Garmin nüvi 780 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with MSN Direct Service
Garmin nüvi 780 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with MSN Direct Service Overviews
The nüvi 780 adds enhanced MSN direct content to the multi-destination routing and “Where Am I?” features and gorgeous widescreen display of other nüvi 700s to create a superior navigation device for business as well as casual drivers. As with all nüvis, you get Garmin reliability, the fast satellite lock of an integrated high-sensitivity receiver, a slim, pocket-sized design with a gorgeous display, an easy, intuitive interface, and detailed NAVTEQ maps for the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico with more than 6 million name-searchable points of interest. All of the 700-series navigators also feature a rich array of features including spoken directions in real street names, integrated traffic receivers, MP3 player and photo viewer, and an FM transmitter that will play voice prompts, MP3s, audio books, and more, directly through your vehicle’s stereo system.
Garmin’s nüvis pack top of the line features into a slim form factor.
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Enhanced MSN Direct Content (9-month free subscription)
An integrated receiver allows you to access enhanced dynamic content from the MSN Direct service. Check the weather, avoid traffic backups, compare local gas prices, get enhanced movie listings, stock information, news and local events when you travel with your unit. Even plan trips from the convenience of your computer, via Windows Live Local, and wirelessly send custom to your nüvi.
- Free 9 month trial subscription to MSN Direct services, activation instructions provided
- MSN Direct Traffic Receiver included in the box
- Extended MSN Direct service subscriptions available for purchase: 12 months for .95 + tax (visit MSN for further details)
Multi-Destination Routing
Wider screen lets you see more of what’s around. Compare these actual size views of a 3-inch (diagonal) screen and a 4.3-inch diagonal widescreen  |
This lets you enter several spots into the device (day care – supermarket-cleaners – office – day care, for example) and it will plot the fastest route. And once you’ve found the best router, the “Route Planning” feature lets you save up to 10 different routes, Garmin touts the feature for providing, “the most efficient route for errands, deliveries and sales calls.” The feature also makes this an instant essential accessory for anyone who shops garage sales (you know what we’re talking about).
A trip log provides an electronic bread crumb trail of up to 10,000 points, so you can see where you’ve been on the map.
Where Am I? Where’s My Car?
The nüvi 700 series is the first to answer two common questions: “Where am I?” and “Where’s my car?”
At any time, with a single tap of the screen, drivers can display their exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and gas stations. And to help drivers find their car in an unfamiliar spot or vast parking lot, the nüvis in the 700 series automatically mark the position in which they were last removed from the mount.
See Better, See More
The super-bright, 4.3-inch (diagonal) touchscreen display gives is anti-glare for ease of viewing during the day and automatically changes its color profile for easy viewing at night or in dim light. It offers 2d or 3D perspective views.
The widescreen format gives you 70% more actual screen area than a 3.5-inch screen. Primarily this translates into a better view of the area through which you are driving. This is especially useful in showing you what parks, restaurants, ATM, gas stations, etc. are nearby, or in letting you know whether a detour is a good idea. Also, the device itself is larger, meaning controls on the screen are more widely spaced and somewhat easier to push.
First Rate Map Data
The nüvi 780 is preloaded with highly detailed City Navigator NT road maps for the entire United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. This map database features nearly six million points of interest (POIs), including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs, and attractions. Garmin gets its map data from NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping.
Hands-Free Calling
In more and more places, it is becoming illegal to use cell phones while driving without a hands-free kit. The nüvi 780’s Bluetooth capability, microphone and speaker lets match it to any bluetooth-capable phone to make hands-free mobile phone calls. Simply dial the phone number with the nüvi’s touch screen keypad to make a call on a compatible phone. To answer an incoming call, just tap the screen and speak into the built-in microphone. Making and taking calls on the road has never been easier, or safer. In addition, Garmin makes it a breeze to look-up and dial numbers from your personalized phone book or even tap into your cell phone’s call history log.
Garmin Lock
Garmin’s patent pending theft prevention system that disables the unit from performing any functions until the user types in a specific 4-digit PIN or takes the unit to a predetermined secure location
Easy To Use Interface
Garmin’s interface is a key to their success and one of the things that makes their devices such a pleasure to use. Simple controls and sub-screens make it easy to enter or search for destinations and get data about your trip.
