Voice Command Units

See https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the-road/automotive/voice...

As a person who has owned and operated two different Garmin voice entry units (855 and 3790LMT) I'll just comment that those two differed greatly in the voice command capability, features, and general behavior.

I don't know how many other tries Garmin has taken at this particular feature, but it differs so much on these two units that people who liked one could easily dismiss the other.

What aspect of voice command most appeals to you?

--I too would like to know more about this, since I have not had VC before, either.

The 800 series of voice commands began with a set number of basic commands but once you started with it you could read anything off the page brought up through voice command and the unit would react. My 3795 has many of the same basic commands, but isn't as flexible about interpreting what's displayed.

The command structures are different, the one I have the most trouble with in the new unit is attempting to enter an intersection. It wants to know the city and state the intersection is in, which isn't always possible when you want where two highways meet in the middle of nowhere. I liked the way I could tell the 885 to SEARCH ALL and it would find it better than 90% of the time. The 3795 has success about 1% of the time because it doesn't understand city names that well. I mean asking for Pokomoke City MD and you are asked if you want some town in Maine is one example.

I'll expand on how I saw the differences between 855 and 3790 voice command.

Activation: the 855 came with a battery-powered button I mounted on a steering column stalk, which I pressed to activate voice command. The 3790 listens all the time for my activation phrase, which I have set to "listen up George". So long as the cabin is moderately quiet (mostly not loud radio or CD sound) it detects my activation nearly all the time. Spurious activation on the 3790 happens, but so seldom (maybe once per hundred hours) not to annoy me.

On this point I slightly prefer the 3790.

Recognition success for POIs: This is a big difference. The 855 so seldom correctly understood a spoken store name of interest that I quit trying early on. I don't actually use this function on the 3790 much, but when I do it is vastly more likely to propose a useful match.

Address input: This is different, but a mixed bag. The 3790 is vastly more successful at recognizing spoken street names, but hurts this speed advantage by a very slow interface. In particular it reads back your numeric input (which either unit gets right nearly always) a single digit at a time at a slow pace, and you can't move on to the next step until you have affirmed the whole number to be correct. While Box Car has complained about the location scoping aspect of 379n address input, I think it may be part of why the street name recognition works so well. I suspect the unit takes into account the city or ZIP code you have previously specified to limit the number of possible street name matches, and shows you the computed best match to the name you speak within that restricted set. Whether that is part of the reason or not, I am very sure that for me the 3790 produces correct street name matches vastly more often than the 855. It is somewhat common for it to match the street name with sufficiently high confidence that it skips the "is it one of these?" screen. The rest of the time, the chance that the correct name is on the first page of the "is it one of these?" screen is very high.

In summary, address input works very well on the 3790 regarding accuracy, but is a bit tedious in speed. It is a big advantage over the 855 for me.

Control scope: As Box Car has suggested, this is a point that favors the 855 scheme. Once you have activated voice control (remember that button) you are still looking at the same screen you were on, and can voice command several of the functions if you happen to remember the command. On the 3790, activation takes you to a text screen specific to voice command, which lists your available functions (mostly various kinds of searches). This solves the "do you remember the command" problem, but limits the available scope of control. You are less likely to drive along happily handling all your interaction with the unit by voice, feeling in full command.

There are other differences, but I'll stop there. I'll summarize my personal preference as being the 3790 voice command, but there is plenty not to like in either one, and the 855 is definitely better in some respects. But the bottom line is that I use 3790 voice command far more often in routine use, and actively prefer it for address input to tapping the screen--even when I am stopped and tapping is completely safe. I never really preferred 855 voice input to tapping for any function at all.

One of the biggest advantages on the newer models.Is when you are travelling and do a voice search for pois.It will search both the custom and internal ones.So it covers that gap if the internal pois not as up to date as your custom pois. Of course you can do this manually also but not very safe when you are operating the vehicle with lots of traffic on the road.

Why doesn't my device's speech recognition understand some of my voice prompts?

