High-Sensitivity GPS Receiver For Improved Performance And Reception
Built-In 3D Basemap
Built-In US Maps
3.5-Inch Display, 320 X 240 Pixels
Easy Touch-Screen Interface
This review is from: Garmin nvi 550 3.5-Inch Portable GPS NavigatorSo, finally I got my nuvi. It was a tough choice: many GPS carriers are available, and each has many models that come in vast variety of flavors. I've narrowed it down to Nuvi 550 for the following reasons:1. Text to speech to me is really annoying. I want my GPS to tell me when and where to make a turn, and not worry about spending extra time looking off the road to confirm street signs. Although with latest update, TTS capabilities are now available for this model (use Garmin's WebUpdater).2. I wanted my GPS to help me out more than just driving directions. I hike, I camp, I travel all over, and not just North America. I wanted the versatility of being able to navigate and pin point my location on the highway, in the mountains, offroad, and not just be able to locate nearest gas station. Before Nuvi 500/550 I would have had to purchase 2 GPS units: one for the car, one hand-held (e.g. Colorado series).3. I needed it to be durable, and reliable. 8 hour battery life + waterproof function to me are the two features I'm very very happy with. To date, my little nuvi took 2 falls (one on the rocks, and another one flying off down some stairs -- don't ask), and I'm happy to report gadget is functioning flawlessly. I'm not advocating it's indestructible, but it does have durable construction indeed.4. Satellite communication is superior for the product. Leafs, heavy cloud cover, even indoors, I get fair reception. It does have its quarks rarely, but overall, it pin-points me within 10' radius. Gotta love it. With the latest firmware update location has been even more precise, so it's worth doing it asap. The update also adds a variety of language options and scooter mode, which is really neat.Here's something to be aware of... This model unlike 500 does not come with topo maps or marine maps. It felt like a fair trade because it gave me Canada, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and all of US maps (includes Alaska and Hawaii) vs. 48 lower states+topo in the other model only. But here's a catch. No mapSource software. There are so many free topo maps (and for that matter many others -- e.g. Israel maps, which garmin does not market) available, but there's no way to load them. Because of the proprietary interface, mapSource is the easiest way to take advantage of all these resources. There is third party software available, but it's not the easiest thing to use. Another annoyance is that unit does not come with any case. There are not hard to find, but still. So, besides lacking the software, this is a great unit worth every penny. I found LCD display to have good visibility in a daylight, volume was great - I could hear it just fine with stereo on, and overall display was smart and simple. It's small and light, so it's easy to carry it around, and suction cup for the windshield is great, no need to get any extras. I also like the fact that it has swappable batteries. On long trips with no access to electricity, just bring a few extras, and you won't get stuck. Really no learning curve to using it, and performance is fantastic. Great investment, no regrets here....
This review is from: Garmin nvi 550 3.5-Inch Portable GPS NavigatorMy initial impression of the unit was very good, it is a small enough to easily fit in your pocket, even a shirt breast pocket and is light enough not to be a problem. I had an older Garmin unit and was using Map Source (Tm) to manage the previous device. The Nuvi 550 was reasonably easy to configure for use with Map source as well. I started to see issues with the unit the 2nd day I owned it, it went into a reboot loop, but after removing the battery it seemed to be ok. I upgraded the maps to the latest available and set out to Mississippi for a 1 week mission trip assist with the Katrina recovery work. The unit worked very well on the way, but when I turned it on after arriving to enter the first location that we were going to work, the unit started to reboot and shutdown. No manner of reset or battery removal would stop it. So while my initial impressions were very promising, I currently am waiting to have the unit replaced by Garmin or Amazon. I truly hope this to have been a fluke, as I was looking forward to using the device in car, on Motorcycle and in my Kayak. Light weight, 8hr battery and waterproof these features really fit the bill for my needs....
This review is from: Garmin nvi 550 3.5-Inch Portable GPS NavigatorIt took me a while to understand the different between the Nuvi 500 and the 550. Look no further. Only the base map is different. The 500 comes with the lower 48 states with topographical information while the 550 includes all of North America (Canada and Mexico) and no topographic...
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