Garmin nuevi 660 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator | 
| Brand: Garmin
List Price: $399.99
Buy New: $318.00
You Save: $81.99 (20%)
New (50) Used (2) Refurbished (6) from $268.46
Rating:  1153 reviews
Sales Rank: 5
Format: Cd
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Operating System: N/A
Native Resolution: 480 x 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 12 x 12 x 5
nv:Type: Car Kit
Waypoints: 500 with name and graphic symbol
Trip Computer: Average Speed
Trip Computer: Resettable Odometer
Trip Computer: Timers
Trip Computer: Maximum Speed
Inputs: 12/24 Vdc
Display: Color
Touch Screen: Yes
Voice: Yes
Battery Life: 7 hours
Antenna: Flip-up patch
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
MPN: 010-00540-00
Model: 010-00540-00
UPC: 053759065110
EAN: 0753759061265
ASIN: B000H49LXQ
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Features:
| • | Dimensions WxDxH - 4.9" x .9" x 2.9" | | • | Weight - 6.2 oz | | • | Display - 4.3" WQVGA |
|
| Accessories:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Product Description
With a gorgeous widescreen display, the Garmin nuevi 660 GPS Personal Travel Assistant is your answer to the call of adventure. A sleek navigator and a keen travel assistant, the nuevi 660 is preloaded with highly detailed City Navigator NT road maps for the entire United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. This map database features nearly six million points of interest (POIs), including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs, and attractions, and the data is provided by NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping.This preloaded navigator brings all this fantastic map data to your fingertips with a super-bright, 4.3-inch widescreen display for improved map viewing, day or night. Use the touch screen interface to select destinations, look up POIs, and play your favorite MP3s and audio books. The display also helps you control hands-free calling, traffic alerts, and the FM transmitter, all from the screen of your personal travel assistant.
Which nuevi is Best for You?: Click here to see a quick, simple comparison of features for all Garmin nuvi GPS navigators
Wider screen lets you see more of what's around. Compare these actual size views of a 3-inch (diagonal) screen
and a 4.3-inch diagonal widescreen
 | Widescreen -- See Better, See More
The widescreen format gives you 70% more actual screen area than a 3.5-inch screen. Primarily this translates into a better view of the area through which you are driving. This is especially useful in showing you what parks, restaurants, ATM, gas stations, etc. are nearby, or in letting you know whether a detour is a good idea. Also, the device itself is larger, meaning controls on the screen are more widely spaced and somewhat easier to push.
FM Transmitter -- Hear Better, Hear More
Instead of straining your ears to hear turn-by-turn directions or your favorite MP3s, you can enjoy wireless FM audio transmission via the nuevi 660's wireless FM transmitter. Tune your car's radio to the appropriate station and you'll hear all the nuevi's audio, including voice prompts, MP3s, audio books, and more, directly through your vehicle's stereo system. The nuevi 660 includes many "must-have" entertainment and travel tools, including digital music and audio book playback, JPEG picture viewer, currency converters, and more. All these great features make the nuevi 660 a complete Personal Travel Assistant. First Rate Map Data
The nuevi 660 comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps, including a hefty POI database with hotels, restaurants, fuel, ATMs and more. Simply touch the color screen to enter a destination, and nuevi takes you there with 2D or 3D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions. Garmin gets its map data from NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping.
In addition, the nuevi 660 accepts custom points of interest (POIs), such as school zones and safety cameras and lets you set proximity alerts to warn you of upcoming POIs Important note about map updates: Due to our high volume of sales, almost every Garmin portable GPS navigator sold by Amazon.com will come with the most recent map version. If you ever do need a map update, you can purchase one from Amazon.com at our Garmin Store.
