Garmin Nuvi 760 price and reviews

I tried to do my homework on portable GPS systems before I bought my new system, the Garmin Nuvi 760. My previous system is the Navman 4420. I bought the 4420 for 2 main reasons - 1. it is a Bluetooth enabled GPS receiver; and 2. it works with my HP iPAQ RX3715. Navman no longer sells or supports the separate 4420 GPS receiver and software so I cannot get map updates; time to change systems. My experience with the Navman/iPAQ combination system was ?okay?.

I have owned the Nuvi 760 for 2 weeks and have used it in the San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago and Detroit locations.

I narrowed my search for a new GPS using web reviews. The top products I considered were the TomTom 920 and the Garmin Nuvi 760. My selection of the Nuvi 760 was heavily influenced from friends who raved about the Nuvi 660. The Nuvi 760 is mostly an updated version of the 660. Nothing in this review is specific to my use of the TomTom since I do not have it and have not used it. There are several sites where you can compare features between the Garmin and the TomTom such as http://www.gpsreview.net/compare-gps/?gps=1214-1197.

On the positive side:

Ease of use: The Nuvi 760 is very easy to use. My old Navman required me to start the 4420, connect the 4420 with the iPAQ via Bluetooth, configure and use the SmartST software for the iPAQ. The Nuvi760 . . . well, just turn on the system. My first destination was to my home from the location where I bought the unit. I did not read the instructions to set up or to enter my destination. I just turned the unit on and used the ?Where to? function of the Nuvi. (Real men do not need instructions [or travel directions]; or at least they do not admit it.) Getting back home was easy, intuitive and accurate. I found this to be true of all of the locations I have used the unit to find.

Start up: A GPS receiver determines your position by collecting signals from geosynchronous satellites and triangulating your position from their signals. Satellite acquisition time is about the same for the Nuvi 760 compared to the Navman 4420; roughly 5 seconds (?warm? start) to 45 seconds (?cold start? from a new area). I prefer the Navman satellite acquisition display, I can see the number of satellites (up to 12) I am receiving and their relative strength - green, yellow or red - good, fair, poor. The Nuvi shows 6 bars for satellite reception; also red, yellow, green, but as an overall indicator, not by individual satellite. Not a big deal but different. Actual satellite acquisition time is about the same for the two systems. NOTE: Acquisition time is much faster when standing still. If you are moving it seems to confuse the GPS receiver.

Finding locations: The Nuvi clearly excels over Navman here. The Navman requires satellite acquisition before selecting a destination, the Nuvi does not. This is a significant improvement if you are trying to set up a route inside your starting point before you leave. (NOTE: The Nuvi 760 has all of the North America maps; the Navman requires you have to have loaded the appropriate maps to ROM memory - internal, or external SD cards). SmartST breaks many cities into subsections which the Nuvi does not. The SmartST system can be a very confusing method when trying to pick a destination location where you are not familiar with the location of the destination. The Nuvi can readily find streets, POI (Points Of Interest - like store names) and intersections from user input. You can also enter a few characters and have a list of possible candidates displayed for you to select. You can type location data using a user configurable ABCDEF or QWERTY virtual keyboard. I have noticed that POIs are not complete; I do not know if this is because Garmin requires a royalty to be included in their POI listings. I have a UPS store near me that does not display when using ?UPS? as a search criterion and it has been there at least 6 years. Not a major problem but a relevant observation. Route calculation is quick and accurate.

Map coverage: The Nuvi 760 includes all North American maps - Canada, US and Mexico. The SmartST software included only the US and Canada and specific maps had to be loaded to my iPAQ by state or province (or parts of states/provinces). The TomTom boasts North America and Europe. I do travel in Europe on business so the Nuvi 770 may have been a better choice since it includes North America and Europe. I may have to buy the European maps. Here the TomTom 920 may have an advantage since it includes the North America and European maps. I have used the Garmin 760 North American maps in the SF Bay area, Chicago and Detroit and found the maps to be quite good.

