use garmin nuvi as tft display pricelist

My GPS is a Garmin Nuvi 2495.  It is a car GPS, with more than two years of use on my motorcycles on all kinds of weather, including this ride here, when I went through rain and hail (June 2016)

How can I start a story without bringing up some context first? Two main items come to mind.  First is that portable GPS devices for vehicles are likely on the edge of extinction.  Our smart phones take care of our navigation needs these days.  New cars already come with their own navigation systems or they have an interface to connect and in some cases display your smart phone on the car’s own dashboard or screen.

For motorcycles, things are a few steps behind. While some riders use their smart phones as a GPS on their motorcycles, you get mixed results for this kind of use.  For one thing you cannot operate all smart phones with gloves. Second, smart phones are more delicate devices and more challenged when under the elements and on off road rides on a motorcycle.

I’ve been hearing recently about “disruptive innovations.”  The smart phone is perhaps the most disruptive of all innovations of the last 10 years.  The I-phone, for example, is only 9 years old and together with other smart phone devices that were released right after the I-phone, they have transformed our lives and how we operate in all areas of work and play.  Smart phones virtually ended telephone land lines, they are pushing consumer cameras off the market (the so called point-and-shoot cameras are basically gone), they challenge laptops, they will end the use of credit cards, they are our office operations on the palm of our hand, and yes, for our topic at hand, eventually they will make GPS devices redundant, even for motorcycle applications.

For now, though, I appreciate Garmin, Tom Tom and all other companies who continue to produce GPS stand alone devices, offering them on applications that work for hikers, cars, boats, airplanes, motorcycles, even when it is likely that one day they will no longer be needed for several if not all of these applications as stand alone devices.

But I really like GPS devices.  My relationship with GPS devices started early when these products had just become available as consumer devices somewhere in the early 2000’s. The first time I used a GPS made me realize how convenient they are, and I remember exactly how it happened.  I lived in Columbus, OH, the heart of it all, at that time and had an ongoing project in Springfield, IL, land of Lincoln.  I used to fly frequently between Columbus and Springfield, this was the time when TWA existed and it had a hub in St Louis.  Remember TWA?  To fly to Springfield I had to change planes at the Saint Louis Airport, where I would take a turbo-prop plane for the short hop to Springfield.

On one of those trips, in 2003 I believe, I was coming back to Columbus. I had been dropped off at the Springfield airport and walked to the TWA counter to learn my flight from Springfield to St. Louis had been cancelled (side note: today we have apps on our smart phones that provide us with instant instant flight information – another disruption from this innovation, displacing a good amount of staff on airport desks – I fly may times in a year and I rarely, very rarely interface with staff in the many airports on my travels).  But this story is not about smart phones, it happened before smart phones existed, so when I learned about the cancellation of my flight, I also learned no other flights were available, it was the last flight of the day to St. Luis., and I was stuck in Springfield.

Well, there was an option, I could rent a car and drive to St Louis.  The two airports in question are 113 miles apart, a trip that is supposed to take 1h 45min if there is no traffic.  I negotiated a deal with TWA and rented the car, although they told me it was going to be a close call considering the travel time, plus the time it would take to return the car, and the time to get to my gate.

Luckily the rental car came with one of those early GPS devices, similar to the Nuvi 260 I would eventually purchase in 2005.  I was new to GPS devices, in fact, it was the very first time I manipulated and used one.  I entered the address where I had to return the car at the St Louis airport and went out on my drive.  Time was tight, there was no margin for error.  I instantly loved the directions given by the GPS, I was not going to spend time stopping to look at maps or backtracking after getting lost.

I learned how convenient it was to have the ETA feature (estimated time of arrival). As I drove south on 55 (incidentally a portion of 55 going north or south from Springfield is also the famous Route 66), I was gaining a few minutes on the ETA, traveling slightly (slightly, right) faster than the speed limit.  When I arrived in St Louis and merged onto I-70 west towards the airport, if memory serves me right it was somewhere around 7 or 8 in the evening, traffic was intense on I-70 and the ETA started going up.  And then I hit construction.

The road was closed for several miles, including the exit I should had taken to get to the airport, forcing me to exit I-70 and get on a detour.  I was in trouble by this time, I thought I was done with trying to arrive on time, I would miss my flight, and I would still get lost.  That’s when I heard another great feature of the GPS in action. As soon as I exited the freeway the words “recalculating” from the woman’s voice on the GPS came up and soon it put me on another route telling me again where to go, and I arrived on time to get to my flight. I was relieved. And I was impressed.

I have another very similar story when a GPS was a savior again, this one was in California in 2006, and this other story carried a bit of extra drama.  Maybe I will tell that other story at the end on this post, I don’t want to make the post yet longer.

What is relevant from this drive from Springfield to Saint Louis is that it got me hooked on GPS devices.  Not that I didn’t like gadgets already and not that I already had my eyes set on a GPS, but I learned how really convenient these devices were, there was not way back from that experience.  Sine I bought my first GPS in 2005, whenever I travel by car or motorcycle, I always want a GPS at my disposal. I love perusing information on my GPS, from the ETA, to alternate routes, to gas stations, restaurants, hotels, ATM, attractions n the area I’m riding or driving, besides the directions themselves. And now, with my latest GPS, I also have weather and traffic information, as well as telephone call notifications thanks to a blue tooth connection with my phone (here you go, the smart phone shows up again).

I agree with most people who say a GPS does not substitute a map.  I also agree that using a GPS can create a tunnel vision effect distracting me from landmarks as I get fixated on the directions the GPS provides me. Therefore, I strongly recommend that at a minimum the rider studies the maps of where he or she plans to ride before engaging on a trip with a GPS.  However, all in all, taking in consideration the appropriate caveats, I find GPS devices an indispensable tool for my car or motorcycle trips.

