Garmin Purchase - Recommendations?

I've got the 885 and the voice feature works well within limitations. The prime limitations being it's limited command vocabulary which must be learned and it needs a quiet vehicle. Voice activation is very useful, I find it more useful in traffic when I can push the button attached to the steering wheel to activate voice response and give it commands without having to divert any attention from the road to peck at the screen. Searching for POI can take a while, you navigate through the menu just as pushing the screen, but you have to wait for the unit to tell you it is ready to accept the next command.

Typically it goes something like this:

>>activate voice<<
>>wait for tone
"Where to"
>>Wait for "Select Search Category"
"Extras"
>>Wait for "Select Line Number"
"One"
>>Wait for "Select Line Number"
Now depending on how you have custom POI organized, you may have to repeat this by saying "Page Down" and go through selecting a line number or paging yet again.
Say you want a category 9 levels down (it only displays 4)
that means telling it to page down twice and wait for the sequence.
Now you are ready to begin selecting an actual location.

All-in-all with the way my unit is set up with custom POI it can take over a minute to find a place using voice commands. It would take about 1/4 that pushing the screen.

But, when in traffic and looking for an alternate route, it sure is great to tell it "Where To" >>Beep, "Detour" and confirm you want to leave the programmed route.

As to MP3, if you want to connect the unit to the car's speakers, it can be quite good. Traffic is tied to the cord, and not the GPS so moving the cord between compatible units will move the traffic function.

Very insightful - THANKS. I assume the 855 would be similar.

I just bought the 855 for my wife's car and have took a couple of short trips with it. The voice commands seem to work as well as can be expected, I would say about 90%. One example, it has a problem with the name of the town I live in, Beloit, but if I say spell name and spell it at about the same speed I would spell it to someone it has no problem. The only other thing I did was use the voice editor software and jack the volume up on the voice I'm using. I don't know if the price has changed but I bought mine from Amazon for $208.00 with free shipping, I also added the sand base for $23.00 also with free shipping

I will recommend the 855 too since you already have the traffic receiver that came with your 755T. Voice recognition works alright, but its much better to issue voice command while driving rather than touching the screen and taking the chance of taking your eyes off the road.

Have a look at Ebay too .. I've seen refurbs for as low as $170, but make sure the seller is a authorized seller so that your unit is covered under warranty from Garmin.

We just bought our first GPS and we did research them. My wife had some good input on features (lane assist and others) which led us to select the 1390T over the 265WT.

just upgraded to an 855 about 2 weeks ago - $208 at Amazon, free shipping. Probably some good deals coming up.

What I specifically find valuable is 1) I like to plan routes on my computer for some trips and download the planned route to the 855 for navigation. 2) voice activation works fine, no real issues - could be a little faster, could be more sophisticated, but it works fine 3) display of speed limit on the roads I'm traveling 4) lane assist is nice 5) remembers position when leaving car so you could navigate back to the car (think finding your rental car at a large parking area you are not familiar with!)

Very minor, but a couple of things I wish were better 1) a complete power off instead of pulling the battery out 2) when on the map screen, it displays distance to next turn, road speed limit, current speed, ETA - wish I could replace current speed with time to next turn

I am looking to upgrade soon too. Thanks for the great real life feedback here!

Thanks to all. I ordered the 855 - $199 @ Amazon.

thanks for the insight.

Can you plan routes and upload to the 755T?

755T supports saved multi-point routes and route import.

for the great comments on the 855. I've been thinking about upgrading to one for many of the capabilities you describe. I also especially like to plan routes on my computer and download the planned route for navigation. That's something I cannot really do on the 260. I'll be looking at Amazon to see if they still have a good price

Yeah there is custom route, although it is a bit of a pain to transfer from comp to GPS. Better just do it manually.

. . . who will admit his folly when choosing equipment.

All of the current Garmin units are based on a common code set. So rather than depending on the very subjective input of anyone here, why not just go to the Garmin web site, click on the link to automotive GPS units and select those features you find inportant and let the wizard make the recommendations for you?

Having said that, I HATE the way some facets of the more recent units (those with a '5' in the suffix and those in the 1000 and up model number range) operate in terms of both map detail and the banner bar.