Bluetooth: I wanted Bluetooth connectivity to use my Samsung Blackjack cell phone with the unit. It works very well except transmitting voice from the Nuvi. Voice pickup of the Nuvi is poor. This has been pointed out in several reviews. I cannot say if the TomTom works better. Receiving and hearing calls is good enough. I may need to buy a voice receiver so the party I am calling can hear me better. This is a clear negative for the capabilities of the Nuvi 760. Still, adding the cell phone via Bluetooth was easy. Cell phone integration does not exist for the Navman 4420.

Traffic problem reporting: The Nuvi 760 includes a 90 day FM traffic information subscription. I have not found this not to be particularly useful except for reporting the travel time delay to be expected versus open road travel times. It does offer the ability to ?avoid? road segments but only if the software can calculate an alternate route near where you are. This alternate route did not exist for my commute home from the SF Bay area or on the trip to Chicago O?Hare?s airport. I did get a delay estimate because of the heavy traffic which was marginally useful. This feature is only ?okay? for me so I may or may not renew the subscription to the optional service ($60 per year).

Data Storage: The Nuvi 760 includes 2GB of ROM storage and about 512MB is free out of the box. The storage can be used for additional maps. MP3 files, audio books, and other add-ons (like additional vehicle icons or commercial and user created POI files). The TomTom 720 boasts 4GB of ROM but I do not know how much is useable; one review says 170MB is available on the TomTom. The Navman SmartST software allows SD card expansion for additional maps only.

Not so positive:

Price: The Nuvi 760 is more expensive than a lot of GPS systems, including the TomTom 920. My best advice is to surf the internet for best pricing. I paid $599 for my unit ($20 more expensive than the cheapest web site but I got it same day from a local distributor). The TomTom 920 tends to be less expensive.

Turn navigation: One of the negatives of the Nuvi is the distance from your turn when the voice directions tell you to turn. This is a valid issue; however, I found the Nuvi warns you several times as you approach a turn. I found that if you pay attention to the early warnings you are well prepared to take a turn even if you are right on the turn before the final turn notification.

Carrying case: For $600 you would think Garmin could include a protective carrying case; it does not. While this is not a major issue it is an irritant to pay another $20 to get a cover to protect the unit when removing it from the car.

AC adapter: The Nuvi does not include an AC charger. The unit has a built in lithium ion battery, a DC charger/adapter for the car (with FM traffic information receiver), and a USB cable to attach the unit to your PC/laptop for data transfer and charging. (I am charging my Nuvi using the USB cable as I prepare this review.) One thing I really like about the Navman is the user replaceable AAA batteries. I know that sooner or later the non-replaceable battery in my Nuvi will no longer hold a charge; I will have to send the unit in for service and/or buy a new system. To me, user replaceable batteries should be standard.

Overall: I would recommend the Nuvi 760 to friends and family looking for a portable GPS unit. I would say it is about an 8 on a 1 to 10 scale. If price is a major consideration, look at the Garmin 660 as an alternative.

My wife and I have been using Garmin C320 GPS in each of our cars since 2005. It was time for an upgrade. I purchased the Garmin Nuvi 760 and we love it. Here is a little overview about how I decided what to get and some of the key features we had to have.

My ?must haves? in the new GPS were ?Text To Speech?, Traffic, Bluetooth, no flip out antenna, and a 4.3? screen.

I did a lot of research on Magellan, TomTom and Garmin models meeting my ?must haves?. My conclusions were as follows: The Magellan incorporates AAA and that I feel is a really nice touch. The TomTom?s come pretty loaded but seem a bit more complex. The Garmin?s interface hasn?t changed form the C320 but Garmin has added a slew of additional features in comparison to my C320.

Since the new GPS wasn?t only for me but for my wife, I decided to keep the learning curve to a minimum and decided I would choose another Garmin model since we are both experienced with them. Now, which one? I looked at all Nuvi units. I narrowed my choices down to the 255W, 760, and 780. Each of these include 4.3? screens, ?Text To Speech?, Bluetooth, no flip out antenna, and are Traffic ready. The 255W does not include either the FM TMC Traffic or the MSN Direct power adapter. The 760 includes the FM TMC Traffic power adapter while the 780 includes the MSN Direct power adapter.

