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Sometimes it'd say "turn right", when the turning was more like "stay on the right" or like 20 degree turning only. Since English is not my first language (but it doesn't have setting on my native language), this added up to more confusion. Another time we ended up in weird route, I suspected that it could be due to the fact that I didn't set the mode as "fastest" - though some reviewers here thought it could be due to software error. until we got to Europe. The price of GPS is going down all the time - don't forget to check the price from time to time since Amazon will refund the difference if it's still within a month.
This Garmin is easy to set up. surely it's worth keeping. Road signs or other signs were not in english. Or we were not sure if there were several turns close to each other. Just imagine the trouble if we didn't bring this GPS.
In my case,it went down 3 times (about $ 30 total) - they adjusted it every time I emailed them. they seemed to have no need of english. I am not going to sell you mine. True that it'd say "in 50 feet turn right". Several times we'd miss our turns, but Garmin quickly recalculated the route so that we could get back to our destination.
it has made our trip so wonderful, which I don't think I could say the same without it. The places we visited - most people didn't speak English. Don't forget to check the version of the maps - in my case, I got the older version, but still worked fine in Europe. Oh, I also used it to see if the taxi cabs we used (when we were not on the road) were honest or not ( hubby would sit in front, I'd sit on the back, turned on my GPS without any sound, the cab drivers wouldn't know what I was doing) - we'd give bigger tip if they were the honest type. This is my first GPS.
I only had the time to read the manual to see which accessories I needed to bring along. After a day or two, we were getting better in understanding the 'language' of Garmin. you can just get yours someplace else. Otherwise, what happened to us - we were in a slow moving autobahn when Garmin detected this 'delay' and told us to exit - we ended up in very small roads which I was not comfortable at all - finally despite its direction, I went back to the autobahn. :-). In the beginning, it took a while to 'communicate' and adjust with this Garmin. I'd always be hesitant to purchase expensive electronics knowing their price will go down soon, but finally, at the last minute, I pulled the trigger and purchased this Garmin 670 that arrived a day before leaving for Europe.
we'd have hard time asking for direction if we ever got lost. If there's no sign, just follow Garmin. no idea what Europe was like. but we found there were cases when there were 2 turns very close to each other, not to mention that I had to learn the sense of distance, which I didn't really have in the first place. We were traveling with our elderly parents - better be in a relax mode rather than getting lost all the time.
I always thought english was a universal language. "Never leave home without it (GPS)". Don't forget to recharge it fully the first time, even though it said it was ready to use right out the box - I found the battery level was low. We went from small town to another small town, which I don't think we'd go since we had no maps of these towns. I think you need to install the software and connect your GPS to computer and to the internet to have the version checked. first trip to Europe - no idea how this gadget works. Oh well.I was planning to sell this GPS back on the market once we got back - I had no use of Europe map and could just get a much cheaper one with USA map only.
Everyday we visited different small towns without the fear of getting lost. Oh, don't wait to purchase GPS when you get to Europe - the price was doubled there.The restaurant lists came in handy too, from time to time we used it to find a specific restaurant. So nope. Later on I upgraded the USA map for free - wish they'd do the same thing for Europe maps. BTW, this 'weirdness' only happened to us twice, during our 800 miles, so I guess it's quite reliable.With this Garmin, we were all really enjoying our road trip much better. I must say, after 800 miles driving (we only drove for a week out of a month - one biggest reason why we were hesitant to purchase this), I am becoming more like Amex people. I preferred to wait 20 minutes in a nice big highway, rather than being rerouted to the middle of nowhere in confusing small roads.
But somehow I feel I owe much to this GPS. And wooow. I never used other GPS before, so I can't really compare this one with different brands, except to say that I am very satisfied with this one already. It's still a mystery to me, so what helps - if you are traveling, just get a big map for a general overview, and once you know you are in the right highway, just keep sticking with the road signs if there is any, even if Garmin tells you differently - otherwise you may end up in weird small roads. Just like in any new relationship, at first we often misunderstood what it was saying. We didn't detour much, though make sure, if you are not the adventurous type like I am, put the mode in "fastest" - that way you can stay in the highway, or turn off the "avoid delay" mode.
Great if you're searching for realestate, yard sales, or any group of addresses in an area. The only semi-negative thing I've noticed is that although it always gets you where you want to go, it sometimes takes you the stangest way to get there. It's so easy to use, even for me (who's challenged with my cell phone).
It can play audio books and music, and has a number of other options available. With that said, I do love it. It's portable and holds a charge for a long time so you can travel with it or carry it with you when you're sight-seeing by foot.
I love this Garmin. The hands-free cell phone option is wonderful with clear connections every time. It's actually one of my favorite new gadgets and I use it every day.
I never get lost anymore. No more printing out pages from MapQuest.
Nowhere was the discontinued status mentioned. I bought a new Nuvi 670 on July 29, 2008. I understand that products do have a lifetime, but it should have been stated in the Amazon blurb. How long will Garmin support the unit. Today, August 12,2008 I happened upon a notice that said the Nuvi 670 was discontinued. I'm rather upset with the news.
Among the 4 Garmins I have the Garmin 370 and 670 are the best (same features except the 670 can make announcements through your car radio speakers, in addition to its own). The voice is clear, I really don't need to glance at the screen while driving since "she" announces the street names (the turns) clearly. The screen on this unit is simply unreal. The smaller one is better for bicycle trips or walking in cities but the larger definately best for my car. I highly recommend this unit, it is more than I need but glad I got it (wanted both the 370 and 670 for trips to Europe also). It is exceptional. Bright, clear and the 4.3 inch is an improvement for sure over my 3.5 inch.
There's still accessories for me to buy.Be careful if you put it on the FM transmitter option. I love this GPS. Just go back and find the setting and switch it to auto output and select internal speakers to get your voice/sound back. You won't hear sound out of it's speakers which might make you think it's broken. It arrived just in the nick of time after I had it expedited. This one does so much.
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