Zumo 660 first impressions

[FJR1300Mark]

I bought the zumo 660 and after 7 days i'm liking it.

It pairs with my phone and brings in the contact list so I know who's calling. Didn't think I would even use this feature, but I"m rethinking that.

It is increadably faster than the quest II.

Now after saying I wouldn't use it for music I need to figure that part out too.

Again thanks for the detailed review.

 

[SPORT]

BF,

Allow me to thank you for your in depth coverage of GPS's. I for one REALLY appreciate it. Not that I always agree with you, but you ALWAYS give us food for thought and a reason to do a bit more research into our choice of GPS. Moreover, I must agree that if I'm gonna spend $500+ on a GPS, I expect a level of competency in that device. I currently use a Nuvi 780, and it works fine. However some of the problems you've raised about the 660 are similar to my Nuvi 780 as well. If this is the case, the price point for the 660 is WAY TOO HIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've just learned to accept it for the cheaper Nuvi.

For the dissenting opinions of BF:

Isn't part of democracy the sharing of ideas (opposing or not) to assist in making intelligent choices??? This is the essence of how we learn.

BF, If I'm ever up your way, I'd love to sit and have a beer with you.

 

[08FJR4ME]

[SIZE=12pt]Some Zumo 660 History. A very good product is getting better. JMO[/SIZE]

Change History

Changes made from version 3.30 to 3.50:

• Added TracBack
• Added autozoom toggle setting
• Added off setting for proximity alerts
• Added dynamic range compression for louder voice guidance
• Connect the headset before the phone on startup
• Draw Arabic map labels in the correct direction
• Fixed several route import issues
• Fixed calculator percentage function
• Fixed selection of Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese text
• Fixed some Bluetooth pairing issues
• Fixed map pattern drawing
• Fixed editing of the current route

Changes made from version 3.20 to 3.30:

• Added MSN Direct v3 support
• Added reverse route functionality
• Added South African traffic support
• Fixed several issues with the trip log
• Fixed issue with route recalculation
• Fixed incorrect turn angle seen in some roundabouts
• Fixed import of favorites
• Fixed issue when importing GPX routes
• Display city names on the main map
• Prevent accidental stop of route while holding the Back button
• Added support for enhanced audio Audible books
• Fixed navigation prompt playback for some helmets/headsets when A2DP is streaming
• Fixed an issue that could cause problems with MapSource or WebUpdater

Changes made from version 3.10 to 3.20:

• Fixed incompatible audio version when using the Croatian voice.
• Fixed issue with WebUpdater that caused older voices to be downloaded.

Changes made from version 2.80 to 3.10:

• Correct problem where units entered a loop of Updating GPS firmware.

Changes made from version 2.70 to 2.80:

• Corrected issue that caused the city names not to appear on the map
• Corrected issue that caused some settings not to save properly

 

[airboss]

After wading thourgh four pages of this, I'm hoping my old 276c never dies.

 

[SPORT]

lol...You know, as fast as technology is moving in the cell phone dept., I may just wait till the Droid/Google GPS offers turn-by-turn audible instructions.

 

[bramfrank]

I bought the zumo 660 and after 7 days i'm liking it.It pairs with my phone and brings in the contact list so I know who's calling. Didn't think I would even use this feature, but I"m rethinking that.

It is increadably faster than the quest II.

Now after saying I wouldn't use it for music I need to figure that part out too.

Again thanks for the detailed review.

Quest-II was the first of Garmin's navigators to store maps in a compressed format. Unfortunately they didn't endow the mini GPS with a faster processor when they released it as the successor to the original Quest - that model had only 115 megs of RAM - and as a result it was almost painful to use it because it truly was pokey. But it was opne of the very nicest of the navigators in terms of being a tiny feature-packed device. It was very easy to travel with and that was it's market target; businesspeople who travel in the US.

As to the 660 pairing with your phone & displaying who is calling - again, that isn't a $700 feature. You get that in almost every Nuvi whose middle digit isn't '5'; the 26x, 27x, 36x, 37x, 66x, 67x, 68x, 76x, 77x, 78x, 86x, 88x and so on. And interesting enough none of the ones that end in '0' (such as the 660, 680, 760, 770, 780, and such) has issues pairing with most phones - and they don't spontaneously shut off just because you choose to use a feature in your cell phone, the way the Zumo 660 does.

Some of these more conventional models can be had for less than $180 and provide vitrtually every feature the Zumo 660 has with the possible exception of being waterproof and being able to pair with an external headset.

That's one reason I have been continuously harping on the fact that it is fairly competent at the basic functions, but way overpriced.

