Happy you bought a Garmin?

I have a Love it, Hate it relationship with my Garmins.

I love it because they have been and are helpful most of the time.

I hate it because I've been sent chasing the odd wild wildebeest. There always seems to be a missing feature. If it only it did ...

When I bought a Mac, suddenly I was cut off from my older Garmins. I couldn't update my maps, or sync my PDA info on either iQue. I was delighted when they remedied this (at least in part) though a snail would deem their time frame excruciatingly slow. I was Garmin-less for a time though.

Obviously, Garmin had something or I wouldn't keep buying them.

Not so obvious is failing to meet my insatiable need for more and better gadgets.

Perhaps I need to go to Gadget Girls Anonymous.

Thanks all for the great testimonials.. I currently own only one GPSr. I have been thinking about purchasing a second unit and was trying to decide if to stick with Garmin or try another brand.

The 760 was one of the best purchases I've ever made.

I have two Garmins - one eTrex Vista and one Nuvi 260. Both took a little work getting familiar with the controls and functions, but both seem to work pretty darn well at navigating. I just wish I could combine all of the features I like in the eTrex with the turn by turn directions and screen size of the Nuvi - I'd be in heaven!!

. . . and I am going to buy another one today for my son-in-laws birthday.

I've ridden with him in the city that he has lived his entire life. He really needs a GPS!

They did indeed generate new unlock codes for me. I meant to post this update last week but we were busy with T.S. Fay recovery. My c550 is working perfectly as before. So no complaints with Garmin.

I have only had mine a week (although my girlfriend and good friend have also had Nuvi 200s since last year) I bought my Nuvi 250 after reading many reviews on different models, companies, etc. I liked the 200 size, functionality. Now i find out its one of the easier ones to edit as far as loading cars, maps, pois on. I love the garmin lock on it. When i registered it i was kinda annoyed to have to upgrade the software but was happy that they offered me the 09 map for free. So i loaded that.

Someone else in this thread said that gps's are a great tool but are not perfect. I agree with that. This thing sometimes seems to send me off in an odd direction, or for instance the food poi points me to places that dont exist anymore. If i were out of town this would be annoying. However, i think it gives the phone #. if not i just use googles free 411 to give a call and make sure they are infact open.

So its not perfect but it shows me where i AM which is what i needed. I usually know where im heading, and obviously i know where i was, thus..... i needed to know where i am in relation to those points....

I'll give you my opinion anyway!

I use my Magellan for navigation, not POI's. That's why I bought it. If it makes the odd mistake on a food joint, who cares? There's another down the street...

Our world changes constantly, and I'm glad to have 'Sam' with me regardless of her foibles. Colour me happy!

Of all the toys I have purchased in the last 20 years, the Garmin gpsr is the best 'toy' and best investment I have ever made. Even with it's imperfections,I still would be literaly lost without it. I love to travel and do a lot of driving around the southwest and other areas and I can't imagine how I ever got where I was going ' on time' with just a paper map. What a headache saver!

I bought a nuvi 200 refurbished unit for $115.00 from circuit city on line.I'm still learning what all it can do, as there isn't a lot of info in manual. I down loaded the 2009 update, and had a hard time installing it on my unit.I contacted customer support and they were able to get me going.Over all I happy with the unit and the support and the price.

I am totally satisfied with the performance of my Nuvi 260. It hasn't yet failed to get me where I want to go. No it doesn't always have the best route in mind, but if I know a better one, then I don't need the help. And when I don't know the route, my 260 has always gotten me there, and if it wasn't the fastest route, then I didn't know a better one anyway... I'm just happy to get there.

I stated a relationship with Garmin back in 2002 when I read up on the Rino series of FRS/GPS units and purchased two Rino 120’s.

For the next six years I used them in all sorts of locations and manners. Hunting caribou north of Esker in Newfoundland or hooked up to my Fujitsu running Microsoft’s Streets and Trips for real time positioning or route planning/downloading with MapSource for trips to Calgary, Albuquerque, Colorado, South Carolina and the back roads of Georgia and many points in between. The Garmin Rino has NEVER failed me.

Then I saw the new Rino 530HCx with its colour screen and just had to get one and it’s been great. But the laptop on the co-pilots lap got to be a bit much so I looked at the various GPS models by Garmin and others. Settled on the Nuvi 880 thus bringing my current Garmin inventory to four. In the field or on the road I’m covered getting in/out or to/from anywhere I have traveled.

