Garmin nüvi 755T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator
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BuZZ from Customer Shopping
Good job Garmin
I’ll address what was my biggest apprehension in going for an ad based, free traffic program. No issue! The ads are small and not at all intrusive. My eyes never were pulled in a way that was a distraction. I can even envision the few occasions that it might even benefit both the advertiser and the user. If you think about it … newspaper, radio, internet, TV … advertising is very much a part of our culture and in this case very tastefully done.
Before further review, good grief … now I sound like a sports caster; I should say that I’ve owned GPS units forever. Started with laptop programs then I started buying all of my vehicles with factory GPS. Acura, Toyota’s (two of em) over the years have all been GPS equipped. I travel a lot for work and it was just more convenient to own stand alone portable units when I rent auto’s. Magellan and Garmin were my last two portable units. I’m not a nerd or engineer so I’ll give this my best shot and hope the average Jill and Joe will get something out of this.
Next, I’ll talk about routing and traffic. Garmin (in my opinion) has always been rock solid in terms of routing. With this unit they have taken the art to a new level. I looked at the new TomTom with its smart routing and almost pulled the trigger on that unit but, with what happened today I am not one bit sorry with my choice. This morning I had to make deliveries to a number of Lowe’s Home Improvement stores in the Metro Phoenix, AZ market. I went to the “Points of interest” icon typed in Lowe’s and after a short wait was rewarded with all of the Lowes stores in the area. I touch on each one and saved it to a sub category I made (Lowes Metro Phoenix), gave each their appropriate store number (the search came complete with address and phone) and then scheduled my day. From home to the factory first, then to four stores, then back to the factory. During the day I had to insert another unscheduled stop. Fantastic! If I could have asked for any improvement here it would have been that each way point was somehow shown as I progressed. It did announce my arrival at each location complete with what side of the street it would be on; in the long run I am so happy with the result that I couldn’t bring myself to diminish the 5 star rating. Also, at each stop when I turned the car off the unit powered down. When I got back in the car I needed to go to the “custom routes” icon, where I built my route, and touch the button to activate my named route. Garmin, if that could be automatic I would love it … and maybe down the road I’ll learn something that I don’t yet know and this unit is capable. Honestly, it was so quick and easy and the routing picked up right where it left off so not a big deal to me. Traffic probably should have its own paragraph except it ties into the routing. I understand that this is dependent on how your town is covered. Even here in Phoenix only the major highways are covered. I submit that if you need to travel inner belts and outer belts as well as the highways in and out of your towns you will be very pleased. I watched the traffic icon turn from green to yellow to red and back again as road conditions changed. The icon showed how long the delay would be and if you touch it, it shows where and how far away! Garmin gave me the option to bypass each delay but when I answered yes with the touch of the button it reminded me that my route had been optimized including all other options … with the delay it still had me on the quickest route. Because I had multiple destinations it kept me posted to the delays even in the opposite directions when my routing would require back tracking.
There was slow downs along the way and one accident and I was notified well in advance. With the accident, I passed the location about 15 minutes after notification. It was minor and had already been moved to the side of the highway yet I could see the remnants of broken head-lights in the lane it happened. I was prepared to be disappointed with the traffic because not all the traffic reviews are complimentary. Again, I tend to feel where you live and the roads you travel could affect your opinion. For me, I would add extra stars here if I could. It amazed me when it routed me a different way from the factory to my house (different from the one I took in the morning) because the road conditions were different. It was right on based on years of living and driving these roads.
The Voice and the timeliness of prompts were strong. I tried all the voices and ended up with Australian Karen. She is very understandable in “text to speech” and very pleasant. Even my wife likes her … I’d like to meet Australian Karen someday but she wouldn’t give me her phone number … like my wife would like her if she did! With my Magellan I liked the way it would ding just before the turn. This Garmin announces the turn and the timing was very comparable to the Magellan and that is a good thing. Some of the previous Garmin models had problems in this area if you read the posts. Also, loudness with the unit on external speaker was OK to Good, I’d like to see it a touch louder for times when road noise or blasting AC is an issue. I have not tried piping it with FM to my radio and probably won’t.
On my wish list to Garmin (you think they read these?), I’d like to see a little more information around the edges of the screen. You can program the “arrival time” button for things like altitude, time of day, direction of travel and many more, but you can’t program the “speed button” for anything. I’d like to see my altitude … just for giggles, and my ETA. Who needs the time with clocks in the car & on every cell phone? Who needs to know how fast you are going with a speedometer in every car? I would also like to know the street I’m currently on. Sometimes you can see it depending on how you are zoomed to the map but sometimes not. I’d also like to know what direction I’m traveling in without hitting another button or giving up my ETA or 3d view. The speed limit of each street is a fantastic thing to have especially when your in areas you don’t know or rural roads that go for miles without a sign. I can tell you that when the speed limit changed as I entered different zones the changes were very accurate in their timing.