Now they're about to release the 220 and the 665 . . . the 220 is more way overpriced, relative to the 660 and the 665 takes it up a notch by adding XM radio to the 660 - they're saying that features being added to the 665 will be available in the 660. I am taking a wait and see stance on that one.

I'd prefer more reliability over more features that are completely unnecessary, though I do stand ready to be convinced.

I an a show-me kind of guy, even if I'm not from Missouri.

 

[bramfrank]

[SIZE=12pt]Some Zumo 660 History. A very good product is getting better. JMO[/SIZE]

Change History

Changes made from version 3.30 to 3.50:

Changes made from version 3.20 to 3.30:

Changes made from version 3.10 to 3.20:

Changes made from version 2.80 to 3.10:

Changes made from version 2.70 to 2.80:

Wow, 11 months and 5 release versions and even after all of that there are a large number of unresolved issues!!!

It's been almost 3 months since the last update and it is past due for another one. They still haven't even fixed the route recalc bug, for gosh sake.

Perhaps if you'd said that it was a device that's come a long way from version 2.70 which wouldn't even stay powered up ling enough to be useful (and shame on Garmin for shipping units with that release in the first place, let alone that they recalled all of the unsold shipped product to reflash it, but didn't bother to notify the people who had already received their units) I'd agree with you.

Had you said it was a noble effort that is getting close to being able to be considered a complete product, I'd agree with you.

But your statement is way off base and, as I have said there remain some extremely serious bugs in the device, at least one of which can be downright dangerous.

Don't believe me? There's a reason that Autozoom is now disableable; it is tied to the fact that the screen updating stalls. Rather than actually fix the problem, they put a band-aid on it. With Autozoom left in it's default 'on' setting let your Zumo plot you through a complex interchange and then watch what it does when it goes to update the screen while announcing the directions through the interchange; When it stalls in the middle of updating the display, then decides it has to start over at a different zoom level you will never get to actually see the entire interchange nor where you are supposed to be, going though it.

 

[bramfrank]

After wading thourgh four pages of this, I'm hoping my old 276c never dies.

The 276c was an amazingly flexible navigator with a dazzling display; one my favorite nevigators ever. If they'd equipped it (or perhaps more appropriately, the 378) with a touchscreen and Bluetooth the Zumo 660 would probably never have seen the light of day.

 

[bramfrank]

lol...You know, as fast as technology is moving in the cell phone dept., I may just wait till the Droid/Google GPS offers turn-by-turn audible instructions.

I appreciate where you are coming from, but the display on the phone isn't conducive to use in direct sunlight and battery life is a very serious limiting factor.

My N95 has similar capabilities and is shipped with full mapping and turn-by-turn navigation FOR THE ENTIRE WORLD - it served me well in South America. But the built in GPS is not as sensitive as I'd like; it is slow to capture satellites, the display isn’t adequate for motorcycle use, it isn’t waterproof and so on . . .

Then there's the fact that the droid has to be in range of the cellular network to work; Us tourers are often well beyond the limits of cellular coverage. Looking at the coverage I got from my GPS tracking device on last summer's road trip (looking at the track logs generated by the host's web site in comparison with what the Zumo provided) it is clear that a network tethered device is not the way to go 'for us'.

My new Blackberry 9700 is likewise a gorgeous phone (and the Zumo 660 syncs up perfectly with the same photo-equipped contacts that my N95 has and the Zumo doesn't shut itself off like it does when used with the Nokia; Even so, the Zumo should 'fail gracefully'. Spontaneous shutdowns are not an acceptable reaction to a pairing issue. Besides, the Nuvi 780 never had any issues with either phone.

Won't matter much; With upcoming improvements in battery technology and feature enhancements in both vehicle and cell phone technology, experts are reporting that the age of the portable navigator is coming to an end.

 

[FJRONAMISSION]

I really did try to read all this ....... posts / rants and ...??? Then I realized I have a life that I need to get back to....... :blink:

My big question would be .... if you had to get a motorcycle friendly GPS this very day, Which one to buy??

ZUMO 550

ZUMO 660 ... Or wait for say the ..... ZUMO 665 ???

B.....

 

[bramfrank]

Hey, it's only four pages . . . . and you missed one.

The Zumo 220

Then there's the TomTom offering and a fairly large number of 'motorcycle friendly' units, like the Nuvi 500/550, the GPSMAP 640, offerings from Magellan and I can keep going.

 

[Joe2Lmaker]

I know Zero about these things. My Garmin 12 was good enough for what I needed (getting out of the woods, getting over a spot on the lake).

The nüvi 500/550 looks like something I might be able to afford. They look identical except for the version of Windoze they are compatible with and a note about which maps are pre-loaded. So, what's the difference?

