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: My Second Garmin
Summary: 5 Stars
For about ten years I had been using a Garmin 12 Map for my travels. It worked quite well and still functions as if new. I was quite curious to discover the differences that one decade would make in a navigational system. To claim here that the changes are astonishing would be both accurate and vastly understated. The Nuvi 670 includes a variable FM transmitter that permits the audio to run through a car or home stereo on any vacant FM frequency (although there are few such frequencies any more). The Nuvi also includes VERY detailed maps of the USA, Canada, all of Western Europe and some of Eastern Europe. It has a superb MP3 player, a photo storage capability and a useful talking book player.
At 6.2 ounces it feels light and portable, even in a shirt pocket (where it fits easily). The screen is clear, bright and functions well on its internal (Lithium Ion) battery, via an (included) AC adapter or the 12/24 Volt car-charger (also included) that simultaneously serves as a traffic info antennae that will also run through the car's FM radio. The tiny built-in speaker provides good quality sound and volume, so the FM radio is not necessary (if there are no vacant frequencies or you are outside of a car/home).
The car charger only connects to the Nuvi via the suction cup adapter (for windshield mounting) so a user needs to carry the mounting system on trips to be able to use the car charger. As with all portable GPS receivers, mounting is an issue because the windshield suction cup obscures some visibility, and leaving on the dash (even with an optional "bean bag" mount) makes the unit subject to sliding or falling during sharp turns or sudden stops. However, because reception is VASTLY improved (over my 12 Map Garmin), satellite signals can easily be recceived anywhere inside the car, so I am now placing the unit on the center console where it works just fine.
I recently purchased a new car and decided NOT to include the factory GPS because it was far more expensive than the Garmin (MSRP $2,500), less functional and not portable. I am convinced that was the prudent choice, and when I eventually sell this new car, I get to keep the GPS.
I do plan to take the Nuvi to Europe this fall. The map coverage there seems as complete as that in the USA.
Clearly I am quite pleased with my second Garmin. The company has earned my loyalty AND the record profits Garmin has earned from being such a leader in a complex field.
Customer Review: Very Pleased Overall
Summary: 4 Stars
The Garmin nuvi 670 is the first GPS I've owned, I've used them in rental cars, but decided that since I travel so much, I needed to own one. I bought the 670 rather than the 660 although no trip to Europe is planned right now; the cost difference between the 660 and 670 was about $100, and Europe maps cost about $200.
The unit is great so far. Mapping works, although it doesn't know some recent roads. I travel alot, both in the city and in very rural (gravel road) areas. The routing in rural areas was weird - took me miles out of the way, but later I learned that the "avoid unpaved roads" was turned on. I've unchecked this option and will try again soon. Another weird routing decision was that it routed me one way to my destination and another way on the return trip. Despite these events, it gets me where I need to go and is an improvement on my total lack of direction.
I love audiobooks, and took advantage of the 3 free Audible books with the Garmin. They have a fantastic selection and I'm really thrilled to get bestsellers to listen to. My library has a good selection, but not too much really recent. Also the NY Times - really great to have the news read to me in the morning!
I thought I'd love the FM transmission feature - but I guess I didn't understand how it works. I can't listen to my car radio or CD player while its in FM transmission mode. So I don't use it much, except when I'm listening to something from Audible that I've loaded into the unit.
The best feature is the bluetooth. I don't have to take my phone out of my purse. I can make and receive calls so easily and its much safer than trying to hold the phone while driving. And I like it much better than the headphone I sometimes remembered to wear. My callers say that the sound quality is OK - not great, but as good as what I was doing before.
The TMC traffic is pretty useless - it has warned me about incidents that don't exist by the time I get to the area - and not warned me about other incidents - or rerouted me into major construction areas. I've heard MSN is better, but I'd have had to spend at least $100 more on a 7xx model, and I didn't think it was worth it for me.
The POI is really neat too - a mobile yellowpages. Really geat that I can also call with just a press of the button. Its just as helpful at home as on the road in unfamiliar places.
How did I get along before my GPS?
Customer Review: You are paying a lot of money for a very good product but it should be better.
Summary: 2 Stars
I have been loyal to Garmin for over 12 years but now I am beginning to think elsewhere. I docked half mark for poor layout. In previous Garmin products, you could choose how much and the type of information displayed. On this model, you can only display two and Garmin decides what those will be. On my regular trips to and from work, I do not need the map but I do like the traffic transponder. However, traffic alerts can only de displayed on the map and not the other displays and so these minor gripes go on.