The last thing for today’s review is lane guidance. I went thru some pretty major interchanges today and not once did I see the Navagon style or Garmin advertised type of full screen preview. Again, I’ll see if there is a setting I missed or I will just have to live with what I’ve got for awhile. I understand that Garmin will be adding to their data base as they go along. What I did see though was plenty good. The “distance to turn” indicator in the upper left corner of the screen listed with arrows how many lanes to the interchange and which lanes you should be in. It also listed the lanes not to be in as you transitioned from one highway ramp onto another highway. It was good to have advance notice that the right lane would not continue and you needed to move left before it got crowded.
I’d say buy this unit and help me find Karen!
I have had no reset issues and use the unit 6 to 8 hours per day. This is not to say it hasn’t been an issue with others though.
10/18/08
I found the neatest thing on this unit today. I tapped the car on the screen while I was driving and noticed every few seconds the screen updated with the exact address I was located. I could see the street I was on, the numerical location, and I could see the addresses going up or down as I traveled. Also it showed the elevation changing up or down. I have used this exact screen many times when stopped to mark locations I wanted to save to favorites but never on the go. I’m not sure exactly how one would use this information but I thought it interesting.
I have had much more experience with the traffic option now. I have found it very useful during rush hour. Only once… so far, has a delay been so severe that it changed my routing automatically. But, during that occasion I felt gratified in that I was guided off the freeway before other drivers. from my detour route I ended up with a view of a bumper to bumper full stop on the highway that was backed up for miles. To be honest, after a while you take the traffic icon for granted until it turns yellow or red. Even the yellow icon doesn’t change things in terms of routing, just information about how many minutes the delay will be.
I can say that sometimes the information is not exactly timely. A yellow indicator may show and when I reach the location the traffic may be moving more normal or a little slower than indicated. The minutes of delay indicated seems not too far off though and arrival times are pretty accurate.
Other that no Junction view’s in the Phoenix area at this time I’m still thrilled with the 755t. Garmin support is working on a free update (I spoke with them) for the Junction view.
Additional questions have been ask and answered in the comments section if you would like to read more.
Pros/Cons & Compare to Navigon 2100 max
Background: I had always rented vehicles with a GPS until recently my frequency of travel to unfamiliar cities had reached a point where it made sense to purchase my own. I was not looking for a GPS to play MP3s, make phone calls, take photos, or fill out my taxes. I simply care about its ability to navigate from point A to B and to get around an unfamiliar place, and so I’ll limit this review to those features. I tried two devices: the Garmin nuvi 755T (same as the 765T minus the Bluetooth) and the much cheaper Navigon 2100 max with the bundle that included lifetime traffic.
Garmin Nuvi 755T
Pros:
-Could use all the features right out of the box
-Always got me from Point A to Point B
-Map very pleasing to my eyes
-The lane guidance is useful, but not as useful as I thought it would be (I find that keep right/left voice commands can stand alone).
-Considerable more Points of Interest than Navigon 2100 Max. Also many more Points of Interest categories and the ability to simply enter a category if it’s not listed and still get good results (e.g., Salons or Dance Studios were not categories, but I entered them and the device retrieved many nearby options [you can also search in a different city]).
-Really good recalculation, it doesn’t waste time just trying to get you back to the original route if a different route from your current location is better. It also recalculates at blazing speeds (I had a new route before I made it to the end of a 800 foot block).
-Text to Voice is really good (far more useful than I would have guessed). This really allows you to keep your eyes on the road and gives you peace of mind that you’re turning in the right place.
-Very useful visual layout indicating direction of the turn and the street onto which you should turn (but the voice prompts, especially with Text to Voice, are so good you never need to look at the display).
-Local speed limit always posted with your current speed nearby (more useful than I imagined)
-Good volume and easy to change volume while in use.
-Easy to turn on or off with an external power switch.
-The traffic feature was extremely useful and the information was easy to access during use. The much discussed ads will not be an issue for you, trust me.
-The 3D navigation created a nice view, but honestly, even in strange areas with tall buildings, I didn’t find this feature to be of any additional value.
Okay, But Could Be Better:
-The screen could be more sensitive, but it’s a lot better than the Navigon 2100 Max.
-The device did not always properly locate me (this can be avoided by turning it on and setting the route about 45 seconds before actually leaving).
-The power source plugs directly into the mounting cradle, but it’s still such a chore to remove the device from the cradle (pressing a button on the bottom on the cradle, which is mounted on a moving ball, while tilting the device forward) that the time advantage of a direct cradle plug in is lost.
Cons:
-The turn warning distance is way too short (only 0.2 miles)
-There’s no ability to exclude particular streets from a route (you can set it to avoid highways, tolls, etc. though).
