| Products Electronics & Photo GPS Garmin nuvi 650 | Satisfaction | Experience | |
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| Name | Date | Helpfulness | Review | Overall satisfaction | Ease of use | Quality of Manufacture | Durability | more... |
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| Amazon.com customer | 2008-07-18 | | Popular Features + Great Price = Amazing Value! | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | I was looking for three must have features in a GPS. A 4.3" screen, text to speech and full North American coverage including Canada. The Garmin Nuvi 650 offered these must have features at an attractive price. The 4.3" screen is a must and the text to speech is not perfect but amazing clear. It recognizes Canadian Postal Codes which are more specific than 5 digit Zip Codes. One plus on the Nuvi 650 is the fold out antenna which allows better satellite reception. I consistently receive full signal strength indoors! Lack of an AC adapter is not an issue. You can charge the unit via the supplied USB adapter or the DC car adapter. I highly recommend immediately registering the unit at the Garmin website while it's connected via the USB adapter. The first thing it did was update the firmware in my GPS to the latest version. These firmware updates are free for the life of the unit. The next thing it did was offer to update my 2008 mapping software to the latest 2009 version for free for the first 30 days. Both of these updates were effortless and I was assured I had the most current version of all firmware and mapping updates available. This is a major advantage of Garmin over its competitors. Garmin has the most intuitive menu system. A novice can be using all of its powerful features immediately. I did a quick check of all the local Points of Interest (POIs) in my area and was amazed at the depth of the database. I discovered things in my local area that I didn't even know existed. It's reassuring to know that anywhere I travel the POI database is both extensive and current. As a general observation, these GPS units are a marvel of miniaturization! The incredible amount of information stored in this tiny package is absolutely astounding! I can't imagine traveling without a GPS guiding the way. The Garmin Nuvi 650 is an excellent choice for someone not needing all the bells and whistles but still insists on all the must have features at an outstanding price. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2008-03-27 | | Garmin nuvi 650 - Pretty Good | 8 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | Garmin nuvi 650 - worked right away PROS - usually picks up satellite signal in 30 seconds or less - screen is large, bright and easy to read - able to operate without reading instructions - huge list of restaurants and points of interest - pointing to locations works well CONS (things to know) - does not come with carrying case (sold extra) - only comes with auto charger (home charger sold extra) - movable dashboard mount would be great (sold extra) - struggles with overpasses | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 8 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2008-02-13 | | Such a helpful gadget! | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | I got this from my parents this past Christmas and used it recently to go look at some possible wedding locations with my fiance. We had printed out some directions from Google, but we would have gotten lost if we hadn't had this thing with us. It was great! I set it so that it has a guy speaking with an Australian accent and it warns you about 3 times before you need to turn or keep left/right. The screen is plenty big and I didn't have any problems putting things in. You also don't always have to finish inputting the street name or city because it usually knows which one you are talking about before you're done and it gives you 3 or 4 to choose from based on what you put in. This is my first GPS and this one was definitely perfect for my needs. P.S. The navigation systems aren't perfect by any means and any GPS is going to have a few "mistakes" about where it wants you to go. These may cost you a few minutes, but I think that the majority of the time these things are pretty accurate. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2008-01-12 | | A whole new world! | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | The Nuvi 650 is a life-changing device for someone who gets so easily lost as me. Before I had it, I tended to always use the same old simplest routes and go only to the stores and restaurants I know I could get to without getting terribly lost. I also tended not to go out at nights because landmarks were harder to see. Now with the GPS I have new confidence and it's like a whole new world opened up to me! No sooner do I pass the street that I was supposed turn onto and "Karen's" voice tells me it's re-calculated the route and clearly pronounces something like "In .2 miles turn left onto Susquehanna St". Some other GPS route's can not say road names like that. I'm going to new parks and lunch spots, and trying out new scenic routes to the office. It has many points of interest loaded meaning that you don't always need to know the exact address to go to. I can just spell out "Panera" and