Whatever you want to do...Droid Does
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"Once again does everything EXCEPT navigate" on by dinsf2004
Pros: None- to me video games, MP3s and Audio books are no substitute for core functionality
Cons: Makes you drive to a "highlighted route" to start, only gives one direction at a time, informs of lane changes too late, when merging freeways does not give N,S,E,W direction until too late to merge
Summary: Once again Garmin has churned out a toy for tech nerds rather than a functional GPS product. The crack team of reviewers at Cnet spends more time testing the phone book merging capabilities, blue tooth, speach recognition and MP3 and audio book features than it does on the core GPS funtion (nice job guys you missed the boat again as this thing is horrible at getting you from point A to B - try starting with the basics before getting all hyped up with the nerd features). As usual for a Garmin product this GPS only feeds you one spoken direction at a time. In some instances the next direction appears in text on the screan slightly before it is spoken but even this is often unclear because it is often truncated (does not fit on screen). The result is that if you are being told to go from the 405 freeway to the 110 you don't know which direction to go on the 110 because the Garmin system waits to feed you the next turn until after you have completed the current turn. However, when merging freeways, you need to select the east, west, north or south direction BEFORE you exit and since the Garmin is ALWAYS late with this direction, you make the wrong guess 50% of the time and have to exit the freeway and turn around. In LA this can cause a 20-30 minute delay. Other GPS like the Navigon show you a reality view of the freeway (the lanes appear on screen as they do in real life) and there is a graphical arrow that directs you to the exact lane you should take to exit or merge on a freeway. The Navigon also has the next direction on screen along with an arrow if that direction calls for a turn (this solves the truncated problem). TomTom and Magellen devices also give you the next direction and show an arrow if that direction requires you to turn. The Garmin, on the other hand, will sometimes pop up a text direction of the next turn just before you merge allowing you to sometimes be able to swerve into the correct lane but the direction comes up so late that you usually cannot make the lane change without causing an accident. Moreover, especially on freeways exits that join multiple other freeways (e.g., exit for the and 101, highway 2) the written direction is truncated and you have no idea which of the multiple exit lanes to choose until you are about a quarter of a mile going the wrong way. This also happens on city streets where you have to make two turns within a few blocks of each other. The Garmin does not tell you about the second turn until it is too late to get into the lane. Other GPS systems like the Navigon tell you "turn right and make an immediate left" and they also give you two written directions (next two turns) along with an arrow showing the second turn.
To me the Cnet editors just don't get it. I need GPS to get me to the meeting not get me lost. Having my blackberry phone book download automatically to the Garmin is great because I need the numbers to call when I get lost and am going to be late. I just don't understand who uses their GPS for MP3s (the speakers suck) and video games? you have got to be kidding. If you want to do this stuff buy a cheap laptop its half the price. If you truely want a good GPS system DO NOT BUY this piece of junk- it does everything well except guide you to your destination. -
"Really good GPS, but has some minor faults." on by Acuttersedge
Pros: The Garmin 880 is very smooth black case with 2 speakers on each side of the 4.3" screen. One of the coolest features is Voice Recognition. Of course the Nuvi 880 also has very easy menu's, and a really great mounting system.
Cons: The Garmin Nuvi does have some Cons also,....it is very hard to think of any off the top of my head. If I had to come up with some minor cons I would have to say there are some problems with street names either on the map or text to speach.
Summary: I have owned about 15 differant GPS units in the last 20 years or so and this Garmin Nuvi 880 is by far the best one yet. Like I said before in my cons, all GPS makers always have problems with mapping. The differance is Garmin has a way to fix there mapping problems. On Garmin.com there is a page where you can explain the problems and submit them to Garmin and they will send there mapping people to investigate and they say they will fix the problems,....we will see. Besides some minor mapping problems this GPS is AWESOME!!!!. The menu is very easy to get around on and the speech recognition is incredible. You do have to learn the GPS's words and phrases that it likes to hear and when you learn it's language you reap the benefits. No more taking your hands off the steering wheel to adjust the GPS. You can adjust things like volume, to detour's and almost everything in between. The Garmin security feature is pretty cool also, just remember to remember your unlockling code. If you activate the security, in lets say your driveway at home then when you turn on your Garmin GPS you don't have to punch in your unlocking code. It does it automatically for you. I still don't really care about the security feature. Because if it is stolen the thief can't use it, and then he goes out a steals another one and it may be yours or mine just to get one that works. I would rather it take a picture of him as he is stealing my GPS and then transmits his photo to the satelite and then zaps him with a 1,000,000 volt charge so he will learn his lesson. LOL
I just wanted to make you aware of some other plus's about the Garmin Nuvi 880. Last night a friend called me to tell me he bought a new TomTom 930 with voice recognition and wanted to see how it matched up against my 880. I thought I would make it interesting so I took my wife's Nuvi 750 and one of my older Magellan hand held GPS units (Platnum) and stuck them all to the windshield of my work truck. I have to tell you my 880 completley obliterated all the other units. The TomTom 930 did a nice job with most tasks but fell way short on Voice Recognition tasks compared to the 880. The 930 also has a lot more mapping problems like not giving both names of side streets as we approached and a lot of wrong street names in general. The one thing that really bothered me was the TomTom couldn't find my friends home, where the other 3 gps units couls find my home. Of course the Nuvi 880 is the most expensive GPS in the bunch, but if you shop you can get a great deal. I paid $510.00
Updated on Sep 24, 2008 -
"Simply the Best!" on by pfastfoot
Pros: Incredible Speech Recognition; tons of options
Cons: price, price, price
Summary: If you're willing to pay the price, this is simply an amazing GPS. I've been using it for a few weeks, and am in love with it. The speech recognition technology is incredible. The MSN Direct services aren't really that useful to me, so it would be nice if I could buy it without having to essentially pay for the more expensive MSN Direct ready antenna. Ultimately, though, the price was worth it to me. To be able to just speak an address, or even better, just a restaurant name, and have directions instantly is incredible. Highly, highly recommended.
