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: Good GPS...until it died
Summary: 2 Stars
My wife gave me the Garmin Zumo 450 as a Christmas presnt in December 2008 (I won't get into the issue with Garmin discontinuing the unit in January 2009...let's just say the wife was taken...should have been on clearance)to use on my Kawasaki Concours. For all of 2009, it was a great GPS. Entering in addresses was a bit cumbersome but I got used to it. I ended up purchasing the auto accessories so I could use the Zumo in rental cars. They worked like a charm. Fast forward to 2010...my wife takes a business trip and takes the Zumo with her. On her last day, she calls me and says it won't power on. I figure operator error. I try to troubleshoot over the phone and nothing seems to work. Thank God she printed Google directions as a backup. When she gets home with the Zumo, sure enough, it won't power on. I end up trying the reset key sequence (power + the plus keys) and it powers up. So I've been using it for a few months since and have had no problems. Today, I head out on an 8 hour ride. Powered up the Zumo when I left home. Stopped for gas about 30 minutes later and I turned it off at the gas station. Went to turn it back on when we were ready to roll and nothing. It wouldn't power on. I've tried the reset sequence...no joy. When I got home, I tried plugging in the USB cable; nothing...the computer doesn't sense anything and no life on the unit. I tried it in the car cradle...nada. Needless to say, I'm a bit disappointed in the unit. It cost too much to have already bit the Big One. Won't recommend it to anyone. Pissed that I have all these accessories and will probably end up with a Tom Tom next.Digital camera Review: Good Hardware, Buggy Software
Summary: 3 Stars
I won't add to what other reviewers have written--from a hardware perspective, the Zumo is great if you don't need bluetooth and XM. I've marked the rating down because of a bug in the latest version of the mapping software, and awkward software-device interface.
First, the bug. Every route I create on my computer and transfer to the device has a bizarre web of loops and turns not in the map as created. Re-calculating once it's transferred fixes it, but at this price, there should not be egregious bugs in the software. I contacted Garmin tech support and they were clueless.
Second, the awkward interface. The whole route transfer system is amazingly bad: you can only transfer one route at a time, and have to disconnect and reboot the device to import every one (or use a work around with multiple windows of the mapping software open), and then you have to rename it through an awkward process for it to make any sense.
Now after using this for about six months, I would rate it zero stars--truly pathetic. I have gotten badly lost (and often had to use the GPS in my cell phone to get back on route) at least ten times because the Garmin adds twists, turns, and diversions on its own volition when downloading a route to the unit. I absolutely cannot trust the thing to follow a route that I designed on the computer. I'm going to toss it and buy a Tom Tom as soon as possible.
Digital camera Review: Good value and pricing coming into range
Summary: 5 Stars
The Zumo 450 works as advertised. Installation is easy on the bike and software installation is easy on the computer. Getting used to putting in enough waypoints takes some getting used to, but in the end, this allows you to really customize a route as much as you want. The MP3 feature will only recognize up to 1,000 files, so don't buy a large SD card, you can't use it all anyway. The touch screen works well and is easy to use while in traffic. Overall a good product and the prices are down below $400. Too bad they quit making this model.Digital camera Review: Great GPS for Motorcyclists
Summary: 4 Stars
Ordered my GPS from Amazon when the price was $399. Ordered arrived quickly, everything looked new in sealed factory packaging. Installation of the unit on the RAM mount was easy, but you need to know how to hardwire the GPS unit to your battery for power, there are no instructions for this. The unit works great and is easy to use. My only problem is that I can't get the Map Source Routes I have created with the software to download to my GPS unit....I keep getting an error code. Once I figure this out, I will be 100% satisfied.Digital camera Review: Great GPS for bike and car
Summary: 5 Stars
I was looking for a mobil GPS unit that I could use on my bike, car or when exploring unknown ground on foot. Doing some research and reading the reviews on Amazon.com the Zumo 450 seemed to be the right choice. Out of the box it has everything you need to install it on your motorcycle. I believe in manuals and read through it, however, if you among those who can't wait for the hands-on approach the Zumo 450 is very intuative to use. For my first trip I actually used it in my car. For that I had also ordered the Garmin automotive mount (010-10860-00) together with the 12-Volt Vehicle adapter (010-10747-03). The automotive mount has a built-in speaker that alows the Zumo 450 to read the turning instructions back to you. Although the little speaker is not great, the mount comes with an audio output (as well as a mic input) which allows you to connect the automotive mount to your car stereo. I have a simple car stereo with a tape deck where I use one of those tape casette adapters with audio connector to connect the Zumo 450 to my car stereo. Throw some MP3s on a optional SD card (the type that is used in many compact digital camareas), insert it into your Zumo and you can listen to music and the turnig instructions of the Zumo at the same time (the Zumo pauses the music like it's much more expensive built-in cousins when giving instructions). I tested it out last weekend on a 500+mile trip to unknown territory. In the past I would be "armed" with Mapquest printouts which can become sometimes a challange in heavy traffic when reading printouts and paying attention to the moving sourroundings at the same time. I can gladly say those days are over (although I don't believe in using a GPS because one doesn't know how to read a (paper) map).
The installation on the bike is straightforward, with running the wire for the electric hookup of the Zumo (included) took me the longest. I was amazed about the vibration free display. A big difference to what I get from the mirrors on my KLR at higher rpms. Although the included mount for the motorcycle has audio in and output as well as a USB connector I will not use them on the bike as the Zumo will be a visuell guide for me only. The Zumo comes here really handy when navigating in areas you don't know as it lets you concentrate on traffic and keeping an eye on those car drivers who are too busy to otherwise notice a biker.
Last but not least the built-in battery of the Zumo is supposed to last for up to 4 hours (I haven't tested the batteries capacity yet) in those instances when you're exploring places on foot. The battery recharges once you connect it back to your auto or bike mount.
In terms of the software that comes with the Zumo it allows you to plan trips ahead of time using MapSource (included). Mapsource works along with Google. However, the version of MapSource that came with the package did not recognize the Zumo properly which prevented up and downloads of routes, maps, waypoints to and from the Zumo. Downloading the latest version of MapSource from Garmin's website fixed that problem. So if you want to plan a ride this is one way you can do it.
I definitely don't regret bying the Zumo 450 and can only recommend it.