lets me choose from all the surrounding Panera bread stores. Also it lets you save your favorite places so you can quickly click and go. There's even a "go home button". Garmin really thought out all the things a user would want to do and designed an incredibly friendly user interface. An additional plus of the unit is the high sensitivity GPS receiver. Even when it is cloudy and storming outside I have had no trouble getting GPS satellite reception. This makes me feel safer coming home when the when the windshield is awash with rain and street signs hard to make. The GPS unit lets me know things like "Make left on Broad Street in .2 miles", and then just before the turn tells me "Turn left on "Broad Street". The screen is very clear and the maps are good, and even just by listening I can find my way because the unit gives such clear instructions. I was unsure about how much I'd use the mp3 functionality of the unit. It does come in handy though because sometimes I get absorbed in a really good song and forget to make a turn. When I use the GPS unit as my mp3 player, it pauses the music momentarily to give me the next direction so I pay attention to it. I was able to take the SD card from my camera and drag and drop my mp3 files onto it for the nav system. I did think it odd and slightly inconvenient that it didn't arrive with a standard charger for an outlet. On the other hand it did however come with a cigarette lighter charger for the car which is where I use the Nav system, and other companies could have considered that an optional accessory. I usually charge up the unit via the usb hub on my computer and that's been working out just fine. All in all, Way to go Garmin! | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2008-01-05 | | Great GPS! Now shipping with 2008 maps | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | Before the Nuvi, the only GPS I'd ever used was a Garmin hiking GPS, which I purchased in 2004. It wasn't extremely easy to use, and installing maps on it was awkward. So for the longest time, I didn't bother looking at automotive GPS units, especially Garmins. My parents recently got a Nuvi 650. They're in their 60s and not extremely technologically savvy. Yet they were able to use it right out of the box, spending minimal time reading the (very short, well-written) "getting started" guide that comes in the package. They are retired and spend every winter RVing around the country, so the Nuvi is an extremely useful device for them. My wife and I got to see their Nuvi 650. We were impressed with how well designed the interface is. It's very intuitive. The screen is big and bright and easy to read in any light. We and my parents experimented with the auto-nav features and found it did a great job navigating us through complicated routes. I got the bug to buy an automotive GPS and did my research. A recent Consumer Reports issue (Dec 2007, I think, also available online) has a great review of automotive GPS units. Four of their top 5 are Nuvis (the other is a TomTom). I ruled out the TomTom because the suction mount it comes with isn't as good as the Nuvi's mount. I considered the Nuvi 660 (which adds bluetooth and a traffic receiver, but is a lot more expensive). The traffic info requires an extra cost subscription (after a free trial period). The bluetooth wasn't attractive to me for these reasons: 1) I will only use my GPS for road trips and occasional visits to an unfamiliar part of the city I live in, yet I use my cell phone all the time. 2) My car stereo already has built-in bluetooth features and, after trying them out, I ended up not using them. I ruled out the cheaper Nuvis for two reasons. Some of them have smaller screens: 3.5", whereas the 6xx series has a 4.3" screen. Second, on some cheaper units, the voice directions do not include street names ("turn left in 500 feet"), whereas on the Nuvi 6xx series, the voice directions tell you what street to turn on, as well as how many feet or miles or whatever. So I settled on the Nuvi 650. Before making the purchase, though, I was concerned that this particular model was introduced 3 years ago - a long time for a technological gadget. More importantly, I worried that the maps on it would be from 2004. I emailed Garmin customer support, they replied in 24 hours and said that Nuvi 650s are now shipping with the latest maps - the 2008 City Navigator North America NT mappping software. If, by chance, I happen to get a unit that doesn't have the latest maps, when I register my unit online I will be able to order a free update to the latest maps. Based on this, I ordered a Nuvi 650. Sure enough, it came with the 2008 maps. Despite that this model was introduced 3 years ago, my wife and I find it very well-designed and it meets our needs very well. As others here have noted, the auto nav is not always 100% accurate - but that's true with any automotive GPS. You always must travel with a good atlas, and of course, your cell phone. The Nuvi series is great: there are lots of different ones with different features, something for just about everybody. Some reviews of the 650 complain about this or that feature missing -- fine, then look at the Nuvi line -- there's probably a Nuvi with the feature you want. Nuvis are easy enough to use right out of the