Garmin nüvi 650 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
by Garmin
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin nüvi 650 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Customer Review: how did I do without it?
Summary: 5 Stars
I just ordered and received my Garmin Nuvi 650 (refurb). It looks brand new and well worth the savings over new.
I compared Magellan and Garmin at the local bigbox stores. For me, Garmin's software is super easy. I felt like I was using a GPS device, not a technologically advanced device. To me, that is a major distinction. My 4 year old daughter was able to use the interface without hesitation. The Garmin interface is so fantastically simple to operate that within minutes I created my Home address as well as several Favorites.
I also put it to the ultimate test by making a drive to a location 35 miles away, down 2 lane country roads, without a map and only an address to go by. It took me there in the time estimated for my arrival. Once I reached the destination, I pressed Home and proceeded to make my way home without any issues.
Fantastic mapping. When I knew my area, i purposely chose an alternate route and the device quickly recalculated the route based upon my driving change.
Any gps can function in a big city, on major roads, but when it can function correctly on 2 lane country roads, I am amazed. Fantastic device. No bluetooth but that's not a big deal for me. The voice prompts were loud and clear and the street pronunciations were dead on.
The lack of accessories doesn't hamper me. The included usb cable charges the unit when connected to a computer as well as the car charger. I only use mine for family trips, not day to day to/from work so the case wasn't a big drawback for me.
In addition, even though I purchased a refurbished unit, it still qualified for the 2009 Maps. i was able to download and install the current maps for free. Thanks Garmin!
Update:
We used the Garmin Nuvi 650 on vacation this weekend to go to Hocking Hills, Ohio. It performed flawlessly. Our friends met us up there using paper maps. The return home, we left not from our Cabin location but from a different location that they did not have mapped out. I just selected my pre-configured Home button and followed the GPS' directions. Our friends could not believe that we would trust this GPS device wholeheartedly, without any paper maps to review. It got us home perfectly, and our friends followed us as they no longer had a route home via their paper maps.
Do I trust the Garmin Nuvi 650? Yes. Map routing has proved to be excellent, re-routing has proved to be excellent, performance has proved to be excellent, and the 4.3" screen is perfect. Better yet, my wife loves it.
Update - We took the Nuvi 650 to Norris Lake, TN (or rather it took us). Fantastic. It took us up to the address we had for our rental Cabin resort much better than the minimal directions provided by the resort owner. The return trip returned a slightly different route. Instead of taking us directly to interstate 75, it directed us to 25W for 22 miles and then linked us to 75N. 25W turned out to be a great drive showcasing America. If you trust the Nuvi 650, it will get you to your destination and may provide for some additional views that you may never have seen otherwise.
Finding restaurants or rest stops while traveling is great now. We can plan ahead for a future stop. As my title indicates, I don't know how I got along without it before.
Boston update:
I recently spent some time in downtown Boston. I set the GPS to Pedestrian mode as I did not have a car. It performed flawlessly. I used the GPS to find local restaurants and routes to them, entertainment areas such as Fenway park and the Museum of Science. Using Pedestrian mode, I never got lost. I also found a Subway sandwich restaurant, located inside a building, with no sign on the outside of the building indicating it was inside. Without the GPS I would not have known the Subway even existed.
Pedestrian mode is great as it routes you via sidewalks and overhead walking bridges.
I can't answer for those that complain but for me, this is a fantastic GPS. It re-routes fast, fits in my pocket, and is easily handheld. It provides me with routing information, a POI source, and a source to store pictures and play mp3's.
Customer Review: Like Having the Yellow Pages for Every City With You (But Better!)
Summary: 5 Stars
I did a tremedous amount of comparison research (including Consumer Reports, GPS review web sites, and Amazon reader reviews) before deciding on the Garmin 650. I was looking for a GPS that had a 4.3 inch screen, spoken street names, was reliable and accurate, was pocket-sized, and wouldn't cost me a fortune. Amazon had the 650 for a great price before Christmas so I bought two, one for my 60-something parents (who had never used a GPS before) and one for myself. After doing a brief run-through with my parents on how to use it, add favorite locations, etc., they were off and driving! They have had no problems with the 650's easy-to-use screens. The arrival time is always right on, and the spoken directions are clear and given with enough lead time that you can exit or slow down for the coming turn with no problem. The spoken road names make it absolutely clear which road you should turn on and it eliminates the need to look at the screen to see the name of the road. Due to its small size (slightly larger than a deck of cards), when we arrive at our destination, I remove the 650 from its mount and slip it into my purse.