Hands-Free Calling
In more and more places, it is becoming illegal to use cell phones while driving without a hands-free kit. The nuevi 660's Bluetooth capability, microphone and speaker lets match it to any bluetooth-capable phone to make hands-free mobile phone calls. Simply dial the phone number with the nuevi's touch screen keypad to make a call on a compatible phone. To answer an incoming call, just tap the screen and speak into the built-in microphone. Making and taking calls on the road has never been easier, or safer. In addition, Garmin makes it a breeze to look-up and dial numbers from your personalized phone book or even tap into your cell phone's call history log.
Integrated FM Traffic Receiver
| Steer clear of traffic with an integrated FM traffic receiver designed to receive alerts from TMC Clear Channel about traffic tie-ups and road construction that might lie ahead on your route. All you have to do is simply touch the screen to view traffic details and you'll be ready to detour around any problem area. And if you end up missing a turn, or you're forced into a detour that is not relayed through the traffic receiver, the nuevi's sophisticated automatic routing will get you back on track in no time.
In most areas, TMC Clear Channel traffic broadcasts are continuous — there's no waiting for scheduled traffic news updates or random alerts. Because traffic broadcasts are received via a "silent" FM data channel, you can still listen to music or news programming on your car radio without interference from incoming FM traffic data transmissions.
A 3-month subscription to TMC Clear Channel's Total Traffic Network is included with purchase of this device. For more information on subscription fees, coverage in individual cities, and traffic data networks in the United Kingdom and Europe, check the Garmin website.
|
Easy To Use Interface
Garmin's interface is a key to their success and one of the things that makes their devices such a pleasure to use. Simple controls and sub-screens make it easy to enter or search for destinations and get data about your trip.
Beyond Navigation
Browse your stored pictures with an easy-to-use JPEG viewer. |  A handy MP3 player lets you play songs stored on SD memory cards. |  nuevi 250W accepts custom points of interest (POIs). View larger. | Navigation is just the beginning. The nuevi 660 features travel tools including JPEG picture viewer, MP3 player, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. It also comes with Garmin Lock, an anti-theft feature, and configurable vehicle icons that let you select car-shaped graphics to show your location on the map.
This device is compatible with optional content plug-ins available via SD card, such as the Garmin Travel Guides and Garmin SaversGuide provide detailed data for attractions and information on nearby merchants offering discounts, so you can customize nuevi for your travel needs
Garmin has also added the ability for customers to add custom points of interest (POI's) from third parties such as school zones and safety cameras. Trick Your GPS Ride
All Garmin nuevis support configurable vehicle icons. These fun, customized car-shaped icons come in a variety of colors to add a personal touch to your vehicle's position on the map. With this GPS system on board you'll be prepared to steer clear of traffic with the integrated FM TMC traffic receiver. The nuevi 770 is designed to receive alerts about traffic tie-ups and road construction that might lie ahead on your route. All you have to do is simply touch the screen to view traffic details and you'll be ready to detour around any problem area. And if you end up missing a turn, or you're forced into a detour that is not relayed through the traffic receiver, the nuevi's sophisticated automatic routing will get you back on track in no time.
What's in the Box
nuevi 660 GPS navigation system, preloaded City Navigator North, America NT data, vehicle suction cup mount, A/C charger, carrying case, FM traffic receiver/12-volt adapter with 3-month free trial subscription, dashboard disk, USB interface cable, sample language guide content (preloaded), sample travel guide, sample MP3s (preloaded), sample audio books (preloaded), owner's manual, and a quick reference guide.
Notes
- Optional software for language translation, detailed travel guides, and savings programs allow you to customize your nuevi to fit your travel needs
- The FM transmitter feature is only available in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand
- This nuevi comes with a free, three-month trial for MSN Direct services.
- Like most USB Mass Storage Devices, the nuevi is not compatible with Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me.
Which nuevi is Best for You?
