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Key Features/BenefitsWhich nüvi is Best for You?: Click here to see a quick, simple comparison of features for all Garmin nüvi GPS navigators
![]() | One of Garmin's key product philosophies is, "to make extremely complex technology easy to use for anyone right out of the box," and perhaps nowhere is that better exemplified than in the user interface for Garmin's portable navigation devices. 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. |
| Usable voice recognition is something we've been waiting to see for a long time. Reaching over to type out directions on your GPS isn't just difficult, it can feel downright dangerous. There's even a warning on every GPS not to do it. But who has the time to sit still and punch in a destination? Well, now you can have your hurry and your directions too. The nüvi 800s aren't the first GPS navigators to offer voice recognition, but the level of flexibility they offer sets a new standard for simple and intuitive use. The device comes with a little remote control that mounts on your steering wheel. It has two buttons. One is, "listen." The other is, "stop listening". Hit the "listen" button to start voice recognition. Then you can speak any of the words that appear on the display, and the device will understand, or you can ask questions based on most points of interest. Say, "find nearest Italian restaurant," for example, and you’ll get a list of nearby spots. Say "go to" and name of the one you want, and you get turn-by-turn directions to dinner. The nüvi also knows the names of many large business brands, so you can just say, "find place, Starbucks," if that's your coffee mojo. Of course, if you know the address you want to go to, you can say that too, and the nüvi will give you directions, all without having to reach over to the dashboard and touch it. | ||||
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![]() | With an optional receiver, you can access enhanced dynamic content from the MSN Direct service. Check the weather, avoid traffic backups, compare local gas prices, get enhanced movie listings, stock information, news and local events when you travel with your unit. Even plan trips from the convenience of your computer, via Windows Live Local, and wirelessly send custom to your nüvi. Check out a full description of MSN Direct content features, or a coverage map for MSN Direct services. A 12-month subscription to MSN Direct is included with the receiver. After that, subscription fees are $49.95 per year, or $129.95 for a one-time payment. |
![]() | With an optional receiver, you can get 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 nüvi'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 the receiver. For more information on subscription fees, coverage in individual cities, and traffic data networks in the United Kingdom and Europe, check the Garmin website. |
| The super-bright, 4.3-inch (diagonal) touchscreen display gives is anti-glare for ease of viewing during the day and automatically changes its color profile for easy viewing at night or in dim light. It offers 2d or 3D perspective views. 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. | |
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![]() |
This lets you enter several spots into the device (day care - supermarket-cleaners - office - day care, for example) and it will plot the fastest route. And once you've found the best router, the "Route Planning" feature lets you save up to 10 different routes, Garmin touts the feature for providing, "the most efficient route for errands, deliveries and sales calls." The feature also makes this an instant essential accessory for anyone who shops garage sales (you know what we're talking about).
A trip log provides an electronic bread crumb trail of up to 10,000 points, so you can see where you've been on the map.
Garmin's "Where Am I?" feature is a useful safety feature on all nüvis, but voice recognition makes it even better.
On any nüvi (including this one), you can just tap "Where Am I?" to find the closest hospitals, police stations, fuel stations, nearest address and intersection. Also see your exact latitude and longitude coordinates. With the 800s, all you have to do is say "Where am I?" to get the info.
Like the nüvi 700s, the 800s will also remember where you parked. It automatically marks your position when you remove it from the windshield mount, so you can navigate with nüvi on foot and find your way back to your vehicle. Perfect for unfamiliar spots and crowded lots such as amusement parks, stadiums and malls.
![]() nüvi 250W accepts custom points of interest (POIs). View larger. | The nüvi 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 nüvi 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, nüvi 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. |
Browse your stored pictures with an easy-to-use JPEG viewer.![]() | Navigation is just the beginning. The nüvi 850 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 microSD 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 nüvi for your travel needs note that the 800 series is unique among nüvis, in that the 800s use microSD cards, where all other nüvis use SD cards.. 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. | A handy MP3 player lets you play songs stored on SD memory cards. |
Custom vehicle icons let you ride in style, at least inside your GPS. See more icon option | All Garmin nüvis 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. |
![]() | Using Garmin’s unique Web site — Garmin Connect Photos — users can choose from millions of geo-located photos provided by Google’s Panoramio photo sharing community and download them to the nüvi for a richer navigation experience using pictures as a guide.
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tching to try out a new restaurant, or setting off on a road trip to locate the best toffee apples on the east coast? Now, it's easy to search for locations on Google Maps or Mapquest, then transfer the addresses directly to your Garmin GPS navigator.