I’m not sure about the prices of Tom Tom and other brands that might be available for motorcycles.  But I know Garmin GPSes have a motorcycle surcharge of sorts because comparatively to the 395 and 595 devices, two years ago I bought a Nuvi 2497, a car dedicated GPS, for $130.  That’s a fraction of the price of the Zumo devices.

That’s why I use that Nuvi 2497, an inexpensive car GPS, on my motorcycles. As an alternative, or back up, I carry with me a GPS device designed for hikers (Garmin Oregon 450), I also carry my smart phone, and at least a paper map for each state or region I will be traveling on.

Despite liking GPS devices I’ve only bought three such devices so far, all of them Garmin devices:  A Nuvi 260 (more than 12 years old now), the Oregon 450 (about 6 years old, I believe), and the Nuvi 2497 (two years old) which is now my main GPS device. The three of them work well even after being exposed to all kinds of weather, from rain to hail, to sandstorms, to dirt and gravel roads. They have survived everything I encountered so far on my motorcycle rides.

What are then the differences between a motorcycle GPS and a car GPS? Are these differences enough to justify the price difference? I can tell you again: I still don’t know the answer to the price difference question. But let’s explore the possible reasons for this price differential.

To try to answer this question I looked at the official Garmin specs and the key differences across three devices: the two motorcycle devices (Zumo 395 and Zumo 595) and my Nuvi 2497 device. Lets talk about the price differences first.  The Nuvi 2497 I use cost me $130.  Today, a GPS with similar features, the Garmin Drive 50LMT, is rated at $230 (interesting price increase, but the 4 inch GPSes, like my Nuvi 2497 are no longer available).

That means, the Garming Zumo 595 costs 3.5 times more than the Garmin Drive 50 LMT, and the Zumo 395 costs 2.6 times more than the Garmin Drive 50 LMT.  If you don’t want blue tooth connection, you can get the Garmin Drive 50 for less than $200.

The Nuvi is not waterproof.  But is it really?  My two non-waterproof GPS devices have been on rain, hail and sandstorms.  And they have never failed. So far. 12 years and counting…

How do I manage that? For one thing, its case appears to be waterproof already from Garmin. Of course there are the various water ingress points such as the on/off button, the card slot, speakers, the microphone (the 21497 can be voice actuated) and the cable connection.  None of these are waterproof.  That’s when Gorilla tape enters the conversation.

The back of the Nuvi 260, you can see the marks left by the tape after it was removed when I retired this GPS (maps were so outdated after so many years it was cheaper to buy a new GPS).

I did the same thing for the Nuvi 2497.  I covered the on/off button, the speaker, the microphone, and the card slot with Gorilla tape.  After two years I recently took a closer look and realized it needs some adjustments (picture below shows the tape coming unglued).  But this device has never failed me so far. The thing is, even if it had failed, I could buy another two of them before I would get to the Zumo price.

Probably the most difficult component to keep dry is where the cable connects to the back of the unit.  I use a RAM mount (another important item that makes it work on motorcycles) and covered the connecting cable with Gorilla tape on top of the RAM mount.  In this case, I tried using Powerlet cables so the unit can be mounted and dismounted without removing it from the RAM mount.  But the Powerlet cables did not deliver the promised performance. More on that later.

As mentioned before, despite the improvised nature, this set up has proven to work, keeping this GPS operational under all types of riding and all weather conditions.  It is not perfect, it requires keeping an eye on it.  It is here where you can make your first calculation:  is the inconvenience of adding Gorilla tape to several parts of this GPS a problem?  What if water enters the unit and damages it? Well, how many times this has to happen, how many Nuvi devices you need to buy before you get to the price of the motorcycle version?  So far I’ve been using this method for 10 years without a problem, without failure.The bottom line?  I’m not sure making the Zumo line waterproof explains the cost differential.  But for me, since the devices I use have survived the elements so far, then the price differential does not justify it.

For a motorcycle device, this is different. You will be under the elements and under direct sun light. The TFT display with white backlight of the Nuvi (or the Zumo 395 for that matter) is not bright enough, depending on where the sun is.  Direct sun light is the worst possible scenario for these screens.  At night or on cloudy days it is fine.  A transflective display is great under direct sun light.  Is it worth the investment? If I were to buy one of the two Zumo devices for this reason it would have to be the Zumo 595, and then the $900 is too much, in my opinion. It is more than what I consider worth for the benefit of having the brighter screen.

So far, the cost of making the device waterproof and have a transflective screen may explain most of the cost differential.  However, these two items have not become essential for me to have on my devices, therefore, they have not justified the premium price. Therefore, let’s go forward and examine more specific motorcycle features of the Zumo line and how it compares to my Nuvi.

I would like to have the tire pressure monitors and the routing capability.  For the routing I use my Oregon 450.  It is small, since it is meant to be a handheld device, but it is very doable in a motorcycle application.  It would be more convenient to have all of that in one unit. That would be one feature I would like to have on a new device.

Then again, the reality is that I only really use it when going off road. Perhaps it is because of the inconvenience of having to bring the Oregon 450 with me, setting it up, is that the result is that most of the time, by a great, great margin, I’m only using my Nuvi, even when going off road. Point for the Zumo line here.

The tire pressure monitor is a convenient feature.  It hasn’t justified the expense to me yet, but in the future this is something to look into. Some motorcycles already come with their own tire pressure monitors these days. For now, point to the Zumo line.

