Garmin nüvi 670 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator by Garmin
|
List Price: Our Price: $70.00 You Save: $929.99 (93%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: GPS or Navigation System See more digital camera details and other models |
|---|
Digital camera reviews of Garmin nüvi 670 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
Digital camera Review: Beware of cost of updates - opnly one free update offered
Summary: 1 Stars
I purhcased the nuvi 670 from Amazon several weeks ago and I was hapy with the unit until I checked to see if there were map updates avaialable from Garmin. Garmin's website stated that map updates were available for Europe and North America, but only one update was free. So I spent all this money on a International GPS unit only to end up with one map being out of date. When I received the unit it had a 2006 maps for Europe and 2008 maps fo North America. There were updated versions of both maps available, but I would have to pay for one of them - the cheap one costing close to $70USD. I contacted Garmin on several different occasions and they stood by their policy of only offering one free map update. What a disappointment with this supposively good company. You buy a GPS and it doesn't even come with the latest maps. I am very disappointed.
Ron
Digital camera Review: Could easily be better
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a good piece of hardware (receiver, screen, interface) but Garmin could have added a some features to make it better for raw navigation.
The Nuvi DOES NOT show:
-Longitude or latitude,
-Compass heading (in degrees not just N,S,E,W),
-Altitude,
This is data that is certainly available but Garmin has decided it's not worth their time to provide it. It could easily be added as its own menu item and would make the device that much more useful for backpackers, mariners, bikers, hikers, etc. As it stands it's pretty much useless for anything other than driving.
If they got serious about it (and remember this is JUST SOFTWARE) they could allow you to set a heading with the touch screen, display topographical information, average speed along a given route, deviation form shortest route, etc. - and of course keep all the features it has now. A week for a good programmer - tops. C'mon Garmin, you can only gain customers by doing this.
Other problem: The Nuvi 670 I have froze up about once every two hours on the road requiring a power down and re-boot.
Digital camera Review: Did everything I needed
Summary: 5 Stars
Was looking for a GPS navigator, and decided to buy the 670 since we were planning a trip to Italy. Whether walking around the cities/towns or driving in the countryside of Tuscany, the Nuvi 670 delivered what I needed. I can't begin to imagine how many times we would've been lost had we not had the Nuvi.
If you are driving around in the country, I would recommend you disable the navigator's use of Unpaved Roads. In my case, it used them a lot more frequently than I would've expected.
You'll also find that some places out in the country (i.e. restaurants, hotels, etc.) don't know or publish their street address, especially the street number. But, it's pretty easy to take an educated guess, which ususally gets you very close to the intended destination.
Finally, I could bicker about the pronunciation of the Italian street and town names, but that really wasn't a big deal at all.
Digital camera Review: Disappointed
Summary: 2 Stars
The good: Lots of bells and whistles; Bluetooth, mp3 player, custom points of interests.
Nice options for pedestrian and bicycle mode. Although I am not sure it's waterproof
enough if you get stuck in the rain.
The bad: For what you get, Garmin could have done a better job. Driving on the freeways in
southern california, don't expect to hear the navigated directions with the window down.
Same goes for trying to use the bluetooth in making phone calls. That's even with the
volume cranked all the way up. I can hear the radio just fine with the windows rolled down.
Although it's a nice thought of adding custom POI's, such as for safety cameras out here.
The directions almost require you to have a technical degree, to upload them.
Garmin if you are reading this, make it easy on the novice and test your products better.
If someoone wants to add a custom POI, make it easy by having an icon that will automatically
log the location you are at as a custom POI.
Also do a better job of testing the products for volume controls with the windows up and down
in various traffic areas, conjested or not.
Digital camera Review: Disappointing
Summary: 3 Stars
Bought this item to replace my old GPS device, a TomTom One V1 which was several years old with outdated maps, and somehow managed to get it's screen calibration messed up, with no way to recalibrate the device.
The Garmin Nuvi 670 feels like a solid device and is well constructed, though after using it for a few weeks, it really does feel inferior to the TomTom in many ways.
Cons:
- No battery meter, and no warning when it's low. The device just shuts off, which is very annoying when driving.
- Power plugs into mount instead of device. Combined with the point above, where the device just shuts off, this is a big inconvenience.
- No option to enter address by zip code. You have to go through the whole country, city, state process every time.
- Software feels less advanced than the TomTom, with fewer customization options.
For example, one nice thing on the TomTom was the option to customize which information was displayed on the main screen (speed, estimated time left, etc). Although the Garmin has a nice big screen, there's no way to adjust the information displayed, and getting additional information requires tapping on the screen, and then tapping back to return to the map.
I'm strongly considering selling this and switching back to one of the newer TomTom devices instead.