Customer Reviews:
 Awesome Product October 21, 2008
This is the best GPS system I have ever owned. I love the fact that you can change the settings to automatically reroute you if you miss a turn or something. My old GPS would just get mad and tell me to turn around whereas this one just recalculates a new route everytime I make a mistake. I beleive for the money this is the best unit around. The only downfall is that if you want audio you have to keep your FM dial on the GPS station and you miss whatever you may want to listen to. There is also kinda static on. I just don't use the audio and everything is perfect. A++++
Lives up to it's reputation October 21, 2008
When I bought this as my first GPS there was no question as to which brand I would buy. Just about everyone I know has a Garmin nuvi and they all love theirs. The question became which model would I want. After comparing the many different features I decided the 760 had everything I wanted on it. I definitely wanted it to be bluetooth compatible cause I spend an awful lot of time on my cell phone while I'm on the road and when I saw that it could be run thru my car stereo that was a big plus. The bluetooth worked great from my end. I could hear the callers perfectly. Unfortunately, since I drive a MINI cabrio the callers had a difficult time hearing me. My voice apparently became muffled between the wind and traffic noises. But I have no complaints about the rest of features. The many I have used have come in very handy and been mostly accurate. My only other complaint was, that on a recent trip to New Orleans the GPS apparently did not know which roads were one way in which direction. On several occasions it told me to turn the wrong way down a one way street. I don't know if this is because New Orleans has changed the directions of their roads since the maps were installed or if the information was just incorrect to begin with. Maybe I need an updated map, although since then I have been told that GPS' simply do not work in New Orleans for just that reason, no matter which brand nor what year the maps are. Other than that I love it! I feel so much safer having my Garmin on board. It is incredibly easy to use, read and listen to. I could arrive just about anywhere without ever having to look at a map or street sign as long as I can enter the address.
 Great so long as you don't run into any detours or traffic. October 20, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Overall this is a great unit. It is very easy to use, has good map quality and gets you where you need to be. If I had to buy a GPS unit for my Mother, this would be it!
That being said, this and all other Nuvi GPS units I've used have a major flaw. The re-routing and detour features on the Nuvi are an absolute joke. On a recent trip, from Ohio to Michigan, I encountered a highway which was suddenly closed. Well, no problem I thought, I'll just hit the "detour" button and route around. What I didn't know at the time was how the detour function on the Nuvi works.
Detour essentially will avoid the road you are currently on. So, if you are on an access road about to get onto a closed highway, the unit will still try to guide you right back onto the blocked highway. If you are already on the highway in question hitting detour will try to avoid the entire length of the road segment which can be up to 50-100 miles!
An alternative to using the detour button is to simply ignore the instruction the GPS gives you and then take another route, after which the GPS will attempt to do anything to get you back on your original route. This is rarely a major issue, but when it comes up it can cost you dearly.
On a recent trip to Germany (I have Europe maps loaded on a SD card), I was routing to an address. The autobahn(highway) exit I was supposed to take was closed. Beyond that, the next exit was completely blocked by an accident and traffic. At this point, no combination of pressing detour or simply letting the GPS re-route was able to get me on track. The Nuvi went into a logic loop of trying to re-route me right back into traffic or back to the closed highway ramp. It simply would not take me off the highway onto country roads to get around the problem. I ended up circling for 45 minutes with Nuvi constantly steering me wrong.
Other GPS vendors solve this kind of problem with more sophisticated avoid and detour options. TomTom units allow you to select to detour (avoid current road) for a specific distance. So if there is an accident ahead, you can say "detour 3 miles" and the unit will figure out the best route assuming the next 3 miles of the highway are blocked. In addition, you can choose to avoid particular highways or exits altogether with just a few keystrokes, something Nuvi Can't do.
Alternative Routes: I'm planning a trip from Cleveland Ohio to Decatur, IL. My Nuvi thinks the best route is to go via Columbus and Indianapolis. However, I'd rather go via i90 and take the northern route along the great lakes and cut south near Chicago. Well, on the Nuvi it is damned near impossible to make this happen. Even if I just started driving that way, Nuvi will keep trying to force me to head south too soon. The tomtom I've used allows me to select "Alternative Route" from the beginning and the northerly route is chosen after a single button press.
Update: It is possible to force the nuvi to use a particular route, but you have to be very clever about it. Enter your destination, then hit "Go". Next, scroll out on the map and scroll to the highway you want to take. Click that point on the map and then select "Go" you will then be asked if you want to add this point as a via. Your route will then re-calculate to go via that point. Be careful however, you must select a point near the end of the highway section you want to take, otherwise Nuvi will still try to route you off your desired path.
 Loaded with features... October 20, 2008
I purchased the Garmin nüvi 760, my first GPS unit, and was very surprised to see features I did not even know where there! The display is easy to read, the unit is easy to operate, and it has been a major time saver on road trips. The "look up" capabilities are wonderful for addresses, intersections, points of interest, etc...
Now, the things that did not make me happy. What upset me by far the most is after the unit arrived I attached it to my PC, registered the unit and was informed I needed an update. After updating the firmware I was informed I should update the map... for $69....what???? I just took it out of the box and it is outdated??? Not happy about that at all.
The FM transmitter will fade out during travel depending on signals in the area, small towns the maps are outdated and road changes that may be several years old are not reflected which has caused some unnecessary turns and route changes. The MP3 player portion has enough memory to hold every song I have, however the playback quality if not even close to the CD or radio.
Overall, I am happy with the unit, but I will not pay the outrageous price to update the map any time soon, and that still upsets me.
Wonderful to have October 19, 2008
Well after debating for months between the 660 which is now D/C and the 760 I finally purchased the 760 after hurricaine Ike (it would have been really helpful at that time) my husband was skeptical but we love this thing. It is 100% right on with directions and we have no problem aquiring a quick signal. I like the way a little car shows where you are and the voice is very helpful and clear. My husband is using the bluetooth feature and apparently that turns off the voice commands we will have to figure that one out. Have not even read the manuel it is so easy to work. I would highly recommend right now we transfer between 2 cars with the little dash mat. I may just buy another one if the price goes lower.
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