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Beyond Navigation
 Browse your stored pictures with an easy-to-use JPEG viewer. |
 A handy MP3 player lets you play songs stored on SD memory cards. |
 nüvi accepts custom points of interest (POIs). View larger. |
Navigation is just the beginning. nüvi 780 features travel tools including JPEG picture viewer, MP3 player, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. It also comes with Garmin Lock, an anti-theft feature, and configurable vehicle icons that let you select car-shaped graphics to show your location on the map.
This device is compatible with optional content plug-ins available via SD card, such as the Garmin Travel Guides and Garmin SaversGuide provide detailed data for attractions and information on nearby merchants offering discounts, so you can customize nüvi for your travel needs.
Garmin has also added the ability for customers to add custom points of interest (POI’s) from third parties such as school zones and safety cameras.
Trick Your GPS Ride
 Custom vehicle icons let you ride in style, at least inside your GPS. See more icon option |
Like all nüvis, the 780 supports configurable vehicle icons. These fun, customized car-shaped icons come in a variety of colors to add a personal touch to your vehicle’s position on the map.
With this GPS system on board you’ll be prepared to steer clear of traffic with the integrated FM TMC traffic receiver. The nüvi is designed to receive alerts about traffic tie-ups and road construction that might lie ahead on your route. All you have to do is simply touch the screen to view traffic details and you’ll be ready to detour around any problem area. And if you end up missing a turn, or you’re forced into a detour that is not relayed through the traffic receiver, the nüvi’s sophisticated automatic routing will get you back on track in no time.
What’s in the Box
nüvi 780, Preloaded City Navigator NT for North America*, MSN Direct receiver with integrated vehicle power cable, 9 months free MSN Direct service*, Vehicle suction cup mount*, USB cable, Dashboard disc, Quick start manual
Notes
- Optional software for language translation, detailed travel guides, and savings programs allow you to customize your nüvi to fit your travel needs
- The FM transmitter feature is only available in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand
- Like most USB Mass Storage Devices, the nüvi is not compatible with Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me.
Notice: MSN Direct service will be available only until January 1, 2012. Activate a subscription between November 19, 2009, and March 31, 2010, and receive 9 months of MSN Direct service for free.
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Device
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Screen Size inches (W x H)
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Included Maps
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Text-to-Speech (Directions in Real Street Names)
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Traffic
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Bluetooth
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Media
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FM Transmitter (audio through car stereo system)
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Multi-Point Routing
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Battery life (hours)
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Cont. U.S., Hawaii, and Puerto Rico
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AK and Canada
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Europe
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| nüvi 205 | 2.8 x 2.1 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | Photos | up to 4 | ||||||
| nüvi 205w | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | Photos | up to 4 | ||||||
| nüvi 255 | 2.8 x 2.1 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | Photos | up to 4 | ||||
| nüvi 255w | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | Photos | up to 4 | ||||
| nüvi 260w | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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Photos | up to 5 | |||||
| nüvi 265T | 2.8 x 2.1 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) |
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Photos | up to 4 | |||
| nüvi 265WT | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) |
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Photos | up to 4 | |||
| nüvi 275T | 2.8 x 2.1 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) |
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Photos | up to 4 | ||
| nüvi 285WT | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 9 months free); |
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Photos | up to 4 | |||
| nüvi 465T | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) |
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Photos |
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up to 4 | ||
| nüvi 755T | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) | Photos, MP3s |
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up to 4 | ||
| nüvi 760 | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) |
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Photos, MP3s |
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up to 5 | |
| nüvi 765T | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) |
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Photos, MP3s |
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up to 4 | |
| nüvi 775T | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) |
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Photos, MP3s |
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up to 4 |
| nüvi 780 | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 9 months free); FM (with optional receiver) |
