New Nuvi 650 Report

 

I just received my NUVI 650 today and took it for a ride after loading a Few Mp3 songs...and without even opening the Book.Very easy to use. It has a great Screen..it is very fast, and updates are almost instant. I will say though I think it is almost useless to have the Mp3 and Not have the FM transmitter that sends it to your Radio speakers. listening to Greenday and Mannheim steamroller was Ok with the Garmin speaker..But pretty lame. ( it is Illegal to drive in Ohio with earphones.) I am sure I will use the Mp3 But I did just order a Plug in FM transmitter. I think if the 660 was within $100 I would go for the additions of Bluetooth and the FM trans. But since I got mine from Costco...I have to say I got a Great GPS for 299..that is about the same price I paid for my C330 less than a year ago..
I would still highly recommend this unit.

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Dave_ Nuvi 660 , 760,1490LMT Wooster, Ohio

s/w

What's the s/w version did it come with, Zecpull?

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“There is always a solution; the only challenge is to find the best one”

Software 4.10

Software 4.10
Audio 1.80
GPS SW ver. 3.00
Maps North American v 2008

I am not going to run Updater until I get a chance to back up the entire unit..to my PC

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Dave_ Nuvi 660 , 760,1490LMT Wooster, Ohio

THX

Zecpull wrote:

Software 4.10
Audio 1.80
GPS SW ver. 3.00
Maps North American v 2008

I am not going to run Updater until I get a chance to back up the entire unit..to my PC

Thank you, just being curious, I'm waiting for my 650 too...

--
“There is always a solution; the only challenge is to find the best one”

Nuvi 650 general questions

I am interested in the comment "back up the entire unit..to my PC" Sounds like a good idea I never would have thought of it. How is it done? My guess is just burn a CD or DVD with everything that is accessible via the USB connection.

Next question, I downloaded POILoader and read thru much of the information about it but it seems geared towards Red light cameras and speed traps. I would like to add Waterfalls so that I could find the nearest waterfall the same way I find the nearest McDonald's. i.e. Where to? --> Waterfalls or something like that.

Upgraded to latest software

Upgraded to latest software V4.20. It fixes the position of the unit location slightly but I notice mine is still somewhat still off. I wonder if there's a way that I can manually recalibrate this?

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Nüvi 650

To back up a Nüvi, connect

To back up a Nüvi, connect it to the computer. Go to "My Computer" and open up the Nüvi drive. Right click and select "all". Right click again and select "copy". Make a new folder on the desktop and paste it there. Be advised that it will take a long time because the Nüvis use the old slow USB protocol. Mine took just over 40 minutes to back up. Be sure to copy EVERYTHING as supposedly there are some hidden files.

I actually used my Nüvi as a test case. I formatted the Nüvi drive and did the exact reverse as above. Copied, pasted everything back on the Nüvi drive and it booted up just fine after giving me the "system software missing" after the format and before the restore.

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Newest to oldest... Nüvi 660, Street Pilot 2720, Magellan SporTrak Pro, Lowrance Global Map 100

650

popup: The easiest way is to connect your 650 to your PC via the USB cable. Using explorer, copy all the folders/files from the 650 into a folder on your PC (including the hidden files). Then, if you wish, you can burn them onto a CD.

Whoops, buffettck beat me to the punch!

To add new POI's to your 650, read through the discussion forum on loading POI's. It is very helpful and will answer all your questions. By the way, the new POI's will be found under the "Extras" option on your 650. You can add any type of POI's you want.

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Wayne Lee | Location: Somewhere Out West | Garmin 650

No problem. Thanks for

No problem. Thanks for taking the time to answer his question, too. I like this place because help seems to come quickly, unlike some other forums I've been on. Questions go for days, weeks, forever and never get answered. This forum really taught me how to do the POIs, along with gpspassion.com. I like it here better and probably would have never explored the custom POI feature of my Nüvi had I never found this place.

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Newest to oldest... Nüvi 660, Street Pilot 2720, Magellan SporTrak Pro, Lowrance Global Map 100

MP3's

Hi, everyone,

My 660 plays mp3's, but as most already know, the sound out of the built in speakers leaves a lot to be desired, and even with the FM transmitter, it's not the best. I live in a "rural" area where there ARE a few vacant frequencies allowing the transmitter to be used. Those who live in major metro areas, such as the Balt/Wash area, can almost kiss the FM transmitter option goodbye, because vacant freqs are hard to find.

