With a gorgeous widescreen display, the Garmin nüvi 660 GPS Personal Travel Assistant is your answer to the call of adventure. A sleek navigator and a keen travel assistant, the nüvi 660 is preloaded with highly detailed City Navigator NT road maps for the entire United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. This map database features nearly six million points of interest (POIs), including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs, and attractions, and the data is provided by NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping.This preloaded navigator brings all this fantastic map data to your fingertips with a super-bright, 4.3-inch widescreen display for improved map viewing, day or night. Use the touch screen interface to select destinations, look up POIs, and play your favorite MP3s and audio books. The display also helps you control hands-free calling, traffic alerts, and the FM transmitter, all from the screen of your personal travel assistant.

Widescreen — See Better, See More
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.

FM Transmitter — Hear Better, Hear More
Instead of straining your ears to hear turn-by-turn directions or your favorite MP3s, you can enjoy wireless FM audio transmission via the nüvi 660’s wireless FM transmitter. Tune your car’s radio to the appropriate station and you’ll hear all the nüvi’s audio, including voice prompts, MP3s, audio books, and more, directly through your vehicle’s stereo system. The nüvi 660 includes many “must-have” entertainment and travel tools, including digital music and audio book playback, JPEG picture viewer, currency converters, and more. All these great features make the nüvi 660 a complete Personal Travel Assistant.
First Rate Map Data
The nüvi 660 comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps, including a hefty POI database with hotels, restaurants, fuel, ATMs and more. Simply touch the color screen to enter a destination, and nüvi takes you there with 2D or 3D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions. Garmin gets its map data from NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping.

In addition, the nüvi 660 accepts custom points of interest (POIs), such as school zones and safety cameras and lets you set proximity alerts to warn you of upcoming POIs
Important note about map updates: Due to our high volume of sales, almost every Garmin portable GPS navigator sold by Amazon.com will come with the most recent map version. If you ever do need a map update, you can purchase one from Amazon.com at our Garmin Store.

Hands-Free Calling
In more and more places, it is becoming illegal to use cell phones while driving without a hands-free kit. The nüvi 660’s Bluetooth capability, microphone and speaker lets match it to any bluetooth-capable phone to make hands-free mobile phone calls. Simply dial the phone number with the nüvi’s touch screen keypad to make a call on a compatible phone. To answer an incoming call, just tap the screen and speak into the built-in microphone. Making and taking calls on the road has never been easier, or safer. In addition, Garmin makes it a breeze to look-up and dial numbers from your personalized phone book or even tap into your cell phone’s call history log.

Integrated FM Traffic Receiver
TMC traffic service coverage map
Steer clear of traffic with an integrated FM traffic receiver designed to receive alerts from TMC Clear Channel about traffic tie-ups and road construction that might lie ahead on your route. All you have to do is simply touch the screen to view traffic details and you’ll be ready to detour around any problem area. And if you end up missing a turn, or you’re forced into a detour that is not relayed through the traffic receiver, the nüvi’s sophisticated automatic routing will get you back on track in no time.

In most areas, TMC Clear Channel traffic broadcasts are continuous — there’s no waiting for scheduled traffic news updates or random alerts. Because traffic broadcasts are received via a “silent” FM data channel, you can still listen to music or news programming on your car radio without interference from incoming FM traffic data transmissions.

Garmin nüvi 660 Portable GPS Navigator Technical Details

• Dimensions WxDxH – 4.9″ x .9″ x 2.9″
• Weight – 6.2 oz
• Display – 4.3″ WQVGA

Garmin nüvi 660 Portable GPS Navigator Reviews

From Amazon.com

Best Pocket GPS On the Market

This is the first GPS unit I owned and couldn’t be more pleased. After consulting with friends who have owned multiple GPS units and reading various reviews, this is one of the nicest, feature-packed, and most importantly, accurate unit on the market. Just this morning, I opted to take a longer route to get to the highway because the street I usually take was under construction. I’ve driven sparingly on that alternate route for 4 years and never realized there was a small intersecting street in a business district I can cut through to get to the highway more quickly. The Nuvi 660 pointed that out, basically shaving off over a mile in distance, traffic congestion, and plenty of frustration. GPS owners tell me having one will change my life… I’m starting to believe. … read more ….

