Garmin nüvi 670 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
by Garmin
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin nüvi 670 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
Customer Review: Life Saver !
Summary: 5 Stars
I'd always be hesitant to purchase expensive electronics knowing their price will go down soon, but finally, at the last minute, I pulled the trigger and purchased this Garmin 670 that arrived a day before leaving for Europe ! We were traveling with our elderly parents - better be in a relax mode rather than getting lost all the time. This is my first GPS.... first trip to Europe - no idea how this gadget works... no idea what Europe was like. I only had the time to read the manual to see which accessories I needed to bring along.
And wooow.... I must say, after 800 miles driving (we only drove for a week out of a month - one biggest reason why we were hesitant to purchase this), I am becoming more like Amex people... "Never leave home without it (GPS)" !
This Garmin is easy to set up. Don't forget to recharge it fully the first time, even though it said it was ready to use right out the box - I found the battery level was low. In the beginning, it took a while to 'communicate' and adjust with this Garmin. Just like in any new relationship, at first we often misunderstood what it was saying. Sometimes it'd say "turn right", when the turning was more like "stay on the right" or like 20 degree turning only. Or we were not sure if there were several turns close to each other. True that it'd say "in 50 feet turn right".... but we found there were cases when there were 2 turns very close to each other, not to mention that I had to learn the sense of distance, which I didn't really have in the first place. Since English is not my first language (but it doesn't have setting on my native language), this added up to more confusion. Several times we'd miss our turns, but Garmin quickly recalculated the route so that we could get back to our destination.
After a day or two, we were getting better in understanding the 'language' of Garmin. We didn't detour much, though make sure, if you are not the adventurous type like I am, put the mode in "fastest" - that way you can stay in the highway, or turn off the "avoid delay" mode. Otherwise, what happened to us - we were in a slow moving autobahn when Garmin detected this 'delay' and told us to exit - we ended up in very small roads which I was not comfortable at all - finally despite its direction, I went back to the autobahn. I preferred to wait 20 minutes in a nice big highway, rather than being rerouted to the middle of nowhere in confusing small roads. Another time we ended up in weird route, I suspected that it could be due to the fact that I didn't set the mode as "fastest" - though some reviewers here thought it could be due to software error. It's still a mystery to me, so what helps - if you are traveling, just get a big map for a general overview, and once you know you are in the right highway, just keep sticking with the road signs if there is any, even if Garmin tells you differently - otherwise you may end up in weird small roads. If there's no sign, just follow Garmin. BTW, this 'weirdness' only happened to us twice, during our 800 miles, so I guess it's quite reliable.
With this Garmin, we were all really enjoying our road trip much better. We went from small town to another small town, which I don't think we'd go since we had no maps of these towns. Everyday we visited different small towns without the fear of getting lost. I always thought english was a universal language... until we got to Europe... they seemed to have no need of english ! The places we visited - most people didn't speak English... we'd have hard time asking for direction if we ever got lost ! Road signs or other signs were not in english. Just imagine the trouble if we didn't bring this GPS !
I never used other GPS before, so I can't really compare this one with different brands, except to say that I am very satisfied with this one already. Oh, don't wait to purchase GPS when you get to Europe - the price was doubled there !
The restaurant lists came in handy too, from time to time we used it to find a specific restaurant. Oh, I also used it to see if the taxi cabs we used (when we were not on the road) were honest or not ( hubby would sit in front, I'd sit on the back, turned on my GPS without any sound, the cab drivers wouldn't know what I was doing) - we'd give bigger tip if they were the honest type.
The price of GPS is going down all the time - don't forget to check the price from time to time since Amazon will refund the difference if it's still within a month. In my case,it went down 3 times (about $ 30 total) - they adjusted it every time I emailed them. Don't forget to check the version of the maps - in my case, I got the older version, but still worked fine in Europe. I think you need to install the software and connect your GPS to computer and to the internet to have the version checked. Later on I upgraded the USA map for free - wish they'd do the same thing for Europe maps. Oh well.