The process does require a small plugin, which you can get at Garmin's website at http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=3739. You can send business addresses to your Garmin device from these countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. | ||
Search for the location you want.![]() | Pick "Send to GPS".![]() | Go!![]() |
Notes
nüvi 850, Preloaded City Navigator NT for North America, Speech recognition remote, Vehicle Power Cable, Vehicle suction cup mount, USB cable, Dashboard disc, Quick start manual
Note: All nüvis come with detailed NAVTEQ maps containing more than 6 million pre-loaded point of interest locations.
| Device | 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 | |||||||||
| nüvi 205 | 2.8 x 2.1 | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | Photos | up to 4 | ||||||
| nüvi 205w | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | Photos | up to 4 | ||||||
| nüvi 255 | 2.8 x 2.1 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | Photos | up to 4 | ||||
| nüvi 255w | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | Photos | up to 4 | ||||
| nüvi 260w | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Photos | up to 5 | |||||
| nüvi 265T | 2.8 x 2.1 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) | ![]() | Photos | up to 4 | |||
| nüvi 265WT | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) | ![]() | Photos | up to 4 | |||
| nüvi 275T | 2.8 x 2.1 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) | ![]() | Photos | up to 4 | ||
| nüvi 285WT | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 3 months free); | ![]() | Photos | up to 4 | |||
| nüvi 465T | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) | ![]() | Photos | ![]() | up to 4 | ||
| nüvi 755T | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) | Photos, MP3s | ![]() | ![]() | up to 4 | ||
| nüvi 760 | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | ![]() | Photos, MP3s | ![]() | ![]() | up to 5 | |
| nüvi 765T | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) | ![]() | Photos, MP3s | ![]() | ![]() | up to 4 | |
| nüvi 775T | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) | ![]() | Photos, MP3s | ![]() | ![]() | up to 4 |
| nüvi 780 | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 3 months free); FM (with optional receiver) | ![]() | Photos, MP3s | ![]() | ![]() | up to 5 | |
| nüvi 785T | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 3 months free); FM (with optional receiver) | ![]() | Photos, MP3s | ![]() | ![]() | up to 4 | |
| nüvi 850 | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | Photos, MP3s | ![]() | ![]() | up to 4 | ||
| nüvi 855 | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | Photos, MP3s | ![]() | ![]() | up to 4 | ||
| nüvi 885T | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 3 months free); FM (with optional receiver) | ![]() | Photos, MP3s | ![]() | ![]() | up to 4 | |
| nüvi 1200 | 2.8 x 2.1 | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | Photos | up to 4 | |||||
| nüvi 1250 | 2.8 x 2.1 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | Photos | up to 4 | ||||
| nüvi 1260T | 2.8 x 2.1 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) | ![]() | Photos | up to 4 | |||
| nüvi 1300 | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | Photos | up to 4 | |||||
| nüvi 1350 | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver) | Photos | up to 4 | ||||
| nüvi 1350T | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) | Photos | up to 4 | ||||
| nüvi 1370T | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) | ![]() | Photos | up to 4 | ||
| nüvi 1390T | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) | ![]() | Photos | up to 4 | |||
| nüvi 1490T | 4.4 x 2.5 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic) | ![]() | Photos | ![]() | up to 4 | ||
| nüvi 1690 | 3.81 x 2.25 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | NAVTEQ Traffic, 2 years free (Garmin nüLink! service) | ![]() | Photos | ![]() | up to 4 | ||
| Basic MSN Direct Content Features | |
![]() | Traffic Reports
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![]() | Gas Prices
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![]() | Weather Reports
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![]() | Movie Times
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| Enhanced MSN Direct Content | |
![]() | Web Favorites (Send custom destinations to your GPS with Live Search Maps)
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![]() | Local Events
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![]() | Stock Quotes
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![]() | News Headlines
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| MSN Direct Coverage Map | |
Get detailed info for your Zip Code at the MSN Direct website. ![]() | |
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Garmin Nuvi 850 speaks Canadian, eh!,
By Dallas Lamba (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 850 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
I bought the Garmin Nuvi 850 (GN850) for my 70 year old father. He never asks for anything, ever, but he loves road trips, and he studies maps and atlases more than anyone. He used one while with some friends on a golf trip, and he loved it.
I had the opportunity to use and watch him use the GN850 on a recent visit with him. We learned that the voice recognition aspect required the use of the steering wheel mounted button. The voice recognizing GN850 responded well to our voice commands, and seemed to have no difficulty understanding our prompts. The instructions were called out with ample time to respond, and the directions were always good. I think that I will be purchasing another for myself. We used the device for roads we knew well, but it would be VERY useful in unfamiliar cities and on unknown highways.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.9 out of 5 stars (45 customer reviews) 324 of 330 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not Worth The Money - Voice Commands Hype,
By R. Kintner - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 850 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
I recently bought a Nuvi 850. Here's my advice for what it's worth.