Note: All nuevis come with detailed NAVTEQ maps containing more than 6 million pre-loaded point of interest locations.
| Screen
Size
inches
(w x h)
| Included Maps
| Text-to-Speech
(Directions in
Real Street
Names)
| Traffic
| Bluetooth
| Media
| FM Transmitter
(audio through
car stereo
system) | Multi-
Point
Routing
| Battery
life
(hours)
| Cont. U.S.,
Hawaii, and
Puerto Rico
| AK and
Canada
| Europe
| | nuevi 200 | 2.8 x 2.1
|  |
|
|
|
|
| Photos
|
|
| up to 5
| | nuevi 200w | 3.81 x 2.25
| |
|
|
|
|
| Photos
|
|
| up to 5 | | nuevi 250 | 2.8 x 2.1
| | |
|
|
|
| Photos |
|
| up to 5 | | nuevi 250w | 3.81 x 2.25
| | |
|
|
|
| Photos |
|
| up to 5 | | nuevi 260 | 2.8 x 2.1
| | |
| |
|
| Photos |
|
| up to 5 | | nuevi 260w | 3.81 x 2.25 | | |
| |
|
| Photos |
|
| up to 5 | | nuevi 270 | 2.8 x 2.1
| | | |
|
|
| Photos |
|
| up to 5 | | nuevi 350 | 2.8 x 2.1
| | |
| | FM (with opt.
receiver) |
| Photos, MP3s
|
|
| up to 8
| | nuevi 360 | 2.8 x 2.1
| | |
| | FM (with opt.
receiver) | | Photos, MP3s |
|
| up to 8 | | nuevi 370 | 2.8 x 2.1 | | | | | FM (receiver
included)
| | Photos, MP3s |
|
| up to 8 | | nuevi 650 | 3.81 x 2.25
| | |
| | FM (with opt.
receiver) |
| Photos, MP3s |
|
| up to 7
| nuevi 660
| 3.81 x 2.25
| | |
| | FM (receiver
included)
| | Photos, MP3s | |
| up to 7 | nuevi 670
| 3.81 x 2.25
| | | | | FM (receiver
included) | | Photos, MP3s | |
| up to 7 | | nuevi 680 | 3.81 x 2.25
| | |
| | MSN (receiver
included;
1-year free);
FM (with opt.
receiver)
| | Photos, MP3s | |
| up to 7 | nuevi 750
| 3.81 x 2.25
| | |
| | MSN-enhanced
(with optional
receiver);
FM (with opt.
receiver)
|
| Photos, MP3s | | | up to 5
| | nuevi 760 | 3.81 x 2.25
| | |
| | MSN-enhanced
(with optional
receiver);
FM (with opt.
receiver) | | Photos, MP3s | | | up to 5 | | nuevi 770 | 3.81 x 2.25
| | | | | MSN-enhanced
(with optional
receiver);
FM (with opt.
receiver) | | Photos, MP3s | | | up to 5 | | nuevi 780 | 3.81 x 2.25 | | |
|
| MSN-enhanced
(receiver inc.;
3 months free)
receiver);
FM (with opt.
receiver) | | Photos, MP3s | | | up to 5 | nuevi 850
| 3.81 x 2.25 | | |
|
| MSN-enhanced
(with optional
receiver);
FM (with opt.
receiver) |
| Photos, MP3s | | | up to 4 | nuevi 880
| 3.81 x 2.25 | | | |
| MSN-enhanced
(receiver inc.;
3 months free);
FM (with opt.
receiver) | | Photos, MP3s | | | up to 4 | nuevi 5000
| 4.5 x 2.7 | | |
| | MSN-enhanced
(with optional
receiver);
FM (with opt.
receiver) |
|
| | | external
battery
only |
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 1148 more reviews...
