Garmin nüvi 680 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
by Garmin
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Our Price: $444.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $72.49 (click here) Category: GPS or Navigation System See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin nüvi 680 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
Customer Review: Garmin Nuvi 680 Gps Navigator Mp3 Player
Summary: 5 Stars
PROS 1 Good navigation with easy to read screen and virtualy no glare I personaly believe the map graphics are better in this series than the later 700 and up series.
2 Voice prompts at least with The British English voice Prompts are easy to understand and helpful when driving. UPDATES have made this thing better at warning you BEFORE you pass your turn.
3 MP3 player is able to sort music by genere, album, play all or random and sound quality is quite good. Portable so you can walk or bike to your location and use internal speaker or use of headphones. 6 hours of battery life MP3 only no GPS or about 3 1/2 to 4 with GPS on.
4 SD expansion slot will allow you up to a 4 gig HC card expanding it's memory or buying expansions such as language translation cards, Book cards or even Parks & Recreation cards for your local state. Built In POI's like major stores or major parks State or Federal (Nation Wide) able to just insert a city name with out having to pick a physical address and also has others like restraunts and local entertainment choices.
5. On top of all that you are able to use GPS Cordinates to find obscure locations with limited or no roads (you will need a reg map that has gps cordinates) and will get you there with no problems great for those hard to find hiking trails.
6 MSN Traffic cord is nice for finding the cheapest gas prices closet to your location or even checking the local movies. The traffic part is only ok but does help out slightly for picking a route (*** warning don't use the Avoid traffic option though it will re-route you for even a 1 to 5 min delay to surface streets which will usually make you take much more time than if you just stuck to the route you were on. Still will warn you visually and Audiably with that option off so if it's a long delay you can still hit the detour button.
Able to add 1 extra route on your way to your original destination but UNABLE to do multiple routes and seperate them by closet to furthest only a minor grip though.
CONS 1. Will do 4 gig Sd cards even the high capacity even though not advertised the draw back with high capacity cards is that you won't get the advertised 1000 songs you will be able to only do around 870 to 880 anything over that it won't read the songs above that number.
2 No multiple routes as mentioned above only 1 insert point.
3 FM reciever is good depending on how large of a city your in too big Denver Portland Seattle ect you might have trouble getting a clear unclutterd channel but you do have the Plug in option like Ipod or other Mp3 players have your stereo just needs the 2.5mm jack.
4. Does not allways take you the quickest route but it does allways get you there though.
5. If your not updating your maps every 2 years or so newer roads done in the past 3 years will not be on your unit but garmin is getting quicker at keeping their map upgrades more up to date.
Highly reccomend much better than TOM TOM or Megelan or a lap top in your car.
Customer Review: Helpful but not without its quirks
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought the Garmin 680 because to save time -- time lost when finding a location and time lost when rotting in traffic. The other features are more like a bonus to me. The 680 is excellent at navigation and its screen is super bright and readable even in the Arizona sun. The screen also responds well to my touch, to my surprise. The voice prompts are nice as well as are many of the configurable navigation options.
Now for the bad. I am most frustrated with the MSN Direct part. It's more of an after thought than a smoothly integrated feature. The problems with the MSN Direct feature are well documented:
- Requires the FM Adapter so you can only use it in the car
- Data updates (especially traffic) can take up to 10 minutes or more. Keep in mind when you start the car that you have no traffic data, so by time you hit the freeway, you may not have the data.
- The MSN Direct overlay icons are small and unclear.
- The MSN Direct info only overlays on the lame map instead of the primary map.
- The Garmin routing algorithm does not factor in traffic when routing an optimal route. (Note it does factor in road closures.)
I really need that traffic data since there are multiple routes in Phoenix area. When the traffic data is there, it has been pretty accurate thankfully. The good news is that about 90% of the time that I need traffic data, it is there.
As for the gas data, some people argued that this data pays for the MSN Direct subscription so it is worth it. Bah! My observations is that the cheapest gasolines stations consistently remain as the cheapest gas stations. And when you can find a cheaper one, it is out of the way not worth the time to get to it. If you can afford the price for this unit, then you are probably more interested in saving time and not saving $0.04 a gallon by driving 10 minutes out of the way.
I'd really like to see Garmin pipe the traffic, gas, etc. data over satellite or cellular instead of FM. Anyway, I doubt I'll renew my MSN Direct unless they give me a nice deal.
A few other complaints... If you load up a fast memory card (2Gigs) with MP3s, this unit takes a super long time to show you the initial map. Why wouldn't Garmin give priority to the navigation and then worry about MP3s afterwards? The points of interest as also missing a lot of established businesses. I'd also like to see a better pedestrian mode such as showing a trail that you walked (great for returning from a hike).
In the end, for automobile navigation, the Garmin is a great product. They need to think through some of their little features and also figure out how to better integrate real-time data like traffic however. With rumors of Apple thinking of adding navigation to the iPhone, Garmin needs to step it up and offer Apple-like usability in all areas or they are going to get smoked.
Customer Review: Nuvi 680 Great - but MSN Direct Stinks
Summary: 4 Stars
I love my Nuvi 680, but I think I would have liked the 660 better. My only dissatisfaction with the 680 is with MSN Direct not really with Garmin. Although Garmin did accept my premium dollars for the MSN Direct features. Garmin should offer to swap the MSN Direct receiver/power cord with the TMC FM receiver power cord so those of us that purchased the 680 for the real-time traffic features can actually receive them. The problem is with MSN Direct.
MSN Direct reception in the Chicago-land area is pitiful. MSN Direct tells you that when you call them with difficulties registering and downloading. Isn't it odd that no one tells you about this known issue BEFORE you purchase this item for delivery to a known reception trouble area? So even though you are not receiving a reliable MSN Direct signal, your "free" subscription (which is really included in the premium price you pay for this unit) continues to expire. Until MSN Direct can give me green bar signals on a reasonably regular basis, my subscription should not be decremented on a daily basis.
