Image copyright GarminReviewing this product has taken a while mainly because I got a job and had to move the family to Norman, OK. But another important reason is with that time, I've been able to use the GPS system on enough roads and highways to compile usage data.
Having gone to a university that was heavily recruited by Garmin, being interviewed for employment by Garmin and having friends that work at Garmin, I feel that I should disclaim that these reasons are what steered me in the Garmin direction. My wife surprised me with the nuvi 650 as my graduation gift. (I mean really surprised me. I had purchased my own Garmin GPS shortly before, but that's another story).
Down to the review. Initial impressions had me surprised at how light the nuvi itself was. I knew it had an internal battery and glass touchscreen, but the weight is light enough to put in a coat pocket. However, after using the Garmin nuvi around the state of Oklahoma and a drive to and around the Orlando, Florida area, I would say the Garmin nuvi, or any GPS for that matter is only as good as the MAPS that are on it. Out of date maps can seriously cripple your trip, especially if you have no experience with the area. To remedy this, Garmin introduced the nuMaps Guarantee. You can get the latest maps within 60 days of purchase (it's actually within 60 days of the GPS's first satellite acquisition. Those pesky GPS sats have timekeeping onboard and beam it to your unit.
The 650 has a touch widescreen (I recommend over the square screen) and an MP3 player, which I think is more of a novelty than a feature. The speakers are adequately loud to overcome road noise. The rendering engine takes time to update and draw, which, as 3D hardware becomes more mobile device friendly in terms of power consumption, we can expect to see really slick looking map displays. Even though the GPS updates once per second (and driving to the mall doesn't require much more), I would like to see the maps up at ~30 frames per second using dead reckoning. Of course we might be talking about a beefier processor and extra RAM. But for a company that relies on WOW factor for it's consumer lines, it would be getting that edge in my book.
So the Garmin nuvi made it endlessly easier to navigate Orlando and Norman, OK, two places I don't have much street knowledge of, but the large gripes from me are the map rendering speed and the unit shipping with 2 year-old maps.
This unit is DISCONTINUED, but still available for purchase at fine retailers like Amazon.com for $202.
Rating: ****1/2
1 comments:
I have found it great too. And as long as you use your common sense the outdated maps aren't that bad. Still, it would be nicer if the maps were updated.
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