box, for people who don't like reading manuals. But for those that do, it's worthwhile to spend 20-30 minutes reading the manual and tinkering with it. If you plug it into your computer using the included USB cable, it shows up as a drive in Windows explorer. You can drag and drop your favorite photos onto the photo folder of this "drive", and then view them on the Nuvi as a slide show. You can pick one of them to be your splash screen, which you see when you first power up the unit or plug it into your computer. You can drag and drop your favorite MP3 files to the Nuvi, and play them on the Nuvi's internal MP3 player. The Nuvi has an audio output jack (which takes a standard earphone sized plug), so you can play the Nuvi's sound through your car stereo if it has an auxiliary input jack. You can change the auto icon that represents your vehicle on the map; there are quite a few to choose from on the garmin website. You can change the voice that gives you directions; the English speaking voices include an American female (the default) or male, a British female or male, and an Australian female or male. My wife likes the British male voice the best. If you're multilingual or traveling abroad, you can switch to one of many foreign language voices. Since the Nuvi 650 is not the latest and greatest, shop around and you should be able to get a great deal. We got a fantastic deal from c o s t c o d o t c o m. (Trying to avoid the censor.) One last tip: The Consumer Reports article I mentioned said that thieves love to break windows and grab GPS units (and iPods, etc). The article said that you should not only take the unit with you when you park somewhere, but also remove the windshield mount - some thieves will see it and assume you left your GPS in the glove compartment, and break your window to find out. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2008-01-02 | | Great, but not perfect. | 8 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | I used the nuvi 650 while traveling from Atlanta to NYC over the holidays and was quite pleased with its performance. It did make a few errors though which unsettles my total confidence in this device. Not sure if this is the nature of all GPS devices or just this particular one or a Garmin data issue. Here are 3 errors that occurred: 1. Around Charlotte, NC, I was to merge from I-85 to I-77. The nuvi kept insisting I take I-77 South ramp when clearly that would have been wrong as I was heading North. 2. In Roanoke VA heading back to the hotel from dinner it missed the closer exit and sent me on a 5 mile wild goose chase. 3. Again, in Roanoke VA it indicated that there was a Cracker Barrel restaurant 2.4 miles from where I was on the highway. Directions led us to the heart of a small historic town and pinpointed us to a church parking lot. I don't think there ever was a restaurant there. Also, one needs to use common sense and better judgement in addition to the GPS device. This is certainly true in areas you are familiar with - it may not always give you the best route in terms of travel time, congestion, etc. Still it is a great device to have when in unfamiliar areas. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 8 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-12-30 | | Like Having the Yellow Pages for Every City With You (But Better!) | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | I did a tremedous amount of comparison research (including Consumer Reports, GPS review web sites, and Amazon reader reviews) before deciding on the Garmin 650. I was looking for a GPS that had a 4.3 inch screen, spoken street names, was reliable and accurate, was pocket-sized, and wouldn't cost me a fortune. Amazon had the 650 for a great price before Christmas so I bought two, one for my 60-something parents (who had never used a GPS before) and one for myself. After doing a brief run-through with my parents on how to use it, add favorite locations, etc., they were off and driving! They have had no problems with the 650's easy-to-use screens. The arrival time is always right on, and the spoken directions are clear and given with enough lead time that you can exit or slow down for the coming turn with no problem. The spoken road names make it absolutely clear which road you should turn on and it eliminates the need to look at the screen to see the name of the road. Due to its small size (slightly larger than a deck of cards), when we arrive at our destination, I remove the 650 from its mount and slip it into my purse. The other thing I really like about the Garmin is the extensive Points of Interest listings (such as restaurants, hotels, hospitals, amusement parks, Post Offices, etc.). It is like having the Yellow Pages for every city with you at all times but better! If you want to go to a Point of Interest, the 650, unlike the Yellow Pages, will tell you exactly how to get there. This is very useful when you are somewhere unfamiliar and are looking for a restaurant, for instance. You simply scroll through the restaurants in that city (you can search by type of food to make it quicker to scroll through), choose the one you want, and hit "GO" to get the directions. The phone number is also included in the listing, so you can call ahead to make reservations if you like. You can also enter