01/20/2014
If the device is having difficulty understanding what you're saying, there are a few steps you can take to ensure optimum performance. These tips can be found below:

Keep the devices's software up-to-date.
This is best done by using Garmin Express or the WebUpdater program, both of which are free to use.
Minimize ambient noise (e.g., car stereo, cell phones, speaking passengers, rolled down windows, etc...) which can muffle or drown out the speaker.
Speak in a normal tone of voice; yelling can distort the voice.
Speak at about the same distance away from the device as you would be when sitting in your car. Speaking directly into the microphone can distort the voice.
Set the device's text and voice languages to the same language you'll be using with the voice command.
The selected voice language must be a Text-To-Speech (TTS) language.
Instructions for changing the device's voice language can be found here https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?caseId={71b3fb30-183b-11dc-70f0-000000000000} .
If using a dezl 760, Camper 760, RV 760, nuvi 2495, 2497, 2498, 2595, 2597, 2598, 2797, 2798, 3490, 3590, 3597 or 3598 include the city and state when speaking an address search.
Use the voice recognition feature frequently!
Our devices will adapt to the speaker's voice and accent over multiple uses.
If another user speaks to the device, the nuvi will gradually adapt to their voice as well.
Keeping the software up-to-date and following the tips above will help improve the overall performance for your device's voice recognition.

I think part of the difference between ARCHAE86 and myself with the 8XX units is mine is the 885 which has 2 microphones so it does do some noise cancellation better. Again,every person's experiences are going to be different. Where the unit sits in relation to the speaker is one big point, the other being any pattern of speech that couldn't be considered "Mid-West Twang" is going to have an effect.

Thanks!!
I did a Google and Garmin search, but didn't get this. I used Voice Command and Voice Activated and didn't get good hits at all.

I see that there are 7 units, but my 2460 isn't listed. Also, the 855 didn't make the cut either.

Actually, I really like my 2460 and it seems to do a pretty good job as long as I speak clearly, have the radio off and windows closed. There have been a few that "Get Lost" just didn't get. But I am not upset at that. So, the bottom line is: What other unit uses the same firmware as the 2460?

I listed only the 2013 line from the Garmin page. Sure others will appear for 2014 models later. Didn't look in previous models but know there are more. Not sure how many you could find new now.Should be able to find some refurbished older models.

I have an 855 and a 2597. I think the 2597 understands the commands better and I haven't played with the commands on the 2597 that much, but when I go to the voice commands it shows me a menu of voice commands I can give it. If I give it a command that isn't on the menu it just sits there. So unless I'm missing something it seems like the 855 was more versatile as to what commands it would except.

Traveling home today we wanted to stop at Country Cousins restaurant. Neither my wife or myself could get my 2460 to get the command. It was kind of hilarious the list presented to us. Not even close. We tried faster slower, enunciating more precisely. Nothing worked.

So in this instance it would have been nice to be able to input a name my spelling it out. I don't think this is available, but if it is would someone please let me know where to find it.

Thanks all ...

I own both of those units as well. The 855 has a full-feature VC set...you can control virtually ALL aspects of the unit, including map zoom and navigating through all (or nearly all) menus and settings.

The 3790 and others units after the 8x5 series have only a small amount of usable VCs, vastly simplified over the 855 standard.

How today's units compare, I really do not know as my most recent unit is the 3490 which is identical to the 3790's VC feature set.

Seems like the 855 is a rock solid selection for a voice activated unit. Is there a 5" version of the 855? Is there an LMT version?

The nuvi 8x5 series was discontinued several years ago and always was kind of an oddball in the nuvi line as it was built on a variant of Linux. I also have an 855 and until recently used it as my primary GPS. It served me well, but it does have its share of quirks.

I agree so very totally. I bought my 855 and was happy to gain Lane Assist and Junction View but primarily bought it because it had a removable/replaceable battery. I quickly learned that because this was an early model of nuvi that used sleep mode rather than turning off, it was a poorly thought out "sleep." It may have been a fairly high-current drain "sleep" but I and other owners have also felt that its problem was a "self wake up" and the battery could go from a full charge to dead in a matter of a couple/few days of non-use. The solution most of us came to was/is to remove the battery whenever it was not going to be used in the next dozen hours or so.

While at the features and functions level there was plenty to like about the 855 (and for me it was an enormous upgrade from the GPS-V) "rock solid" is not a term I'd use.

Power oddities:
1. If you left it plugged into the auxiliary power outlet of your car, and your car was not one which disconnected that outlet when off, the unit was in fact on in nearly all respects save for display. While this gave a wonderfully fast startup when you hit the on switch assuming you had parked in a place satellites could penetrate enough to get at least an occasional fix, it also drained your car battery to the tune of about 100 mA on the 12V line. For my Audi A4 this represented over a quadrupling of the baseline power drain, and meant the car would not start on our return from a vacation.