From Epinions.com

New Navigation to New Places

Pros: Screen size, brightness, ease-of-use
Cons: Price
Because of recent increase in travel to parts unknown, I decided it was time get a GPS for the car. I went with the Garmin Nuvi 660 and I think, for the first time in a while, I have bought a medium ticket item without any buyer’s remorse. When I was ……read more….

We’ve been big fans of Magellan’s Maestro line since it came out in early 2006. The Maestro interface is incredibly easy to use, even for those who are not completely comfortable with electronics. At the same time, Magellan was ahead of the industry with useful innovations like multi-destination routing and pre-loaded reviews for points of interest like hotels and restaurants (from AAA). With it’s 3200 and 4200 series, Magellan has improved the Maestro line giving them a SirfStar III chipset that provides super-fast. satellite lock and making them thinner. In fact, at .7 inches, these are — at the time of this writing (November 2007), the thinnest portable GPS navigators available.

Distingushing between models is also fairly easy. The 3200-series navigators feature a 3.5-inch screen, while the 4200s have a 4.3-inch widescreen display. The 3200 and 4200 offer great, basic navigation with turn-by-turn spoken directions, pre-loade maps of the 48 contiguous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, and 1.3 million POIs. The 3210 and 4210, add maps for Canada and Alaska, AAA travel information (see details below) and bump you up to 6 million POIs. The 3220 and 4220 add maps of Mexico. The top-of-the-line 3250 and 4250 add a host of other features, including text-to-speech directions that give real street names, bluetooth for hands-free phone calls, integrated traffic (with a free 3-month subscription), and voice command.

What Makes the Maestro 3200 Exceptional?

Easy To Use Interface
The intuitive user interface makes the Maestro series incredibly easy to use. Use the big icons on the 3.5-inch touch screen to search for your destination by address, intersection, or any of 1.3 million points of interest (POIs), including restaurants, hotels, airports, gas stations, and more. You can even touch an onscreen icon for a nearby destination, see name and address, and get an instant route. Turn by turn visual and spoken directions guide you every step of the way.

Auto re-route gets you quickly back on track whenever you make a detour or miss a turn. QuickSpell feature intelligently searches and checks spelling when you enter addresses. The 3200 offer multiple view options, including 2D, 3D, and TrueView that shows your upcoming turn using a 3D split screen. Maneuver List displays the full turn-by-turn details of your route. Auto night view adjusts color and contrast for easy night viewing

Take It Anywhere
The 3200 is super-thin, lightweight and fits easily into any pocket. The integrated rechargeable battery enables you to operate the Maestro 3200 away from your vehicle for up to three hours. The battery recharges while driving via the included vehicle power adapter.

Tons of Data
The 3200 comes pre-loaded with Navteq maps of the 48 contiguous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, and 1.3 million points of interest (POIs). POI data includes telephone numbers and addresses.

It also has an Address Book in which you can create and store POIs and addresses that you use frequently.

Flexible Routing
The 3200 provides a particularly large number of routing features relevant to its price point.

* Multi-destination routing: Select up to 20 destinations and choose the order that best fits your needs.
* SmartDetour: Prompts you to route around heavy or stopped freeway traffic.
* Customizable route methods: Choose between Fastest Time, Shortest Distance, Least or Most Use of Freeways, and Avoid Toll Roads
* Route exclusion: Select streets and freeways to avoid so you can get there your way

Magellan Maestro 3200 GPS Technical Details

• New 3.5″ QVGA full-color, anti-glare, touch-screen display
• 1.3 Million Searchable Points of Interest:
• New look and function with an ultra-thin, stylish,industrial design
• QuickSpell: intelligently searches and checks spelling when entering addresses
• SmartDetour: prompts drivers to route around heavy or stopped freeway traffic

Magellan Maestro 3200 GPS/Auto Navigation Reviews

From Amazon.com

Maestro 3200 vs Nuvi 200

This is a solid entry level GPS from Magellan. After a week of testing the Maestro 3200 with a similar entry level GPS from Garmin–the Nuvi 200, I had a hard time deciding which one to keep. In the end, I went with the Nuvi, not because one is superiorly better than the other, but down to more personal preferences. Here are some positive and negative factors for each device:

Startup and Satellites Acquisition:
In my car, the Maestro takes 40 seconds from startup to acquiring satellites, whereas the Nuvi takes 50 seconds. (Your results may vary depending on where you are.) Furthermore, the Maestro takes less than 5 seconds for the main menu to appear, whereas the Nuvi takes closer to 23 seconds from startup to main menu. So that on the Maestro, user is able to start inputing much sooner. Once satellites are acquired, both devices are able to hold on to the signal exceedingly well, even indoor.