the name of a favorite store, and it will give you all locations of that store near you, mileage from where you are, etc. This came in handy at Christmas when I was looking for a certain item and couldn't find it. Rather than driving to all the stores and/or calling information for the numbers for local stores, I simply searched for stores near me and called them from 650's Points of Interest listings. What a time (and gas) saver! Garmin also has the "Garmin Garage" available on their web site. You can download different vehicles to make your road trip more fun, such as a convertible sports car, an SUV, a boat, a Christmas light, etc. We downloaded a blue-nosed reindeer for our Christmas trips. It's a fun little extra, very simple to download and install, and totally free. Overall, I would recommend the Garmin 650 wholeheartedly for anyone due to its simplicity and accuracy, plus it is a lot of fun! However, I would recommend buying the Bean Bag Mount that Amazon sells separately rather than using the windshield mount that comes with the unit. The Bean Bag Mount is much easier and quicker to use. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-12-29 | | Wonderful GPS Unit | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | I placed this review on CNET as well, but thought it would be worth adding on Amazon too. I've read many reviews regarding the Garmin's, Tom-Tom's, Magellan, and other GPS units, and finally decided on the Garmin. This is a great unit and I am glad that I decided on this for my purchase. There are several key factors that make this a great product: 1. Screen - Bright in broad daylight, big at 4.3", easy to use touchscreen 2. Interface - Simple to use, especially for those who aren't tech savy 3. Favorites - You can save your favorite addresses and name them in the system so you can plan routes from often used addresses over and over (I can't believe how many reviews I read that said Garmin didn't have this - they obviously didn't know how to use the unit). 4. Points of interests - Lots of points of interest to look up as you travel along your route. 5. Reroutes - Quickly reroutes you if you miss a turn or need to get around traffic - a matter of seconds. 6. Satellite reception - Awesome - finds satellites in seconds and has great reception even in structures. 7. Variety of map views - The 650 has both 2D and 3D map views, giving you a variety of ways of looking at your route. This is helpful in trip planning. 8. Clear voice instructions - The route instructions are loud and easy to hear, even on the freeway. Cons: 1. No zip code lookup - This is the one thing I wish Garmin would add to their nav system. Garmin has you input the state, then city, then address every time when inputting new addresses. It often finds the state, city, and address for you after a few letters, but it still would be much easier with a zip code feature. I think they may add this in the near future as most GPS systems do have this feature. It isn't a deal breaker, however, because of the overall performance of the system. Things you'll want to buy: 1. Carrying case to protect the unit (Garmin makes one) 2. A/C adapter if you want to charge it in a wall outlet (in my opinion, it isn't necessary, since it comes with both a car charger and a USB cord for charging it on your computer). 3. Friction mount for the car if you don't want to use the suction cup mount (Garmin makes one). Updating the unit - Garmin offers a utility on their website for updating the unit's software. The latest updates were already on the unit, but it is nice to know that you can update it online. All in all its a great unit. If you are looking for Bluetooth and Traffic updates, then buy the 660, however, it does cost about $150 more currently. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-12-26 | | Thanks for the 650! | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | I must say that when I was looking for GPS Units, the Garmins were at the top of my list and at the top of Consumer Reports' list as well. The question was, did I need the features of the 660? It made the decision a little easier when I got the 650 for Christmas! My rationale, before I got the 650 for Christmas was that maybe I didn't need all the features the 660 offered over the 650. Here is what I deduced; * For my own purposes, Bluetooth connectivity was not a big deal - I was not going to be using hands-free calling for my phone thru this device. This, however, may be useful for some, just not me. I have a Jawbone for my Blackberry and absolutely love it. There is no way I'm talking through a GPS. :) * The FM Transmitter seemed like a good feature, until I read some reviews that the crowded FM band is a bit of an issue and that the weak power of the transmitter from this device would not give you enough power to overcome whatever signal is coming over the station you're tuned to in the FM spectrum. This will yield static sounds. * The 650 does not come with an AC Charger, Leather Carrying Case, or Full Manual on CD. The 660 does come with these items. I ended up buying two of the items from a local retailer for about $50, total. With this being said, I think the 650 was the way for me to go. If you want all of these extra features, then the 660 will be the way for you to go.