A clear disadvantage for car GPSes when using on a motorcycle are the cables and the micro-USB connection.  The Nuvi devices devices come with a regular and large 12 V plug and a long and bulky cable and a very fragile connector with the GPS (micro USB). Besides being bulky, they are not meant to be connected and disconnected on a regular basis, where dust and water may get into the connections.  I’ve tried instead to use Powerlet cables, as mentioned before, but for some reason they don’t work very well.

Frequently these cables get disconnected, no matter how much tape I use to keep connecting points tight, and the GPS turns off or keeps turning on and off.  It is really a problem.  Therefore I’ve given up the Powerlet option after many tries and have resorted to plugging and unplugging the GPS using the long and bulky car cable.  It uses a bit more of Gorilla tape (I can re-use it but there is only so much the tape can take until it no longer seals the connections), but so far, so good…  If there is an achilles heel for the car GPS on a motorcycle application, that will be its cable and connectors.  Point for the Zumo again.

The bottom line is that, in my opinion, I don’t need to buy an expensive GPS to have a navigation system for my motorcycles.  There are risks associated with it but so far it has worked very well for me.

Maybe I’ve been lucky, but my car GPS devices have survived all sorts of riding and types of terrain without a problem.  Rain and hail have not been a problem, a sandstorm has not been a problem either. From dirt to gravel roads, nothing has been a problem for my Nuvi devices either.

But then again, why is the Zumo line so expensive? Is its waterproof capacity what makes it so expensive?  Is it the capacity (software) to offer a route and track system? The navigation software cuts across so many Garmin products, you would think there are economies of scale on the programming of the device. Is it the tire monitor pressure system? Is it the transflective display?  Are there other features I forgot to mention?  All in all, at the end of the day, I’m happy with the budget device I have.  Would I prefer to have a Garmin 595? Yes. Price it much lower and I will buy one tomorrow.

The counterpoint: There is one exception to my analysis. I do think motorcycle GPSes are really convenient on BMW motorcycles, since you can navigate the GPS menus without taking your hand from the handlebars.  The combination of the built n control and the GPS and its proprietary mount makes it yet more expensive.  But I do see value on it, something to consider. (Note: back to the disruptive innovation, I can see how eventually such a clever wheel (or similar device on a motorcycle) will control your Smart phone and hence your smartphone built-in GPS and the stand alone GPS will still be gone.  It is just a question of time, the wheel has opened the door for this possibility).

Meanwhile, when my Nuvi 2497 dies I will get the next Nuvi available or equivalent.  And as you can see, I don’t have an answer.  Maybe you have your own answer for how much you are willing to pay to have the one device that will take care of all your navigation needs on a motorcycle.

The other story I mentioned earlier, when a GPS was a savior, was in 2005.  It is very similar to the story in Springfield.  This time it was in Sacramento, California.

I was coming back from Sacramento, after a work meeting with a colleague of mine.  I did not have a smartphone yet, the I-phone was released in 2007, so I had my Nuvi 260 with me because we rented a car in Sacramento.

We finished our business, returned the car and went to the United desk.  When we got there there was a crowd of people around the agent. Yes, the connecting flight to San Francisco, from which we would catch our flight to Eugene had been canceled. No other options were available that late in the day.  My colleague had her daughter at home with a sitter and the sitter would not be available to stay another night, so she really did not want to miss the San Francisco to Eugene flight.

I brought up the rental car scenario to the United agent, they said United was not going to pay for it.  As we were negotiating this, and I do negotiate almost anything, another passenger, wearing a gray suit, arrived.  He was really agitated and just said: I will pay for the car and we travel together to San Francisco. I looked at my colleague, she nodded yes, and that was it. We had transportation.

Very similar to my story in Springfield, making it by car would be very, very close! Everything would have to work very well for us to arrive on time for the connecting flight.  The distance between the Sacramento and San Francisco airports is 105 miles via the faster route, and is expected to take just less than two hours to arrive.

We got the car, well the guy on a suit got the car (I can’t remember his name, I think it was Greg, let’s call him Greg).  As soon as we start driving we started to learn Greg’s story.  First of all, his flight was departing 3o minutes earlier than hours. If our time was tight, his was even tighter.

The second story Greg told us, as we are already on the I-80 towards San Francisco is that he was an attorney working out of New York City. He had come down to Sacramento for a deposition on a malpractice law suit against a dentist. As he is finishing his work he gets a phone call from a hospital in NYC, and he learns his wife had been admitted in the emergency area of the hospital due to a health issue (I don’t remember what it was, I think it was heart related).  His two young kids (under 6 years old) were at home with the cleaning lady.

This guy could not afford to miss his San Francisco to New York flight.  I became the co-pilot and operations manager. I think the car rental agency was National, and because now I learned Greg was really in a hurry I called the car rental company and got the exact location for delivering the car,  I took my Nuvi 260 out of the bag and entered the address and got an official ETA. The ETA was tight, very tight.  We would make it if we did not need to return the car. So Greg steps on it, we are driving upwards to 85 mph. My colleague on the back seat complains about the speed we are traveling and we both turn and say “shut up”.  Well, we did not say it that way, but we did tell her we would be fine, just relax. But we slowed down some.

So I had another idea, and called National again, asking for a curb side delivery of the car (as in deliver the car at the United departure area of the airport).  After a few back and forth conversations, and explaining our situation, they said they could not do it as we requested at that time, but offered to let us drive to National, close the deal (return the car), but stay in the car and an agent would drive us to Greg’s check in area.

The GPS helped us navigate the freeway system as we arrived in the San Francisco area and then took us straight to National. The agent jumped on the car with the paperwork, took the drivers’ position, and delivered us to Greg’s gate.  We haven’t heard from Greg since the time we said goodbye to him at the United desk in San Francisco, but we know he did not miss his flight.