The real value of a Nav system comes from the fundamentals. * Receiver * Maps * Routing Engine * Display * User Interface Garmin does a solid job in all these areas. But that's not why you're paying a premium for an 800 series Nuvi. This model has a couple of "nice to have" features that were introduced on the 700 series of Nuvi's. * Where Am I * Where's My Car Both are very well implemented and can be very handy. But again, all of the stuff I mentioned so far can be found in a Nuvi costing $300 less. So what are you paying a premium for? * Voice Recognition * User Replaceable Battery * Front Mounted Speakers Well, the front mounted speakers are still drowned out by moderate road noise. So, I wouldn't pay a nickel for that. The only real sound solution remains the FM transmitter that everyone complains about. It works OK for me, in my car, in my area. Your mileage may vary. The user replaceable battery is excellent. For $30 you can carry a spare battery and go totally wireless in the car or use the Nuvi for 8 hours of walking around a city. I'd pay for that. In fact, every portable device should have user replaceable batteries. OK, that leaves the "Big Kahuna" feature, voice recognition. Don't believe the hype from the professional reviews or some of the hosanna's being thrown around in Amazon reviews. Does it work? Yes, it works amazingly well. In a dead silent environment. With moderate road noise or even indoors with a TV at low volume 15 feet away the thing to gets confused about what it's "hearing". It should have a microphone with low sensitivity and high directionality to screen out spurious noise. A little DSP noise filtering wouldn't hurt either. Unfortunately, the standard piezo mic that Garmin also uses for bluetooth phone calls will pick up any sound coming from any direction. The result is that voice recognition becomes an excercise in frustration. Still, I'm gonna keep the darned thing. I'll simply enter destinations in the quiet of my home, office, hotel room, or a restaurant before heading out on the road. The remote will live in my briefcase. It does save you from a lot of tedious keyboard entry. But, it is not the mobile safety feature that reviews would have you believe since voice commands are all but useless in a car. You can get essentially the same features in a Nuvi 760 and save yourself $300. Your decision. EDIT: Update.....OK maybe I was a bit harsh first time round. I have found that the unit will respond with moderate background noise.....some of the time.....if you yell at it. It appears to have the ability to lock in on the loudest sound it "hears". So, if you are relatively close to the microphone and speak really loud (yell), it does respond some of the time. On the upside, connecting to the Garmin website was very easy. I registered the 850, downloaded the newest firmware, and downloaded/installed the latest maps (2009), all in about ten mintues without a glitch. 98 of 102 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Frustrated Garmin Fan,
By LaurenW - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 850 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
I am a Realtor and have been using my Garmin GPS for almost four years. (It was the 2720 and had cost $999 when I bought it.) It's invaluable to me in my business. Today it died as I was previewing a dozen homes and I went back to where I bought it originally and picked up an 850. Boy, am I disappointed!
The new graphics will take some getting used to, but that's not the problem. With the newer technology and all the bells and whistles, I had expected this unit to be MORE intuitive than my old one. Turns out it's not. Twice it told me it could not find addresses in older neighborhoods where my old Garmin never had a problem. I had to guess my way across unfamiliar areas to find them and, sure enough, once I got there, the street names registered on my screen. I immediately saw what happened but was shocked that Garmin hadn't picked up the slight differences. One street is named McLain Road. I typed in Mclain (small "l") and it couldn't find it. The old Garmin used all upper-case letters, so it found every address regardless of upper or lower case. This one obviously needs you to know which to use -- very frustrating. The second one is spelled Hollowbrooke Lane. I typed in in every which way I could think of -- Hollow Brooke Lane, Hollow Brook Lane, Hollowbrook Lane, etc. Now that I'm home and could play with it a little, sure enough, it found it. I should have typed in "Ln" instead of Lane and it had Hollowbrooke without the "e." When I had typed in Hollowbrook Lane, it couldn't find it because I spelled out the word Lane. Again, the old Garmin knew that Lane and Ln were the same thing. Another very annoying thing I found missing on this new one which was on my old Garmin was the display of streets. Typically, each street will show up as I get near it, whether I'm turning onto it or not. With the 850 it doesn't show streets unless they are major thoroughfares. I finally clicked on the "plus" button twice in succession and it started to give me lines (which represented streets), but it rarely showed the name of the street. Again, the old Garmin showed every street you came up to. The voice prompts are also unreliable. Several times the voice prompt did not match up with the screen and if I tried to answer based on what I saw on the screen (for example, a city was on the screen and the voice was asking for a street address), I could not get it to sync and had to start all over or (more often than not) just gave up and tapped the information into the GPS. Again, a nice concept but frustrating if it's not working properly! I can't figure out why this newer model would be LESS intuitive than the old system. I'll play with it for a few days, but at the price I paid, I won't be keeping it very long if I can't figure out how to make this work better. And, not to beat a dead horse here, but I'm shocked that the unit doesn't come with a carrying case. I just bought my daughter a nuvi 350 last week for her birthday and it cost a fraction of what the 850 cost -- and it had a carrying case! SHAME on you, Garmin! 105 of 115 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent GPS Navigator...Awesome Voice-Activated Controls,
By Edward L. Cole "Tedro" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Garmin nüvi 850 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
This unit functions perfectly as it is described. The voice-activation is nearly perfect. Probably one of the best implementations to date that I can remember. The map is a bit under-detailed for the price but it gets you where you need to go. Voice commands from the unit are very easy to understand. Controls are easy to navigate as are the menu options. One thing that I think is a bit ridiculous is the absence of Bluetooth Hands-Free calling. For $800 they could have included that and it is the reason that I gave it four stars instead of 5. Many of the options included with the device are useless to me to be honest. Games? Picture viewer? MP3 player? I don't need any of these but the voice-commands for unit control are awesome.
If you have the money to buy this unit, get it... if not look at some of the lower-priced 700-series Nuvi's |
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