negotiated some really good routes, cross country, which have saved me both time and distance, where I would previously have stuck to motorways where possible. It has generally also negotiated me around Birmingham, where my friend's Tom Tom comes unstuck at times. br / br /The battery life is quite good, so you can take it with you, even if the vehicle you are driving does not have a lighter socket (which happened to me with a work-owned mini-bus). br / br /However, there are a number of problems, some mentionned in other reviews on this page. Sometimes, the unit can take a very long time to find satellites, e.g. 20 minutes or longer. On the most extreme occasion, it failed to find the satellites at all during the course of an evening, and was therefore completely useless. Garmins are notoriously prone to this, more so than other sat navs. br / br /The speed camera detection is just a nuisance. I had a Road Angel, which I stopped using because it annoyed me with it's constant bleeping. But at least the Road Angel was accurate. The Garmin is hopelessly inaccurate with speed camera locations, even if you keep it up dated. I cannot imagine what database of speed-camera locations they claim to use. I cannot work out how to turn this function off, so I recommend buying one without it. br / br /On the topic of inaccuracy, the maps are at least 3 years out of date. I live on an estate that was on which contruction commenced around 9 years ago. The first streets to be built are featured, but the streets on my side of the estate, which were finished in 2005, are not included. br / br /You can set it up to deliver a route avoiding roads and bridges where a toll is required. This is a waste of time, as it does not seem to know when a toll is required, e.g. the Severn Road bridge. br / br /The estimated time of arrival is usually somewhat optimistic, not taking account of factors such as traffic, However, it is very fond of taking you off the main roads, and along single track lanes. The problem with this is that you then have to drop your speed right down, and it takes you twice as long as it would have done otherwise. br / br /You cannot rely on the voice commands. Sometimes it will tell you to turn left/right at a junction, when it really means go straight accross, and it often tells you to take the wrong exit from a roundabout. This means you need to keep referring to the screen to work out where you are intended to go. This only caused problems the first time I used it, as I did initially attempt to navigate by just following the verbal instructions. Now I know better. br / br /Updating is a problem, and is not free. Apart from the fact that the up-to-date maps are not that up-to-date, the unit does not come with any kind of USB cable. I can update it by using the one that comes with my digital camera, but it's a bit cheeky not to supply one. Maybe the manufacturers assume that after a year most people would prefer to just buy another unit, than pay to update the maps? br / br /I have not owned any other sat nav for comparison, but I would be cautious about recommending this one because of the problems listed above.
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