Disclaimer:I’m not a professional rider, and obviously not a professional writer. I write this blog as a hobby and because of my passion for motorcycles and motorcycle riding. I’m not affiliated with any business or organization related to the content of my posts, I’m not paid to write and publish my posts. The potential income generated by advertisements you may come across on my posts are going to WordPress, the organization hosting my content. I pay WordPress to manage and host my content, I would have to pay more to have advert-free posts.

At an MSRP of $399.99, the Garmin Nuvi 3490 LMT is easily the most expensive Garmin Nuvi that money can buy. Sitting firmly at the top of Garmin 2012 Prestige lineup of GPS navigators, it is also the most advanced Nuvi that money can buy and the thinnest GPS navigator on the market.

Besides being thinner, the Nuvi 3490 LMT attempts to justify its $150 price premium over the recently reviewed Nuvi 2495 LMT with snappier overall performance, traffic updates that are more frequently updated, and a capacitive glass touch screen that"s faster for typing and enables pinching and zooming of the map screen.

Garmin started by making things thin. At 4.8 inches wide and 2.9 inches tall, it doesn"t look much smaller than your average PND while in its packaging, but unbox it and lay it side by side with any automotive portable navigator, and the svelte nature of the 3490 LMT"s chassis becomes evident. At 0.35 inch thick, this Nuvi is about half the thickness of any other Garmin, thinner even than the iPhone 4. The Nuvi features an array of high-quality-feeling materials, including a glass screen, chrome-finished edges, and a rear panel that is split between a black brushed-metal texture and a glossy-black-plastic panel, presumably to allow GPS and Bluetooth signals to penetrate.

The 3490 LMT is only 4 ounces; the light weight and the slim profile make this Nuvi very pocketable. However, to our hands it feels a smidge too light, coming off as delicate and a bit fragile. We"d prefer more heft and solidity.

The only physical control on the 3490 LMT"s chassis is the power/lock button located on the device"s top edge. Tapping this button brings up the lock screen, from where you can choose between locking the touch screen and putting the device into a sleep state. Holding this button toggles the unit"s power on and off.

Along the right edge of the device is an unlabeled microSD card slot, and along the bottom edge are the connections for the car dock and a Micro-USB sync cable. At the upper left corner of the glass screen is a small hole, behind which sits the microphone that enables the 3490 LMT to receive voice commands and to act as a speakerphone.

Like most GPS devices, the majority of the user"s interactions with the Nuvi 3490 LMT take place at the touch screen. This unit is built around a 4.3-inch TFT display with a resolution of 800x480 pixels. Touch sensitivity is capacitive rather than the normal resistive screen. As a result, the screen requires considerably less pressure to register a touch than previous Nuvis, making typing with the onscreen keyboard a much easier affair. This technology also enables the use of multitouch commands, such as pinch to zoom while browsing the map. However, there are compromises to be made. The capacitive screen requires direct contact with the skin to function and cannot be used while wearing gloves--not very good news for people in icy climates. Additionally, the glossy glass screen, though sharper than the matte finish of other Nuvi models, doesn"t perform as well in direct sunlight, throwing up serious glare and washing out. The display is still visible and legible, but for daytime navigation, we prefer the matte finish applied to the rest of the Nuvi line.

The 3490 LMT features an internal accelerometer that can detect the device"s orientation and switch between landscape and portrait screen layouts. The former is best for in-car use, and the latter for handheld pedestrian use, but one could use either orientation anywhere.

The Nuvi 3490 LMT ships with a suction cup car dock, a 12-volt Micro-USB power cable, a Mini-USB sync cable, an adhesive dashboard mounting puck, and user guides in English and French.

There is more to the car dock than just a plastic bracket and a suction cup. For starters, the dock is the only way to keep the Nuvi charged while in the car, as Garmin"s decision to equip the 3490 LMT with a Micro-USB port has made it impossible to directly connect the Mini-USB car charger. Additionally, closer inspection reveals that the dock features a speaker. When the Nuvi is docked and the power cable is plugged in, this more powerful loudspeaker takes over audio playback instead of the 3490 LMT"s space-saver speaker. The results are much more audible turn-by-turn directions and better quality for speakerphone calls. Finally, in order to save space internally, Garmin has elected to place the 3490 LMT"s FM traffic receiver inline on the power cable. This decision means that the Nuvi cannot receive traffic updates for routing unless it is placed in the dock and connected to power.

Aside from the old getting-from-point-alpha-to-bravo trick that all portable navigation devices (PNDs) should do, the Nuvi 3490 LMT has a few more tricks up its sleeve.

For starters, the device includes Bluetooth wireless technology. The only profile supported is the hands-free profile (HFP), which enables users to initiate and receive phone calls with a tap of the touch screen--from the appropriate menu, of course. That menu, appropriately labeled Phone, includes options for browsing the unit"s database of points of interest (POIs), manually dialing numbers using a numerical keypad, viewing call history, and voice dialing. Unfortunately, the Nuvi doesn"t include address-book sync, so voice commanding calls utilizes your phone"s dialer instead of the Nuvi"s own, names don"t appear in the caller ID information for contacts not stored locally on the device, and the call history doesn"t reflect calls made outside of the car. These limitations aren"t what I"d call deal breakers, but they do prevent this Nuvi"s hands-free system from rivaling event the most moderately featured standalone Bluetooth speakerphones.

On the Nuvi"s home screen, you may notice a new Apps icon located at the bottom of the screen. This, in my opinion, is a bit of a misnomer, because the menu behind this icon doesn"t contain what I"d consider to be apps in the modern smartphone sense of the word. They"re more like extra features that don"t really fit under any other menu. Here is where you"ll find the Help menu, the settings for the Voice Command system, options for the Nuvi"s ecoRoute calculations (which require the purchase and installation of the ecoRoute HD hardware), and other functions such as an alarm clock, calculator, and unit converter.