For anyone who may be interested, many newer car radios with CD players will play mp3's just fine. My '07 Suburban has a video entertainment system built into the ceiling. The difference between the '07 and the '05 video system is that on the '07 the DVD disc is inserted into a second slot in the dash mounted radio, not directly into the DVD player. I didn't realize until after I'd taken delivery of the '07, that opting for the video system meant that I didn't have a 6-CD changer like the '05. I was very upset until I realized that the '07 DVD slot stated "DVD Video AND DVD Audio." I recorded nearly 4.5gb's worth of mp3's onto a recordable DVD and now have enough audio entertainment to last for days. Access to my music is now quicker and easier than the old changer ever was.

Miki

New Update

Drove to Cabelas in Wheeling WV and back last night. I really liked the Bigger screen. It is very fast to update/or recalculate. I found it easier than my C330 to get to menu for Fuel..But It has so many more menus it can be confusing. My Brother was driving so I had lots of time to play. I bought an FM transmitter and used it to play Mp3s ( Christmas Music) and it was fun to hear the Music stop and Karen tell us to turn. It also makes the Turn more Noticeable, as it is the only thing you hear. I also had my Etrex along and had them side by side for a while..I wish the Nuvi had all the navigation ability of my Etrex...But I like it..the ETA was within 2-3 minutes both ways.

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Dave_ Nuvi 660 , 760,1490LMT Wooster, Ohio

returned mine

Hi
I returned my C330 to Walmart and 650 to Costco today. I still have my staples $250 260 and am waiting on the C340 from circuit city- although if I could cancel it, I would. I'm very disappointed that the 260 doesn't have the SIRF chip OR WAAS.

50 - 50

nuvinooby wrote:

Hi
I returned my C330 to Walmart and 650 to Costco today. I still have my staples $250 260 and am waiting on the C340 from circuit city- although if I could cancel it, I would. I'm very disappointed that the 260 doesn't have the SIRF chip OR WAAS.

The SIRF is indeed a miss ... but WAAS not quite.

--
“There is always a solution; the only challenge is to find the best one”

Agreed, I have seen a big

Agreed, I have seen a big difference between the 330 and my nuvi350. My coworker has the 330 and she may not get signal where i do (such in doors). IMO, WAAS is worthless. I haven't seen any difference between it being off or on, but have seen a big difference in battery dying with it on.

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Charley - Nuvi 350 - Bel STI Driver - Cobra 29 w/ wilson 1000 - AIM: asianfire -

WAAS/EGNOS

asianfire wrote:

IMO, WAAS is worthless. I haven't seen any difference between it being off or on.

Possibly, any increase in accuracy might be masked by the "snap to road" feature.

Does it make any difference when you suddenly decide to take a detour and leave a major road? I usually find the map display shows that I'm still on the major road, rather than running parallel with it on the ramp (or sliproad, as I would call it). All of a sudden, it will 'jump' when it realises that can't be the case - I wondered if the increased accuracy of WAAS would help it realise the fact a lot sooner.

(I can't decide if the European EGNOS system is actually up and working or not...)

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------------------------ Phil Hornby, Stockport, England ----------------------               http://GeePeeEx.com - Garmin POI Creation made easy           »      

re: Agreed, I have seen a big

asianfire wrote:

Agreed, I have seen a big difference between the 330 and my nuvi350. My coworker has the 330 and she may not get signal where i do (such in doors). IMO, WAAS is worthless. I haven't seen any difference between it being off or on, but have seen a big difference in battery dying with it on.

Agreed. I have turned the WAAS function off for a while now and have not seen any difference if my daily use.

WAAS is useless so far

LongAce wrote:
asianfire wrote:

Agreed, I have seen a big difference between the 330 and my nuvi350. My coworker has the 330 and she may not get signal where i do (such in doors). IMO, WAAS is worthless. I haven't seen any difference between it being off or on, but have seen a big difference in battery dying with it on.

Agreed. I have turned the WAAS function off for a while now and have not seen any difference if my daily use.

