Gotta love my nuvi 680 sunrise/sunset calculation!

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Guest

Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 8:35 pm

Well, Garmin sure makes it easy to find sunrise/sunset on the nuvi680.
All you gotta do is drive around until the screen changes lighting
scheme at sunrise/sunset! Gosh, how the heck could we improve on such
a simple interface? Not like that nasty old 60cx where sunrise/sunset
times were actually displayed in plain english, anytime of the day. I
guess that's the kind of the interface genius that over $800 buys you
nowadays.

RHinNC

Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 9:13 pm

Guest

Garmin figures most idiots don't need that kind of information.

Hey, strike that, I am an idiot who is just not buying the watered down
GPS's of today.

<nellie4526@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:a97i14128hop3967l167f7u1t2qoin9afp@4ax.com...

Quote:

Don B

Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 6:28 am

Guest

RHinNC wrote:

Quote:

Garmin figures most idiots don't need that kind of information.

Hey, strike that, I am an idiot who is just not buying the watered down
GPS's of today.

Believe or not that's exactly what a Garmin tech told me about the Nuvi

line, that they were a dumbed down GPS, and that most people that buy
them just want to get from point A to point B. She went on to say that
the SP 2610 didn't sell real well because people thought it was too
complicated to use. I have owned the SPIII, still have a 2610 and a 2820
and except for the SPIII not having enough memory, have never regretted
buying any of them.

Mike Lane

Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 2:34 pm

Guest

On Thu, 1 May 2008 12:28:55 +0100, Don B wrote
(in article <0ZgSj.1243$cL3.447@newsfe06.lga>):

Quote:

RHinNC wrote:
Garmin figures most idiots don't need that kind of information.

Hey, strike that, I am an idiot who is just not buying the watered down
GPS's of today.

Believe or not that's exactly what a Garmin tech told me about the Nuvi
line, that they were a dumbed down GPS, and that most people that buy
them just want to get from point A to point B. She went on to say that
the SP 2610 didn't sell real well because people thought it was too
complicated to use. I have owned the SPIII, still have a 2610 and a 2820
and except for the SPIII not having enough memory, have never regretted
buying any of them.

Yes, that's what I've always understood about the Nuvi range. I bought one of
the lower range models for my daughter a year ago, and she's very happy with
it. (But then all she ever wants to do is to go from A to B like the majority
of the population.) However I'm looking for something to replace my SP 2610
in the next year or so as it's now discontinued and I suspect it won't be
supported with annual map updates for much longer.

I'm thinking about the high end Nuvi models like the 760, and even more
interesting the 860 when it's released with voice recognition. From what I
can see from the specs these do most of the important things that I am used
to with the 2*** SP units. They will do routes with multiple via points and
save them (albeit only 10 rather than the 50 that my 2610 can store). They
also have a more sensitive receiver (*and* a battery)> Can anyone tell me if
there's anything important that the 760/860 Nuvis can *not* do?

--
Mike Lane (UK North Yorkshire)
To contact me replace invalid with mike underscore lane

Guest

Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 9:05 pm

Don B <buroker@charter.net> wrote:

Quote:

Sorry to hear that. When I got the nuvi680, the main selling point to
me was the MSN connectivity. Right now, there's a two year highway
project in my local area with all kinds of road closures. I saw that
MSN was supposed to keep track of road closures and route around them.
So that was my plan for the highway closures. *WRONG* on that count
too. All it does is the highway closures, no side roads, etc. closed
due to construction. So, it will route you around the closure, but
then give you directions to a dead end because of a street closure. It
also tries to silly routing, such as trying to have me make a right
turn, then left onto an unsignaled 4 lane road, even though there's a
left turn signal (and has been for 25 years) at the same intersection.
Many other examples where the nuvi680 takes a dumb route and the
gpsmap60cx takes the smarter route.

I've been a garmin owner since the GPS12 days. I've got to say that
in many ways the nuvi680 has been a huge disappointment.

