GPS review

eandsphotography · 06-15-2008, 12:30 PM

I cant seem to find the thread on here ,but a few days ago someone was looking for some suggestions on which GPS to buy. After reading the posts i decided to buy myself one since i had been thinking about it for awhile anyway. Someone had suggested the Garmin Nuvi 760 which is the one i ended up purchasing and will be returning today. Let me say.. about the only thing it's good for is a $400 paper weight. If you have any clue at all where you are it is a complete waste. Right out of the box i turned it on and we were heading to Cracker Barrel only about a mile away from the store i bought it from. It missed it by at least a half mile and then kept recalculating and basically going in circles. After that, we took it on a ride to find a campground that we had been wanting to check out. It didnt list the name exact since there is a boat marina attached to the campground but that wasnt the biggest problem. When getting off the exit from the interstate,it had me turning left when there is a sign as big as day pointing Right to get to the Marina and Campground. I gave it another chance last night and took it to work with me and it didnt get any better. I drive a gas tanker and deliver to wal-mart. Well, it couldnt even find the wal-mart that i was delivering to. I came home and did the map update thinking that maybe that was the problem, 2 hours later i search for that same wal-mart and NOTHING.
So, while this is just my opinion and others may have good experiences with GPS, I think that unless you are completly lost they are completly useless and are designed for someone that probably cant read a map to begin with.

rockwood06 · 06-15-2008, 08:20 PM

The thread you were looking for is on page #2. I am sorry you had problems with your 760, I bought the 750, the only difference is that the 760 has blue-tooth. So far the 750 has done a good job for me. There different ways to use the GPS, If I am at home and I want to go to the local Wal- Mart all I do is select" WHERE TO " then select" POINTS OF INTEREST " then select " SHOPPING " Then " GENERAL MERCHANDISE " and there is WAl-Mart " then touch Wal-Mart, the next screen will display the address and phone number, on the far right it says "GO" when you touch GO it will take you there. It depends on how you have it set up, you can select the" FASTEST ROUTE or the SHORTEST ROUTE. If you miss a street the GPS will turn you around. There is some set-ups that need to be done in the SETTINGS and NAVIGATION section that will help one understand.

John · 06-15-2008, 09:10 PM

I am sooooo surprised to hear about problems with Garmin. I almost bought one last year, but was swayed to TomTom. We bought a TomTom GO910 and have been extremely pleased with the results.

It's exactly precise 99.99% of the time and the on-line support is fabulous. We've been using it here in Ontario, but have been to Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward island and New York State and the routing has always been bang-on. Garmin was always the preferred North American device ..... but TomTom, I can say with experience, is excellent.

John

rockwood06 · 06-16-2008, 04:54 AM

Last Wednesday I was in Arlington VA, I followed a co-worker down but we all left at different time so I had to get home on my own, as soon as I came out of the underground parking I turned on the Garmin, I had it set up for the FASTEST TIME, with in seconds a route was set up the Garmin toke me right out of VA with no problem and I was headed to Maryland. We are headed to Myrtle Beach in about two weeks and we are camping at Pirate Land, I put the address into the GPS and I was able to scan the route. We have been there only one time before and that was two years ago, so we will see how this works. I am confident.

**Bama Rambler** · 06-16-2008, 07:35 AM

I'm not sure what the problem was, but sometimes you have to learn how to use the device before it makes sense how it wants things input. There's also the fact that a navigation device is never going to be good as your local knowledge.

POI's are always an issue. Businesses open, close and relocate all the time and it a massive job to keep up with it so they're never going to be perfect. For the most case they're pretty darn good considering the millions of them there are. I know of no paper map that lists all the poi's that are available in a modern navigation unit. To me it's no big deal if a few of them are wrong. When I do find one wrong I report it to Garmin/Navteq through their website in hopes that the more we do that the better these things get.

On your search for Cracker Barrel, did the 760 give you the correct street address and just indicated it in the wrong location on the map or did it list an incorrect address for it?

