Garmin 2820 vs Garmin Zumo 550

[onecooltngeek]

Ok, So I just sold my jeep, and have some $$ for a GPS finally...

I really like the 2820, and was pretty sold on getting one of those, until a friend told me to check out the ZUmo 550.

I did some searches about them, and most of the threads I find end up being a flame war about Garmin Price policies. I'm not interested in that discussion here, I am wanting to know the pro's and con's of the units themselves..

Some info I have been unable to find...

How much room does each have for MP3 storage?

Does the Zumo have a aux output, or is bluetooth the only way to connect to your helmet?

If myself and my passenger have a bluetooth headset, can we both hear mp3's, voiceprompts, etc?

Can we talk to each other via our bluetooth headsets and the Garmin?

If not, what is the point of getting bluetooth, when I already have a Autocom?

Are both the screens about equal? I noticed the Zumo seems it may be more square shaped?

Is the 2820 a touchscreen?

Should I just save myself a load of cash and just buy a 2620 and an Ipod?

Any thoughts would be great, as I plan on purchasing soon...

Thanks,

ken

 

[bramfrank]

1. Do NOT buy a 2620. It has a hard drive.

2. I prefer to keep my functions separate - I have an iPod and an XM radio that I bring on board - all of the units and my cell phone tied together through an Autocom.

3. I prefer the 276/376/378/478 units over the 26xx/27xx/28xx units - better display, built in batteries, larger tracklog. No 3D display, no touchscreen.

Wait for the Zumo? Why? The Zumo is bike specific. Yes, you can use it in your car, but it IS set up for left handed operation.

 

[onecooltngeek]

Thanks for the answers =)

I didn't know 2620 was harddrive =/

I was torn about the seperate or in one, and am still debating that issue... I normally hate combo units ( tv/vcr/dvd) but am on the less on the handlebars the better thinking for the bike... I don't think I'll use XM, so that isn't a consideration, but would be nice to have the mp3 and gps together.

I saw that alot of people use that 276-478 line... The garmin site didn't list that it had audio out on it though, so I wasn't sure about that. Didn't notice they had batteries as well, so that is an advantage...Can they connect to the PC to share routes and such?

What is the big deal on Left handed buttons??

I've never had a GPS on a bike, so I wasn't sure..

1. Do NOT buy a 2620. It has a hard drive.
2. I prefer to keep my functions separate - I have an iPod and an XM radio that I bring on board - all of the units and my cell phone tied together through an Autocom.

3. I prefer the 276/376/378/478 units over the 26xx/27xx/28xx units - better display, built in batteries, larger tracklog. No 3D display, no touchscreen.

Wait for the Zumo? Why? The Zumo is bike specific. Yes, you can use it in your car, but it IS set up for left handed operation.

Edit

 

[bramfrank]

All of the automotive units as well as the x7x marine ones have audio outputs. How its implemented depends on the model. The 276 uses wiring in the power cable (you get to connect it to your own jack or plug) but it isn;t stereo, because it only carries the voice announcements. The 376 and up support XM, so they have stereo jacks on the rear face.

Interface is to your computer using a USB connection.

Left hand controls can be a pain when using the unit in a car because you would be using your right hand to operate the device - and as to entering text data, the Zumo looks to be more cumbersome than the methods used in either the 2XX0 or x7x.

 

[Knifemaker]

Is the Zumo a hard drive unit?

KM

 

[bramfrank]

Is the Zumo a hard drive unit?

No

 

[S76]

I also am tryin to figure out the details of the Zumo as I have one on pre-order.

Talking to Garmin I found out:

The zumo will run on it's own rechargable/replaceable battery for 3 hours. Good for route planning in a restuarant. If you have a blue tooth set-up in your helmet you can get your cell phone and route voice promts that way. You cannot get XM over the blue tooth. I want XM so I will need a cord. If you use the cord you can get everything through the cord so you don't need the blue tooth in your helmet. If you get the XM traffic option it comes with a city by city current and forcast weather option which I thought would be good. It is waterproof. You do need to buy the XM smart antenna for around $200 bucks as the zumo is not an XM reciever, just a controller. I can't remember exactly but I think he said there wasn't any audio input for a radar detector. I don't know how to integrate that into the system. I do like combining functions in one unit to avoid clutter in the cockpit.

Any more info will be aprreciated.