TVNAV.com

Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 12:57 am

Guest

"Don B" <buroker@charter.net> wrote in message
news:0ZgSj.1243$cL3.447@newsfe06.lga...

Quote:

She was correct.

Quote:

She went on to say that the SP 2610 didn't sell real well because people
thought it was too complicated to use.

I would have to dis-agree with that. We sold hundreds of the 2610's and
they were not complicated to use if you had a desire to learn it.

Quote:

I have owned the SPIII, still have a 2610 and a 2820 and except for the
SPIII not having enough memory, have never regretted buying any of them.

For their time the SP3 and the 2610 were excellent units. Of course the
2820 is still a great unit too with newer features. The nuvi's are great too
if you don't need all of the features of the 2820. Wow, I just counted up
today and there are 28 different nuvi units. I personally think that's
ridiculous! 5 or 6 different nuvi's would have been a plenty.
--

Darrel Goheen
GPS@tvnav.com
http://www.tvnav.com

Jack Erbes

Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 8:43 am

Guest

Don B wrote:
<snip>

Quote:

She went on to say that
the SP 2610 didn't sell real well because people thought it was too
complicated to use. I have owned the SPIII, still have a 2610 and a 2820
and except for the SPIII not having enough memory, have never regretted
buying any of them.

I think that was the same level of terror that people have faced with
setting the time on VCR's, using ATM machines, cell phones, and almost
every other new electronic gadget that came along.

But Garmin's brain fart was in thinking that the solution to the
"problem" was to eliminate the navigation features that millions of
other users understood, were using, and still wanted.

Their approach should have been to develop software that simplified the
user interface for new users. Something like having beginner's mode and
an advanced user's mode, I can't help but wonder if I'm not hearing the
sound of hands smacking foreheads in the Garmin software design
department at this point. If I'm not, it is because they are not
reading this newsgroup and that is another big mistake.

Put me in charge of software design at Garmin, give me a staff of
designers, programmers, and engineers, add people or access to people to
provide advice about all the major areas or fields of use for Garmin
receivers and I'll bet I could turn Garmin's falling market share,
dwindling profits, and diving stock prices around.

If they continue to be a U.S. based company and continue the long
standing commitment to customer service that Garmin has always shown,
things will get better.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)

Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 11:13 am

Guest

On 01/05/08 20:34, Mike Lane wrote:

Quote:

I'm looking for something to replace my SP 2610
Can anyone tell me if
there's anything important that the 760/860 Nuvis can *not* do?

I replaced my 2610 with a 760 a couple of months ago,
and there's no way I'd go back.
The display isn't as configurable, but IMHO that's the only negative
against a *lot* of positives.

(FWIW my GPS lineage has been 12XL, III, III+, eTrex Vista, V, 2610, 60C,
60Cx, Nuvi760. Currently got 760 & 60Cx. Actually, thinking about it, I've
probably still got the Vista somewhere)

Mike Lane

Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 12:02 pm

Guest

On Fri, 2 May 2008 06:57:19 +0100, TVNAV.com wrote
(in article <JradnXeNDvzYMIfVnZ2dnUVZ_tuonZ2d@news.ruraltel.net>):

Quote:

The nuvi's are great too
if you don't need all of the features of the 2820.

What are the features of the 2820 that the top-end Nuvis actually lack?

--
Mike Lane (UK North Yorkshire)
To contact me replace invalid with mike underscore lane

Jack Erbes

Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 12:34 pm

Guest

Mike Lane wrote:

Quote:

On Fri, 2 May 2008 06:57:19 +0100, TVNAV.com wrote
(in article <JradnXeNDvzYMIfVnZ2dnUVZ_tuonZ2d@news.ruraltel.net>):

The nuvi's are great too
if you don't need all of the features of the 2820.

What are the features of the 2820 that the top-end Nuvis actually lack?