The other thing I really like about the Garmin is the extensive Points of Interest listings (such as restaurants, hotels, hospitals, amusement parks, Post Offices, etc.). It is like having the Yellow Pages for every city with you at all times but better! If you want to go to a Point of Interest, the 650, unlike the Yellow Pages, will tell you exactly how to get there. This is very useful when you are somewhere unfamiliar and are looking for a restaurant, for instance. You simply scroll through the restaurants in that city (you can search by type of food to make it quicker to scroll through), choose the one you want, and hit "GO" to get the directions. The phone number is also included in the listing, so you can call ahead to make reservations if you like. You can also enter the name of a favorite store, and it will give you all locations of that store near you, mileage from where you are, etc. This came in handy at Christmas when I was looking for a certain item and couldn't find it. Rather than driving to all the stores and/or calling information for the numbers for local stores, I simply searched for stores near me and called them from 650's Points of Interest listings. What a time (and gas) saver!
Garmin also has the "Garmin Garage" available on their web site. You can download different vehicles to make your road trip more fun, such as a convertible sports car, an SUV, a boat, a Christmas light, etc. We downloaded a blue-nosed reindeer for our Christmas trips. It's a fun little extra, very simple to download and install, and totally free.
Overall, I would recommend the Garmin 650 wholeheartedly for anyone due to its simplicity and accuracy, plus it is a lot of fun! However, I would recommend buying the Bean Bag Mount that Amazon sells separately rather than using the windshield mount that comes with the unit. The Bean Bag Mount is much easier and quicker to use.
Customer Review: Wonderful GPS Unit
Summary: 5 Stars
I placed this review on CNET as well, but thought it would be worth adding on Amazon too.
I've read many reviews regarding the Garmin's, Tom-Tom's, Magellan, and other GPS units, and finally decided on the Garmin. This is a great unit and I am glad that I decided on this for my purchase.
There are several key factors that make this a great product:
1. Screen - Bright in broad daylight, big at 4.3", easy to use touchscreen
2. Interface - Simple to use, especially for those who aren't tech savy
3. Favorites - You can save your favorite addresses and name them in the system so you can plan routes from often used addresses over and over (I can't believe how many reviews I read that said Garmin didn't have this - they obviously didn't know how to use the unit).
4. Points of interests - Lots of points of interest to look up as you travel along your route.
5. Reroutes - Quickly reroutes you if you miss a turn or need to get around traffic - a matter of seconds.
6. Satellite reception - Awesome - finds satellites in seconds and has great reception even in structures.
7. Variety of map views - The 650 has both 2D and 3D map views, giving you a variety of ways of looking at your route. This is helpful in trip planning.
8. Clear voice instructions - The route instructions are loud and easy to hear, even on the freeway.
Cons:
1. No zip code lookup - This is the one thing I wish Garmin would add to their nav system. Garmin has you input the state, then city, then address every time when inputting new addresses. It often finds the state, city, and address for you after a few letters, but it still would be much easier with a zip code feature. I think they may add this in the near future as most GPS systems do have this feature. It isn't a deal breaker, however, because of the overall performance of the system.
Things you'll want to buy:
1. Carrying case to protect the unit (Garmin makes one)
2. A/C adapter if you want to charge it in a wall outlet (in my opinion, it isn't necessary, since it comes with both a car charger and a USB cord for charging it on your computer).
3. Friction mount for the car if you don't want to use the suction cup mount (Garmin makes one).
Updating the unit - Garmin offers a utility on their website for updating the unit's software. The latest updates were already on the unit, but it is nice to know that you can update it online.
All in all its a great unit. If you are looking for Bluetooth and Traffic updates, then buy the 660, however, it does cost about $150 more currently.