Can I create maps on my PC and download them to the nüvi? It doesn't look like it. It looks like everything needs to be done using the device.

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

BramFrank, like most knowlegable people in this area, you give so much information my head hurts.

OK, let me try my question: Which GPS do I buy? I don't need every option. A big screen is really wanted. I don't need bluetooth yet but may someday, I need topo maps for off-road riding in addition to road maps, and waterproof.

What would you buy?

My brother mailed me his Zumo550 without the motorcycle mount to play with in the truck. I can't say I'm overwhelmed with the screen size or how the map appears with a huge icon. I've thought of the older units but I get confused by them as well, and they seem to have less support as they age. I don't care about XM as I have a separate receiver.

I have read this thread, threads on ADVrider, KLR650.net and others. All very confusing. Off-road people tend towards smaller screened units that don't agree with these old eyes. On-road units like Nuvi's don't last long off-road (Hell my Mio didn't last long on-road) or don't have topo capability. The 660 doesn't have an earphone jack (I'm told) and the 665 sounds way too expensive.

Oh yeah, Mexico maps as an option is a plus.

So can you point me to one or two units?

 

[08FJR4ME]

BramFrank, like most knowlegable people in this area, you give so much information my head hurts.

OK, let me try my question: Which GPS do I buy? I don't need every option. A big screen is really wanted. I don't need bluetooth yet but may someday, I need topo maps for off-road riding in addition to road maps, and waterproof.

What would you buy?

My brother mailed me his Zumo550 without the motorcycle mount to play with in the truck. I can't say I'm overwhelmed with the screen size or how the map appears with a huge icon. I've thought of the older units but I get confused by them as well, and they seem to have less support as they age. I don't care about XM as I have a separate receiver.

I have read this thread, threads on ADVrider, KLR650.net and others. All very confusing. Off-road people tend towards smaller screened units that don't agree with these old eyes. On-road units like Nuvi's don't last long off-road (Hell my Mio didn't last long on-road) or don't have topo capability. The 660 doesn't have an earphone jack (I'm told) and the 665 sounds way too expensive.

Oh yeah, Mexico maps as an option is a plus.

So can you point me to one or two units?

Micheal,

The Zumo 660 absolutely has an earphone jack. I think you are referencing the 220 which doesn't. Yeah my head is spinnin also.

Dave

 

[FJRONAMISSION]

Let me add or modify my questions....... :huh:

I need my GPS to work through my Starcom 1...., blue tooth for my phone, .. motorcycle friendly and good maps with POI's..

and I have always used Garmins..........so thats all I know.. :huh:

SOOOOooooo I guess which one would be best for me to buy this very day ??

ZUMO 550

ZUMO 660

ZUMO 665..... SOMEDAY..... Or... which other unit ??

B.....

 

[Fairlaner]

I have a 550 and am waiting to pull the rigger on a 665.....counting the days.

As soon as they come out with the 665 I will be selling my 550 and XM antenna.

R

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

I have a 550 and am waiting to pull the rigger on a 665.....counting the days.
As soon as they come out with the 665 I will be selling my 550 and XM antenna.

R

Can I ask why you are so certain Richard?

 

[Fairlaner]

The only reason I didn't buy the 660 was No XM...This comes with XM and the traffic and weather looks really cool with radar maps...

R

 

[08FJR4ME]

I had XM in my ford edge. Always sounded like it was underwater. I couldn't get use to it and dropped it when it ran out. If your into XM the 660 doesn't have it. Wait for the 665 whitch is coming out with it if that's something your looking for. I have an 8 gig SD card which has more music than I have time to listen too.

 

[bramfrank]

The only reason I didn't buy the 660 was No XM...This comes with XM and the traffic and weather looks really cool with radar maps...
R

It comes with the XM pod, but the services are all subscription-based. That means no lifetime traffic, unless you buy a separate FM traffic antenna (used instead of the XM).

I believe that there is no impediment to Garmin back-flashing the 660 with the 665 firmware, since hardware support for the XM antenna is built right into the 660 - - not sure they will, but they have indicated that a lot of 665 features will be ported to the 660.

In the 'what should I buy today' category, the choice is interesting;

If you will connect to your helmet with wires (and that is how I will continue to connect until they resolve the various Bluetooth Helmet issues), then the 550 seems to be the choice - the larger footprint for the display on the 660 is not a reasonable alternative to the map detail available on the 550. However the speed limit display that the 660 shows on most highways in the US would be nice to have . . .

What I suggest is waiting until the end of March to see what it is that Garmin delivers in the way of a promised firmware update for the 660 - after that the decision can be made . . .