I was planning to sell this GPS back on the market once we got back - I had no use of Europe map and could just get a much cheaper one with USA map only. But somehow I feel I owe much to this GPS ... it has made our trip so wonderful, which I don't think I could say the same without it.... surely it's worth keeping. So nope.... you can just get yours someplace else.. I am not going to sell you mine... :-).
Customer Review: Really Like This Device
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a remarkable GPS, portable, easy to use, and surprisingly accurate.
There's a lot to like about this unit. The MP3 player is outstanding. It plays well enough through the built in speakers, but when coupled with the FM traffic antenna and a car radio, the sound is superb. Absolutely no static, no interference, unlike add on FM transmitters for iPOD's. If I really want to listen to music, the audible directions can be disabled.
The number of languages and voices is amazing. Arriving in France with a US voice, pronunciation of street names was hilarious. Switching to French solved that problem. I liked the ability to have english words and directions on the screen, but French spoken. So the unit would read, "take the second exit in the roundabout", but the audio would be "prend le deuxiem sortie au rond point." The spoken word gave up once in a while in Sweden, instead of really messing up a street name, the voice would spell the name. This only happened twice during travel in Italy, France and Sweden.
Ease of use, the unit does take some getting used to. Some of the settings aren't exactly obvious. And it took a bit of time to figure some things out. I really disagree with the comment in another review about changing the settings for Car, Bicycle, Pedestrian, off Road, etc. That is down right simple to change. Three presses and you are there. I frankly would hate what the Tom Tom does, ask me every time how I want to get there. You usually set this once and then never set it again.
Map detail is phenomenal. I was on a shuttle bus INSIDE Charles DeGaulle airport, taking me from my plane to the terminal. I turned on the unit and the "alley way" we were on inside the airport was listed. The entry doors were even on the map. Frankly, I've never seen a paper map with that much detail. The unit had sidewalks in a small southern suburb of Paris. The address of a friend in Sweden, where the development is two years old, was on the map. Walkways in Genoa Italy near my hotel were listed. I never saw a single street or alley anywhere I travelled in Europe that was not listed.
Direction accuracy. The Nuvi 670 never took me a wrong direction while travelling in and around Genoa, Italy; suburbs of Paris; and Stockholm, Sweden. Chicago area is a major piece of cake. Whenever I misunderstood a direction (more on that in a minute), the device simply recalculated the route. I've used so many other systems that make you feel awful about deviating from a route - Hertz neverlost is the absolute worst. Almost all of them tell you to make a U-Turn. I never heard that statement once out of this device. I made some pretty foolish errors, all my fault, and the device simply got me back on track. Stockholm was very challenging, not for the device, but for humans. There are many bridges and multilayered areas in that city. Twice I made the exact same mistake, taking a right exit instead of just staying to the right. When you see the paper map of this area, it's almost impossible to not make this mistake. Tunnels, multiple ramps, and bridges all in the same area did confound my ability to navigate.
The traffic warning system is very odd at best. In the US, no problems with this unit. It's as good as the radio or internet traffic websites, they both use the same information. In Italy, there was no traffic information. In France the service exists, I understand it is free, but the service refused to work. Sweden isn't supposed to have a traffic information service (it wasn't listed on the Garmin website), but there it was in Stockholm in all it's glory, functioning beautifullly.
The safety camera warning system is also strange. France seems to have a million of these. Fixed ones were pretty accurately warned. The system actually beeps if you exceed the published speed limit for that camera - say 90kph. The strange thing, the computer can't figure out which road you are on or which direction you are travelling. If you are on a highway and happen to cross a road that has a mobile warning, you will get say a 40kph warning on a 110kph speed limit road. Strange quirk in the software.
There's really little I wish would change in this system. I can learn to live with most of it's shortcomings. The positives far outweigh the negatives.