Like some in here have already said. Garmin is a great Tool-Toy.

The Nuvi 880 speech recognition is a great hands free feature. I’ve see some drivers fumble with their units while driving down the highway because they poked the screen and it moved or fell off the suction cup holder and bounced off the dash on to the floor.

Just speak and the Nuvi 880 does your bidding. Thanks to the many contributions and links here at the Factory I’m learning more and more on how to get the most out of the Nuvi 880. The Bluetooth, FM transmitter, picture viewer, music player etc… have all worked flawlessly so far. It would be nice if it had the ability to play avi files or one of the speech option was a Jessica rabbit type voice. But I wouldn’t trade it in for any other GPS.

Count me as a rock solid devoted Garmin fan.

I've been using Garmin since the GPX12XL, and since then, I've been using an eTrex, GPS60CSX, and now a Nuvi250, love em all. I'd gladly buy another one.

Not sure about customer service, because I've never needed it. Another plus to its name.

My nuvi 660 is MY first GPS, but I have used a couple of other brands through work. The Garmin was certainly more expensive than the other two, but the features of this system far outweigh the extra cost. The manual is not very useful but the POI Factory has been of great for learning how to use the options better.

I have 4 garmin's and love them all. Considering another one now.....

I bought the C340 due to it's price. (Very low at the time) Been very happy with it. Would like to get a newer and greater model, I can not justify it due to the good service the 340 gives me.

Yeah, our latest excursion over Labor Day was flawless. We drove up 495 to Newburyport and every direction was right on. Jack turned us into the marina parking lot. Then when we headed home, from our parking spot I hit GO and it began navigating me out of the lot! Jack said, "Turn right on Merrimac Avenue" .....

My hubby is a little grumpy about the thoroughness of the Garmin, because he sees his days as a navigation dictator are numbered. Maybe if he showed a little "speech recognition" when I asked him a question, he'd be the my backup nav system.

I find that my Nuvi 650 does not hold a charge for any lenght of time. Is this a common problem with the Nuvi?

Oh yeah very pleased. I'm on my second Nuvi 360 after my first was stolen this past February, guess the thief knew how good Garmin's are too.

For the Mac users out there i'm thrilled Garmin has invested in keeping Mac compatible applications in their software suite.

I run the 2008 maps which are fine for me so far, they find 99 9/10% of what I am looking for. On extremely rare occasion it won't find a new location but I can't blame the maps for that. In my situation not even Google Maps or Mapquest can locate what I'm looking for. Once it is found all I have to do is save the location as a waypoint and I'm set.

How much you actually making it work,(searching,looking up poi's, changing screens etc.) if i am just letting mine do its thing, by puting in a address and go there it seems to last longer than if you are changing things around, NORMALLY on the battery only mine will run about 4 hrs or so, but if i am entering things it seems like it only goes for about 2 hrs or so.

I recently picked up a 360 and love it. I'm pretty simple when it comes to gadgets and this works great for me. Not too much, but enough to use easily and get me to and from without incident. After finding this site and wonderful group, I've also figured out how to do some more advanced stuff for me though probably simple for others I'm wondering now why I waited so long to get a GPS.

I have 3 Garmins now -- like em all. Bought my first GPS in early 1990s -- a magellen. The technology has come a long way and I would not even consider going to a strange town or new area without a GPS. Have a a handheld that I take kayaking and hiking. Love that too. Garmis is the best!

Yes, I'm with happy with my purchase

Now thats funny!

This little unit replaced my Magellan 1412... it's MUCH better!

Garmin 350 acquiring satellite signal is slower than Magellan 3225.

My wife and I both have Zumos on our Goldwing motorcycles and love them. There is a learning curve involved with eveything new, and Garmin's telephonic / computer customer support has been great!!!

I am searching myself and information is indeed limited. Nice PIC. Wayne, Garmis 255w

dont get magellan.. you wont get home..

thats a filipino joke

courtesy of me =)

All mechanical/electronic devices have drawbacks. Garmin Nüvi 360, 760 and 76SCx have very few. Love them.

I love my Garmin's. I purchased my third one this past week. I will say, however, I did try the Navigon 2100maxx for a day and returned it.