When I started to check pricing I was noticing that the 255W is the same price as the 760 but did not include any Traffic power adapter. I also noticed the 255W power is connected directly to the unit. More on this in a moment. I decided it was off my short list and my choice was now between the 760 and the 780. I decided on the 760 since the price was more that 100 dollars cheaper then the 780. I can always ad the MSN Direct power adapter later and I will have the FM TMC Traffic power adapter as well.

Another reason I decided against the 255W is that the power is connected directly into the unit and not the mount. It is so much easier to remove the unit from the mount and not have to worry about disconnecting the power cord as well. Convenience is another key factor I should have mentioned.

The first thing I did once I got the 760 was register it at the Garmin web site. Once I did I was able to update the unit?s software and Maps. Garmin has a ?Web Updater? software download on their web site. Connect the 760 via the supplied USB cable and run the Web Updater Software. The software will check for the latest version of system firmware/software and update the 760. That worked very well I might add.

The 760 came with 2008 Maps but the 2009 Map update is available via Garmin?s web site. If you buy the 760 now you can call to get the 2009 Maps free if it does not come with them. Garmin uses NAVTEQ Maps and from what I have read, are more accurate for the USA. The web site was telling me to buy them but I made a quick phone call to Garmin and verified my purchase via email with one of their support staff. A few minutes later I was able to either download or get a DVD with the 2009 Maps. The DVD is $10 and that is for shipping. I opted for the download. The 2009 Map file is large, around 2 Gigabytes so it took about 20 minutes to download via my cable modem. Once downloaded I ran the setup and it updated my 760 to the 2009 Maps. It was pretty easy but including the download it took about an hour. I also created a DVD with the 2009 Map file for safe keeping. The map is the Complete North America Maps. On the C320 the maps had to be uploaded and not all of the USA would fit. The 760 is fully loaded with the USA and Canada. Very nice!

While I was online I looked at the Garmin ?Extras? available for download and decided to add a few new Vehicles. Pretty cool.

Once I finished updating the 760 I took it to my car and mounted it. The mount is just a couple of pieces and the 760 mounts securely in seconds. The power cable connects to the mount and not the unit so that the unit can be removed from the mount easily with no wires to disconnect. The mounting is excellent. I also purchased the optional ?Portable Friction Mount? which sits on the dash. I highly recommend this so that you can easily hide the 760, mount and all, on the cars floor. Very easy as compared to the supplied suction cup mount and doesn?t leave that suction cup ring on the windshield. Seems thieves love to smash and grab navigation units so the Friction Mount is great as it leaves no evidence visible you have a 760 in the car.

I am amazed at how quickly the 760 acquires Satellites. When I did the software/firmware update it installed SiRF Star III Quick Fix. This allows the 760 to acquire satellites very quickly. So far every time the unit has been off to powered on it has acquired satellites as soon as it is booted up. Total time from off to ?Ready to Navigate? is about 30 seconds.

The Nuvi 760 has a beautiful, bright, and crisp looking 4.3? display. The fonts have been updated and the graphics are much better than my C320. I really like the new Automatic Zoom in and out based on distance to the next turn and destination. You can see the destination Checkered Flag and Via Point Flags are Orange. A nice touch is that your Personal Addresses display on the Map.

The 760 speaks street names ?Text To Speech?. Nice feature instead of turn right in 200 feet. There is no maneuver Ding like on the C320 but I?m not sure it is needed with the additional spoken information.