Not knowing which Wal-Mart you were looking for makes it hard for us to understand why it didn't find it. I did a search for Wal-Mart using Corryton, Tn as my starting address and found several close. Here's the list. Kinzel Rd, Norris Fwy, Clinton Hy, East Broadway to name a few. If you would provide me with the one you were looking for I'd be glad to try to locate it on my unit.

It sounds as if you're dead set against a GPS unit already, though I do think it unfair to call them a "complete waste". They are a great tool, and when used as a tool they provide good assistance.

aintgotnun · 06-16-2008, 09:50 AM

Sorry to hear about your issues...........

I just purchased the Garmin Nuvi 260W for my wife about 2 weeks ago and she absolutely LOVES it.

One question. When you got it did you immediately goto Garmin's site to register it and download the latest maps? The reason I ask this is because right out of the box the unit didn't have my entire neighborhood, just the street I lived on and only a couple of addresses on that street. I went to Garmin's site, registered the unit and was able to download the latest maps (about 2Gb). The download took awhile but it was well worth it.

Right out of the box I would hazzard a guess that the maps on yours were not updated. And you are also supposed to do an initial setup to get it sync'd with the sats and set your "home" location.

This thing is "spot on" to within 3 meters of my location and has tons of POIs. It does not however have every POI there is. I live is a pretty small town and it doesn't have the Sonic drive-through that's been there for 3 years but has the Sonic that's located 8 miles away that's been there for 2 years. Dunno. But other than that it works GREAT.

We decided on the 260W because of A price ($250), B the wided screen (4.5" diag), C text to voice (so you can keep your eyes on the road). I wasn't too interested in all the bells and whistles of having an MP3 player or bluetooth so the 260W fit the bill perfectly. My wife is a home-health nurse and has already found this tool to work wonderfully for her.

rockwood06 · 06-17-2008, 05:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aintgotnun

Sorry to hear about your issues...........

I just purchased the Garmin Nuvi 260W for my wife about 2 weeks ago and she absolutely LOVES it.

One question. When you got it did you immediately goto Garmin's site to register it and download the latest maps? The reason I ask this is because right out of the box the unit didn't have my entire neighborhood, just the street I lived on and only a couple of addresses on that street. I went to Garmin's site, registered the unit and was able to download the latest maps (about 2Gb). The download took awhile but it was well worth it.

Right out of the box I would hazzard a guess that the maps on yours were not updated. And you are also supposed to do an initial setup to get it synced with the sats and set your "home" location.

This thing is "spot on" to within 3 meters of my location and has tons of Post. It does not however have every POI there is. I live is a pretty small town and it doesn't have the Sonic drive-through that's been there for 3 years but has the Sonic that's located 8 miles away that's been there for 2 years. Dunno. But other than that it works GREAT.

We decided on the 260W because of A price ($250), B the widescreen (4.5" diag), C text to voice (so you can keep your eyes on the road). I wasn't too interested in all the bells and whistles of having an MP3 player or bluetooth so the 260W fit the bill perfectly. My wife is a home-health nurse and has already found this tool to work wonderfully for her.

That's one of the first ones I looked at and it is a nice unit, but I was able to get the 750 for $299 at Sams Club, As far as bluetooth, not all phones are compatible. I have the LG 8300 and it will not work with the 750. I don't need bluetooth.

NDJollyMon · 06-17-2008, 10:44 PM

Wow! I find my Garmin GPS very useful and pretty darn accurate. (and I can read a map) It's not a car navigator only, but has most POI's. There are times it tries to route me ways I know will take longer, so I see where you are comng from there. Like stated...sometimes it's because of the way it's been set by me. (shortest or fastest) The GPS is only as good asd it's maps when it comes to navigating however...and sometimes the maps are simply the problem.
Mostly...I just think they are cool toys, and love knowing my trip info.

rockwood06 · 06-18-2008, 05:08 AM

There is one other setting you might want to check, It's called "AVOIDANCES" this section will also change your route. Just in case you have not found it yet go to TOOLS, then SETTINGS, then NAVIGATION, this next screen displays ROUTE PREFERENCE on the left and on the right you will see AVOIDANCES and under it, It says ENABLED, touch it, this will give you thing to avoid and will make a change in the calculation. Mine has 5 Avoidances Selections....U-TURNS, HIGHWAYS, TOLL ROADS, TRAFFIC and FERRIES.