Is it worth this much money? Absolutely yes. In that equation I also compared the Nuvi 660 and the cost of adding European maps and the FM traffic antenna. I've tried so many times to learn how to use NeverLost, and about 10 different navigation systems in rental cars. This is so much easier and consistent.
July 8, 2009 Update: Well this unit has been passed along to number 1 son and it still works perfectly for him. I've had the 765T now for about 6 months and it works great.
A hint for anyone using Nuvi's - enter Nuvi tips and tricks into your favorite search engine. You will find a really hideous website just jammed full of great secret tips on how to better use Garmin Nuvi GPS's. Well worth the look. And by the way - purchase the nuMap lifetime subscription to the map updates. There's a NA version and an NA/Europe version available. They are so worthwhile.
Customer Review: Very happy with this device
Summary: 4 Stars
For 11 trips to Europe, I have used a Garmin e-trex connected to my lap top with a RS232 to USB converter, a Y plug in the cigarette lighter to power both the laptop and the e-trex, and Mapsource software on the laptop. A lot of gear, hard on the navigator (laptop on the lap is hot and uncomfortable) but very clear maps and some neat features (like saving tracks easily, making slides out of screen prints to really annotate my trips, etc. Finally decided to upgrade, picked the 670 because the screen size to price ratio was the best I could find, and it had European maps included.
The really good:
Arrived early; booted up right out of the box and found satelites faster than the e-trex, pretty intuitive interface (although I did eventually read the manual on disk,) mounted easily in the car and worked very well on a test drive in the states. Maps were old; went on line and got a USA update free - took a while to download but no problems. Didn't try to update the European map. I have read that I maybe could have gotten a free upgrade, maybe not, but I was very aware that Garmin had already discontinued the model and wanted to see if old maps were a problem. More in a minute. The device took up a lot less room than my old setup in my carry-on, leaving more room for a change of clothes and some necessities - which I needed but that has nothing to do with Garmin -
When we got to Milano (Nuvi recognized Milan, but did better with Firenze than Florence) booted right up and found satelites in 30 seconds without being told we weren't in the USA anymore. Navigated us out of the airport and for the first half of our trip beautifully. Initially set the voice to Italian (my wife and I are both reasonably conversant) but quickly changed back to English - no reason to make the driving harder.
Trip time estimate was really good, directions were excellent; a little harder to set a more scenic route than the old set-up but quickly learned how to add an intermediate point to get a route off the autostrada when we wanted to. Incidentally, suction cup mount stayed on for thirteen days without a problem. Got to Bergamo, then Firenze, through Firenze's complex streets to the stadio to seek tickets for a soccer match (couldn't get them but again not a Garmin issue) then down to Val d'Orcia without a single glitch. Very, very happy.
The Good:
Day trips all around Tuscany with no problems. Didn't do great with finding our kind of restaurant (menu only in Italian, no-one outside hawking tourists, local food, no pizza for pranzo) but no worse than most guide books and we did eat very well on our own. On a very foggy day in the hills/mountains of Tuscany took 40 seconds to find satelites and accuracy was a little off - a couple of times went 3-4 hundred yards before finding out we were on the wrong road - the right one having started out parallel but heading up hill not down. Although U-turns on winding roads are not fun, this was only occassional and we did fine. Had recorded about four gigs of music on an SD card - two problems: Rhapsody does not recognize the NUVI as an MP3 player so demanded money to allow a download to the card. This could be worked around but was irritating. The other is that playing music through the Nuvi speaker is an ear hurting experience. Playing through the FM worked but the FM antenna was in the rear window and it was never great sound. Acceptible, and we enjoyed the drives none the less.
The OK:
Back to Firenze fine, but Firenze to Bologna was where the old maps were a problem. Lots of new construction near Bologna and the Nuvi got terribly confused. Finally shut the voice off and just followed the signs. Once off the Autostrada it was fine, but I couldn't figure out how to get it accept the track we had taken as an acceptible route for the several times we traversed this area.
