Garmin nüvi 670 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
by Garmin
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List Price: Our Price: $70.00 You Save: $929.99 (93%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: GPS or Navigation System See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin nüvi 670 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
Customer Review: My First GPS Navigator
Summary: 5 Stars
I picked Garmin because their web site gave better info on their products than other manufacturers. The size and shape of the Nuvi sold me over their PDA-based products. This 670 has a larger screen than the 370 and has the pre-loaded European maps which the 660 model lacks.
The unit has worked properly right out of the box and even acquired the GPS signals inside our house.
The maps display clearly in both 3D and 2D views, with detail appropriate to the level of zoom, which can vary from tens of meters out to showing the whole continent. Mounting the unit in the center of the windshield just under the mirror reduces the obstruction and places it where one is already used to looking. As expected, full sunshine compromises visibility even with backlighting set to 100%. At night, reducing the backlighting to 50% still gives a brighter image than the car's instruments.
The pre-loaded maps include some fairly out-of-the-way restaurants and hotels that I've visited before. Searches for points of interest can start from other locations, so you can get directions to an out-of-town location that you haven't already visited and saved.
Calculation of routes works well with the caveat that the the unit can't know that I prefer to use a scenic route or to turn onto busy main streets at a light.
You can select from several voices. I first picked a classy British lady to read directions, and was quite happy with the result. However, her pronunciation of street names once we got to Quebec make me laugh. Picking the French voice cleared that up, but now I can't wait to hear what that one will do to English place names.
I've had no use yet for the Bluetooth and FM TMC traffic features. Ditto the so-called "must have" features such as MP3 player, audio book player, JPEG picture viewer, currency and unit converters, and extra-cost SD cards. However, I do find the world clock feature, displaying up to five time-zones, useful. The MP3 player is just that; CDs ripped in .wma format won't play.
Overall, I'm satisfied with the purchase. I rationalize the expense (maps only cost a few dollars) by noting that, although I can plot out a route on a map, a few minutes into the trip, I'll have forgotten the directions. Write them on paper? What, and miss all this fun?
Customer Review: Garmin..Simply the best
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this model because it comes preloaded with US, Canada and Europe. My wife and I have been many places where we have put several extra miles on a car and hours on the clock going back and forth trying to narrow down the place we want to be. (we Now joke about it but it wasn't funny at the time) We wonder now, why no one we knew told us about this little device for so long. I don't know how current the maps are I suppose I could find out if I investigated it a bit, but so far we haven't been able to stump her. I plan on buying the expansion map to Mexico and see how that does as well.
We call ours Laura and she hasn't got us lost yet. In fact, every place we have been to so far, has been spot on. It's really great to, especially at night, pull up to an unfamiliar place and have her tell you that you have arrived at??? Place on the left and see you are really where you want to be. I really like the way it re-calculates and tells you how to fix yourself if you miss a turn. It has always given enough advance notice on when to turn, but I would sometimes miss the turn on purpose to see what she does.
The lighting in the day and the change at night are great. I don't have to squint or stare at it to understand what is being presented to me, It is easily understood and perfectly visible.
The suction cup mount works great also, The first time I placed it on the glass I thought surely it would fall right off on the first bump I hit but no deal, Still secure in place and holding fast.
I even find myself just using it for fun, even when I know perfectly well where I am and where I'm going, It's interesting to see how things behind the main roads are laid out.
I have not had any complaints and I would recommend this to anyone that just wants to play around and suggest that, its a MUST HAVE if you have ever travelled to a place and spent any amount of time frustrated because you don't really know where you are, and aren't sure where to turn. (It could even save an argument with you're existing navigator).
Thanks Garmin...
Customer Review: 2000 miles thru Europe in new BMW
Summary: 3 Stars
Just back from taking Euro delivery of BMW 550i. As Garmin shareholders, we elected to not purchase the BMW nav and instead the Nuvi 670.
Overall impressions are good with some reservations. First day travels took us from Munich north in one day to Lieden, Netherlands (about 600 miles). We then drove back south to the Alps over the course of two weeks.
PROS:
Overall good screen and value. Used it to "lock" on the car and then wandered thru villages, and mountain hiking, with unit in jacket pocket. Great at night to find way back to hotel or car. Fast satellite acquistion times and idiot proof functionality. Our first time with a "car" unit, we are longtime offshore sailing users of Garmins and liked the ease of use, quick tap in for addresses and visuals. Liked the option of fast route and shortest distance for interesting country roads and side trips.