Screens, Menus and Interfaces:
Both devices have a gorgeous 3.5 screen that is very bright and can be viewed from extreme angles. I do find that the Nuvi screen is more pleasing to look at though. Menus and interfaces are very intuitive and user friendly. Most users would not have to read the manual to start using both devices. All the important categories are represented by large icons and easily accessed by touchscreen. In term of layouts, fonts, and color choices, I prefer the Nuvi as the overall design is more inviting. Also, as you navigate between menus and input text, the Maestro would announce your every input such as “Back,” “Next,” “Cancel,” letters and numbers, which I find quite annoying. On the Nuvi, it just “beep” to confirm your entry. … read more ….

From Epinions.com

The Magellan Maestro 3200 GPS Makes travel so simple

Pros: Easy to use, Many custom settings, Crisp clear screen, quick results.
Cons: Sometimes the voice is annoying. Other then that, NONE
The Magellan Maestro 3200 is a very handy entry level GPS unit. I was looking for something inexpensive to allow me to find my way around the city or through other nearby states when we travel during the summer. A friend recommended that I get a …read more….

With a total weight of 5.1 ounces and slim measurements of 3.87 x 2.91 x
0.87 inches (WxHxD), the nüvi 350 is just right for the pocket or purse. A
bright, 64,000-color display dominates the front of the device and a resolution
of 320 x 240 pixels means that there’s plenty of room for displaying map data
and other elements of the device’s interface. An SD memory card slot is
provided for expansion software, such as a points of interest database, media
files and electronic guides (see below). The flip-up antenna includes an
MCX-type connector for connecting the unit to an external GPS antenna.
Meanwhile, a powerful built-in speaker resides on the back of device.

A
built-in lithium ion battery will give you for to eight hours of battery life,
depending on use. In addition to an AC charger, the unit also ships with a
12-volt power adapter for vehicle charging, as well as a windshield suction cup
mount. Fortunately, Garmin has made it easy to interface with the nüvi
350’s 700 megabytes of onboard memory, thanks to “plug-and-play” USB mass
storage support. Just plug the device into your computer’s USB port and you’ve
got instantaneous access to all the audio books, music, photos, supplemental
maps and other data on the nüvi 350’s internal and SD card memory.
Navigation The nüvi 350 is first and foremost a personal GPS device.
Wherever you go — in your car or on foot– the device offers extremely
accurate position data, thanks to a high-sensitivity integrated GPS receiver by
SiRF and WAAS-enabled, 12-satellite reception. Combined with detailed maps of
the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico the nüvi 350 provides automatic routing,
turn-by-turn voice directions, and touchscreen control– making it easy to find
your way anywhere. Plus, the unique “text-to-speech” feature calls out turns by
street name, and you can choose from either 2D or 3D mapping perspectives when
you’re viewing your route on the display. Additionally, the nüvi 350 is
compatible with Garmin’s GTM 10 FM TMC traffic receiver*, which allows users to
avoid traffic tie-ups by simply pushing a button that will calculate a new
route. As mentioned, the nüvi 350 comes packed with mapping data for North
America, but you can can also load up your custom points of interest. Set up
proximity alerts for school zones, safety cameras, and more using Garmin’s free
POI (points of interest) loader program (available from garmin.com).
Garmin nuvi 350 Portable GPS Product Description Technical
Details

• Compact 700 MB GPS navigator with bundled MP3/audiobook player,
  photo viewer, and world travel clock
• Small enough to fit in a pocket or purse; mounts on vehicle
  windshield with included suction cup
• Preloaded with City Navigator NT V.5 with maps of U.S., Canada, and
  Puerto Rico
• Turn-by-turn directions, automatic routing, and 320 x 240 color
  touchscreen display
• Secure Digital (SD) memory card slot; measures 3.87 x 2.91 x 0.87
  inches (W x H x D); 1-year warranty