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"Get The Garmin Nuvi 5000" on by cnetreviewer1624
Pros: Better Screan-Bigger Screen
Cons: Just read my review
Summary: I needed a new GPS after my Lowrance iWay 500c just died on me (it was a gift so I am not crying about the lost that much). Let me tell you DO NOT BUY an iWay 500c. It is a piece of crap! In July, 2007 I bought the TomTom Go 720 for my wife. I wanted a GPS for myself and after having my Lowrance iWay 500c stop working on me I did some shopping for another GPS. I came across the Garmin Nuvi 5000. Wow, this unit has a huge 5.2 inch screen but is so light and thin. If you like Garmin products but want a bigger screen then this is it. It has the latest maps, POI’s, and features already install and ready to go! The routes (directions) are perfect every time unlike the iWay 500c. Go to www.garmin.com and read up on this bad boy. It is worth ever dime that it is selling for. All GPS’s have their pros and cons. NONE OF THEM ARE PERFECT. What I like and dislike about the Garmin Nuvi 5000 and the TomTom Go 720 are the following:
Likes (Garmin Nuvi 5000):
1.) Nice, bright, big screen
2.) Directions are accurate
3.) Speaks the street names often and clearly
4.) Great POI’s database (maybe the best I have seen in a GPS)
5.) MSN DIRECT-Excellent!!!! (Traffic, Move Times, Weather, Local Events, Gas Prices, News, and Stocks-WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
6.) Great looking maps. I think people are jealous when they ride by me and see my GPS or may be they want to steal it-I don’t know
7.) GPS is very light and non-bulky for its size.
Dislikes (Garmin Nuvi 5000):
1.) Routing and re-routing calculations are not as fast as the TomTom Go 720. It needs to be a little faster for my taste, because it can be a little bit slow.
Likes (TomTom Go 720):
1.) FAST routing and re-routing (the fastest I have ever seen in a GPS).
2.) Very easy to pick alternate routs.
3.) Good to some what great directions, but sometimes screwy.
4.) Mapshare
Dislikes (TomTom Go 720):
1.) TERRBLE mount!!! I had to buy a 3rd-party mount because the one that it came with it didn’t hold the GPS well. The GPS kept falling off the windshield.
2.) The screen washes out to much in bright sunlight.
3.) Though the GO 720 speaks the street names, but it doesn’t speak them as often or clearly as the Garmin Nuvi 5000.
4.) The screen could be bigger for my taste.
5.) Traffic capability is expensive and the coverage is not as big as the MSN Direct with Garmin.
6.) No Move Times, Weather, Local Events, Gas Prices, News, and Stocks features like the Garmin Nuvi 5000 with MSN Direct.
So you make your choice, but what ever you do DON’T BUY THE LOWRANCE IWAY 500C!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -
"disappointed" on by peeved123
Pros: Amazing speech recognition.Works 99% of the time if you speak slowly and clearly,Bluetooth
Cons: Very weak FM antenna,extremely weak internal speaker,doesn't show upcoming turn on top left corner of screen like cheaper units,only if you change screens.Computes slower than 260w when mounted side by side.Car on screen smaller than other units.
Summary: I purchased the 880 for a phenomenal price and loved the speech recognition.Subsequently this is the only thing going for this unit.I returned two 880 units with multiple problems.One after four days,the second after three days.Multiple freeze ups,maps and routing gone haywire.Exchanged for a 265wt that didn't work right out of the box,returned next day.I've been using a competitor handheld GPS for a few years with no problems.Garmin automotive units need improving!!!
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