CONS:
VERY disappointed on the lag time for turning instructions. At normal speed limits, we were often in the intersection or at the exit before the prompt "turn onto ......." began and there was no faster setting. Couple that with the incorrect pronounciation of the street names in local language and ........frustrating as it cycled into "re-calculating". Another issue was fuel stations that were often the right brand (Shell) but unfortunately located on the other side of the autobahn and totally inaccessible or worse at exits, not there at all. This caused some exciting times when we let fuel levels get too low. Also, we took advantage of the free trial download of safety cameras for the Netherlands. However, while this became abit annoying as any place a camera could be or may have been became a "DING" from the unit, better safe than sorry and no tickets.
FINAL OPINION:
We opened the box and charged the unit and left on the trip with no prior use. Given that, a very good experience and very glad we had this particular unit. Superior value but takes some time to adjust to. Suggest playing with it at home before travel. Would buy again.
Customer Review: Nuvi 670 Disappointment from Garmin
Summary: 1 Stars
First of all I am generally a big Gamin fan. I am also an engineer.
My experience:
I have a garmin GNS430 in my Airplane, Another Garmin in my boat, I have GPS in my corvette and now I have the Nuvi 670. I have used the Hertz neverlost system extensively in USA and Europe, and have Microsoft streets and trips with a deluo transducer on my laptop.
- Cannot configure the time of arrival display (UNBELIEVABLE!) typical GPS allow you to change this to provide ETA, ETE, miles left etc..
- WILL NOT PROVIED LAT and LONGITUDE (UNBELIEVEABLE!) anybody with mulitple gps devices will want this... (It does appear to let you INPUT lat and long. to find a location)
- in any mode (ESPECIALLY "pedestrian") it does not provide a compas heading in degrees.... (only North or NW for example) <-- almost useless
- Every single other feature you have to pay extra for..
- FM transmission (car stereo connectivity) is weak
- MAPs do seem pretty accurate.. GPS location is pretty accurate (have not yet tried Europe)
-I am convinced the USB connection is 1.1 not USB 2 it is HORRIBlY SLOW..!!!! HORRIBLE! HORRIBLE! WHY WOULD THEY DO THIS?
- Has other good features like blue tooth to phone, MP3 playing (note avail interal memory is only about 1 GB - true it is expandable but all the other features need a special SD card occupying the slot to run - this means that if you have 4GB of MP3s in a SD card, you cant play them while having your dictionary available.. have to keep a bunch of cards handy and keep changing them.
Dictionary, language translation etc.. but all costs extra..
Which brings us to another point.. VERY EXPENSIVE.. In my opinion - not worth the money... I would seriously recommend Magellan (makers of the Hertz "Never Lost").. Overall: This item is a little too "dumbed down" for the masses..
Customer Review: A Pocketful of Miracles!
Summary: 5 Stars
We have had in-car GPS units in my wife's last two Infiniti FX 35s and I always considered them the benchmark for in-car navigation but the Nuvi 670 is clearly superior.
I use the 670 in both my BMW sedan and my Porsche 911 and it is markedly better than the in-car systems offered by either of these manufacturers.
So far it has performed flawlessly. It's easy to program and the maps are nicely detailed. An easy-to-use menu system lets you quickly customize the unit's functionality to your personal preferences. The included windshield mount puts the unit up where your eyes should be - watching the road and traffic - not down at dash level.
The traffic alert system works just fine in my area and it is a terrific help in avoiding delays. The traffic data links up to the 670 through a special power cord that includes an FM receiver.
Don't lose this cord - the replacement cost is north of $200! A standard vehicle power cord is $30 and is what I use when I take the unit on business travel or vacation trips. After the initial trial period the traffic alert service costs $60 for an annual subscription fee.
The unit updates over the Internet via your computer and thanks to a recent software fix it is both PC and Mac friendly.
I plan to use the 670 both in-car and - thanks to the battery and built-in maps for both North America and Europe - on foot in Italy this summer. This wouldn't be my pick for a back county hiking GPS but I'm looking forward to seeing how it helps me get around Rome on foot.
When you factor in the other features Garmin builds into the Nuvi that go beyond navigation (Photo Viewer, Bluetooth link, MP3 player, SD card slot, etc.) and the add-ons and accessories available you have the Swiss Army knife of portable GPS units.