I second to it, too. Turned on WAAS and didn't find it to be much different in terms accuracy of my position. I haven't test out the battery life with WAAS being on but read it will use up the battery life more quickly. Just curious, anyone tested this and know how exactly much battery it will consume with WAAS on or not?

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Nüvi 650

Not an offical test, but I

Not an offical test, but I would say that it cuts down my battery life by at least a 1/3 if not 1/2

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Charley - Nuvi 350 - Bel STI Driver - Cobra 29 w/ wilson 1000 - AIM: asianfire -

WAAS is For Walking

I have been told WAAS is mostly intened for Walking and Biking. When movement is slower and more Accuracy is needed..Of course these are also the times you are on battery power...I continue to Enjoy my Nuvi 650 and Because of the bigger Screen I love the Photo capability. I am also a Photographer and it is great to take along some of my favorite pictures. I Resize them in Photoshop , and It will hold Hundreds besides my Mp3s. The MP3 player sounds Really good with Head phones. I am about to start asking Garmin for Commission, as about 4 of my friends have bought a Nuvi of some type after seeing mine..

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Dave_ Nuvi 660 , 760,1490LMT Wooster, Ohio

My 650

I just received my Garmin Nuvi 650 in the mail today from Costco. Real easy to work with. Took it on the road after just skimming over the instructions and found no problems, except one, in looking up destinations or addresses. We had a KFC that had moved about 5-6 years ago and it still showed the old address. I went online to update my maps, but it says that my maps are all ready updated . . . hmmmm? Am I doing something wrong?

Other than that, the screen was easy to see and read during the day and night. The colors are fantastic. It's a light and portable, which is great cause I keep it in my purse when it's not in my car. I am very happy with this purchase!

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PinkLady :)

How to enter address by latitude

I don't know the address of some rural places, but I can get their lang/lat from google (I think!)
My question is : how to enter this address directly to the unit (not through the use of POI file)

Coordinates

kbe wrote:

I don't know the address of some rural places, but I can get their lang/lat from google (I think!)
My question is : how to enter this address directly to the unit (not through the use of POI file)

Under Whereto click Coordinates, Enter coordinates hit GO

nuvi 650

i just upgraded from the 350 to the 650 had the 350 for almost a year and costco had the 299 price on the 650 so i had to go for the wide screen and am very happy with my choice same unit but screen is awesome

Thank you What about the

Thank you
What about the opposite case

I mean, Is it possible to get the current cordinate of my vehicle?

The quickest way to get the

The quickest way to get the lat and long of your vehicle is to just tap the tap the antena bars at the top left of your 650.

Get coordinates

Thank you, I'm almost NUVI 650 professional , will add that to my resume smile

The last question about coordinates

Is it possible to get the coordinates of places in favourites?

This will help if I want to add them to a POI file, or just to enter them in another GPS.

Coordinates

Hi KBE,

You mentionned that you know Google ,

So for your question

Yes one way is to note the adress of your favorites and open Google. Type the adress and you will find the street.

Press the right button on your mouse to the select marker and select PROPERTIES. Note the coordinates Lat /Long.

Go to your favorites (GPS), choose your street and modify OR RENAME and add your coordinates. Saved it.
So you will get the name + coordinates as a text reference for you into your favorites.

Best regards

Not that easy

Of course if the address is recorded in my favourite I'd have no problem
But unfortunatly, addresses for rural areas are not recorded!

Thanks

agree it is a problem

agree it is a problem

To KBE

Thank's to clarified.

Now i am sure you had try this already and you are not a newbie.

Ok now what i am understand is that you saved a favorite without an adress associate with it (such a marker point or present position)and you would like to get the associate Lat/ Long.

Ok thats not the same.

Just go into your favorite GPX file. Open it as usual and you will find the associate coordinate to your favorite you are looking for.

Enjoy it !

Best regards

I have a charger and an imput jack for my radio in the center

console of my 2006 Rav4. I have the unit mounted inside the console. Since I have no visual, I go with voice only unless stopped. With Jack on max volume and the mp3 player at 70%, I've had no problems following directions and the mp3's are outstanding. I couldn't be happier with the 650 in this set up.

Correct

Actually I found it by chance when I was deleying favourites and I found that it was giving the lat/long when I hit edit.
But to save it to POI file , you have to prorate the fraction part from seconds to decimal by dividing on 0.6