Customer Review: Great product for its price
Summary: 5 Stars
I absolutely love this unit. I guess when it is first starting up it take a few moments to acquire the satellites. But everytime afterwards it aquires the signal very quickly.
The thing I like the most about this unit is the ease of the interface. It only takes about a half hour of playing around with to fully grasp everything this unit has to offer. It is very easy to input favorite addresses such as friends addresses and such.
I tested out the unit the day by driving to a friends place. It took me the route that I would take normally to jump on the freeway and with the helpful voice guidance got me to my location without a problem. I even took a wrong turn at certain times during the route just to test the GPS unit and low and behold, it worked flawlessly. It took about 3-5 seconds for the gps system to determine that I had gone the wrong route and recalculate another route for me.
There has been an incidence where it took a little bit longer to realize that I had missed my turn, but it had no problem rerouting me to get me to my destination.
In regards to someone else's comment about how the map doesnt realize that you have not taken a turn, its true the that map is still assuming that you have taken the turn and rotates as if you are on the new street, but the car icon still shows you on the street in which you really are. It just takes a moment for it to reconfigure the map.
One horrible thing that I hate about the 650, well not really the 650 but the packaging is the lack of the manual, you have to go print it out yourself. It isn't a big deal whereas it effects the performance of the gps system, but it is quite annoying to have to print it out yourself.
In regards to POI's, I am still confused as to how I am amble to enter them onto my computer and then load them into the GPS system, I did download the loader but I dont know what program to use to create the POI's, Garmin's website doesn't exactly have anything in regards to a program that creates POI's.
Unlike other GPS units, this one doesnt show POI's on the map while your driving, you have to actually choose one in order to get there, so while you are driving you cant see what the nearest gast station is in relation to your position on the map, rather you have to go into the system to find it. But in regards to this, everything you need in a GPS system is in this one. I saw no need to spend an extra $100 on an FM transmitter, bluetooth or traffic receiver.
For the price i paid, $300, this is my first GPS unit and I am more than satisfied with it. I would recommend this to anyone.
Customer Review: A whole new world!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Nuvi 650 is a life-changing device for someone who gets so easily lost as me. Before I had it, I tended to always use the same old simplest routes and go only to the stores and restaurants I know I could get to without getting terribly lost. I also tended not to go out at nights because landmarks were harder to see. Now with the GPS I have new confidence and it's like a whole new world opened up to me! No sooner do I pass the street that I was supposed turn onto and "Karen's" voice tells me it's re-calculated the route and clearly pronounces something like "In .2 miles turn left onto Susquehanna St". Some other GPS route's can not say road names like that. I'm going to new parks and lunch spots, and trying out new scenic routes to the office.
It has many points of interest loaded meaning that you don't always need to know the exact address to go to. I can just spell out "Panera" and lets me choose from all the surrounding Panera bread stores. Also it lets you save your favorite places so you can quickly click and go. There's even a "go home button". Garmin really thought out all the things a user would want to do and designed an incredibly friendly user interface.
An additional plus of the unit is the high sensitivity GPS receiver. Even when it is cloudy and storming outside I have had no trouble getting GPS satellite reception. This makes me feel safer coming home when the when the windshield is awash with rain and street signs hard to make. The GPS unit lets me know things like "Make left on Broad Street in .2 miles", and then just before the turn tells me "Turn left on "Broad Street".
The screen is very clear and the maps are good, and even just by listening I can find my way because the unit gives such clear instructions.
I was unsure about how much I'd use the mp3 functionality of the unit. It does come in handy though because sometimes I get absorbed in a really good song and forget to make a turn. When I use the GPS unit as my mp3 player, it pauses the music momentarily to give me the next direction so I pay attention to it. I was able to take the SD card from my camera and drag and drop my mp3 files onto it for the nav system.
I did think it odd and slightly inconvenient that it didn't arrive with a standard charger for an outlet. On the other hand it did however come with a cigarette lighter charger for the car which is where I use the Nav system, and other companies could have considered that an optional accessory. I usually charge up the unit via the usb hub on my computer and that's been working out just fine.
All in all, Way to go Garmin!