From what I have read since, the TMC traffic reception is in fact better. But now I would have to purchase, at more additional cost to me, the TMC power cord / receiver just to get the same functions provided in the 660 out of the box. OK, I would not have movie times, gas prices, and weather, but since MSN Direct can't seem to transmit those to me anyway, at least I would have updated traffic. Had I bought the 660 in the forst place, I would even have some spare $$$ in my pocket.
If you look at the Garmin site, it seems they are also unhappy with MSN Direct, as the new units coming out this fall will use TMC.
The Garmin 680 unit itself is excellent. I love the main GPS features, the Bluetooth mobile phone connection, but all of these are available in lesser priced units. I paid a premium for the MSN Direct features that CAN NOT BE RECEIVED, at least in my area. MSN Direct could not possibly be more arrogant on the phone. Garmin assistance personnel on the other hand, could not be nicer, although they can not be expected to fix the MSN Direct issues.
Just as a note, the audio output to an FM channel "works", however in my area there is no decent FM station to utilize for this function, so we are stuck with unit audio.
Call MSN Direct BEFORE you buy the 680 or any other unit with MSN Direct to get some assurance that there is adequate reception in your area to make use of the features you are paying a premium for. Otherwise, buy the 660, or wait for the newer models coming out this fall that will offer a nice mark my parking spot feature, helping you find your way back to your car in large parking areas.
Customer Review: Good GPS, forget MSN Direct
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this GPS a month ago on the recommendation of a friend, mostly. I researched these devices and determined that none of them work perfectly so I was resigned to some shortcomings. And there were shortcomings. We live in a mostly rural area and I found that the maps in the Garmin often ignore main roads in favor of less traveled, even unpaved roads. While it may be the shortest route, it is often the route that takes the longest. In one case it directed me down a two-rut lane that I was sure had to be someone's driveway. It wasn't. I eventually arrived at the location and the owner of the business told us that MapQuest also always directs people through that weird little route. When using it as an initial test to get to my daughter's, it located her home over a quarter mile farther down the road. This, again, is the same mistake that MapQuest often makes. Then, on the way home, the satellite couldn't find me even though I was traveling on an interstate running down the middle of Michigan. There were scattered thunderclouds but not a solid cloud cover by any means.
I also tried to activate the MSN Direct feature. First of all, activating it was silly. You have to have the GPS plugged in to your 12 volt outlet in your car and have the GPS running to activate it. The activation process then directs you to the website. (?) I called the toll free number and again had to listen to the message direct me to the website before I could speak with a person. I was also informed that the wait to talk to someone was longer than usual and I could also activate via the website. Since I don't have satellite reception on my laptop, I waited. Forget it. No service was available unless I was within about 20 miles of a major metropolitan area. (The representative named three areas in the state of Michigan where it IS available.) (The state capital was not one of them.) There is no service on the interstates between those areas. I purchased this upgraded model specifically so that I could get updated traffic reports when traveling so this pretty much negated my major reason for selecting the 680.
On the positive side (and yes, there is a positive side) I found that the GPS itself it was easy to use, easy to program, easy to save addresses and insert selected points within routes, and USUALLY gets me exactly where I want to go. The screen is large enough and well lit so that I can easily see it and select locations while driving. I haven't tried the DETOUR feature yet, but we are entering construction season and I have no doubt that I will be thankful for it. On the whole, I have been happy with my choice of GPS and feel that I could happily recommend it to others. And do.
Customer Review: A great gadget. But a few frustrations.
Summary: 4 Stars
The NUVI 680 is leaps and bounds beyond our beloved c320 which was stolen. I got this unit specifically for the combo of the mp3 playerand the fm xmitter and for the bluetooth capability.
First off the MP3 player is marginally usable. It does play mp3's. But it's no ipod. I knew that going in, so I really can't complain.
The FM transmitter is a complete waste for me. Our antenna is in the back of the car, so I'll give Garmin the benefit of the doubt. However, even placing the gps directly under the antenna in the back yielded no better reception. I ended up getting a new stereo with an aux in and using a hard connection. Works fine now.
Bluetooth. This has been a thorn in my side since I got the damn thing. My wife and I both have Blackberries. Apparently the Bluetooth works perfectly with just about every manufacturer EXCEPT BLACKBERRY. After months of living with intermittent connectivity with hers, and no connectivity with mine, I think I may have fixed the problem. Quite simply, I updated the software. This may seem like a no brainer, but when I got it I did a search to find any known bugs, and several forums mentioned that the most recent software was what caused the bluetooth problem, and to avoid updating at all cost. So, this morning I finally updated to the latest firmware and it worked like a charm with both Blackberries. For now.
On the plus side, this unit is quick to find satellites, reroutes almost instantly (though I did notice today that the rerouting was a little slower after the update) and generally gives the quickest route.
The MSN direct is really nothing more than a gimmick, though it did come on handy once when we were going to a movie. The gas prices are generally a few days old, and the traffic function basically just tells you you're going to be delayed. I have yet to have it give me a viable alternative route. We live in DC, so traffic is a constant issue.
The screen is awesome, though seems a bit less touch sensitive than the old unit we had. The brightness and visibility in daylight are great. At the lowest brightness setting, it is a bit distracting at night, however. I suppose this can't be helped.
The mount is miles ahead of the old one. This one actually works.The old one wobbled and often would just fall off the windshield. I also like the fact that the power/data cord can be unplugged from the mount. This is nice if I want to put it in a friend's car, or even in a golf cart.
Now that I have the bluetooth figured out, and a solution for running it through the car's stereo, I couldn't be happier.