- Will store 50 routes instead of just 10,

- Will do multiple destination routing with up to 50 via points per route,

- Will optimize multi-destination routes,

- Will record tracks (10,000 points),

- Comes with the mapping for a PC install,

- User can choose from more elements data for display in the user
selected/configurable data boxes and tabs.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)

Mike Lane

Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 3:11 pm

Guest

On Fri, 2 May 2008 18:34:36 +0100, Jack Erbes wrote
(in article <481b50ad$0$12928$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>):

Quote:

Mike Lane wrote:
On Fri, 2 May 2008 06:57:19 +0100, TVNAV.com wrote
(in article <JradnXeNDvzYMIfVnZ2dnUVZ_tuonZ2d@news.ruraltel.net>):

The nuvi's are great too
if you don't need all of the features of the 2820.

What are the features of the 2820 that the top-end Nuvis actually lack?

- Will store 50 routes instead of just 10,

Yes, that's true. However I don't find that I actually need to store more
than 10 routes on my 2610. Routes that I don't need I can transfer to
MapSource on a PC. I suppose you can do that on a 760 Nuvi as well.

Quote:

- Will do multiple destination routing with up to 50 via points per route,
- Will optimize multi-destination routes,
As far as I can tell from the specs the 760 will do this as well. The Garmin

description says:
"With route planning you can save 10 routes, specify via points and preview
simulated turns on the 760's wide screen. In addition, nüvi 760 automatically
sorts multiple destinations to provide an efficient route for errands,
deliveries or sales calls."

Quote:

- Will record tracks (10,000 points),
I only use this feature with a hand-held unit while walking. It doesn't seem

to me much use when driving. I thought the Nuvis do record tracks, but I
wouldn't miss it if not.

Quote:

- Comes with the mapping for a PC install,
You mean that everything's pre-loaded and you don't get a DVD with the map

data? That could be a problem. How do you update the maps?

Quote:

- User can choose from more elements data for display in the user
selected/configurable data boxes and tabs.
Yes, that I would miss. I like having data like my elevation displayed on

screen.

--
Mike Lane (UK North Yorkshire)
To contact me replace invalid with mike underscore lane

Phil Hornby

Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 5:20 pm

Guest

"Mike Lane" <invalid@mac.com> wrote in message
news:0001HW.C441342F001CF217B01AD9AF@news.cable.ntlworld.com...

Quote:

On Fri, 2 May 2008 18:34:36 +0100, Jack Erbes wrote
(in article <481b50ad$0$12928$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>):

Mike Lane wrote:
On Fri, 2 May 2008 06:57:19 +0100, TVNAV.com wrote
(in article <JradnXeNDvzYMIfVnZ2dnUVZ_tuonZ2d@news.ruraltel.net>):
The nuvi's are great too
if you don't need all of the features of the 2820.

What are the features of the 2820 that the top-end Nuvis actually lack?
- Will store 50 routes instead of just 10,
Yes, that's true. However I don't find that I actually need to store more
than 10 routes on my 2610. Routes that I don't need I can transfer to
MapSource on a PC. I suppose you can do that on a 760 Nuvi as well.

You can store as many routes as you want on the 7xx - it's just that only 10
are actually ready for use at any one time. Once you reach 10, you have to
delete one before you can import another. So long as you have the .gpx for
the one you deleted, stored on the Nüvi, it's easy enough to re-import it
later.

Quote:

- Will do multiple destination routing with up to 50 via points per
route,
- Will optimize multi-destination routes,

As far as I can tell from the specs the 760 will do this as well. The
Garmin
description says:
"With route planning you can save 10 routes, specify via points and
preview
simulated turns on the 760's wide screen. In addition, nüvi 760
automatically
sorts multiple destinations to provide an efficient route for errands,
deliveries or sales calls."

- Will record tracks (10,000 points),
I only use this feature with a hand-held unit while walking. It doesn't
seem
to me much use when driving. I thought the Nuvis do record tracks, but I
wouldn't miss it if not.

