Garmin GPS model history Discussion Thread.

Interesting!!!

Thanks Alan for taking the time to compile this list AND make it available for others who are interested.

I frequently make reference to others about various Nuvis, and try to compare original production dates...but I really have to guess if it goes beyond the 760 and 855 series. I've saved a copy of your post in a Word.doc for future reference.

Thanks for the info

One of the things that stuck out to me when viewing the list is that throughout its history, there have been several new model announcements every year until this year. If you consider that the 35x0 is just a large screen version of the 34x0, it has been almost a year with no new model announcements (other that the special purposed dezl 760). It makes me wonder if Garmin is getting ready to retire the nuvi line.

A link to wikipedia might be sufficient.

Nice list!

Interesting...my "old" 350 is going strong just like new yet!

Great list alandb. Thanks for your efforts.

37XX
3750,3760,3790

Not really - see 04/2010 - 37X0

My glasses were dirty

Thanks for the memories - I had a 350 in 2005.

I still have my NUVI 350, that I bought through Tiger Direct in 2007. Still happy with it and see no real reason to change. May not have some of the latest and greatest, but I bought Lifetime Maps and it gets me where I want, with very few errors.

I would prefer not to have to flip up the antenna, but it's a minor inconvenience.

I occasionally use the Picture Viewer and Calculator, and only use the MP3 Player for Alerts. Currency Converter never worked properly for US to Canadian.

Travel Guide and Audible Book were of no interest. Seemed good at the time, one learns, what's fluff and what's useful.

I can use my cell phone for all of that stuff now.

If and when it stops working, I'll consult with POI factory for the best advice.

Thanks for the info, my first Garmin Nuvi was 660 and was very expensive, how times have changed.

My 350 dates back to 2005 as well. Power button doesn't work any longer but plug it into the car adapter and it still works like the day I bought it, for $500+ if I recall correctly.

thanks

It's hard to believe that the 855 has been out over 3 1/2 years now. It's even harder to believe that Garmin has omitted great features, like mp3, on newer units that used to be standard.

My old 780 is getting on in years....

My 40 is one year old. Should I take it out for its birthday?

It had to take some time to fill in the list and remember all the models.

I started searching the zumos but it may be a couple of days because I'm pretty busy the next few days. The information for every model is hidden somewhere out there ... on the WWW.

7/2007 zumo 450, 500, 550
4/2009 zumo 660
3/2010 zumo 220
5/2010 zumo 665
6/2012 zumo 350

Edit: added the last zumos

Unfortunately, Garmin seems to be focused on the quantity of models rather than the quality. I have a 765T that has the occasional crash when trying to retrieve traffic information. The crash is logged, the device reboots and acts as if nothing happens. What is the solution? Buy a newer Nuvi and hope the problem is fixed in newer firmware. It seems as if Garmin is all to quick to abandon older models in favor of newer units that at times have fewer features. The 765T has more features (MP3 player for example) than the model that came after it. Plus their numbering system makes it very difficult to identify a top-of-the-line versus midrange unit. In fact, there never seems to be one unit that has all the features that could possibly be available.

For now, I am sticking with my 765T. I recently replaced the battery as the original one was failing to hold charge very long. Get me another three to five years from it and maybe I'll consider upgrading.

I have done exactly the same thing.

I wouldn't swap my 855 for the 3597. Why have they dropped the mp3 player?

Maybe because the Nuvi is a GPS and not an MP3 player.

It's hardly a "drop" since there hasn't been a Nuvi with an MP3 player in many years.

My first one was a 660 and it was a great device and it lasted a long time

I bought my 295w about 2 years ago w/MP3. It was the last model I think.

Loved mine. Was stolen in 2012.

I thought I'd throw in a little history on one of the first streetpilots, the streetpilot III. I have seen other dates on when they were released but I know for sure they came out on or about June 15th 2002. I had read about them and in early June I started calling around to see if I could get one for a genealogy trip we were planing to Massachusetts. I found a place that would have them in late June and they put me on top of the waiting list to get one at a cost of a little over $600.00. It was a real lifesaver on the trip but the biggest drawback was memory for loading maps. It had a special 128MB Garmin memory stick and if you wanted another one they sold for a hundred and some dollars. It didn't do bad on the trip east because we took the same route coming and going but on a trip we took from southern Wisconsin to Spokane, WA and from Spokane via Tulsa, OK to home I had to take a laptop and reload the maps for the return trip. It also had a very slow processor, if you had it calculate a long trip it might take between one and two minutes and if you missed a turn you might go a half a block before it would start recalculating.