-Initial estimate of arrival time was a complete farce in every single test. It estimated a standard 45 minute trip to be only 25 minutes and pushed back the estimated arrival time nearly every minute never reflecting the accurate arrival time until I was at the final destination. Easily bested in this category by the much cheaper Navigon 2100 Max.
Navigon 2100 Max
Pros :
-Always got me from Point A to Point B without deep confusion
-Always correctly located me
-As in the Garmin Nuvi 755T, the lane guidance is useful, but not as useful as I thought it would be (I find that keep right/left voice commands can stand alone).
-Good turn warning distance (0.5 miles)
-The recalculating is quick, but not as quick as the Garmin Nuvi 755T
-Ability to exclude particular streets from route (a hidden feature: after the route is initially calculated, open the turn by turn and simply x out the streets you don’t want to use).
- As in the Garmin Nuvi 755T, the Text to Voice is really good (far more useful than I would have guessed). This really allows you to keep your eyes on the road and gives you peace of mind that you’re turning in the right place.
-Very useful visual layout indicating direction of the turn and the street onto which you should turn (but the voice prompts, especially with Text to Voice, are so good you never need to look at the display).
-Warnings when speeding (And the ability to set how far above the speed limit [separately for city streets and highways] triggers the warning)
-Ability to have local speed limit either shown constantly or when a speed warning is triggered
-Good volume and easy to change volume while in use
-Initial estimate of arrival time very reliable. Estimated a standard 45 minute trip to within 1 minute and pushed back estimated arrival time only once (adding a minute).
-Easy to turn on or off with an external power switch.
-The traffic feature was extremely useful and the information was easy to access during use.
Okay, But Could Be Better:
-Screen sensitivity
-It sometimes took a couple of minutes to initially locate me, but was always spot on when it did.
-The power supply is plugged into the device which is mounted on a cradle, but the cradle provides such limited range of motion that it’s difficult to get the device in the most desired position and I was forced to accept it slanting slightly during every use.
Cons:
-Thin Points of Interests (more important than I thought) and no ability to search categories not already listed (a real problem). You also must select a city each time you search; it doesn’t just automatically pull up nearby locations like the Garmin Nuvi 755T.
-It’s hard to see ALL of the display icons including information on speed and your current speed
-The dull, mostly gray, maps with an orange route indicator are hard on eyes.
-The keyboard takes up only half the screen making it chore to type in anything. This is especially problematic when trying to switch states or from letters to numbers (or vice versa) as these display buttons are extremely narrow and it was difficult to select them without long fingernails.
-The recalculation kept trying to send me back to the original route even if it was no longer the best. For example, it took the device 15 minutes to stop trying to reroute me to 16th St. (in DC) after I had purposely driven up Connecticut Ave. Had I taken its recommended rerouting (thus backtracking), my trip would have taken 20 minutes longer.
-You can’t use all the features out of the box. I was forced to register the device and thus provide an email address in order to use lifetime traffic and fresh maps features (but, in all fairness, you can opt out of spam, and I’ve yet to receive an unwanted email).
Conclusion:
The Garmin Nuvi 755T was about $350 versus the $160 for the Navigon 2100 Max with lifetime traffic included. I think both devices performed solidly, but the edge can only be given on personal preference. All said, the Navigon 2100 Max is probably the better value for the buck, but such a statement is relative to what’s important to you. I personally went with the Garmin Nuvi 755T because: 1) the map coloring and icon size was easy on the eyes, 2) it was much easier to type on the Garmin Nuvi 755T, 3) the number of Points of Interest, and the ability to type in your own category, are of particular importance to me, and 4) I personally find not losing time on rerouting to be worth the additional costs. Hope this helps.
Best GPS I Have Used- Worth the Investment
After much research I purchased the Garmin Nuvi 755T portable car GPS device. It has lived up to my expectations in every way after using it for a week. It was extensively used during a 250 mile day trip to Milwaukee from suburban Chicago. I felt extremely confident driving around in unfamiliar territory.
*Sattelite load is quick- nearly instant except for (1) instance where it took about a minute.
*Traffic alert and map showed congestion and offered the option to go around.
*The selected routed for areas I am familiar with were nearly identical to the ones I have driven over the years.
*The dislay is bright, clear and updates quickly. I did not experience any sluggishness.
*The lane assist works on several exits in the Chicago area- not any in the Milwaukee area. These snapshots appeared at just the right time to illustrate the proper exit lane based on the highlighted road sign. I imagine this will become available for many more highways as maps are updated.
*Mounting and connecting were first rate- the windshield suction worked very well as did the unit power adapter and cable.
*I did not use FM transmitter- I see no need to do this.
*The street names and voice commands were loud, clear and in plenty of time to navigate properly.
I am not displeased about any attribute of this device. I highly recommend it.
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