I also looked at the Magellan and came very close to buying the 4350 but they were out of stock. So I went with the 255W and love it. My only regret is I wasted time looking at the Magellan and the Navigon.

There's a reason Garmin dominates the marketplace

yes(very user freindly device),extremly satisfied with my garmin,only drawback at all, is the buggy software updates,but their customer service makes up for most problems.

Love my 760... fortunately, I've not had any problems with it...

I've had my Nuvi 650 for little over a year and can't really complain. However, Garmin seems to bring out new and (somewhat) improved products every month, all the while, discontinuing their older models (some seem to be discontinued a few months after their release). So I now have an outdated GPS that is barely supported (haven't seen a firmware update in a long while).

On the other hand, it still works well and does what I originally bought it for; provide me directions to my selected destinations.

In the end, I'd probably by another Garmin if I had to.

I have both TOM TOM and Kenwood (Garmin based). I like them both for very different reasons, however when it comes to pure Navigation and support from the supplier, I have to say I have a preference for the TOM TOM.

I've found telephone response at Garmin to be very slow (I waited 1/2 hour this week) and I've never really received a satisfactory resolutions to my questions. Tom Tom support on the other hand have been quick to respond, resolved my problem fully and followed up to ensure I was satisfied with the resoltion.

On the Navigation side, I've found the display far smoother on the TOM TOM, and I love their new lane guidance, which doesnt seem to available on the Kenwood/Garmin

If I were to buy another portable GPS, I'd probably go with the TOM TOM again.

I love my Garmin 680-- only one question, "How did I get along with out it?" or "Why didn't I get is sooner?"

I have been using Garmins since I bought a GPS III+ several years back. It was basically just Garmin and Magellan in the industry for land based GPS. Since then there are many more competitors and I thought I was wearing out my Garmin welcome, until I borrowed my employers Tom Tom. I tested it out in my hometown area for a 30 mile trip. It routed me in a goofball manner I had to laugh. I was thinking tomTom was the way to go for my next unit but I am not quite sure now. Before I bought the Nuvi750, it was well reviewed for its features and routing. Hopefully the competition won't kill off Garmin.

Well, I was very happy with my Garmins until they got into the 705 series. That, to my way of thinking was a disaster. Also, some issues with the 805 series. I think they are moving backwards as far as engeenering is concerned.

I still use an old Street Pilot c330 and still think its greatest thing since sliced bread. I can't wait until I get my hands on a newer model one of these days.

Flip

Garmin is my choice. I have had to have my unit replaced two times (within warranty). Garmin didn't flinch. They paid postage for me to return the units and they were both replaced within a week. This included me sending and receiving the new unit.

With a Garmin, the great folks here at POI-factory.com what else would you need or want?

It is the only GPS I will buy. They have always provided me with great customer service and I am loyal to them.

All the research I did showed the Garmin to be the best and I am glad I bought one.

Garmin was my first GPS and so far I'm loving it... Wish it would do a few things it doesn't (ie display elevation), but I'm loving it.

Garmin isnt' perfect that's for sure. I think it is the best out there. I have friends that have had better experience with Tom Tom but I am not convinced. Yes, they had to drive on the wrong road for 10 miles to no where, but that builds character. All in all the Garmin gives decent directions.

With gps, like many other things, I was not an early adopter and waited until the price dropped. I got it for $299 so it tells you I've had it a while (760's been low 200's for a while now).

I definitely see it as something that's nice to have, but it's certainly not something that is a must have. I thought I experienced the unit shutting off for no reason at all, like some have said about the 760, but that issue seems to have gone away.

I would like to see the day when a built-in unit is affordable, as I think it looks much nicer in the car. But until that day, I'll take a nuvi any day over OEM!

I am in Singapore and the community-supported maps work only with Garmin, so I don't really have a choice. Still very happy with it. No problem thus far.

Just a hint...

If you take a CHEAP set of "ear bud" headphones, available at the $ Store, and clip the piece that goes into your ear off, plug the cord into the audio jack, it will act as an antennae for the transmitter. This will allow you to get a MUCH better signal to your antennae.

You also want to make sure you are using a "dead" radio station, but the "ear bud" trick works great!

I'm happy with mine but I recently wanted to get MapSource for it (shown as available in the manual) and Garmin doesn't list it as available. Still looking for third party software.