The planning process is similar in walking and bicycling mode; you can plot courses by address, coordinates, point of interest, and so forth. Of course, you won't get some of the road types (e.g., HOV/car pool lanes) are not available in these modes, but you will be able to choose between on or off road. A compass is also available under the Tools menu. Note that boating options are only available when marine maps are loaded onto the device. For geocachers, you can download geocaches from Geocaching.com or use the Garmin Communicator Plugin. You will need to connect the Nuvi 500 to your computer to get the files on the GPS, and remember that there isn't a USB cable included in the box so you'll need to purchase one if you don't have any extra lying around the house.
The Nuvi 500 offers turn-by-turn, text- and voice-guided directions, but it doesn't support text-to-speech functionality. This means the system won't speak actual street names, which is a disappointment, especially since the Magellan CrossoverGPS offers this capability. The PND also features automatic route recalculation and includes a detour function if you want to avoid certain part of the given route. There is a "Where am I?" feature, which gives you the coordinates of your location, the nearest address, and intersection. It will also list the closest hospitals, police stations, and gas stations to your position, giving you a bit of peace of mind if you're in unfamiliar territory and need access to any of these services, or if you need to give your location to a tow truck. Finally, the TracBack function lets you review your most recent trip and gives you the opportunity to save it as a Favorite.
Maps are available in 2D and 3D view with day and night colors, and you can change it so north is always at the top of your screen or the direction in which you are traveling. As a hybrid GPS, you have the opportunity to choose the icon, depending on what mode you're in (a pair of boots for walking; car or truck for driving, and so forth), to represent your position on the map. A plus and minus icon on the map screen lets you zoom in and out, and there's also a trip information page that displays your speed, direction, trip time, and so forth.
The Garmin Nuvi 500 does come with the Garmin Lock security feature, which prevents the unit from performing any functions until you enter a user-defined four-digit PIN or take it to a predetermined location. It also includes Wherigo, which is a geocaching adventure game. To play, however, you need to download cartridges; you can learn more about the game from Wherigo's Web site. Other extras include a picture viewer, a world clock, a calculator, and a unit converter. Unlike some of Nuvi devices, he Nuvi 500 does not include a media player or Bluetooth.
Performance
We tested the Garmin Nuvi 500 in San Francisco and from a cold start, it took the receiver about 10 minutes to get a fix on our position under clear skies. This is a bit longer than we're used to and unfortunately, subsequent starts could take up to a few minutes as well. Once locked on, however, the unit did a good job of tracking our location as we drove around the city.
We also plotted our standard trip from the Marina district of San Francisco to CNET's downtown headquarters. The system was quick to return with directions, and more importantly, they were accurate. Once on the road, we took a couple of wrong turns to check the route recalculation rate, which was fast. The Nuvi 500 was able to get us back on track in a timely manner. That said, while the voice-guided directions were loud and clear, we really missed having the text-to-speech functionality, especially when we driving around short city blocks and we'd constantly hear, "Turn right, turn left, turn right" all in a short amount of time.
We also tried out the Nuvi 500 on foot. We didn't go any hikes, but went hunting for a new restaurant in the city. It got us to our destination just fine, but we felt the capabilities were a bit limited so serious hikers and outdoor enthusiasts should probably consider a dedicated device. Our review unit did not come with any marine maps, which is just as well since we don't have access to a boat. As such, we weren't able to test out the boating features of the device, but if anyone would like to volunteer to their marine vessel for testing purposes, who are we to deny a good deed? (Wink.)
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Where to buy
Garmin Nuvi 500:
$249.00 - $299.95
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
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$279.99 | Yes |
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$249.00 | Yes |
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$264.99 | Yes |
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$253.96 | Yes |
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$270.81 | Yes |
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