So, if I was looking, my personal list would include at the very minimum - not a conclusive list and in no particular order;

1. Secondary street display to zoom levels of 1.2 km (3/4 mile)
2. Display of upcoming cross street names in the top banner bar rather than just the name of the street I am driving on - yes, I know that the newer units show upcoming exits on limited access roads, but that's a waste because those roads have huge signs telling you what's coming up . . .
3. Bluetooth
4. Quick release (with integrated power connection in the mount)
5. Tracklog (I've used it to get out of tickets)

Much less important;

1. Speech recognition (my phone has this for making calls and I operate the navigator myself, thanks)
2. Junction view and/or Lane Assist . . . if it says keep left, it isn't hard to keep left
3. Garmin Locate - THAT is a complete waste of time
4. Garmin Lock - I suspect that maybe 1/100th of 1% of the units with this feature actually exercise the code - it ain't gonnal keep them from stealing my unit.
5. Preplanned routes - at least not for the car. I DO use it with the Zumo I have on my bike.
6. Multiple vias - when I sart delivering Pizzas, then maybe I'll need this.
7. Traffic - I listen to the radio and they tell me where the congestion is between songs.
8. MP3 player - it's a quality issue for units with FM modulators and wiring it to the car's sound system means losing the quick disconnect and costs more than the Navigator in many vehicles.

I presently own a 276c, a 760/780 with a lifetime traffic receiver and I have a Zumo 660 - so I have both current generation and prior generation equipment - I have lane assist and I have junction view and I have Garmin Locate and much more - I also have used both in my car and I find the 760 is MUCH better . . . the 276c on the boat is even better, way better than either for automotive applications but for the lack of a touchscreen and the very cumbersome mechanism it has for entering text.

For me, the Nuvi 760 with as lifetime traffic receiver does the job in the cage well enough (got the traffic receiver for free - I MUCH preferred the MSN Direct - especially on the Zumo where I got weather maps and flight arrival & departure info and I suspect that the 1690's GSM connection will be even better, but I shy away from subscription services).

For you, it may be something else.

Thanks for the good list of helpful options. Right now I am happy with my nuvi 350 but I'll consider your suggestions when I upgrade in the not to distant future.

I have had 3 Garmin units and believe me one of the requirements the unit has to have is a removeable battery. I can't tell you how many times by just removing the battery and waiting for a few minutes has saved me for calling Garmin..

THANKS for that advise. The 855 has a removeable battery but the 755t doesn't. Do you recommend getting a spare battery? I'm not sure I'd nned one since the unit will be used in the car. I have a spare battery for my cell/blackberry, but that's different.

The input here has been a great help in my next Garmin purchase.

Each Nuvi may have features you would need and some features you would not use.
As advised go to Garmin site and see what is available. Also try to understand the features. Some are difficult some are easy to understand.
Each individual uses their Nuvi differently.
I have the 855 and I enjoy most features, I find new uses each time I look.

I personally just pick yet another gps, garmin nuvi 250w it's got 2gb of internal ram, i got it for 70 dollars, which is not bad however it lacks some the features which your interested in, but it's a good unit and the prize is very reasonable.

Imagine my surprise when I decided to take my wife's new 855 for a test spin and tried to put it in the mount for my 755t which was alresdy in my truck - they're not compatible - there's doesn't appear to be any functional reason for this.

I developed a custom route using MapSource and it was very easy to transfer to my 755t (and the new 855) from MapSource. I did find that I have to be very careful to select the proper location for intersections or MapSource will run me past the intended intersection and either do a U-turn or take an alternate route to the next point.

It is a shame they didn't use the same cradle. But they do have completely different hardware platforms and underlying OS, so I suppose that is the reason. At least the power cables / traffic receiver cables are interchangable between the two models.

Finally test drove the 855 - it seems to work very well but doesn't pause songs like the 755t does when it gives directions, the 855 keeps playing the song at a low volume.

I bought a traffic receiver for the 855; unlike the 755t, it didn't work automatically when I pulled it out of the box and plugged it in - I had to bring it back home and register it first. Serial number was on a sticker attached to the cord. (Gglad I didn't cut it off and throw it away.)

If anything you should take the new Garmin and give the wifey the older one....guys need their new gadgets....lol

Yeah, that was a disappointment to me too. I also miss the automatic time zone and the configurable data field that is on the 755. I find the 855 cradle a little more awkward than the 755 ... harder to center and snap in place. Other than that, I really like the 855.

RE Wildspear - She might not realize if I swapped her 855 with my 755t; but, as they say, if you don't wanna do the time - don't do the crime. I try to pick my battles. The loss of trust wouldn't be worth it. If I liked the 855 that much better, I'd buy another one and just keep the 755t in another vehicle or give it to one of my kids or one of my friends.