 Best Pocket GPS On the Market (at the time) September 28, 2006
ThomasN (Houston, TX)
933 out of 946 found this review helpful
This is the first GPS unit I owned and couldn't be more pleased. After consulting with friends who have owned multiple GPS units and reading various reviews, this is one of the nicest, feature-packed, and most importantly, accurate unit on the market. Just this morning, I opted to take a longer route to get to the highway because the street I usually take was under construction. I've driven sparingly on that alternate route for 4 years and never realized there was a small intersecting street in a business district I can cut through to get to the highway more quickly. The Nuvi 660 pointed that out, basically shaving off over a mile in distance, traffic congestion, and plenty of frustration. GPS owners tell me having one will change my life... I'm starting to believe.
To clarify on another review: It DOES come with 6 million POIs... for free. It's located under the subcategory of "Where to?" in the "Food, Hotels..." icon.
Update 10/22/06 - Just took this Nuvi on an East Coast trip to Washington, D.C., VA, NJ, PA, NY and its performance exceeded my expectations. It found just about every addresses and POIs I entered, except for one because the store recently changed its name. Needless to say, I never got lost. In one instance, I searched for the nearest Target in Fairfax, VA. Not only it got me there, but told me where to drive around inside the shopping center's parking lot, leading me right up to the front of the store!
Update 11/08/06 - After nearly two months of use, the unit still works well. However, I found that real time traffic indicator is not as useful as initially thought. It would give me the typical obvious traffic jams around town, but who doesn't already know it, unless one is not from here. I've come to realize that no GPS has the capability of knowing which back roads to take to avoid traffic jam in all instances. Only you (the user) being familiar with local roads and its driving conditions can make such a decision.
Update 1/30/07 - The unit suddenly stopped receiving satellite signals yesterday. Tried every method from resetting/rebooting to installing lastest software, but no success. Called tech support this morning and they were able to fix the corrupted software remotely within an hour without having to send in the unit for service.
Originally, it wouldn't support my 4gig SD memory card, but with the latest Garmin software 3.20 update, it now recognizes it. I'm using the RiDATA PRO 4GB Secure Digital (SD) Flash Card Model SDCR4G. Also, my Verizon Treo 650 links up a little better now when in talk mode, albeit still won't maintain a stable connection, ie. phonebook, when in standby mode.
Update 6/4/07 - My brother-in-law was so impressed with the 660 that he upgraded from a lower-end Garmin this past Christmas. Last month, his Nuvi stopped receiving a signal. He tried calling tech support, but was unable to fix it remotely like I had. He ended up sending his in for repair. They still were unable to correct the problem at the repair center, so they gave him a brand new replacement. Despite the inconvenience of the malfunction, he came away satisfied with Garmin customer service.
6/29/07 - This unit links up with my iPhone via Bluetooth without a hitch. Bye-bye Treo 650...
My wish list for a better Nuvi:
- have option to select a default city, instead of entering state & city every time
- alphabetize the favorite list and let user create sublists
- have an alternative qwerty keyboard layout
- design a better mount.. suction cup sucks!
6/11/08 - Although the Nuvi 660 served me well, I upgraded to the Nuvi 760. Overall, it's a better unit than the 660. If you're deciding whether to get the 660 or 760, consider the 760 because it has a newer map version, faster boot-up (but still has difficulty picking up signals indoors like the 660), no flip-up antenna, slightly brighter screen, QWERTY keyboard, better suction cup mount, and a few other feature enhancements. On the downside, the traffic receiver marginally works and the FM transmitter is still staticky like the 660. By the way, the 660 has been discontinued by Garmin as of January 2008 (if that's a concern to anyone). But if you already have the 660, no need to upgrade because it's still a very capable unit.
6/23/08 - Garmin has a 2009 MAP that one can upgrade for FREE if request within the 30-day period of the unit's registration date. My Nuvi 760 came with 2008 preinstalled. Since I was unable to get the free upgrade via Garmin website, I had to call in and was put on hold for 25 minutes! Anyway, the tech support guy was very helpful in taking me through the steps to register for the free map update. I opted for the CD instead of download. It costs $10 for the shipping/handling via UPS Ground, but he waived the fee for me. Nice! Although I did this with the 760, the same offer should work for the 660, except for the waiver on the shipping :o)
 Nuvi 660 is full of Problems...NOT worth the money November 21, 2006
Nick
423 out of 488 found this review helpful
I must have been one of the first to order the nuvi 660 from Amazon and now I see that they have already increased the price of this new Garmin product that is full of unacceptable problems. I tested the 660 extensively in FL and IL. The first one I got had many frustrating flaws so I returned it.