The not okay:
Marked the location where we parked outside the old part of Bologna, then used the Nuvi to get back to the car later in the day. If there's a way to get it to set a pedestrian route I couldn't find it. Walking the "wrong way" on a one-way street caused the voice to exclaim "re-calculating" every block, much to the amusement of the other pedestrians. I would think that bicyclists and hikers would want a non-auto function. Finally, nothing on the Garmin site gives a clear answer on how (if possible) to get the Nuvi to interact with my MapSource software. Making the device much more user friendly is great, but I could do stuff with my old set-up that I can't do (yet) with the Nuvi. There should be a difference between easier and dumber.
Overall, a great upgrade. I'm home now, and going to see what I can do about upgrading the European maps. If I can get it free, great. I knew when I bought it that I might have to pay, so I won't be too upset if I have to. I'd get the same model again without hesitation.
Customer Review: Good but needs more configuration options.
Summary: 3 Stars
From an ergonomics and hardware perspective, the Nuvi is clearly the class leader. It does cost too much and the simplicty of the interface greatly limits flexibility.
Hardware. The Nuvi makes the TomTom and other units look downright bloated and clunky. The industrial design is not quite in the Apple league but is the best thing available at the moment. The SiRF chipset is far superior to those used in older GPS units (including some current Garmin StreetPilots). It locks signal quickly, the screen is bright, the voice to text is clear, etc.
I have owned many GPS units of all makes and types. Thus, unlike many 1st time GPS owners, I am no longer mesmerized by the fact that GPS can find my street address. The Garmin, like many other brands does a very good job at getting you from point A to point B. Garmin's maps and algorithms do seem slightly better than some others but it will still send you on some routes that a local driver would not use. the fact that the 670 is preloaded with maps of both Europe and the USA is a great feature IF, and only if, you have a need for this.
My biggest frustration with the Nuvi lineup is the limited configuration options. Garmin, in an effort to appeal to soccer Mom's, has really dumbed down the interface compared to years ago when you could configure just about everything including display of MGRS data. The Nuvi has even less flexibility than the StreetPilot series when it comes to configuration options.
Like any brand of GPS, the Garmin will often recommend a route that is simply absurd. This is where the interface falls down because the only place to select from shortest time, shortest distance, etc., is in the system configuration menus. Magellan, for example, asks you every time if you want "shortest time", "shortest distance", "least use of freeways", "most use of freeways", etc. If Magellan suggests a goofy route you simply go back one screen and pick an alternative. This also provides a quick and easy way to compare various routing suggestions. To do so on the Nuvi you have to return all the way back to the system settings and even then you only have shortest time or shortest distance. I do understand that many folks want to keep it as simple as possible but I also think Garmin should include an "advanced settings" menu for those who want more. Yes, the StreetPilots are more configurable but they are dinosaurs from a hardware perspective.
The TMC traffic service is a mixed bag. It is only useful in certain metropolitan areas. Likewise, the information is often not current. It is like listening to the traffic report telling you that Route XYZ is fine when you are sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on that very road. Quality of data really depends on the geographic area and the road itself. But yes, the way Garmin built the FM receiver into the power cord is a thing of engineering beauty.
Bluetooth may or may not work for you. When I try to pair my Nokia 9300 the Nokia sees the Garmin but the Garmin never sees the Nokia. If this feature is important to you then do check the Garmin site to see if your phone is listed as a compatible unit.
The graphics are good but nothing special. Again, about on par with everyone else.
I have not tried using the Nuvi as an MP3 player. I already own an iPod.