There is a site that tells all about it at:
http://gpsinformation.net/spiii/sp3review.htm

Great information.

I just acquired a Nuvi 370 for nothing to add to my 350 & 1350 GPS's. Still works great for European visits.

Fred

My 650 and 680 is still kicking. They are still the best ones IMO

I'm not sure where the description as a major upgrade to the Street Pilot came from, but in my book other then the screen my SP 2820 had many more features then the Nuvi models. When I say features I mean features that make a GPS a GPS, I'm not referring to things like MP3 players and other things that have nothing to do with a GPS being a GPS. In fact one of Garmin's tech support people said the Nuvis were dumbed down Street Pilots. I have always said give me my 2020 with a Nuvi screen and I would be a happy camper

Thanks for posting this!

I have added the new Garmin Drive models to the release date history FAQ with an estimated release date of Feb. 2016. Garmin said in their announcement that they would be available 1st quarter of 2016 and I suspect the low end models will come out first. If you see any of the specific models show up on store shelves or listed as "in stock" at online stores, please let me know in this thread so I can change the estimated date to the actual release date.

I still have my original Nuvi 260 which is used regularly by my granddaughter when we go on road trips. It has been dropped numerous times and has Dora the explorer for a vehicle but like the energizer bunny it keeps going and going.

TheGPSStore.com is showing the following models in stock on 1/14/16: Drive 50LM, DriveSmart 50LMT, DriveSmart 70LMT. A few other models are listed on their site in BackOrder status with expected delivery in Feb.

I have updated the Model Release Date FAQ to reflect a January release date for the 3 models in stock at theGPSStore.

Alandb...

Interesting.... But I'm suspecting by the time my 3597 does... PND's will all but a thing in the past.

Hadn't really thought about how old my 350 is. But it's still going strong! Prefer it to the nav system in the car.

Wow, thanks for the great list. still use my old 255 consistently as the newer 66 often ends up in one of the other vehicles .... and the 255 fits on the motorcycle better (when there is no snow on the ground to use the bikes)

I had forgotten how old the 255 was, other than the power switch, it just keeps working.

Small and compact. Good for walking tour when out of town. Easily fit into my pockets.

I see that some online stores like theGPSstore.com and gpscity.com have changed their estimated "in stock" date on the new Garmin DriveAssist and DriveLuxe models to March or April. Earlier, they had given Feb. as the estimate.

It's the regular throwing darts at a calendar festival for all these guys.

They had Feb. as the date within a couple of days of the CES announcement and I suspect that April would have been a better date from the beginning.

As of yet, I have not found any site in the US that has the DriveLuxe or DriveAssist in stock. GPSCity and theGPSStore are showing expected ship dates of April 11 and April 12.

The Europe DriveLuxe is apparently now shipping, at least in the UK, according to a short user review from a member on the GPSReview.com forum site.

info.

Thanks...

Nuvi1300WTGPS

GPS City, theGPSStore and Amazon are now showing the DriveLuxe 50 in stock and ready to ship (April 11, 2016). The DriveAssist model is still shown on back order with availability expected sometime in April.

Here's an update:
Garmin RV660 - Jun 4, 2015

Just bought one to go with my new (used) RV & it's nice. Otherwise, like many here I would have stuck with my 765T and 295W. Each has it's place although lately I've been using my larger screen smart phone & CoPilot instead of the 765T when I'm in the car. Use the 295W on my motorcycle and when I want to be portable. Btw, Mp3 is nice on the scooter when plugged into the Harley's audio-in.

Thanks for the notice JD4x4. Note that the RV 660 is listed in the actual FAQ, although it is not in the original post for this discussion thread which was first started in 2012 before the FAQ was published. I try to keep the actual FAQ up to date, but don't always put updates in the opening post of this thread. I probably should just remove that original list since it is now seriously out of date.

Thanks again.

As of today (April 15, 2016) both theGPSStore.com and Crutchfied.com are showing the Garmin DriveAssist 50 in stock. So I think all of the new Drive devices announced by Garmin at CES back in January are now in stock and shipping.

I updated the FAQ to include the StreetPilot series. I used a Wikipedia article to estimate the release dates. They are probably not exact, but I think it still gives us a good reference of how the StreetPilot series overlapped and was replaced by the the nuvi line. If anyone knows more exact dates, please post them here and I will update the FAQ.

Thank you, Alan!

Still have a Nuvi 670 with lifetime maps that I purchased separately. Mostly using my Nuvi 3790 LMT and carry the 670 as backup going from Ontario, Canada to Florida, USA.