No, the only function in the Apps menu that even remotely feels like an app is the Audible audiobook player, which allows users to listen to audiobooks stored on the Nuvi"s internal memory or a micro SD card.

I do like Garmin"s implementation of voice commands on the Nuvi 3490. In the voice command menu, users set a custom wake up command that the PND will continuously listen for--I chose "Ahoy, matey!" Once set, the user only needs speak the command and the device will pop into full voice-recognition mode with onscreen and verbal prompts. So I was able to say, "Ahoy, matey, phone, call Home." to initiate a call to the phone number associated with the home address and at no time during that process did I have to physically touch the device. Other available commands include find intersection, recently found, find category, volume, brightness, detour, and dozens more. These available commands cover almost every commonly accessed function that I"ve ever used while driving, making it very possible to get into a car and interact totally with the Nuvi without ever removing one"s hands from the steering wheel.

Additionally, the Nuvi 3490 LMT features Lifetime Maps and Traffic. Map updates can be downloaded quarterly for as long as the device is owned using Garmin"s updater software on a PC or Mac. Once downloaded, users will use the included USB cable to update their device.

In the case of the Prestige series of Nuvi navigators--to which the 3490 belongs--Lifetime Traffic refers to what Garmin calls 3D Traffic Digital. Unlike the standard 3D Traffic that we tested on the Nuvi 2495 LMT, 3D Traffic Digital is powered by HD Radio frequencies, which enables the 3490 LMT to receive traffic updates every 30 seconds (versus 5-minute intervals).

Additionally, Garmin"s "Offers" that subsidize the standard 3D Traffic service appear to be absent from the 3490 LMT"s 3D Traffic Digital feed, which should be a boon to users who would be annoyed to see ads on the maps and in the menus.

To start with, the Nuvi 3490 LMT"s home screen features smoother graphics that are more pleasing to the eye. These graphic tweaks looked good on the 2495 LMT"s 480 x 272 pixel display, but on the 3490 LMT"s 800 x 480 pixel glass, they"re stunning. Text is remarkably easy to read and the maps, which feature topographical contours, are gorgeous.

Digging into the "Where to?" destination selection screen, the Nuvi shuffles most of its major category-selection options into a submenu and downright hides many of usual search methods (city, intersection, GPS coordinate entry) by default. Instead, you"re immediately presented with a selection of user-definable shortcuts to favorite destinations or search parameters. So if you find yourself often searching for something as broad as the nearest fast food restaurant or as specific as the nearest Chick-fil-A, you"ll be able to add a shortcut for that search to this main search screen. You can also choose to re-add city, intersection, and coordinate entry for destination selection. This new organization requires a bit more initial setup on the part of the user, but can shave seconds off the entry of repetitious searches.

One new interface addition that I"m loving is the addition of a search bar to the top of every POI selection screen that allows instant filtering of whatever category is being viewed. So, though entering "Golden Gate" on the main "Where to?" screen searches for every destination with those words in the title, entering the same phrase while viewing the Attractions category listing will likely only surface POIs related to the Golden Gate Bridge. It"s a simple addition that--when combined with the Nuvi keyboard"s very Android-like autocomplete feature--simultaneously speeds up and fine-tunes the process of finding what you"re actually looking for in a sea of millions of destinations.

The settings menu has also seen some serious tweaking. Gone are the large, chunky, cartoony icons. They"ve been replaced by a scrollable list of submenus, each complete with a short description of the settings found within. The organization of these menus has not changed dramatically, but the aesthetic does make better use of screen real estate while also making the Nuvi feel less like a child"s toy.

One particular item on the settings menu that merits mention is Dashboards. A Dashboard is a way of customizing the information displayed in the lower third of the map screen. Some of the available Dashboards feature graphics that mimic a car"s dashboard, while others are more straightforward. Each Dashboard has two to four customizable spaces for displaying data chosen by the user from a range of options such as direction of travel, vehicle speed, time to arrival, time of day or arrival, distance to arrival, and altitude. Likewise, each Dashboard features a shortcut that takes you to a menu where 13 commonly accessed shortcuts can be found, such as Mute, Phone menu, Cancel route, and Detour.

Combined with customizable vehicle icons, color schemes, voice skins, and an option to display the Nuvi"s interface in portrait or landscape orientation, being able to adjust the map Dashboard gives you a great deal of flexibility regarding how you look at and interact with your PND.

Garmin doesn"t publish processor speeds in its GPS navigator specs, but I"d be willing to bet that whatever is powering the Nuvi 3490 LMT is significantly faster than the 2495 LMT"s brain. Every menu transition was rendered smoothly and quickly and addresses were able to be effortlessly entered with light taps of the Nuvi"s onscreen keyboard. Responsiveness is no doubt augmented by the 3490 LMT"s capacitive touch screen, which is more sensitive to inputs than the traditional resistive display. Swipe to pan and pinch to zoom around fast enough and you"ll still catch the Nuvi lagging a bit with the rendering of tiles of the map, but map rendering didn"t seem to affect the calculation of routes or speed of map navigation.

Otherwise, the Nuvi 3490 LMT"s performance is indistinguishable from any other Garmin Nuvi that we"ve ever tested. GPS positioning was locked in quickly and accuracy is maintained to acceptable levels even amidst the skyscrapers of San Francisco"s Financial District, through tunnels, and across covered bridges. The chosen routes usually matched with our local knowledge of the San Francisco Bay Area"s traffic patterns and shortcuts.

