After testing the Garmin nuvi 760 portable GPS system, it’s obvious that this is one of best nuvi GPS yet. A new big & bright display, real time traffic, multi-destination routing, Bluetooth integration, tracklog support, a new “Where Am I?” and “Where did I park?” feature, combined with Garmin’s routing engine and superb usability features makes the nuvi 760 an excellent choice for novice and power user alike.
Garmin nuvi 760 is an outstanding navigation system that continues Garmin’s tradition of delivering top of the line navigation in a simple, easy to use package. Nuvi 760 includes many multimedia characteristics that are well built in into the navigation experience.
Garmin’s weak FM transmitter, and points of interest ( POI ) look ups could be faster and needs to be improved. Garmin has integrated many features to the nuvi 760, further upgrading the very popular nuvi gps line. Conspicuously missing, however, is a route exclusion feature the ability to avoid specific roads or highways from a planned route. Nuvi’s new on-screen keyboard layout is more difficult to use than older nuvis, as the keys are a little smaller.
The Garmin nuvi 760 portable gps system is one of the best GPS on the navigation market, not necessarily the best bargain; Still, if money is no object, and you’re looking for the best GPS, or you’ve been waiting for a nuvi gps with multi-destination routing capabilities, the Garmin nuvi 760 is unbeatable in terms of quality, features, and ease of use.
The PLUSES (+) :
- Super bright screen is the brightest nuvi display to date (and possibly the brightest GPS display I’ve ever seen). Noticeably brighter than the nuvi 300 and 600-series nuvi models
- Address entry system remembers recently used State, City, and Street names; a handy time saver when entering destination addresses
- “Where Am I” feature provides one-touch access to your current location, as well as nearby hospitals, police, and gas stations
- Best routing engine available (better than Magellan or TomTom)
- Excellent Bluetooth compatibility (worked with everything I could find, including a Blackberry 8800 and Apple iPhone)
- Well-designed cell phone integration via Bluetooth
- MP3 playlist support
- Ability to listen to MP3s or Audio Books while navigating
- When listening to a song while navigating to a destination, nuvi pauses the song playback to announce navigation prompts, then resumes playback
- When using hands-free calling while navigating to a destination, nuvi suppresses all audio navigation prompts
- Menu items only appear when needed. For example, the telephone button only appears on the Main Menu if the nuvi is paired with a cell phone. Less clutter and simpler interface
- Track log recording
- Supports multi-destination routing with route optimization (ability to sort the locations by distance)
- Includes everything needed to receive real-time traffic updates (comes with a 3-month free trial, then requires an $60/year subscription)
- Speed limit information displayed on the map screen (when available)
- Automatically stores the position where the nuvi was last undocked from the mount, creating a “where did I park the car?” waypoint you can use to walk back to your car
- Garmin’s WebUpdater software provides an easy way to keep the nuvi up-to-date with the latest firmware
- Simplified interface is easier to use than the nuvi 600-series
- Excellent windshield mount
- Good text-to-speech delivers natural sounding text-to-speech (GPS announces actual street names)
The MINUSES (-) :
- New embedded antenna design less sensitive than previous fold-out patch antenna design
- new virtual keyboard layout more cumbersome than previous version
- Touch-screen not as sensitive as previous nuvis (you have to press a little too hard sometimes, which can be annoying when driving)
- Underpowered FM Transmitter is all but useless in areas with a crowded radio dial
- Searching POIs can take a long time if you search all categories
- Favorites are sorted by distance only, and cannot be sorted alphabetically
- Cumbersome to set the GPS into off-road or pedestrian modes
- GPS Simulator mode only runs at 1x time. No way to accelerate the simulation (i.e. 2x, 3x, etc.)
- Very basic Detour function
- No way to exclude specific roads from a route