Nuvi 770 Opinions

jamieh

Hi all,

I just bought a Garmin Nuvi 770 on Ebay.

I've never used or seen one!!

What are they like??

coylemj

Did you read any reviews about the 770 before you bought it? Sorry but that is a strange question to ask in a forum - normally people solicit advice before buying a unit and after the event they share their experiences and opinions with the other folk who follow this thread.

jamieh

coylemj wrote: »

Did you read any reviews about the 770 before you bought it? Sorry but that is a strange question to ask in a forum - normally people solicit advice before buying a unit and after the event they share their experiences and opinions with the other folk who follow this thread.

Ya, I read a review online and it seemed positive enough.

I was hoping someone could "share their experiences and opinions" with me regarding the 770.

If you look at most forums here people give advice and opinions on buying stuff - motors, photography, mobiles & pda's, computers, etc.

wallyworld

Jamieh:

Probably useless to you, but I have a Nuvi 670 and basically love it. I do like the widescreen, the bluetooth, the FM transmitter etc. I think the 770 has some more bells and whistles, just not sure what.

As with all GPS maps, it's not perfect: there are definitely some major errors in Dublin (e.g., taking you the wrong way on a one way street near Camden/Georges Street that is a remarkably dangerous error). Don't treat it as your Bible!

I assume the 770 has the ability to receive traffic information which will currently be useless to your here. Of course, Ireland hasn't gotten around to putting this system in place. That's a major difference between here and say the UK or US. I've used traffic-aided GPS in the US, and it is a very nice feature, especially in a city like Dublin, where the wrong route (from a traffic perspective) can cost you dearly in time. Does anyone know when/if we will get real-time traffic updates here? Right now, it's a wasted feature on my 670.

Anyway, my basic understanding from reading all the posts in this forum for the last several months is the Navteq maps are the way to go, and that's what you have on your 770. I assume you will get the latest European maps?

Feel free to disregard everything I just said b/c I'm talking about a different model!

WW

jamieh

Hey man,

Thanks a mill for the advice!

I was actually wondering myself when traffic alerts will work in Ireland!!

Does the FM transmitter work or is it kind of gimmicky? Can you route the handsfree to your car speakers via the FM transmitter or is it just the audio directions that go through the transmitter?

wallyworld

Jamieh:

There may be some contrary views (check some recent posts about bluetooth problems), but I've found the FM transmitter to very useful. It's very good sound (you tune it one of the lower FM frequencies on your car radio), and it works for both directions and bluteooth phone calls. I think the 770, like the 670, has an MP3 player as well and you can route music into your FM radio!

The only downside I've found to running the sound through the car's FM radio is that you can't listen to music at the same time. For example, my 670 is tuned to 88.1 on the FM dial on the car radio, which means that I can't use the CD player or listen to another station while I am listening to 88.1. In any event, the internal speaker also works for fine and is quite loud.

One other tip: as soon as you get your Nuvi, check to see if it has the latest SYSTEM software, as opposed to the mapping software. Get on to the Garmin website, b/c I think they released some updated system software for the 770 last month. The update is free.

Getting this may be crucial for a "well-tempered" GPS, as these updates contain all sorts of bug fixes, new voices/languages etc. I've mentioned in other posts that I was having all sorts of problems with my bluetooth, but as soon as I downloaded the updates from Garmin, it now works perfectly.

Enjoy it!
WW

ekevosu

jamieh wrote: »

Hey man,

I was actually wondering myself when traffic alerts will work in Ireland!!

I got a traffic alert when I took my 660 driving in Austria which was the one and only time its happened to me. I've never gotten them in Ireland. Has anyone else got them?