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-12-22 | | Excellent product with great POI Database | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | I'm new to GPS devices so I asked around and was recommended to the Garmin line. I bought my son and myself the Garmin Nuvi 650 and we are both very happy with it (found them online at a box warehouse for $299 each, delivered with tax and shipping for around $325 each). Took the unit out of the box, battery had plenty of juice in it to play around with it for a while. You just turn it on, and in less than 1 minute we were ready to go. It reads in the satellites and you set your home location and that was it. Very impressive, as it knows to the foot exactly where you are, announces streets just before you get to them, and if you take a different route than recommended, it just recalculates in seconds. It even shows train tracks coming up on the screen, and next thing you know you went right over those tracks. As your driving around it shows parks on the screen, golf courses, etc. so that was kind of nice. NO CD or other software to load. In fact there was no CD in the box. Found a nice leather case for it at Best Buy for $19. Now all we need is an inexpensive carrying bag from Target. I did notice that the database has a few outdated restaurants and such, but that's understandable considering how much developments change, restaurants move or close, etc. Some newer shopping centers I couldn't find though they have been under construction for over a year and we have the 2008 maps. The 4.3" screen on this thing is gorgeous and the voice announcing the streets is pleasant. We're both extremely happy with this Nuvi 650. However for the price it should have included a case and at least an AC charger. You have to charge from the USB of your PC or plug it into the cigarette lighter adapter in your car. A permanent screen protector would have been nice too, since they put one on there that has to be removed and tossed. Adding these omitted items will add at least $50 to have the complete setup. I also bought the larger friction mount to use the UPS on the dash or floor, since they are illegal to mount on the windshield in California. This works out really nice. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-12-15 | | Don't need the missing accessories for Nuvi 650 | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | Bought this unit after comparing to the 660. I have driven lots of vehicles with built in GPS. The 650 user interface is terrific, and a joy to use. You don't need documentation, it is straight forward if you read what is on the screen before you press 'buttons' on the touch screen. The touch screen interface is very very easy to use and the large size of the icons really helps in not fat-fingering. The unit feels like it is feather light, at least, to me. You don't need an AC charger since it can pick up power from the included USB cable that you will use to connect it to the computer for upgrades etc. The case that comes with the 660 is useless because it is a slide in case. If you take it out of the car to use on foot, this case design is useless, you need a case with a flip up cover (read online that Blackberry flip up cases fit, but I need to research this). I believe that I cannot use the 660's FM transmitter since the family minivan is mostly running DVD Player sound over the radio, so cannot tune to an FM channel anyway. I already have a Plantronics bluetooth ear piece for my cell phone (which I can use when walking around on foot without carrying a 'loudspeaker' nav unit in my hand !!!) so don't really need the 660's bluetooth either. Also if you are driving your colleagues or family around, and you really need to take a call, do you need to broadcast it over the Nuvi - buy a bluetooth ear set. For the delta price savings 650 is fine compared to the 660 unless you really need feature rich system in which case you should probably buy a 680 with traffic alerts. I did not need the friction mount unit as I mounted the included adhesive disc on top of the center stack on my 2008 Chrysler Town and Country (you suction cup mount the unit on top of this disc for easy removal), but I believe that it would be a good buy. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-12-14 | | Garmin Nuvi 650 | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | Having been a GPS user for many years, I have found there is no such thing as a perfect GPS. No unit will produce perfect routes every time and with any model, users will find something that could be improved. However the Garmin nuvi 650 is as close to perfection as you will find in today's marketplace. The unit's interface is extremely simple to use, its business database is very comprehensive and it produces accurate and reliable results at least 95% of the time. The receiver is very sensitive without an external antenna and satellites are usually recognized within a few seconds. The audible voice directions are clear and plenty loud enough. The MP3 player works well, but you can't expect a unit like this to provide the same results as a regular MP3 player. If I had to be critical, features that would be desireable include automatic resizing of images in the picture viewer, breadcrumbs showing traveled routes and identification of the community that you are currently driving through. The plastic case might seem somewhat cheap upon first examinination, but it keeps the unit light and would not be as likely to be a dangerous projectile in an accident as a metal case would. Buyers should give thought a lot of thought as to whether they need Bluetooth connectivity, FM transmission capability, etc. in their GPS. Most users will probably not use their GPS in this manner. With the Garmin nuvi 650, you get all essential GPS features without paying for features you probably will not use. Overall, I am very satisfied with this unit.