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Photos, MP3s |
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up to 5 | |
| nüvi 785T | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 9 months free); FM (with optional receiver) |
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Photos, MP3s |
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up to 4 | |
| nüvi 850 | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | Photos, MP3s |
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up to 4 | ||
| nüvi 855 | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | Photos, MP3s |
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up to 4 | ||
| nüvi 885T | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 9 months free); FM (with optional receiver) |
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Photos, MP3s |
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up to 4 | |
| nüvi 1200 | 2.8 x 2.1 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | Photos | up to 4 | |||||
| nüvi 1250 | 2.8 x 2.1 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | Photos | up to 4 | ||||
| nüvi 1260T | 2.8 x 2.1 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) |
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Photos | up to 4 | |||
| nüvi 1300 | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | Photos | up to 4 | |||||
| nüvi 1350 | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | Photos | up to 4 | ||||
| nüvi 1350T | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) | Photos | up to 4 | ||||
| nüvi 1370T | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) |
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Photos | up to 4 | ||
| nüvi 1390T | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) |
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Photos | up to 4 | |||
| nüvi 1490T | 4.4 x 2.5 |
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MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) |
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Photos |
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up to 4 | ||
| nüvi 1690 | 3.81 x 2.25 |
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NAVTEQ Traffic, 2 years free (Garmin nüLink! service) |
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Photos |
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up to 4 | ||
Last week, I bought the TomTom GO 630… and almost immediately replaced it with this one. It was full of features and goodies… and after about 12 hours, I realized how much simpler Garmin menus are. One major feature of the Garmin is that it turns *ON* when the power cord receives power. According to TomTom, they have disabled that feature and it only turns *off*
So here’s what I love about my new Garmin Nuvi 780:
This is my 4th Garmin. I had a big ol’ StreetPilot and a couple of older Nuvis (360s). The menus are simple to navigate. While it seems like they don’t boast the quantity of features that the TomTom does… I can tell you that Garmin’s features work. Compared to OTHER GPS units I’ve had, the Garmin truly works.
Here are some specific features that should help you in your decision about this specific unit:
BREADCRUMB TRAIL
You can reset the trail in “my data” in the menu… but while you drive, it makes a thin cyan line over your path. I drove a few hundred miles with mine so far and it didn’t automatically erase any of it. I’d find myself coming back across wiggly cyan lines where I had driven through a parking lot or taken it off-road in the field. I like this feature, but I don’t really see a practical use for it… but I guess it *is* nice if you’re in a strange town — you can see if you’re back where you started (even if you weren’t intentionally tracking your course).
QWERTY OPTION
THANK YOU, GARMIN! I spend my days typing on a QWERTY keyboard and it’s nice to be able to use one on my GPS. This unit gives you the choice of a sequential ABCD… or a QWERTY style on-screen keyboard.
ROUTE CREATION
Home to work, home to the store… I don’t always take the route that Garmin initially suggests — but I still like the convenience of having a GPS read me directions on commonly-traveled routes. It might sound silly, but it’s a feature I’ve wished for in my other 3 Garmins. This lets you create pre-set routes with specific points along the way, and you can select a specific preset route instead of waypoints.
POWERED CRADLE BASE
Not all GPS units have a powered base. My TomTom had to be plugged in and hung on the cradle. This Garmin unit clicks into a base, which already has power connected. The power cord includes a traffic receiver, but I haven’t activated it. It tells me I get 30 or 90 days free (can’t remember which) but I don’t plan to subscribe, so I’m ignoring that feature. If you plan to use it, though — it seems relevant that the receiver is included in the cord.
ODD-SHAPED POWER PLUG FOR CRADLE
The USB cable is a standard USB -> USB-MINI cord to connect to a computer. However, the power cord that connects to the base of the cradle is an odd (proprietary) cable. I haven’t seen a power cord like this before. This won’t matter unless you break the cord and need to replace it. OEM solutions never seem “reasonably priced”.
TTS / DANIEL – BRITISH ENGLISH
I can’t get enough of Daniel the Garmin voice. I used him on my last 2 and I really like him on this one. It’s clear “text to speech”. Sometimes, you get a funny TTS result, due to the way TTS has to guess what it’s reading. For instance, If you need to turn on “Smith Drive Northwest”… but the GPS has it recorded as “Smith Dr NW”… the TTS voice will say “Smith Doctor Northwest”. This is actually a fun joke in my family and we quite enjoy goofy nuances of the voice. The British English voice pronounces the grocery store “Kroger” as “Kro-Jur” (soft G). My wife and I have started calling it that for fun. Yeah, kinda sad — but we’re entertained by it.