The svelte form factor, pocket-friendliness, and automatic switching from portrait to landscape orientation makes the 3490 LMT one of the most pedestrian friendly Garmin Nuvis that we"ve tested, greatly increasing its usefulness outside of the car.

Garmin"s Advanced series" Nuvi 2495 LMT is a very good GPS device, but the Prestige series" Nuv 3490 LMT is a great one. It"s got a better screen, a more pocket-friendly form factor, and snappier performance in almost every respect. But is the top-tier model worth the $150 premium? I"m not so sure. It"s my job to nitpick things like seconds shaved on map rendering and touch-screen responsiveness, but in this case, I doubt that most users would notice the difference in the navigation experience without a serious side-by-side comparison.

If you"re looking for the best Garmin that money can buy, look no further than the Nuvi 3490 LMT--you won"t be disappointed. However, those looking for the sweet spot of functionality and value on Garmin"s menu may want to look a little lower on the totem pole.

Selecting a GPS for your project has never been easy, even in the early days of TSO C129(A1) GPS technology. This regulatory spec was for earlier-gen IFR GPS en route and non-precision approach-approved navigators that ushered in the age of instrument approaches by GPS. While we’ve never looked back (and while we weren’t looking the competition thinned out), the buying decision is no easier today with the current lot of precision approach-approved WAAS models from Avidyne and Garmin.

Over at Avidyne, the company’s IFD series is designed to slide into an existing Garmin GNS 430W or GNS 530W installation for a modern refresh without major rewiring or metal work. If you aren’t sold on a touchscreen interface, Avidyne has you in its sights.

The company’s IFD navigators initially got off to a slow start after getting snagged in certification, but Avidyne has earned considerable industry respect by giving Garmin some competition with a seriously capable alternative. Moreover, Avidyne has incrementally advanced the IFD interface by adding clever features and utility (usually through field-updatable software), while being mindful of third-party compatibility.

The IFD series, which includes the entry-level $11,999 IFD440, the $15,999 IFD540 and flagship $21,999 IFD550, still attracts buyers that aren’t sold on a total touchscreen interface. Early on (and still today), Avidyne pitched the IFD as a hybrid system, using a combination of bezel controls and touchscreen. Anything you do with touch you can also do with hard controls. Inevitably, most users use a combination of both for typical data input and overall box interaction. There’s also an external Bluetooth QWERTY keyboard for controlling the box in your lap, on the yoke or wherever you’d like to stick it. Count ’em up and that’s a handful of ways to operate these navigators, depending on what suits the user. And when you consider just how deep the feature set is on a current navigator, it sure is nice to have choices.

The other draw is that the line was originally designed to replace existing Garmin GNS 430W (with the smaller IFD440) and GNS 530W (with the IFD540/550) navigators with minimal rewiring, although there might be some if you want the audio alerts that are useful during some approach segments. Nearly every external system that connects with a Garmin navigator will also work with the Avidyne. Traffic sensors, sferics systems, weather receivers (including the Garmin GDL 69/A SiriusXM unit), navigation indicators—including Garmin’s GI-106 series, plus EFIS displays and mechanical HSIs—can work with the Avidyne without repinning the connectors. The existing Garmin GPS antenna will even work as long as it’s a WAAS antenna because the IFD was intended to replace GNS WAAS units, not non-WAAS legacy GNS 430 and GNS 530 boxes.

Like the headline said, the first step is to decide what size navigator you want—and between manufacturers there are lots of choices. As for sizing up Avidyne’s IFD440, think same size as the Garmin GNS 430W, because that’s what it replaces, while the IFD540 and 550 are sized to replace the GNS 530W.

What differentiates the flagship IFD550 from the IFD540 is the IFD550’s ARS, or attitude reference system. Other than accepting a heading input from Aspen’s Evolution PFD, in addition to Garmin’s G500/600 PFD and select air data computers, the Avidyne ARS is self-contained. The navigator also sends GPS nav and course data into the displays over an ARINC 429 data stream. For dual installations (maybe an IFD550 and IFD440), the connections are independent for redundancy, but have full synchronization.

The IFD550 has an internal attitude reference sensor or ARS, displaying pitch and roll data directly on the screen. The IFD550 won’t display airspeed or altitude (just pitch, roll and slip/skid data), although when the navigator is connected to an air data computer (including the Aspen or Garmin PFD), airspeed and altitude data passes through the IFD550 and is sent via Wi-Fi for display on the IFD100 tablet app. If the IFD550 is receiving heading input from an approved source, there’s onscreen heading and rate of turn.

Worth mentioning is that in addition to attitude data, the IFD550 displays lateral and vertical approach guidance directly on its screen. This means if the primary flight display screen fails, you can still fly the approach by referencing the lateral and vertical guidance on the IFD550 screen. It might not make for the most efficient scan, but it’s better than the alternative.

As we’d expect, the IFD navigators are an approved WAAS position source for connecting to ADS-B Out equipment. So if you have a 1090ES ADS-B transponder that doesn’t have built-in WAAS, you can use an IFD as the position source to meet the January 2020 ADS-B Out mandate. Avidyne sells a couple of ADS-B transponders of its own, plus audio panels if you want to buy all Avidyne.

For ADS-B In, the navigators display ADS-B weather and traffic data from the L3 Lynx, the GTX 345 and from Avidyne’s Skytrax 100. The Garmin GDL 69-series SXM receiver is also compatible.

We like the Avidyne 3D traffic feature when the boxes are connected to an ADS-B In or TAS receiver. In a nutshell, the system’s SynVis function depicts targets using the same symbology as it does in the navigator’s thumbnail traffic view. However, the SynVis presentation helps to identify the relative threat of the traffic by altering the size of the onscreen target. In other words, as the traffic target draws nearer to your own position, it grows in size in the SynVis scene. To reduce screen clutter, targets outside of 10 nautical miles aren’t displayed unless they become a proximity or traffic alert.