The 760 includes Bluetooth so I was able to pair the wife?s phone in about a minute. Really simple. The Phone Book from the Phone transfers to the 760 along with Recently Dialed, Recently Received, and Recent Missed calls. Very cool. Once you start populating the 760 with your ?Favorite? destination addresses you can manually add Phone Numbers to your Favorite addresses if needed. This is very nice since you can touch the Favorite you want and touch the little phone icon and dial that number. You can talk ?Hands Free? via your 760 and I was pretty happy with the voice quality. I read a few instances where people say it doesn?t work well or sound good. This isn?t the case for us as I find it to work very well and sound really good. A valuable and convenient feature. On our first trip together we needed a certain item and we were able to pull up stores we thought would have it and simply touched the phone icon and called them to see if they carried what we needed. Once we found the store that had what we needed we were able to easily navigate to it. Very convenient and easy to use. I recommend the 760 with Bluetooth. Very nice.

Searching for any of the included 6 million Points of Interests is easy and the POI Search displays Names and Addresses in the results. The additional address is a nice touch to see just how far away a result is if you know the town and how far away it is from you. The keyboard can be set to QWERTY and that makes typing so much easier if you are familiar with a PC keyboard. And who isn?t now a days. Another nice feature is there is a drop down that will allow you to access and insert recent Searches without having to retype them since they are remembered by the 760. Another nice feature.

Another very nice feature is you can create multiple destinations and have them automatically sorted for the optimal route. You can keep adding stops or via points and you can even remove them. You can manually reorder them to your liking or let the 760 automatically reorder the best route for you. Great if you need to run some errands at two or three different stores. The 760 will get you to each in the most efficient way.

The 760 has a ?Where Am I? feature that is very nice. It will show you Hospitals, Fuel, and Police stations that are near to where you are at. It will also indicate the nearest Address and nearest Intersection. This is great to see just where you are and can be provided to law enforcement in an emergency or to tell someone exactly where you are in an unknown area. Your Elevation is also indicated.

As you drive there is an icon that will display the Speed Limit for the road you are on. A little reminder to check your speed and keep it safe.

Maybe on of the best features are the Real Time Traffic updates. The 760 comes with the FM Traffic power adapter. The Traffic adapter is in place of a regular power adapter so the only thing different is it is it has some LED?s and it is a little larger where it gets plugged into the car?s power. Of course you need to be in an area that is covered by FM Traffic. If you are in a covered area than it can take about 10 minutes to get traffic data. Once data is in the 760 it will display on the map and on a separate Traffic screen. One bad thing is once power is lost so is the traffic data. It may take another 10 minutes or so the acquire traffic data again. Traffic issues are displayed on the main map screen with different colors and an appropriate traffic icon on your route as you approach them. An icon in the lower right will also show you how much time traffic is causing your delay. This time is automatically added to your current route. If the traffic is deemed too much then the 760 will recalculate a new route almost seamlessly to divert you around the traffic. There is plenty of traffic related detail on a separate screen if you want to access it. You can also touch the ?Avoid? or ?Detour? to force the 760 to reroute around traffic. The included FM Traffic comes with a 3 Months free Trial then it is $60.00 per year. Worth it if you are on the road a lot and your travels are within the covered areas.

I think I am going to get the MSN Direct (separate power adapter) after the 3 month trial expires. The MSN Direct includes Traffic, Gasoline prices, and Weather alerts. There is more to MSN Direct but these features make it more worth it to me. Another nice thing about the MSN Direct is that you can opt for a one time lifetime payment and you?re done.

These are all the features for us that make the 760 a really nice GPS unit. There are many pluses and only a few drawbacks. Two drawbacks are; no House AC Adapter and no Carry Case for storage. But, if you have a USB cell phone then you can probably use your AC charger for the phone as I do.

I recommend the Garmin Portable Friction mount for the dash. Easy to put in place and hide on the cars floor. I also recommend getting the Garmin Carry Case.

I was able to shop the web and find the 760 for about $350.00. The Portable Friction Mount and the Carry Case were another $50.00. So for about $400.00 I got a very nice Navigation unit. For us the 760 is a wonderful GPS. It is beautiful and sleek. The features it includes are a valuable addition and make traveling even short distances easier and more enjoyable. I highly recommend the 760 to anyone looking for a new personal GPS unit.