FM MODULATOR
This unit was mounted directly in front of the stereo (about 3″ lower) on my maiden voyage. I was disappointed at how weak the FM signal is. Also, it makes sense that the speaker shuts off when you turn on the FM modulator. I just wish it was a bit easier to switch back and forth. I will give this another try, but FM modulators aren’t that great in general. This one is below expectations, but still better than the few I’ve purchased over the years to play my iPod or walkman through the speakers.
BLUETOOTH CALLING
This is a feature I use quite frequently. The call quality of this GPS is actually USABLE! The Nuvi 360 wasn’t so great, but I can actually rely on this for communication. This unit syncs nicely with my Palm Pre’s phonebook and lets me dial from my phone’s contacts (or recently dialed / received). I’ve not had a bad experience with bluetooth so far, so it seems to have drastically improved from my last Nuvi. I’m quite happy with this.
DAY / NIGHT MAP COLORS
If you’ve never had a Nuvi, it has 2 different color / brightness schemes that switch based on the exact moment of sunrise / sunset in your local time. Mine switches to darker maps at dusk, making it less obnoxious to drive (since the night map has colors that are not as hard on the eyes when compared to a nighttime setting).
NO ANTENNA TO UNFOLD
My Nuvi 360 had an antenna that would fold out. It was nice and compact, but required an extra step to put into the cradle. This one doesn’t require any more than snapping into place.
INTUITIVE MENUS
My wife and I agree that the menu has a lot of neat features, but in an intuitively organized way. Navigating the MENU of my TomTom was a nightmare. I’m VERY happy with this one.
ALL-AROUND GREAT
I shopped around, compared features and prices, and tried to filter out worthless features. For instance… my TomTom had “voice command”… which was a nice distraction at the time of purchase, but really stunk. I disabled it almost immediately on the TomTom. And the Homer Simpson voice that TomTom offers… yeah, that lasted about 15 minutes. I want my back!
SUMMARY;
So before you flame me for making this sound like a negative review about the TomTom… let me explain one thing: It took my bad TomTom purchase to make me appreciate the features on my Garmin. I won’t consider a TomTom after my 12 hours with one. This Garmin Nuvi works great and has LOGICAL features. And the features it has… actually work correctly.
A+
Great product. Would recommend to anyone. – nesky – New Haven, CT USA
Great product. Very quick in terms of calculating maps. The MP3 function is a good addition. Music stops when a direction is vocalized and the music continues right after it. Would be better if users can browse and choose songs with more freedom, for example, selecting each individual music sub-folders to play. Now once the GPS locate a music folder, it will combine all the songs into a big pool and ignore all the sub-folders definitions. Overall, it’s a very fine product. I would recommend to anyone.
Fantastic! – J. T. Leveque – Denver, CO United States
Not sure why some people gave this item a negative review. I guess it is the expectation of the buyer. I have owned only one other GPS before this one, and it is really old. So this is a big upgrade and is just wonderful. First thing I did was update the software from Garmin’s website by connecting it to usb and it automatically synced and upgraded. I turn it on, it syncs in 5 seconds, and I put in an address and it calculates in less than 15 seconds. What more do you need? I tested the reroute feature, and it rerouted in about 5 seconds. It has never crashed in over 2 months of use, and works flawlessly. The only problem I had was that it didn’t sync the bluetooth with my samsung rant cell phone. But my wife’s older cell phone it synced no problem. I would highly recommend this item to others because it is stable and super fast.
gret GPS – Douglas L. Heiser – Idaho Falls, ID USA
This is my 3rd GPS, and by far the best. No complaints at this point.
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Tags: 4.3-Inch, Bluetooth, Combination, Direct, Garmin, Gaskets, Hamilton, Harold, Import, Navigator, Parfait, Portable, Service, Skillet/Griddle, Widescreen
