GARMIN Zumo 450 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator by Garmin
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Digital camera reviews of GARMIN Zumo 450 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Digital camera Review: 7,000 miles and all smiles!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought the Zumo 450 a month ago and promptly mounted it to my 2003 Goldwing. The supplied RAM mount is excellent and provides for a variety of mounting positions. Wiring was made simple by Honda, as there is a fused auxiliary power supply under the left cubby.
The Zumo is exceptionally intuitive and easy to use. I played around with the unit for about a week while commuting to and from work. Then the fun began. I took a trip on the motorcycle from Seattle, WA to Blandon, PA and back. All told the trip was 7,000 miles. We did a ton of sight seeing during the trip, and thanks to the Zumo we had no stress about going anywhere we wanted to go.
With confidence, we rode into and around Chicago and Philadelphia. We took back roads out of Glacier National Park that we would never have seen had it not been for the Zumo directing us there.
Only had two issues with the Zumo while on the trip. The first one was that the unit froze up and would not turn on once. I followed the manual's instructions for resetting the unit (press the + and Power buttons at the same time) and I was off and running again. The second issue was that while in Philadelphia the Zumo told us to make a left turn when the street was a one-way street for traffic in the other direction. No big deal, just went an extra block and the Zumo immediately recalculated the route.
The Zumo has a ton of great features. The ones that I used the most on the trip were;
Knowing my actual speed vs. what my speedo was reading.
Altitude readings were fun!
Knowing how many miles were had left for the route in a given day.
Finding the nearest Hotels.
Finding the nearest Starbucks!
Finding the nearest gas station.
This thing has a bunch more features that I did not use much, but I am sure that I will get around to them soon. Going on another 1000 mile trip next weekend!
I am completely satisfied with this unit and would highly recommend it!
Digital camera Review: A Great Motorcycle GPS
Summary: 5 Stars
As most of the reviews attest, this is a fine GPS. I mounted mine on my BMW 1100GS using a BMW plug so that I can quickly detach and use in my auto. The GPS was used extensively on a recent trip to Alaska and performed as it was supposed to do. It was always very accurate and particularly useful in finding motels and the next available gas stop, no small matter when traveling in some of the remote regions in British Columbia and the Yukon. It runs off the bike on batteries for about four hours. That feature was useful in previewing the next days ride which is useful when changes occur. I also used the MapSource software to update the map info to 2009. My son was with me and is now enthusiastic about getting one for himself. He will probably get the 550, but the 450 is sufficient for me. Just a great buy. Some folks do not like the on line manual, but I printed mine out, trimmed it and put it in a zip lock and took with me. No problem. I detached the GPS at the end of the day, using the security screw driver and was not inconvenienced by the process. Just remember a good safe place to keep it.Digital camera Review: AMAZON AND GARMIN STANDS UP TO WHAT THEY SAY AND DELIVERS
Summary: 5 Stars
First off let me say the GARMIN ZUMO 450 GPS is GREAT and everything i wanted for my TRIUMPH SPRINT ST MOTORCYCLE, and with the addition of a 4GB SD card i carry over 800 road tunes with me and always know where im going or where im at, but this review is not about GARMIN, everyone knows there reputation of quality and technical support of GPS systems, this is about AMAZON who delivered speedy service and stood good for a mistake they made in there listing and description of the item of what it came with, although it was just one of the reasons i chose amazon to purchase this product along with there great price, this extra accessory made up my mind and made it a better deal than anyone else had, so when i recieved my garmin the extra accessory wasnt in the box, when i called amazon's customer support about the issue and they seen there listing was wrong they stood good for there mistake and sent me the missing accessory at no-charge with next day delivery, now that is customer service from a great company, thank you AMAZON, and for all thats reading this review and looking at the GARMIN ZUMO 450 and mainly if your a bike rider, get you one......you will love it! thanx a million AMAZON and GARMIN and see ya on the road!Digital camera Review: At The Risk Of Sounding Like Every Other Reviewer
Summary: 5 Stars
I too, highly recommend this unit.
Very intuitive and easy to use and even more so if you take a quick look at the manual. Fast re-routing, and extremely close GPS resolution - especially in WAAS mode. Good database of gas, food and other facilities.
The included mapping software allows creation of routes on your PC and upload to the Zumo. Data can also be downloaded from the Zumo allowing a visual representation of your ride either of graph form or through Google Earth.
Installation was a breeze on my Honda ST1300 using only the mounting hardware provided with the Zumo. No extra parts were required. The included RAM mount provides an very stable, vibration-free platform.
Unless you really MUST have XM and Bluetooth, the 450 will do the job for you quite nicely.
Digital camera Review: BEST GPS solution for bikers
Summary: 5 Stars
I had been looking at the Zumo for quite some time before I finally decided to purchase it. I had been using a Magellan Meridian Color with a bike mount on my Harley. It did turn by turn but had no auto-rerouting and the routing was extremely SLOW (like I had passed the next turn before it registered it).
After scoping out EBay for a couple of weeks I found it more feasible to purchase my 450 on Amazon. The price was pretty close to the EBay listings that I was watching and the shipping was a STEAL (Only $10 and some change for overnight - most of the ones on EBay were $25-40 for overnight).
I got the unit and it installed on the bike in a snap! The RAM mounting system is awesome. They really thought this through when they packaged the unit. Everything you need is all there in the box.
I don't have the hardwire hooked up yet as I am waiting on an adapter for my AUX switch on my Ultra Electra Glide. I connected the hardwire to a cigarette lighter adapter and ran it to a converter to charge the Zumo. One note on this is that the unit will only charge in the motorcycle cradle if it is turned on (handy if you hot wire it to the bike and don't want it draining your battery to charge).
When I received the unit it was showing 2 bars on the battery. This gave me about 3 and a half hours of life (much better than the Meridian which only gave 1 and a half to 2 hours with full brightness on - this was the only way I could half see it on the bike).
I ordered a Auto cradle and auto charger also - these work great - the auto cradle actually has an integrated speaker so you can use it in the vehicle and get the voice prompts without hooking it to anything else.
Performance is awesome - I get a full GPS fix in my garage (something the Meridian could NEVER do). Programming is really easy and the Navigator software installed is every bit as good as the Magellan software I used.
The screen is easy to read and follow - even in direct bright sunlight (again a major problem with the Meridian)
With the RAM mount on the handlebars the unit is rock stable. No shake or problems (Impressive on a Harley with aftermarket exhaust!)
I HIGHLY recommend this unit. If you have been debating it - make the move and get it!
I looked at the 550 with Bluetooth, XM, etc but the extra cost and with having to purchase a seperate XM antennae (about $200 more dollars for this alone)made me decide to stick with my MyFi and get the 450.
You won't be disappointed!