New Garmin nuvi 700 series GPS

Recently I have been researching GPS receivers for our travel use. For the past year I used the Delorme Street Atlas software on our Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop. I made a "center console" for the laptop to mount on which slips over the center of our seat in the GMC 2500HD. It worked very well and having a large 15" display made it easy to see the map as we traveled. The software worked very well, however the road data that Delorme uses was VERY inaccurate. I narrowed down the search to the Garmin Street Pilot c550. I was about to call in an order for a c550 from http://www.gpsnow.com but had a question whether I could plan routes on our Laptop and download to the c550. I called Garmin and they suggested to wait for their new nuvi 700 series which would allow that and more. The series should be on the market shortly as I was advised by a technical rep at Garmin.

I'm looking seriously at the nuvi 750 as it doesn't include Bluetooth technology which we didn't feel was important to us. When the 700 series hits the market it may be hard to find much discounting until time passes, but I'm hoping a company like GPSNOW will. My son has delt with them and has been very satisfied. Here's Garmins Press Release Link:

http://www8.garmin.com/pressroom/mobile/083007.html

The main reason I'm posting this is there may be others who are thinking of getting their first GPS or are looking for some new features in automotive units. If you would like to create/edit GPS routes/waypoints on your home computer and be able to download them to your GPS, look at the Garmin nuvii 700 series. Here's Garmins site:

http://www.garmin.com/garmin/cms/site/us

If anyone has questions, I'll try to answer them.....

Tom

Tom,

Your research is very timely for me. Thank you!!

For the new truck, I had thought about using a 10" touch screen with my mobile PC. Same PC I use now in the current truck and car.

But now we're thinking of not putting in all the infrastructural stuff in the new truck that I usually do in order to support a mobile PC (extra battery, battery isolator, mega wiring, external antennas for cellular, wi-fi and GPS). Instead, maybe we'll go with a stand-alone GPS like a Garmin. Then we can take that portable GPS with us in Nancy's car when needed and use it in rental cars when needed.

I'll still have the mobile router with the AirCard to get Internet on a laptop.

I am considering a trip downtown as we have a 2 level Garmin store. Two full levels of all Garmin stuff. Talk about a candy store!

Thanks again for narrowing my choices with your research.

Jim

Tom,
I 1st bought a c340 and ended up with the c550 because of bluetooth. The only downfall is mounting, all it takes is a warm day and the mounts become useless. Today I tried siliconing the extra mount to the fold down ashtray on the Dodge, its out of the way and a great spot for the gps(we don't smoke). Crossing my fingers. Steve

If a better windshield mounts ends up being needed, consider the Panavise 809-AMP.

Not sure how the Nuvi mounts so it may not work with the AMP style mounting plate. But I can vouch for the holding power of the Panavise 809 series of suction cup mounts. In 2 years of being on my windshield holding a dash camera, it never once fell off.

On Edit: Here's a link with a full-line of 809 series mounts. Maybe one of them will work with the Nuvi.

Jim

More info on the nuvi 750

Here's a link with more info on the nuvi 750:

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=134&pID=10625

Jim:

Sounds like we both want a dedicated unit now. What is the name of your Garmin store ? We may decide to detour a bit on our way to Arizona in a couple weeks. I would like to see the nuvi 750 somewhere and get a hands on demo if possible before buying.

Steve:

I did like the Street Pilot c550 but I felt it was important to be able to create/edit routes on my laptop and download them to the GPS. The nuvi 700 series allows up to 10 Routes and 500 waypoints. I'm anxious to see what other software editing features the series has. They don't have a manual available for download yet.

Tom

Sounds like I may have to upgrade my GPS. We currently have the NUVI 350 and have been very pleased with it. However I do like the additional features of the 700 series that Garmin is coming out with. May have to wait a while though for the price to come down to something reasonable. When the NUVI 350 came out a friend of mine bought one right away and paid around $800+ for it. When I purchased mine it was around $450. So while I am not on top of technology I still have a really cool toy at a pretyy good price.

Tom,

The Garmin store is downtown Chicago on Michigan Avenue. Here's a map link to it.

The Chicago area has very few campgrounds but if you are serious about coming in for an overnight or two and need to drop the trailer so you can take the truck downtown, then I suggest you stay at Windy City Campground. Not a great place but it's okay for a night or two and they have pull-throughs. And we can meet you and Sharol downtown for dinner!

Another option but it's further from the city is where we keep our trailer. Lehman's RV Resort (don't let "Resort" scare you - you'll be unimpressed). They too have overnight pull-throughs.

Jim

Tom, I to have been looking at buying a GPS as we currently use Microsoft Streets and Trips. The thing I don't like is the screen is hard to see with the sun reflection. I want trip planning as well and liked what I saw from the Magellan Maestro 440. The price range is a little more affordable that lots I've seen. Will look at the Garmin 700 series. I also want at least a 4 in. screen..../Doug

Garmin Store

Jim:

Thanks for the Garmin store map Jim. I appreciate the info but don't like driving in nor near Chicago. I used to years ago after they had put in the Eden "Expressway" and the other many toll roads around the city.

