GARMIN Zumo 450 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator by Garmin
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List Price: Category: GPS or Navigation System See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of GARMIN Zumo 450 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Digital camera Review: Great little GPS
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this so my wife and I could go out riding, get lost, and not worry about it. I registered it with Garmin and did all the hokie pokie internet stuff that you should do when you get these things and then mounted it to the bike with ease. It came with all the necessary equipment. The same day we went for a ride and I tested it out. It tracked us quickly and was easy to use. I also have a mount for my vehicle and when I get off course, the corrections are usually pretty quick. It may be a little more expensive than the regular Garmin's but, if your luck is like mine and you know you will be caught in the rain it is worth it and it comes with the mount for the bike. If you shop around and get a deal on this one, it works out to be a little bit more but you also do not have to take it off and store it when it is raining.Digital camera Review: Great performance and ease of use.
Summary: 4 Stars
I had a Garmin Pilot 3 gps which was ok with limited capabilities. Then a Garmin 5, more features but very disappointing, lots of errors, almost turned me off Garmin. Decided to buy the Garmin Zumo 450 and coupled it with motorcycle speakers from Uniqcycle. This system is great for sound, road directions, accuracy and quick recalculations. The built in MP3 player categorizes your music for ease of use. This GPS is easy to use and very visible while riding. The gps unit is waterproof as are the speakers. Here's a plug for the speakers, no distortion at high sound levels. I'm glad I decided to stick with the Garmin unit made especially for motorcycles. Special note: if you wire the speaker amp and the garmin unit to your motorcycle, chances are you will need a "ground loop isolator" device to eliminate the hum in the speakers that connecting the two to the same power source creates. It's $20 but does the job.Digital camera Review: Great product.........but
Summary: 4 Stars
The 450 is a great product with wonderful features too many to mention here. I have used it on a 800 mile motorcycle trip and it performed admirably. It's user friendly as long as a new user is not technically challenged. The visibility in bright sun light is surprisingly good. I could go on and on about the Zumo and I recommend it highly. Is it perfect? Probably not. Nothing is. It does come close, IMHO. You noticed that I rated it 4 stars. That's where the 'but' comes in.......If I had to do it over again, I would skip the 450 and go directly to the 550 and pay the additional money. Here's why.....for the kind of money spent, I decided to also use it in the car. To be able to do that, I had to purchase a car mount and power cord. By the time I added the costs for those items, I could nearly have paid the price difference between the 450 and 550. The 550 comes with the car mount and has some additional features such as Text To Voice (it will announce a turn by saying 'turn left on Main Street' instead of just saying 'turn left') and Blue Tooth capable.
Bottom line is this, if you don't care about the additional features (which I didn't think I did) and you don't think you'll be using it in your car, get the 450. If you intend to use it in a car as well as your motorcycle, pay the difference and get the 550. In any event, I don't think you'll be disappointed with either unit.
I absolutely love my Zumo.
Digital camera Review: Great product; some things to consider
Summary: 5 Stars
First of all installation really was quick and easy with the included hardware. I just needed a small screwdriver and a hex wrench from my toolbox to complete installation.
Something I didn't pay attention to when deciding which model to get: apparently the Zumo 550 also comes with everything you need to mount the unit in a vehicle if you want; for the 450 you have to buy the suction mount and cigarrete lighter cord separately. Adding to the confusion, as stated by several other reviewers, Amazon's descriptions for the accessories are all wrong. However the part numbers given by Tom S below are indeed the correct parts you need to order to install in a vehicle, and the box you get in the mail says they are for the Zumo, even though Amazon says they're for anything but Zumos.
Digital camera Review: Great unit....BUT
Summary: 4 Stars
It worked great for two weeks. I was just over the "learning curve" when the unit developed a problem. I've had to send it back to Garmin for warranty work. Everything worked fine except when you typed in a street address and hit the "Done" it would power itself off. Support techs at Garmin spent quite a long time with me on the phone trying to solve the problem but I had to settle sending the unit back for warranty repair.
I think the unit is great. I especially like the MP3 playing my favorite tunes through my bike speakers (UniqueCyle). I also enjoyed downloading planned routes for our SCRC chapter rides. I liked the idea of knowing the route via the Garmin rather than relying on someone else. I can't wait to get it back. It's a great unit for the money if you don't need the Bluetooth. I would give it 5 stars except for the fact that I had to send it back for the warranty work.