I got a replacement nuvi 660 and found new frustrating problems with this unit:
1. It keeps taking me on the scenic route, despite being on the 'fastest time' setting and even when there is barely any traffic on the highway!! Although this may be alright when you know the route (i just ignore the nuvi) but, its VERY frustrating when I want to go to a new place and am unfamiliar with that route. When the setting is on "fastest time", I except such an expensive GPS unit to take me to the destination in the fastest time possible and dont expect it to take me on the scenic route filled with traffic lights. This is a very frustrating flaw and repeats itself even when it is not connected to the traffic receiver.
2. The charge only holds for about 2 hours maximum.
3. While travelling on a regular route, it directs me to take an exit (which is actually the correct route and the one I routinely take to work) but, once I take that exit it starts recalculating for no apparent reason and directs me to a different, scenic, route (yes, even when traffic receiver is off or when there is no traffic)!! This happened everyday on the same exit every time I tested it and also on few other routes in FL.
My nuvi 350 doesnt have this problem at all and takes me on the correct path every time.
This is another frustrating flaw when you are in a new area and dont know the route.
4. If you miss an exit on the highway then it takes a nail biting amount of time to re-calculate or even detect that you took the wrong exit.
5. I took the 660 to the midwest recently and tried to find a hotel (nation-wide hotel chain), which has been there for yonks but the 660 couldnt locate it despite clearly entering the address. This was VERY frustrating because I was short on time. I wished I had the directions printed on mapquest.
I tried different ways, moved to various locations hoping that the 660 will accept & detect the address/hotel but it didnt. It didnt locate it even when I tried to find the hotel by entering the name. Finally I went into the "find lodging,food" menu and then entered the hotel name in the "ABC" menu...it eventually detected the hotel this way. I lost a lot of time just trying to figure this out when I shouldnt have had to. I had the correct address of the hotel and yet the 660 just couldnt detect it when I entered it!!
There were other problems I encountered with the original unit I had returned, which I dont have time to post here now. But in my view, the nuvi 350 outperforms the 660 in many ways. I wanted to upgrade to a bigger screen but am truly disappointed with the 660s' performance.
I am returning this second unit too and getting my hard-earned money back.
Based on my experience and in my opinion, its not worth investing hard earned cash in nuvi 660 until Garmin fixes the problems.
I hope Gramin is taking these problems seriously and trying to fix them, via software updates, if possible. I guess there is nothing they can do with the products already in the market if its a hardware problem.
Bottom line: Buy the 660 only for its big screen but in my view and based on my experience, the nuvi 350 is far more superior to nuvi 660 in terms of guiding you to your destination without hassles.
Hope this unbiased review helps anyone who is planning on getting the nuvi 660. Personally, I wouldnt even think of upgrading to the nuvi 660 until Garmin fixes the numerous problems of the 660. It is simply NOT worth it.
Wow!! Just unbelievable! Run, don't walk and get one NOW! September 29, 2006
JanSobieski (United States of America)
367 out of 383 found this review helpful
With this unit, Garmin has blown TomTom out of the water. The 350/360 were slick units but arguably came up a bit short in the display department when compared to the TomTom - that's all a distant memory now.
This is the most elegant AIO (all in one) GPS navigation solution I've come across to date. IMO, it represents the best compromise between size and functionality on the market today. Beyond this point, increasing the screen size enters the diminishing return territory. The SiRFstarIII chipset, while no longer the absolute best on the market, remains a reliable workhorse with rapid satellite acquisition under even less than ideal conditions. The mapping details are excellent though, as with all mapping programs, is not beyond reproach. The 660 has the most recent highly detailed City Navigator NT maps.