I'll search the Garmin site and see if there are any other large Garmin stores on our way south and west to Arizona. I really want to try one before buying and most stores don't allow that I've found.

Doug & Lynne:

Hi to you both first of all. We had a great trip out west in July to some of the National Parks. Especially enjoyed Glacier, and stayed at the KOA in St. Mary MT.

The screen on the new nuvi 700 series is supposed to be higher brightness than many of their older models. This may help with sunlight. I plan to build a "U" shaped shade shield for whatever I get. I don't know what company Magellan used for their map database, but I did find out the preferable map database supplier is NAVTEQ because of their accuracy. ALL Garmin GPS use NAVTEQ. I too would like a 4" screen or larger. I see the nuvi 700 series has a 4.3" diagonal screen which shouldn't be too bad. I like the way Garmin is headed with the nuvi 700 series features, and hope they keep heading the way Delorme and M$ Streets and Trips did.

Have a good and warm winter all........

Tom & Sharol

I hear ya Tom. Traffic can get really bad around here. As for driving, you get used to it. I would not want to drive a dually downtown though.

Happy trails!

Jim

Hey Doug, I have bought quite a bit of stuff from www.gpscentral.ca. They have all kinds of stuff to take your money.

Garmin Routes and Waypoints

I have owned a Garmin Street Pilot 7200 for two years now and have always been able to download and transfer routes and waypoints. This transfer can take place in both directions. The reason I got the 7200 was for it's 7" screen. No problem with visibility on our tow vehicles. I have a 2500 GMC and found a place below the mirror for this unit.

Guys, when you say download routes, whar software so you use to create them? I have MS Streets and Trips and like the route planning, could these be downloaded? Thanks, Doug.

Garmin nuvi 750 GPS

dtvista said:

I have owned a Garmin Street Pilot 7200 for two years now and have always been able to download and transfer routes and waypoints. This transfer can take place in both directions. The reason I got the 7200 was for it's 7" screen. No problem with visibility on our tow vehicles. I have a 2500 GMC and found a place below the mirror for this unit.

Click to expand...

Dave:

Thanks for the comments about your 7200 and downloading/transfering routes/waypoints. I finally found that out also from calling Garmin and they said to use their Mapsource program. Their website is not very clear as to what to use and how to do it. They are sending me a disc with the free Mapsource program on it. I also found out more on the Internet about creating or downloading custom POIs (Points Of Interest).

I did order the new Garmin nuvi 750 from J & H Products in Michigan at a considerable savings. It appears some units have been available already from outfits like Circuit City. Is your 7200 mounted on your windshield then ? I thought California (and Minnesota) had a law banning windshield mounting, or are they not enforcing that ? I was hoping to use the windshield mount at least temporarily.

How did you make out on a TV for your bedroom Dave ?


Doug & Lynne:

I don't believe there is a way to use M$ Streets and Trips nor Delormes' Street Atlas data files on a Garmin. But......you can use their Mapsource program ( free for the asking) to create/edit route and waypoint files on a PC and download them via a USB cable (furnished) either to the Garmin OR to an SD card which can plug in to the Garmin. I think this is right.....maybe Dave can confirm that. In short I think I'll be happy with the Garmin and it will do what I want. I'll post more later when I get my unit.

Tom & Sharol

Link to more information....

Here's a link to more info from Garmin about Mapsource and other info.

http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/AboutCart.html

Hope this helps for those interested in their products......

Tom

Tom,
Do you have a link or contact # for J & H Products? Thanks for sharing your research.

Dewey

dewwood;

Try this: http://[SIZE=-1]www.jandhproducts.com[/SIZE]

J & H Products

dewwood said:

Tom,
Do you have a link or contact # for J & H Products? Thanks for sharing your research.

Dewey

Click to expand...

Dewwood:

I see John gave you the Website address. To get to the Garmin nuvi 750 page use this link:

http://www.jandhproducts.com/product.aspx?pf_id=Garmin_Nuvi_750

You'll see that they are taking "pre-orders" only. I have ordered one hoping they can get it soon. Garmin said they are available to dealers and said some have been sold at Circuit City. John at J & H Products said they did this last year with their 660. It appears they are slow to release them and like to create a demand for them first. I'm willing to wait for one with the great price J & H Products has on them.

Tom

I purchased a 360 nuvi and am very unsatisfied with it. I have used a laptop in the truck before w/ DeLormie in the past and plan on going back to that. I like the fact that you can see all the surrounding roads and names. The 360 tells you to go so many miles on a street in a town and you don't know if it is the route # you want.

Thank you Tom & John for your quick replies. I have been looking at GPS units and this info will be very helpful.

Thanks again,

Dewey