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(More customer reviews)I recently bought a Nuvi 850. Here's my advice for what it's worth.
The real value of a Nav system comes from the fundamentals.
* Receiver
* Maps
* Routing Engine
* Display
* User Interface
Garmin does a solid job in all these areas. But that's not why you're paying a premium for an 800 series Nuvi.
This model has a couple of "nice to have" features that were introduced on the 700 series of Nuvi's.
* Where Am I
* Where's My Car
Both are very well implemented and can be very handy. But again, all of the stuff I mentioned so far can be found in a Nuvi costing $300 less.
So what are you paying a premium for?
* Voice Recognition
* User Replaceable Battery
* Front Mounted Speakers
Well, the front mounted speakers are still drowned out by moderate road noise. So, I wouldn't pay a nickel for that. The only real sound solution remains the FM transmitter that everyone complains about. It works OK for me, in my car, in my area. Your mileage may vary.
The user replaceable battery is excellent. For $30 you can carry a spare battery and go totally wireless in the car or use the Nuvi for 8 hours of walking around a city. I'd pay for that. In fact, every portable device should have user replaceable batteries.
OK, that leaves the "Big Kahuna" feature, voice recognition. Don't believe the hype from the professional reviews or some of the hosanna's being thrown around in Amazon reviews.
Does it work? Yes, it works amazingly well. In a dead silent environment.
With moderate road noise or even indoors with a TV at low volume 15 feet away the thing to gets confused about what it's "hearing". It should have a microphone with low sensitivity and high directionality to screen out spurious noise. A little DSP noise filtering wouldn't hurt either. Unfortunately, the standard piezo mic that Garmin also uses for bluetooth phone calls will pick up any sound coming from any direction. The result is that voice recognition becomes an excercise in frustration.
Still, I'm gonna keep the darned thing. I'll simply enter destinations in the quiet of my home, office, hotel room, or a restaurant before heading out on the road. The remote will live in my briefcase. It does save you from a lot of tedious keyboard entry. But, it is not the mobile safety feature that reviews would have you believe since voice commands are all but useless in a car. You can get essentially the same features in a Nuvi 760 and save yourself $300.
Your decision.EDIT: Update.....OK maybe I was a bit harsh first time round. I have found that the unit will respond with moderate background noise.....some of the time.....if you yell at it. It appears to have the ability to lock in on the loudest sound it "hears". So, if you are relatively close to the microphone and speak really loud (yell), it does respond some of the time.
On the upside, connecting to the Garmin website was very easy. I registered the 850, downloaded the newest firmware, and downloaded/installed the latest maps (2009), all in about ten mintues without a glitch.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Garmin nüvi 850 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator
With the nuvi 800 series, Garmin adds smooth speech recognitionto its bestselling line of sleek portable GPS navigators. As with all nuvis, you get a slim, pocket-sized navigator with a gorgeous display, detailed NAVTEQ maps that let you search by name for more than 6 million points of interest like stores, restaurants or hospitals, and an easy, intuitive interface. All of the 800-series navigators also feature a rich array of features including spoken directions in real street names, integrated traffic receivers, MP3 player and photo viewer, and an FM transmitter that will play all the nuvi's audio, including voice prompts, MP3s, audio books, and more, directly through your vehicle's stereo system. The top-of-the-line nuvi 880 adds Bluetooth for hands-free phone calls, an integrated traffic receiver and enhanced MSN Direct content with traffic data, reas-time gas prices, movie times and more.
Key Features/Benefits
New -- Voice Recognition -- Just tell it what you're looking for (Learn more)
Easy to use interface (Learn More)
Integrated Antenna for a slim form factor
Pre-Loaded Maps for North America with 6 million searchable points of interest (POIs), plus add your own custom POIs (Learn more)
Multi-Destination Routing -- tells you the best way to get to a lot of different places in one trip (Learn More)
FM Transmitter lets you hear spoken navigation prompts, MP3s or audio books through your car's stereo system
Add FM traffic incident data or Enhanced MSN traffic flow data and content with an optional antenna (Learn more)
Where Am I? -- instantly shows you all of the emergency services nearby (Learn More)
Where's My Car? -- never forget where you parked again (Learn More)
Widescreen -- gives you a better idea of what's around you (Learn More)
microSD card slot -- store extra maps, travel guides, photos or MP3s
Photo Viewer and MP3 Player (Learn More)
Customize Your Onscreen Vehicle Icon (Learn More)
Garmin Lock (Learn More) -- keep others from using your navigator
New -- Photo Navigation lets you upload geo-coded photos from a phone, geo-coding camera or photo site and navigate to them. (Learn more)
New -- Send addresses directly to your Garmin from Google Maps or Mapquest (Learn more)
Which nuvi is Best for You?: Click here to see a quick, simple comparison of features for all Garmin nuvi GPS navigators
Learn More
Easy to Use Right Out of the Box
New -- Voice Recognition
Traffic-Capable for Either FM Traffic or Enhanced MSN Direct Content (optional receiver required) MSN Direct Enhanced Traffic and Content FM Traffic
Widescreen -- See More of What's Around
The super-bright, 4.3-inch (diagonal) touchscreen display gives is anti-glare for ease of viewing during the day and automatically changes its color profile for easy viewing at night or in dim light. It offers 2d or 3D perspective views. The widescreen format gives you 70% more actual screen area than a 3.5-inch screen. Primarily this translates into a better view of the area through which you are driving. This is especially useful in showing you what parks, restaurants, ATM, gas stations, etc. are nearby, or in letting you know whether a detour is a good idea. Also, the device itself is larger, meaning controls on the screen are more widely spaced and somewhat easier to push. Wider screen lets you see more of what's around. Compare these actual size views of a 3-inch (diagonal) screen
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Click here for more information about Garmin nüvi 850 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator
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