zumo 665 experience, just for your info

[Eric L]

I had a zumo 550. It worked. I got the 665 as a garmin refurb off ebay for a good price, sold the XM antennae and the 550. So the upgrade to the 665 was pretty cheap. I got new maps, stereo, etc.

Well, yes I miss the buttons. Also the damn thing did nothing but crash - crash on MP3s, crash on the phone, crash on startup. Sheesh, what a disaster. I sent the thing to Garmin expecting to get another brick back from them. The replacement seems to work PERFECTLY. So what's up with that? I have no idea how the lemon made it out the door, but I have now used the new one for ~500 miles of phone, custom routes, MP3s on a microSD card, and not a single glitch.

Just goes to show you. a) if it aint broke, dont fix it and B) if it is broke, send it to Garmin.

 

[Fairlaner]

I went thru 4 before they finally send me a new one that works.....

R

 

[TriggerT]

Putting the problems with the new units aside, which do you prefer the 550 or the 665? I have a 550, but want to get another GPS to run multiple ones during rallies.

 

[Fred W]

I also have both units (for multiple bikes) a 550 and a 660 (I'm not an XM user so didn't need or want the 665)

In general, I prefer the 550. I have not had any issues with the 660 crashing, it is just easier to use the 550 when on the bike.

I do not like the screen layouts as much and have more trouble finding what I'm looking for with the touchscreen than using the side hard buttons of the 550, especially with heavy gloves on Also, the BT phone link (wireless link between the Zumo and your BT capable phone), once you actually get it working, is not as clear on the 660 as it is on the old 550. I am hoping that this will be fixed at some point in the future with a BT firmware update.

I also hate that the USB port is under the battery cover. There is a sensor under the battery cover door that tells the device you have opened it up. It does all kinds of stupid stuff with dropping the USB connection if you have a micro SD card installed (of course you do) and do not follow a very precise sequence of events, which I had to figure out on my own. You have to be sure to fully power on the Zumo and let it find and map all of your MP3s before you remove the battery door to access the USB port. Then everything works fine. Otherwise it will just connect and then 3-4 seconds later drop the connection. Even the great minds at Zumo Forum did not know the secret, though I have now revealed it there.

The only downsides of the 550 that I am aware of are:

No stereo via BT audio out (I use a cable anyway)

Limited internal memory. Can't load all of the North America maps on the device. No big deal. Load the extra map areas on an SD card. They are cheap.

Limit of 1000 songs in the MP3 playlist. (buy more cards you cheap bastid!)

Touchscreens go bad after a few years of use. This may be true of the 66X series too, we do not know yet. But it can be fixed easily and cheaply.

All in all, the downsides of the 550 are negligible at this time (to me). If I hadn't already bought a Lifetime Maps update for the 660 I would sell it off and downgrade it to a second 550.

 

[TriggerT]

Thanks for the info. That is about what I was thinking. A 2nd 550 is on the shopping list.

 

[Fred W]

I'm pretty sure that there are some other folks that are more fond of their 66X than me. They probably use the BT output feature more, which would be easy since I don't use it at all. How you intend to use it is pretty important as to which one you'd like better.

 

[CAJW]

The problem is the 665 is it's just one digit off of being a real beotch! I'd stay well away from those and go with some of the old ones like a 2730.

 

[HotRodZilla]

I like my 660 and don't have the issues Fred describes. He's right about the USB port being under the battery door. I donno whose idea that was, but oh well. Maybe it keeps the water out of it.

I have a 4 gig card in my 660 and never take it out. I plug the unit into the computer, load up what I want and then go.

It does do some small glitchy stuff like varying the navigation volume in the car, but other than that, I really like it.

 

[Eric L]

The 665 (really a 660 since i sold the XM receiver) now works really well. What I don't like is not having that button that toggles the screens, having to hit back back back back back to get back to the damn map drives me nuts. Also, not having any sort of lock on the mount worries me. Not for theft, but for accidentally knocking the damn think off the bike.

Love the stereo sound If it keeps NOT crashing, I will be happy with it. If I had to do it all over again? Hmmnn.. the 550 is a tough act to beat.

 

[HotRodZilla]

What I don't like is not having that button that toggles the screens, having to hit back back back back back to get back to the damn map drives me nuts.

If you hold the back button down, the unit will go to the home screen.

 

[Eric L]

What I don't like is not having that button that toggles the screens, having to hit back back back back back to get back to the damn map drives me nuts.

If you hold the back button down, the until will go to the home screen.

really? Damn. I should at least read the manual once.

 

[HotRodZilla]

What I don't like is not having that button that toggles the screens, having to hit back back back back back to get back to the damn map drives me nuts.

If you hold the back button down, the until will go to the home screen.

really? Damn. I should at least read the manual once.

Haha...I wish these things came with good user manuals. I bet it would cut their calls to customer service in half. Idiots.

 

[Harald]

I've never had a 550, so can't compare to my 660. I do like the stereo BT feature and it works great with my Droid 3, although my old Motorola Q9c was horrible connecting (it would lock up for 10 to 30 minutes before being usable every time I connected). The only issues I've had with the 660 is occasional spontaneous shutdowns and occasional warning that the Usb cable is incorrectly installed (or something like that).

The shutdown issue I've tracked down to a certain album that's loaded on the SD card. For some reason, the Zumo doesn't like Blue Oyster Cult and will instantly shutdown whenever any song off the album attempts to play. I'm not sure why it only happens with that album, but I did get it from a friend and therefore don't know how it was acquired.

And the occasional warning is, I believe, related to water in the mount from when I left the cover off in the rain.

All in all, I'm happy with the 660.

 

[Eric L]

I've never had a 550, so can't compare to my 660. I do like the stereo BT feature and it works great with my Droid 3, although my old Motorola Q9c was horrible connecting (it would lock up for 10 to 30 minutes before being usable every time I connected). The only issues I've had with the 660 is occasional spontaneous shutdowns and occasional warning that the Usb cable is incorrectly installed (or something like that).

The shutdown issue I've tracked down to a certain album that's loaded on the SD card. For some reason, the Zumo doesn't like Blue Oyster Cult and will instantly shutdown whenever any song off the album attempts to play. I'm not sure why it only happens with that album, but I did get it from a friend and therefore don't know how it was acquired.

And the occasional warning is, I believe, related to water in the mount from when I left the cover off in the rain.

All in all, I'm happy with the 660.

Maybe your Zumo thinks 'Don't fear the reaper' needs more cowbell.

 

[Geno]

I got the 665 a couple of months ago, and love it...works flawlessly with my phone & Sena BT headset. I balked at the price until I added up the cost of the XM antenna, bike mount & car mount. Plus, ruggedized & waterproof for bike use. Best farkle yet, IMHO, worth the money.

 

[RaYzerman19]

Limit of 1000 songs in the MP3 playlist. (buy more cards you cheap bastid!)

Create actual playlists, more than one playlist, and store them on a larger card.............