eandsphotography · 06-18-2008, 12:59 PM

Just to be clear, i know how to operate it and use all of the functions and menus. I'm sorry if i offended anyone if they took it personal when i said it was for people who cant read a map. I guess that was a little off base. I returned the unit and the guy at the store said i obviously had gotten a defective unit and if i would like, i could get another one or a different model.
While some people may find them useful and helpful and i guess i could agree with that if your in an area that you have no idea where you are, I'm very rarely that farfrom home where i dont know how to get where i'm going so I just dont really need one that much.
Again, i'm sorry if i offended anyone but after spending $400 you kinda expect to have a product work like it's supposed to and i was a little upset and just thought i'd share my opinions with some other people. While i still would never recommend that particular unit to anyone, everyone has to make their own decision as to the quality of something they purchase.

aintgotnun · 06-18-2008, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eandsphotography

Just to be clear, i know how to operate it and use all of the functions and menus. I'm sorry if i offended anyone if they took it personal when i said it was for people who cant read a map. I guess that was a little off base. I returned the unit and the guy at the store said i obviously had gotten a defective unit and if i would like, i could get another one or a different model.
While some people may find them useful and helpful and i guess i could agree with that if your in an area that you have no idea where you are, I'm very rarely that farfrom home where i dont know how to get where i'm going so I just dont really need one that much.
Again, i'm sorry if i offended anyone but after spending $400 you kinda expect to have a product work like it's supposed to and i was a little upset and just thought i'd share my opinions with some other people. While i still would never recommend that particular unit to anyone, everyone has to make their own decision as to the quality of something they purchase.

You didn't offend me. You gave your review and opinion so no need to be sorry. And I would not be happy either if the unit didn't work like it was supposed to, especially for that kind of money. A GPS is a tool. Not the end all to navigation. What's going to happen to them when we start on our next Sun spot cycle??

Oh, and I will still carry my maps with me.....

NDJollyMon · 06-18-2008, 08:58 PM

I get frustrated too, when I decide I want to go another direction than the planned route and the GPS tries to get me back to another road...even if it takes longer/is further to the waypoint. It's just what they do.

Overall, I think they are great. Perfect? No. Fun? Yes. Thanks for your honest review. (although I'd sure like to hear you bought a different one and tried using it the same way and gave another review!) :-)

eandsphotography · 06-19-2008, 02:21 AM

I was thinking about getting another one. Maybe a cheaper one without al the unnecessary features like bluetooth and mp3. I figure if it's gonna be wrong then it can be wrong and i can be $250 richer for a cheaper model!!
I'll let you know if i get another one and try it out.

rockwood06 · 06-19-2008, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andysphotography

Just to be clear, i know how to operate it and use all of the functions and menus. I'm sorry if i offended anyone if they took it personal when i said it was for people who cant read a map. I guess that was a little off base. I returned the unit and the guy at the store said i obviously had gotten a defective unit and if i would like, i could get another one or a different model.
While some people may find them useful and helpful and i guess i could agree with that if your in an area that you have no idea where you are, I'm very rarely that far from home where i dont know how to get where I'm going so I just dont really need one that much.
Again, I'm sorry if i offended anyone but after spending $400 you kinda expect to have a product work like it's supposed to and i was a little upset and just thought I'd share my opinions with some other people. While i still would never recommend that particular unit to anyone, everyone has to make their own decision as to the quality of something they purchase.

Please, no apologies necessary I understand how you fell and I am not offended. With not knowing what you know, I thought I would but some helpful suggestion out there based on what I found out. The GPS was develop in Washington DC for the Government for defence in the same research center where I use to work now it is available to the public. One bad Garmin 760 doesnt mean that they are all bad, like you said you must have bought a bad one, now Concertone based on it's reputation and what you know, would you recommend it to some one else? I guess Garmin can't be too bad, because Nissan is putting them in there cars now. I hope you give Garmin another chance.

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