I docked a second half mark for the announcement of the next turn off. More often than not, the distance to the next turn is not to a turn at all but as you approach the turn, it advises you to carry on down the road you are on. This renders the displayed information of little value. More frustratingly, it does not tell you that it is not a turn until after you have moved into the lane anticipating it. The most serious implication is that at a complex junction the Garmin will instruct you not to turn for the first exit and then announce a real turn almost as you are on top of it. Not only does this mean you have to move back out of the first exit lane but you need to make quick decision for the real approach. This can lead to you being a nuisance to other road users.
Finally, I docked two marks for Garmin stopping users uploading bought mapping to the computer. Most people are aware that a drawback of current GPSes is that they can take you through the middle of a town rather than the route around it. They can send you down routes that aren't roads at all. They can take you off the interstate at one exit only to bring you back on at the next. A real danger is that they can take you on roads that are inappropriate for drivers that are not prepared. To guard against this I check the route out on the computer first but with the Nuvi, Garmin expect you to do it on the screen. It is impractical to check out a route turn by turn for a long trip on such a small screen without a mouse and without doing so will lead to nonesenses and occasionally danger... Garmin will of course sell you a second map for your computer and that would require four maps one for each region for both the GPS and the PC.
One last wine. Garmin do not tell you that you have to update both map areas independently and you need a separate, expensive traffic receiver for the second map area.
Customer Review: You are paying a lot of money for a very good product but it should be better
Summary: 2 Stars
I have been loyal to Garmin for over 12 years but now I am beginning to think elsewhere. I docked half mark for poor layout. In previous Garmin products, you could choose how much and the type of information displayed. On this model, you can only display two and Garmin decides what those will be. On my regular trips to and from work, I do not need the map but I do like the traffic transponder. However, traffic alerts can only de displayed on the map and not the other displays and so these minor gripes go on.
I docked a second half mark for the announcement of the next turn off. More often than not, the distance to the next turn is not to a turn at all but as you approach the turn, it advises you to carry on down the road you are on. This renders the displayed information of little value. More frustratingly, it does not tell you that it is not a turn until after you have moved into the lane anticipating it. The most serious implication is that at a complex junction the Garmin will instruct you not to turn for the first exit and then announce a real turn almost as you are on top of it. Not only does this mean you have to move back out of the first exit lane but you need to make quick decision for the real approach. This can lead to you being a nuisance to other road users.
Finally, I docked two marks for Garmin stopping users uploading bought mapping to the computer. Most people are aware that a drawback of current GPSes is that they can take you through the middle of a town rather than the route around it. They can send you down routes that aren't roads at all. They can take you off the interstate at one exit only to bring you back on at the next. A real danger is that they can take you on roads that are inappropriate for drivers that are not prepared. To guard against this I check the route out on the computer first but with the Nuvi, Garmin expect you to do it on the screen. It is impractical to check out a route turn by turn for a long trip on such a small screen without a mouse and without doing so will lead to nonesenses and occasionally danger... Garmin will of course sell you a second map for your computer and that would require four maps one for each region for both the GPS and the PC.
One last whine. Garmin do not tell you that you have to update both map areas independently and that one traffic receiver will not cover the two map regions.
Customer Review: Worth it
Summary: 4 Stars
I have used this now for several months. I have a Garmin quest that I am extremely happy with so most comparisons are made to that. In general I'd higly recommend the unit.
Pros:
1. Fast satellite acquisition
2. Directions spot on
3. Very intuitive interface
4. Voice directions loud and clear (sometimes mispronounced but not a big deal)
5. Big clear display
6. Very compact for the amount of functionality it provides and the screen size. It will fit into jean pockets provided you don't have anything else in there. I wanted something with a large screen and if you don't need the additional functionality and looking for more portability go with the 3xx series. I wanted the extras since I'm planning europe trips so I'm fine with the extra girth.
7. Bluetooth functionality works great with my slvr l7.
8. It's good that they made their connectivity using mini USB rather than some proprietary plug.
NOTE: I don't have any major cons with the devices but there are a fe minor annoyances:
1. Speaker seems too soft to recieve calls over unless you have it mounted quite close, not sure if this is a function of the unit or the phone on the other end since directional instructions come through loud and clear. Also I haven't tried recieving through the FM transmitter
2. Havn't played with it too much but I have a garmin quest and it's routing algorithms seem a little better than the nuvi. The nuvi tends to try and take side streets rather than use freeways even with all avoideances turned off. I'm hoping this is just a settings issue.
3. Disabling the europe maps doesn't seem to affect stratup times too much.
4. For the asking price would have been nice if they included some extras like the language dictionary, but I'm not sure what the margins are on these things.
5. Would be nice if you could change the number diplay subsections to whatever you want. On my quest I can customize the number readouts to show things like total distance left, speed etc. Don't seem to be able to do this with this unit and this is an annoyance since it displays the time left which is often wrong and ultimately not that useful. Hoping that Garmin will release an update for this.
Functions not used:
1. FM Transmitter
2. European maps
3. Language dictionary