The voice prompts are loud, clear and timely. The ease of use is just fantastic and the visibility and quality of the display are now the gold standard in the industry with a 4.3" WQVGA LCD screen and 480 x 272 pixels. It uses the same low reflection screen as the 360.
POI access is excellent and can be navigated to much more simply than the TomTom unit which requires additional cumbersome steps. The attachment system for the Nuvi is superb and very secure. You can access your POIs directly by name rather than having to go through a cumbersome category menu and then only getting the POIs by proximity as is the case with the TomTom 910. Garmin simply blows TomTom away in the POI functionality department.
This device is intended as an extremely simple point to point navigating AIO GPS navigation solution and is not intended to enable the use of way points or easily changing the course selected by the unit. You have essentially two options: the shortest route and the fastest route. Fortunately, the mapping program selects routs that are very acceptable. Personally, I like to look at the overall route and fiddle with it. This unit is not designed for such use. Microsoft Streets and Trips is ideal for this kind of tinkering, but terrible for point to point navigation while on the go at which the Nuvi has no peer.
Make sure and get the most recent firmware updates on the Garmin website which will fix the known bugs and further improve the functionality. Insofar as functionality goes this unit is as simple as the 350/360. Even my 85 year old father can use these things! He is, to put it kindly, technologically challenged but his 350 is so intuitive and easy to use that he's had no problems whatsoever. He doesn't like to be distracted while driving so he plans his trip before leaving and simply listens to the voice prompts.
The new bluetooth feature enables the use of your hands free bluetooth enabled phone. It's a nice feature, but as with all bluetooth devices that I've used it's still not as good as talking directly on the phone. I personally have not used the built in FM transmitter and so cannot comment on it.
I can heartily recommend this product. Garmin has knocked one out of the park.
 Generally great product with a few small issues December 1, 2006
Glenn (IL United States)
279 out of 283 found this review helpful
I recently purchased the nuvi 660 for a road trip from the Midwest to New England. I am now using in my daily commute. The product has performed great overall. Most of the features worked well, and the advertised capabilites are fairly represented. I strongly recommend the product, subject to the caveats below.
I also considered purchasing the nuvi 360, but ultimately decided on the 660 because it has the traffic data receiver and the ability to put the audio through the car stero using an FM transmitter.
Now for the issues I have encountered:
1- The FM transmitter works well in rural areas and small urban areas, but not so well in major metro areas such as Chicago or New York. There are simply too many radio stations in major metros for the nuvi to be able to find a space on the radio dial that is quiet enough to not have interference.
2- The auto-tune feature for the FM transmitter is essentially useless. This feature is supposed to find a place on the radio dial that is quiet enough for the nuvi to use. However, I found that it did a very poor job of this. I almost always had to manually tune the nuvi to a blank area on the radio dial. This is not hard, but a bit of an annoyance.
3- The nuvi will lock up if the FM transmitter is on and you go through some electronic toll collection gates. I only ran into this issue in Pittsburgh. I-Pass/EZ-Pass don't have this effect. The manual does mention that this can happen.
Note - if you have a line in jack on your car stero, you won't have to deal with the above problems as the nuvi has a line out jack.
4- Navigation instructions in areas with multiple merging roads are often spoken late, and sometimes are inaccacurate. I have run into this problem in 4 different areas so far. Each location had several interstate highways with various merges and exits, and the nuvi was hard pressed to keep up.
5- Routing around traffic is not very good. The traffic data is clear and accurate, but the features that finds routes around the traffic mostly suggests routes that are not going to save time. I find it more useful to use the traffic map display and find my own way around the traffic (of course, you have to know the area to be able to do this).
