11 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
Easy to Use Travel
Date of Review: Sep 15, 2009
The Bottom Line: I have been more than pleased with this affordable Garmin GPS. I would recommend it because of the price and the easy to use navigation system.
I bought this GPS for Christmas last year and have been more than pleased with it. I have found that it is very easy to use and has many great navigation features. Here are some of the many benefits of using the Garmin:
Navigation: This is obviously the main purpose for using a GPS so it is important that this system is adequate. Once the GPS is set up, it locks onto the satellite so it finds your location. Finding a destination is very easy to use. You need to press the “Where To” button on the main screen. From there, you can search by categories such as restaurants, gas stations, movie theaters, etc. This is convenient if you are in an unfamiliar place and you are looking for a place to eat.
Another way to search is by the address. You can simply enter the address in manually and it will give you directions from where you are at. It is capable of saving many locations. We have used this to save our house address so we can easily click on ‘home’ and it will give us directions as to how to get back. The routes are calculated very quickly and it is also easy to cancel the route and start over.
Another feature is the alternate route or multiple destinations. This will enable you to put stops in that you would like to make on the way without having to re-enter your final destination.
Recalculating route occurs when you make a wrong turn or you make a stop on the way that isn’t programmed. As soon as you make a change it prompts “recalculating route” and it shows you the new way to get to your destination. This is helpful if you are in a big city and make one small unexpected turn and need to find your way without having to backtrack.
While you are traveling it shows your speed in the car, the direction you are headed, and the distance before your next turn. It shows a map of where you are with a purple line indicating the road you are on. You can change the view of the map so it is zoomed in to show more detail or zoomed out to show the surrounding areas. These you can change more to your preference.
Voice Prompt: As you are traveling to your destination, the voice prompt will tell you when to make a turn and how far ahead you need to do it. For example, it will say “In 50 feet, turn left.” This helps the driver focus on driving and doesn’t distract the driver by looking at the map or directions. The volume can be adjusted or muted so the voice prompt is not heard.
You can custom choose your preferred language from the menu screen. There is English, British English, German, and French. We have found this option to be useful with a friend that speaks German; he could change it so he wouldn’t be confused with the English directions.
Size: This GPS is portable and thin. It can fit into your pocket or purse. It has a 3.8 inch screen display so it is easy to view the maps and other directions on the screen.
Battery Life: This Garmin GPS has a battery life of 4 hours on a full charge. It can be charged in both the car and at home. I found it easiest to just plug it into the car while traveling so I don’t have to depend on the battery life but it is nice to know that if I need it somewhere else that it will last for a long period of time.
Other Features: There are other tools available like the JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, and calculator. All of these features are nice to use when traveling. It comes with a suction cup for mounting it either on the windshield or a small pad.
FOTO-TRONIX.com