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-12-09 | | A Senior Citizen and the Nuvi 650 | 8 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | After reading many user reviews and Consumer Reports I purchased a Nuvi 650 for what I considered a reasonable price. I familiarized myself with the GPS and then took a trip through 4 states. I found the screen to be very readable in daylight and in the night. The spoken name voice commands are a real benefit when coupled with the visual display. I wouldn't buy one without that feature. The Nuvi told me when to turn with adequate time to make a smooth turn in all cases. It was accurate to within 60 to 100 feet. The touch screen is easy to use when changing or inputting data. However there are some problems which stem from the mapping software. In 2 cases I was directed to turn left into a destination driveway instead of to the right. That is a minor problem but still needs addressing by the data vendor. Also I was unable to go to one destination by a direct route no matter what I selected. This was probably due to a new portion of highhway just recently opened and probably was not yet input in the maps. One last thing was inability to find a street address in a neighborhood approximately 3 years old. I have to state however that the same problems were true on Mapquest so it is just a matter of required updates. These problems are minimal when one considers the overall function and usefulness of this GPS. Fortunately Garmin has a web address to contact for complaints and suggestions. As Consumer Reports stated in their GPS Review-Oct 2007,"We found minor errors on most maps. There is no substitute for local knowledge." Point well taken. I would recommend this Nuvi 650 based on my experience with it. If one wants Bluetooth capability then look at the Nuvi 660. If a smaller screen is desired then consider the Nuvi 550. The basics are the same and only the extras are changed. Yes I know I had to print the manual. That's okay. There is one in the box that is a basic manual and I keep that one in the car. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 8 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-12-07 | | Garmin Nuvi 650 GPS Review | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | The Garmin Nuvi 650 is a very impressive, well designed, compact unit that features a bright, large 4.3" display screen, excellent 3D map viewing, and accurate voice directions. Touchscreen response and rerouting are fast. It is so user-friendly and easy to use from the start that it's not even necessary to download the owner's manual from the website. The only minor problem I encountered was the suction cup mount for the windshield which occasionally failed. I highly recommend the unit...I wouldn't travel without it. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-11-28 | | Not perfect yet | 6 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | I bought my first GPS-Garmin 650 this thanksgiving. I am using it for almost a week now. Here are my first impressions. Good 1. Text to speech. GPS speaks street names in a natural voice. No need to keep looking at the screen. 2. Bright screen. Even in bright sunny day, the screen is bright enough and easy to read. 3. Ease of use. Anyone with little bit interest/knowledge of gadgets can use this. No need to go through manuals for most of the stuff. You just get it. 4. Auto Complete feature. While typing city name, after typing first couple of characters, it just gives you all matching city names. No need to type in complete names. Very nicely designed. There are couples of other features like MP3 playback, audio book etc. I don't use them much as the audio quality is below average. It has JPEG viewer as well, but I think its most useless feature a GPS can have. If you are driving, you are supposed to keep your eyes on road and not a slideshow. Garmin could have put efforts in some other direction like adding voice recognition support. Bad: 1. Bugs: This product is not gone through QA for sure. Here are the bugs I could find in first 5 days of use. i) Once you enter wrong pin, there is no way to re-try without switching it off completely. As soon as wrong PIN is entered, screen freezes. ii) If it is finding satellite signals, and you enter destination and ask GPS to give you direction, that's it. GPS would never catch satellite signals. If user is not allowed to search for destination while it is searching for signals, User should not be given a screen to enter destination. iii) Search results are totally random. I searched for 'Best Buy' couple of times (each time while my car parked at same place), listings are not same order. And in any case, it never returned the nearest Best buy store. iv) When it "recalculates", it doesn't come up with optimal route. for e.g. I asked it to give me route for point A to point B , now I stopped at C which wasnt on route to B from A. so at point C, it 'reculated' route to point B. but that wasnt the same route if I ask it to give me a 'fresh' route to B from C. 2. There is no touch control to switch it off. At times, I feel it is required to switch off device. The only way to do that is to keep the physical power button pressed for couple of seconds. Overall, a good device. Works as expected for most cases. IMO Its little expensive.