The big question becomes, is it worth the money? This is a tough call considering that some GPS units are now at the $200 mark. If you fly from city to city and want to take your GPS along then the Nuvi is a good choice. It is great to be in a strange city where you jump in a rental car, plug in an address, and away you go. If you want the basics or do not need the slim form factor there are much better deals from Magellan, TomTom, and even Garmin. The Nuvi is a better product but i do not think it is so much better that it justifies the huge price premium. I might feel differently if it had some amazing graphics engine or there were an "advanced configuration" menu that allowed me to tailor it to my own quirks and needs.
I did buy the 670 for the size and the USA/Europe maps. For those specific needs it is the best in class. I do love the Nuvi hardware but I still prefer the software and configuration options on my 4 year old Magellan Roadmate.
Customer Review: Garmin nuvi 670 in Europe (France/Germany)
Summary: 4 Stars
I recently bought this unit because it has maps for the US and Europe builtin. Since I was planning on using the unit in Europe this summer, that is a much cheaper option than having to buy the European (or US) maps separately. I used it a bit in the US, where it consistently gave me reasonable routes, although, as at least one person mentioned, it occasionally will tell you to get off an interstate, and then immediately tell you to get back on it. I found that I had to zoom out a bit so that I could see the overview better. Of course, looking at the screen forces you to take your eyes off the road...
So far, however, most of my experience with it has been in Europe. Here I have been *very* pleasantly surprised. For kicks, I had it route me from the apartment where I stay when I am in France (a couple months a year) to work. It found a little country road that I didn't even knew existed. It even seemed to be a bit faster than my normal route. However, I don't intend to continue to use it, since it is a *little* country road. The same was true on a recent trip in Germany. On one several hundred kilometer trip, it gave me exactly the route that I would have taken, after looking at a map. On another long trip, it took me on a number of country roads. These ranged from very nice ones to rather "interesting" ones that only the locals knew about (in fact, they were probably very surprised to see someone with foreign plates on their "private" shortcut!). Once I got to the destination and looked at a map, the route looked very reasonable, and probably was the fastest way (which I asked for in the preferences).
But it was not without its quirks, as well (no device is perfect, including this one; that's one of the reasons I didn't give it 5 stars). At one intersection, it told me to turn right. Alas, there were two very close roads going off to the right. I chose one, which turned out to be the correct one. However, for some reason, the nuvi got confused and started recalculating, only to give me back the same route that it had originally given me. I knew that, since I got confused and stopped on the side of the road to see what had happened. This can actually be a bit dangerous, since at the same time that I was confused, so was it!
The directions, at least in Europe, could also be improved. While the exits on the major highways are correctly given, and always matched what was on the exit sign (eg, "Take the exit in the direction of *town*", where *town* was also on the exit sign), on the smaller roads it would say "Turn right on xxy street." Well, often there are no streets signs in Germany or France (or they are very small and not so easy to see). Instead, often there are signposts saying which town the road goes to, and that is what the nuvi should say as well.
The bluetooth paired with my Blackberry with no difficulty. I was nicely surprised to see my full address book there. However, for some reason that I have not been able to localize yet, it occasionally will disconnect. Phone? Nuvi?
I originally had a bit of a beef with Garmin, but I can now say that it has been rectified completely to my satisfaction. I received the unit at the end of April. The instruction manual said to go to the Garmin web site to see if there were any map upgrades available. I did, and found a free upgrade for the European map, which I requested. I checked a couple of days later to see that there was an upgrade for the US map, but it would cost $70. Well, after just shelling out $400 for the guy, and not having used it yet, I was a bit upset. I wrote to Garmin, who told me that since it was new, I could get *ONE* free update, either US or European. I told them to cancel the European, since I would be using the unit more in the US. They replied saying that they would ship me both updates. Thanks, Garmin! :-) I haven't had a chance to try out the updates yet, since I am still in Europe, and they are waiting for me back home.
Again, no device is perfect, and all routing must be checked (as Yahoo maps will tell you). But the directions got me to where I wanted to go, and seemed to be reasonable. That's basically what you want in a car GPS unit, no?