Garmin nuvi 350 Portable GPS Product Description Reviews

From Amazon.com

Expensive, but fabulous

After trying both Garmin’s i3 and c340 GPS units, this is the one I’m
keeping. Simply wonderful. It has all the characteristics that I was looking
for: 1) VERY compact — easily able to fit in a breast pocket 2) Text-to-Speech
– announces proper street names, not just “turn left in 500 feet”; radically
reduces how much you need to look at the screen to figure out the real
instructions; wouldn’t own a GPS unit wihtout this 3) Bright Screen — readable
in virtually every situation AND Faster location of the GPS satellites. This
turns out to be quite important in day-to-day use. In the other systems, it
wasn’t unusual that we could be driving for a couple minutes before it located
the satellites and could give us directions. With this unit, the satellites are
located almost as quickly as the unit fully starts up. One comment on how we
use this: We don’t mount it on the dash board or on the window (which is
technically illegal here in California). Instead we just lay this on the center
console in our van or car. The antenna system is plenty sensitive to work just
like this and we’ve never lost the satellite signals except in tunnels. We also
like all the potential of the traveling features (clock, calculator, etc.), but
this is the one to own even if you just use it for the basic GPS features. Very
impressed.
…
read
more ….
From Epinions.com

I once was lost, but now am found, my GPS, how sweet.

Pros: Ease of use, design, accuracy, features, features, features. Cons:
A little slow in processing, battery life. Back in the good ole’ days, out
of college, no mortgage, no family, when 100% of my post-bar tab take-home pay
was disposable, I would have gladly plunked down the dough for a GPS device.
But then one day I realized how much money I’d been ….
..read
more….

TomTom’s 3rd edition update to the world’s bestselling (as of this
writing, 8/30/08) portable navigation device features an updated chipset that
provides better satellite lock and TomTom’s new MapShare technology that lets
you add your own map corrections and points of interest, then upload your
corrections to and download other corrections from millions of other TomTom
users via the TomTom HOME website. Tom Tom ONE’s driving view The TomTom ONE’s
3D driving view offers a clear picture of the road and maneuvers ahead. See the
ONE in detail. Icon-driven Menu System The device’s icon-driven menu system
makes using the ONE a snap. Tom Tom ONE’s emergency screen Emergency menu gives
you fast direct access to emergency numbers and direction to the nearest
assistance. Tom Tom voice selection screen Voice instructions are available in
over 30 languages. Tom Tom even has comedy and celebrity voices available.
TomTom Mapshare MapShare lets you add your own map corrections and POIs, then
share them with the entire TomTom user community via the TomTom HOME website.
Even though the ONE, 3rd Edition is TomTom’s entry-level portable GPS vehicle
navigation device, it remains a complete solution with an incredible range of
features.
TomTom ONE 3rd Edition GPS Vehicle Navigator Technical
Details

• The world’s #1 selling GPS; preloaded with maps of the United
  States and Canada
• Millions of points of interest; TomTom MapShare instant map updates
• Pocket-sized design; 3.5-inch touchscreen with 2D and 3D views
• Turn-by-turn spoken directions
• “Help Me” emergency menu; real-time traffic capability
  Technical Details
• Type: Receiver
• Display: LCD
• Display: TFT
• Touch Screen: Yes
• Voice: Yes
• Battery Type: Internal Litium-Ion Battery
• Battery Life: 2 hours

TomTom ONE 3rd Edition GPS Vehicle Navigator Reviews

From Amazon.com

The TomTom One Gets An Upgrade

Christmas is here again and that can only mean one thing…the GPS
market is introducing new toys for consumers to play with. What we have here is
the newly updated TomTom One (3rd Edition) which is the exact same dimensions
and weight as the regular TomTom One ( 3.8″ x 3.2″ x 1.0″ and 6.1 ounces ) with
added features and of course newly updated Tele Atlas maps. Lets start with the
basics, for consumers looking to upgrade from the prior released TomTom One,
the cosmetics of the product have changed slightly. The thin black plastic that
outlined the screen has been replaced with the ever popular color silver. This
gives the TomTom One a new space-age look that may appeal to some people while
others (myself included) will find the new look cheap and clichéd. The
SD card slot on the bottom of the unit has been replaced with an RDS-TMC
antenna connector which is used for traffic reports. The antenna itself does
not come with the unit and is available separately for roughly $129.00 but I
find this accessory unneeded and pricey. …

read
more ….
From Epinions.com

Tomtom One: A GPS navigator for everyone

Pros: Easy to use fully, out of the box. Undocumented, it charges via
USB port. Cons: Incomplete maps for some areas. Confusing model numbers. For an
executive summary, read the bold items. There are at least 4 versions of TomTom
One: version 1, 2, 2 “new edition” and 3. They are identical electronically but
quality control and software issues plague versions 1 & 2. Version 3 has
just ……read
more….