This is a different power oddity from that mentioned above, which is that if you did unplug it, leaving it off, you'd every once in a while turn it on to find the battery dead flat. We all speculated that it harbored some odd-ball spontaneous turnon mode.

2. screen freezes: Apparently early firmware was even worse, but in the final firmware ever distributed my unit froze up at unpredictable moments at a rate of roughly once per ten hours of driving. No solution save for the long power switch depression (or battery removal). Almost anything driven by software freezes up once in a while, but this was vastly the worst in this respect of any small electronic device (including half a dozen GPS models) I have owned.

3. in voice command the ability to recognize numbers (where a number was expected) or commands was quite good, but the ability to interpret usefully names of streets or names of businesses (or other points of interest) was minimal. I was actually surprised anytime it got either of those right.

Anyway, this is academic, as the model is long past being a current one.

I can only comment on the 3590 LMT. It has voice command, and works quite well I think. The best thing I like about it is, NONE OF THE VOICES SAY "RECALCULATING". I hated that one thing long before I bought my 765t. One thing I discovered, when the lane assist is activated, I cannot get voice command to "exit", or go "back", or any other voice command to work. Screaming at it does no good. Just glad the buttons are there. I noticed that at least twice, when I couldnt get any verbal commands to work. When I hit the "back" button, the lane assist was showing. The one time that I do not want my GPS to falter it when I am exiting a highway. Other than that little bug, I like my 3590 just fine. BTW, Costo has the 5390LMT for $1990.0 right now. Anyone else encounter voice command quit working when lane assist is on?? If not, try it some time, when you have a designated passenger to do it. I do not want to be the cause of any accidents due to distracted driving!!!!

Just a clarifying question: I think in Garmin speak they call Lane Assist the display in the upper left which shows individual little arrows suggesting which way each lane goes in the approaching intersection, with arrow(s) highlighted to indicate which your desired route means you should take.

On the other hand they call the function which takes over half (on some models such as my 3790LMT) or all (on other models such as my 855) of the screen with a near-photographic driver-s eye view of an upcoming lane change with the desired path highlighted Junction View.

I'd have guessed that JV would more likely be associated with the trouble you describe.

I "assumed" the 855 was for sale at the initial look at the following link: https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the-road/discontinued/nuv....

Even though it was discontinued, showing a price, and showed a processing time I thought it was still for sale, possibly as a refurb. However, closer inspection revealed that there was no Buy link. Oh well!

I guess I will just look for another 2460. It is working fine, though some voice recognition is a little off. But some people don't recognize what I am saying either. Voice recognition is definitely an issue at times with spousal command or inquiries. LOL

I'll second the recommendation for the 855. It has great speech recognition and can sense many more words than the manual let on. Someone wrote a guide with a list of commands on the Internet about 5-6 years ago. The downside is the speakers are very underpowered, due to their design.

I wonder if the 855 just went into the sleep mode under all conditions? One time I had it sitting in a spare room and happened to go in there and the 855 was on, apparently it had woke itself up and the battery was almost dead. I decided to try an experiment and when I shut the car off instead of letting it time out and shut off on it's own I hit the shutoff button. It seems like when I did it that way I could leave it sit for three or four days at a time and when I would turn it on the battery would still have a full charge.

Good info, thanks!

Yes. The 855 never powered down (despite what you did with the power switch) with one exception (see below). It ALWAYS went into sleep mode which was not a very efficient sleep mode to begin with. On of the features of this sleep mode was the unit started nearly instantaneously and had a useable satellite lock just as quickly.

The ONLY way to truly power off the 8x5 series was to remove the battery from the unit.

Possibly it had two distinct sleep modes. The one you got if you turned it "off" with the power switch but left it plugged in to a hot 12V outlet consumed ballpark 100 mA from the 12V supply. This was more than half of the power consumption in normal active operating condition.

It can't possibly have always been in that same mode when not attached to power, as the battery would have always gone flat overnight, instead of just sometimes going flat overnight.

So, combining my own observations with others, I suggest it had two distinct sleep modes, one much lower power than the other, being the one it was meant to go to when "off" and not connected to power, but a bad habit of occasionally (no one seems to know the triggering circumstance) "waking up" from the deepest sleep mode to some state consuming much more power (either the shallower sleep mode intended for power available sleep, or fully active, display backlight and all).

I use garmin 2595 with voice command and it is not bad. The pronunciation sometimes is not understood. You have to adapt for noise car cabin, the volume of the radio, I turn down the radio to use voice command.