Nuvi 660 extras = Widescreen + integrated FM traffic receiver December 17, 2006
B. Steeg
135 out of 139 found this review helpful
Why buy the Nuvi 660 over Nuvi 300 - 360?
* uses larger Widescreen.
* includes FM Traffic receiver
Why buy the Nuvi 310, 360, 660 over the Nuvi 300 or 350?
* Bluetooth cellphone integration
Why any of the more advanced Nuvi's over the Nuvi 300?
* Spoken street names
I began the day by splurging on the top of the line Nuvi 660. And then by that night I was kicking myself for spending my cash on a bunch of features I didn't really need. After all, didn't I just want a point-to-point GPS unit. In addition, I had a nice earpiece for my cell phone. What good was bluetooth on my GPS going to do? Answer: alot!
First of all, let's get the boring stuff out of the way. Garmin's user interface is intuitive and easy to learn - no need to waste time with directions, just start clicking and learning. If you want a point-to-point GPS then you can choose any of the Garmin automotive series and be satisfied.
However, the feature that surprised me was the Bluetooth cell phone integration. And that's because the Nuvi isn't just a speakerbox for your cell phone, it's a phonebook. First of all, the Nuvi easily imported my contacts from my cell phone. I dind't know it could do it, the screen just started asking me if I wanted to copy my contacts to the GPS unit.
The easy phone contacts import was great, but wait, there's more. I clicked "Where to?" then clicked "Food, Lodging..." then "Food" then "Asian" then "Edokko on Floring Rd." Well, not only did I get an option to "Go!" to Edokko, I also had a little phone icon with the phone number right next to it. I clicked the phone icon and next thing I know my cell phone/GPS is calling the restaurant and broadcasting the signal through my car stereo. So basically, it dawns on me that the Bluetooth feature is not a redundant feature - I have an entire phonebook in my point-to-point GPS!
Another useful feature was the MP3 player. Basically, you buy an SD card to increase the available memory of the GPS and import the MP3 files you have already generated for your iPod. As you drive down the road listening to your favorite tunes the Nuvi mutes your music and reminds you that you have a turn coming up. Does the same thing when a phone call comes in over your bluetooth phone. Very smooth feature for cutting down on the multi-tasking.
If you do get an automotive Garmin GPS be sure to note that you can click-drag the map just like you can with Google Maps. So if your navigator/passenger wants to get a heads up they can click drag the map to the next turn. Or they can also click the heading icon in the lower right to see a slide show of the coming turns. These features make navigating an unfamiliar route much easier - cuts down on the last minute surprises.
Finally, I haven't made mch use of the FM traffic cautions, however, I can imagine it would be quite valuable to know that the current parking lot/freeway you are stuck in is due to an accident or road construction rather than just normal traffic congestion. It would give you an idea of how far ahead things were going to break up so that you could make an alternate route decision.
On the whole I recommend this product. I also recommend the less expensive products as long as you get the bluetooth phone feature. The bluetooth addition is well worth the extra expense you will incur. Are additions of the widescreen and FM traffic receiver worth the extra expense of the Nuvi 660? That is a little more questionable. But you won't feel like you got ripped off when paying for those extra features either.
Edit Re: Safety
I have been using the Nuvi for the last month between Portland, OR and Kelso, WA. There have been recent storms (you probably saw all the buzz on the news) that have iced over the roads and caused heavy snow that drastically reduced visibility. In other words, I was in an area I didn't know and visibility was hampered. The Nuvi made driving these unfamiliar roads a breeze. I didn't have to struggle to find road signs so that I didn't miss my turn. I could place almost my full concentration on road hazards - ice - and other drivers. My car partner has nicknamed my Nuvi "Garson" - because it takes us right to the type of restaurant we are hankerin' fer.
Edit Re: Charger
I have a RAZR phone - because I a victim of marketing. This works out great with the Nuvi because the charger input/computer interface cable for both devices is 5-pin USB. One cable for two gadgets, nice!
|
|
|