The Nüvi 7xx does record tracks. It's a fantastic solution, to a problem I
am still seeking ;-)

Quote:

- Comes with the mapping for a PC install,
You mean that everything's pre-loaded and you don't get a DVD with the map
data? That could be a problem. How do you update the maps?

Updating's not a problem, because *then* you get a DVD (or as of yesterday
download directly from Garmin.com). Planning routes on your PC is kind of
awkward without it though. Garmin North America seem to supply the maps and
Mapsource on request, but Garmin Europe seem determined to drive customers
away by refusing.

Quote:

- User can choose from more elements data for display in the user
selected/configurable data boxes and tabs.
Yes, that I would miss. I like having data like my elevation displayed on
screen.

--
Mike Lane (UK North Yorkshire)
To contact me replace invalid with mike underscore lane

Mike Lane

Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 5:49 pm

Guest

On Fri, 2 May 2008 17:13:37 +0100, A wrote
(in article <fvfejh$c27$1$8300dec7@news.demon.co.uk>):

Quote:

On 01/05/08 20:34, Mike Lane wrote:
I'm looking for something to replace my SP 2610 Can anyone tell me if
there's anything important that the 760/860 Nuvis can *not* do?

I replaced my 2610 with a 760 a couple of months ago, and there's no way
I'd go back. The display isn't as configurable, but IMHO that's the only
negative against a *lot* of positives.

Thanks - that's quite encouraging. Basically what I really need is the
ability to specify a number (10 is probably enough) of detailed routes, using
however many via points are necessary, and to save them on the unit. (And
preferably have the ability to transfer them to a PC for permanent storage
when I've finished with them.)

The configurable tabs on the 2610 are nice - I like to have my speed
displayed (in metric units when abroad) and other things like elevation when
driving through mountainous regions and so on. However these are just frills
as far as I'm concerned.

--
Mike Lane (UK North Yorkshire)
To contact me replace invalid with mike underscore lane

Mike Lane

Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 7:27 am

Guest

On Fri, 2 May 2008 23:20:04 +0100, Phil Hornby wrote
(in article <osMSj.18973$yD2.4097@text.news.virginmedia.com>):

Quote:

I see - that's all right then. I would never need more than 10 routes to be
immediately available. Where are the routes actually stored? The internal
memory or on the optional SD card?

From what you say the 760 is starting to look like quite an attractive option
- the 860 when it comes out even more so (if the voice recognition actually
works that is).

--
Mike Lane (UK North Yorkshire)
To contact me replace invalid with mike underscore lane

Jack Erbes

Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 11:53 am

Guest

Mike Lane wrote:
<snip>

Quote:

simulated turns on the 760's wide screen. In addition, nüvi 760 automatically
sorts multiple destinations to provide an efficient route for errands,
deliveries or sales calls."

I wonder if it also will *not* sort the multiple destinations if you
want to set and control the order.

When I talk about control of routing I want full control and not what a
software algorithm or something else considers to be an "efficient route".

Quote:

- Will record tracks (10,000 points),
I only use this feature with a hand-held unit while walking. It doesn't seem
to me much use when driving. I thought the Nuvis do record tracks, but I
wouldn't miss it if not.

I use it more for seeing the when, where, for reports of trips and stuff
like that. I also use it to build routes that were "discovered" on the
fly. If I did a lot of travel on business and had to keep track of
details for reports, I would download tracks daily and probably be able
to get most of the details for reports and travel claims from the track
info.

Quote:

- Comes with the mapping for a PC install,
You mean that everything's pre-loaded and you don't get a DVD with the map
data? That could be a problem. How do you update the maps?

Yes. Just to clarify, I mean that if you buy the high end nuvi you do
not get the same mapping that is on the GPS receiver in the box on DVD
so that you can install it to a PC and plan routes there.

If some one tells you to or you think it up by yourself, you can ask
Garmin for it later and they will either give or sell it to you but it
does not come with it.

The nuvi is the only GPS receiver in the Garmin line, with the stored
routes and multi destination capability, that does not come with the
mapping in the box on DVD.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)

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