Last year BendixKing started selling Avidyne’s IFD navigators, and you’ll see them rebranded as the AeroNav 800 (IFD440), AeroNav900 (IFD540) and AeroNav910 (IFD550). Pricing is the same as the ones wearing the Avidyne colors.

When Garmin introduced the GTN 700- and 600-series navigators somewhere around 2012, buyers looked for substantial improvements over the dominant but aging GNS 530 and 430. Garmin stretched the GNS production run as long as it could, while its once competitor, BendixKing, slept at the controls and never added WAAS to its capable KLN 94 color navigator. It took years to certify the KSN 770 navigator and never expanded the feature set—even to the point of making it fully ADS-B compatible. The KSN 770 is history. Garmin rolled right along, however, and added WAAS to the GNS, of course, but the wish list for the second-generation, all-in-one navigators included a more modern display and integrated charting—including the cherished airways feature. And it also needed a better display and an easier way to update the database. Owners were growing tired of dealing with time-consuming updates and having to use Jeppesen’s Skybound reader data card adapter (which was unique to the GNS).

But we also think Avidyne has stolen a good amount of sales from Garmin with its slide-in IFD navigators. For many, that swap-out can be accomplished in a few hours. But no, the GTN won’t slide in to a GNS install—it’s a total rewire job.

If your eyeballs are accustomed to the old GNS navigators, the GTN will seem like worlds ahead, and it is thanks to screens with a big pixel count. On the 650, it’s 600 by 266 pixels while the 750’s 6.9-inch touchscreen has 600 by 708 pixels. That’s about a five-fold increase in pixel density over the GNS. Both screens have 250,000-plus colors—just what you need for weather, terrain, charting and topo data. There’s no synthetic vision in these navigators, but they support Garmin’s 9-arc per-second terrain mapping capability.

To get all that screen area, Garmin essentially shrunk the bezels down to the bare minimum by stripping the keys and reverting to a touchscreen. The GTN 750’s chassis stands 6 inches high in the panel and the GTN 650 is 2.65 inches. Other than a Home key and rotary knobs, the feature set is all touch. To this day some love it, some hate it, and some put up with it. But touch is here to stay, and if you can’t deal with it, there’s always Avidyne’s hybrid approach.

Garmin makes use of the Flight Stream’s Wi-Fi capability for enabling its database concierge function—something we applaud because it’s so much better than the GNS database chore. With the new Flight Stream, the process is streamlined—and the data transfer speed is increased substantially. Select and download the appropriate databases directly on Garmin’s Pilot app, where the data is stored for use once you get to the aircraft. Once the Flight Stream 510 establishes a Wi-Fi connection with the tablet, the data is automatically transferred to the navigator. You can transfer databases ahead of time (helpful if you are launching on a trip on the heels of a new database cycle), since the data waits in standby mode until it becomes the effective data. If you don’t want to fetch the data with Garmin Pilot, the Flight Stream MMC card can be inserted into a USB slot (using a provided USB card reader) in a computer for direct download.

Even better is that Garmin has figured out a way to synchronize the databases among multiple boxes. No more separately loading databases in each unit. Think of a Flight Stream 510-equipped GTN navigator as a server. When it’s wired to a second GTN and/or to a Garmin PFD, it automatically transfers the data to the connected systems.

Standard charting includes Garmin’s FliteCharts (Jeppesen charts are optional) and also SafeTaxi airport diagrams. It’s a complete data package as standard.

The Flight Stream 510 is compatible with the GTX 345 and GTX 345R ADS-B transponders, plus the GDL 88 ADS-B transceiver. Since ADS-B traffic and weather from these systems are interfaced with a GTN navigator, the data is transmitted via Bluetooth into the Garmin Pilot or ForeFlight Mobile tablet apps. The stream also includes GPS position. Flight Stream also works with the GDL 69 and GDL 69A SiriusXM datalink weather and entertainment system, allowing entertainment control directly in Garmin Pilot, plus the display of satellite broadcast weather.

To save more space in the panel, the GTN 750 works with the remote-mount GMA 35 audio panel, with onscreen audio control directly on the GTN 750’s display. This also paved the way for Garmin’s Telligence voice control feature, which enables you to activate key functions by using spoken commands. You’ll need to wire a dedicated key switch for speaking the commands. Key it up and speak “tune destination tower,” and the system automatically plucks the frequency from the database. That’s only one. The pilot’s guide lists over 100 recognized commands to choose from. Should the GMA 35 panel not recognize a spoken command, a negative acknowledgment tone will be played. When it understands the command, a positive acknowledgment chime is played. Some commands are acknowledged by a voice response from the audio panel. It’s pretty slick. The rear of the 750’s chassis has a shelf for mounting the remote audio panel, so it’s also a space saver.

Indicators that have OBS course resolver include Garmin’s own GI-106A/B nav heads, most analog HSIs including the King KI 525 (part of the KCS 55A remote compass system), and BendixKing’s later-generation KI 209A. (It has to be the “A.” Plain-vanilla KI 209s don’t have OBS course resolver.) Since the interface is digital rather than analog, EFIS displays take care of the course resolution. Compatible displays include, but aren’t limited to, Garmin’s own EFIS, of course, including the G5 electronic HSI display, the G3X and G3X Touch, TXi series, Dynon SkyView and Aspen Evolution. We’ll look at EFIS compatibility in a dedicated EFIS buyer’s guide in an upcoming issue of KITPLANES®.