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| Overall satisfaction | 6 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-11-27 | | Great product for its price | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | I absolutely love this unit. I guess when it is first starting up it take a few moments to acquire the satellites. But everytime afterwards it aquires the signal very quickly. The thing I like the most about this unit is the ease of the interface. It only takes about a half hour of playing around with to fully grasp everything this unit has to offer. It is very easy to input favorite addresses such as friends addresses and such. I tested out the unit the day by driving to a friends place. It took me the route that I would take normally to jump on the freeway and with the helpful voice guidance got me to my location without a problem. I even took a wrong turn at certain times during the route just to test the GPS unit and low and behold, it worked flawlessly. It took about 3-5 seconds for the gps system to determine that I had gone the wrong route and recalculate another route for me. There has been an incidence where it took a little bit longer to realize that I had missed my turn, but it had no problem rerouting me to get me to my destination. In regards to someone else's comment about how the map doesnt realize that you have not taken a turn, its true the that map is still assuming that you have taken the turn and rotates as if you are on the new street, but the car icon still shows you on the street in which you really are. It just takes a moment for it to reconfigure the map. One horrible thing that I hate about the 650, well not really the 650 but the packaging is the lack of the manual, you have to go print it out yourself. It isn't a big deal whereas it effects the performance of the gps system, but it is quite annoying to have to print it out yourself. In regards to POI's, I am still confused as to how I am amble to enter them onto my computer and then load them into the GPS system, I did download the loader but I dont know what program to use to create the POI's, Garmin's website doesn't exactly have anything in regards to a program that creates POI's. Unlike other GPS units, this one doesnt show POI's on the map while your driving, you have to actually choose one in order to get there, so while you are driving you cant see what the nearest gast station is in relation to your position on the map, rather you have to go into the system to find it. But in regards to this, everything you need in a GPS system is in this one. I saw no need to spend an extra $100 on an FM transmitter, bluetooth or traffic receiver. For the price i paid, $300, this is my first GPS unit and I am more than satisfied with it. I would recommend this to anyone. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-11-21 | | Traveler | 8 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | I own a Magellan Maestro 4040 for my own personal vehicle as i do a lot of traveling and can't stand to read map quest as i am driving. The one feature on the Magellan that i like is how you want to get their. The Garmin Nuvi 650 doesn't have that feature. It picks the best route for you. I bought the Garmin for my wife and she loves it. The maps are up to date, its fast to find stores, shops, banks, restraints. it will look up any place you want to go by spelling it. A GREAT PRICE. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 8 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-11-19 | | Needs a new voice | 8 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | Product works well, particularly with the moveable base. It is accurate and gives timely instructions. My prior GPS was a Magellan and I find trying to locate someplace by category is harder here. I also do not like the american female voice, she sounds like a nagging teacher ('recalculating'). I use the Aussie voice, but sometimes it is hard to make out the street with her accent. Other then the voice, it's a good product. | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 8 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-11-14 | | Excellent GPS | 10 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | I'm agree with one of the reviewer that people tend to complain about everything. Even with a GPS worths thousands of dollar, they still find thing to complain. anyway, this Nuvi 650 is an excellent unit, i live in So Cal area and it pick up signal in less than 10 seconds, mine come the 2008 map version, so i know it has 6 millions POIs preloaded. Even if you get a older map version, Garmin will give you a update map DVD for free. Built in MP3 player is a great function because when i hook it to my external FM transmiter, i can listen to MP3 while navigating, and hear the turning instruction through my car speaker, very COOL. I strongly recommend this GPS to everyone | Satisfaction | Score |
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| Overall satisfaction | 10 |
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| | | | | | | Amazon.com customer | 2007-11-12 | | Good but not great | 8 | NR | NR | NR | | | | Helpful? | Have been using the Nuvi for about a month now. As noted elsewhere it does react slowly at times to the location, especially at higher speeds. The added book music etc is probably great but I doubt this will be important to me as I have all the radios, cd players etc in the vehicle already.. I like the portability and many of the menu options and like most Garmin products it is easy to use. Battery life seems to be reasonable and it has the advantage of being able to charge via the computer. The suction mount is crap and the company should refund the cost of buying a workable mount. Suction cup would not hold despite various different methods of providing a good surface for it to mount to. I prefer the bean bag mount. Clear screen, usually easy to manuver on it though the corners seem to take addition pressure than the rest of it to function. All in all it is a good unit that functions well and would recommend it to anyone along with the few points that they should be aware of before buying it. Amazon did its normal good job of getting the item to me.
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| Overall satisfaction | 8 |
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