In addition to Garmin’s flagship GTN 750 and GTN 650, which have been in the company’s product line for a number of years (we’ll recap them in a bit), it recently introduced three new navigators catering to lower budgets and also to panels that may be tight on real estate. We recently covered these new units in the August 2019 issue, so we’ll summarize the line here, which now includes a new addition: the com-equipped GNC 355.

The $4995 entry-level GPS 175 is strictly a GPS with 4.8-inch color touchscreen that stands 2 inches high in the panel. This is sized right for replacing vintage navigators with little panel work. We’re talking the King KLN 90/89, Apollo GX units and even Garmin’s long-retired GPS 155/GNC 300.

If you want a com radio with that, the $6995 GNC 355 has a 10-watt transceiver. The $7995 GNX 375 has no com, but instead a mandate-compliant 1090ES ADS-B Out transponder. As you’ll see in Marc Cook’s sidebar on Page 38, it’s pretty convincing to see why the GNX 375 can be a good fit for so many panels, particularly those still needing ADS-B and transponder upgrades.

We need to stress that none of these units—all IFR navigators with WAAS—have VHF nav receivers. No VOR, no localizer and no glideslope. These are strictly GPS. Read our roundtable discussion on the topic of ditching the VHF nav in the December 2019 issue of KITPLANES®.

At first blush the new units sort of resemble the GTN 650, but as noted they are shorter. That means there is a lot of data crammed into a small screen. We like that Garmin includes visual approach guidance as standard in these new boxes (as they do in the GTN 650 and 750) and also the Flight Stream 510 wireless card. This means you can wirelessly connect them with an iPad running Garmin Pilot or ForeFlight, and with Garmin’s late-model portable GPS for flight plan transferring. With the GNX 375, you can output the ADS-B weather and traffic data, too. It’s the saving grace for the small screen, really.

These 4.8-inch small screens do fairly well in direct sunlight. The display resolution is 732 by 240 pixels, and of course, there’s pinch scaling and scrolling the map. Standard is Garmin’s SafeTaxi airport diagrams and Flight Charts.

We’re glad Garmin made the wise decision to include compatibility with a wide variety of third-party nav indicators. While they don’t have VHF nav receivers, you still need an external nav head to display GPS course information. But unlike the GTN series, the new units don’t require OBS course resolver, opening the interface to common indicators like the King KI 209/KI 206 and even vintage indicators from Narco and Collins. If your kit is equipped with aging KX 155 or Narco MK 12D nav/com radios, for instance, the GNC 355 can be an easy and modern replacement since it will wire into the existing indicator.

We can’t stress enough that unless you have experience with Garmin’s latest GTN series and are happy with the way it works, you have to try these IFR navigators before buying one. That’s especially true when deciding to buy an Avidyne over a Garmin. That’s not saying either one will be a bad choice, but you have to pick an operating logic that suits you best. There will be a huge learning curve with whatever you select. Plus, try using a Garmin keystroke logic when programming an Avidyne and you’ll fail. They’re just different.

If we had to pick one of these systems for the aircraft that needs a modern navigator, mandate-compliant ADS-B and a transponder upgrade, we’d pick the Garmin GNX 375. We’ll give it a big ding for not having a com radio. Garmin said it couldn’t fit both the transponder and com in the chassis. Want to get out of an aging GNS and don’t want to rewire? It’s a no-brainer to consider an Avidyne, and you could also get a healthy trade-in allowance.

But in the end there’s no arguing that you have choices in all price points. There are plenty of IFR navigators to choose from, and we think all of them are loaded with useful features for a combination of IFR and VFR flying. So decide if you need VHF nav, measure your panel, set a budget and go find one of these things to try (and fly) before you buy.Used Navigators: Do the Math First

Garmin sold tens of thousands of GNS 430 and 530 navigators—both legacy and WAAS units—and in our estimation they were the most successful general aviation avionics system in recent history, if ever. And now that they’re long replaced by the GTN series, it’s logical to consider sourcing one on the used market. Our advice? Shop carefully, and with the help of an avionics shop when possible.

For years we’ve watched resale value of these used units (WAAS versions in particular) remain strong while demand continues to be brisk, especially as owners upgrade to the latest GTN and also Avidyne IFD slide-in navigators. But we’ve seen many of these buyers stung from unexpected costs once the tools are back in the drawer.

For example, you might find a GNS 530W on Barnstormers, Trade-A-Plane or even on the FBO bulletin board for $7000—the typical asking price for an aging yet capable IFR navigator that’s worlds ahead of your existing King KLN 89 or Garmin GPS 155, for example. But like all things used, do you really know what you’re getting? In some cases there is good traceability, especially when sourced from the original owner who kept up with software updates, repairs and generally took care of it—protecting it from sun damage and worse, moisture damage.

But you’ll also find aging GNS navigators that lived hard lives—some never serviced, updated, and perhaps even abused. Maybe the previous owner decided it was a good idea to clean the display lens with glass cleaner, which almost always means it’s time for a new display lens. That means a trip to the factory might be in order. That’s not necessarily a bad thing because Garmin will replace the lens and maybe even the bezel keys if they’re worn (they often are) and basically go through the unit to get it up to specs. But that won’t be cheap.

Garmin told us the flat-rate factory repair cost for a GNS 530W is $1500. Add that to the $7000 sell price, and we think it’s a questionable investment, given the other choices. There’s a two-year factory warranty on a new GTN. Even used GTN navigators out of warranty are flat-rated. The GTN650 is $936 and the GTN750 is $1144. And don’t expect smoking-hot deals on either. You’ll pay top dollar. We spotted a GTN 750 from the respected Wentworth Aircraft, a salvage dealer in Minnesota that for years has been offering decent used avionics from wrecked aircraft. It listed the unit for $12,995.

Consider that folks generally don’t remove these current-production navigators, and if they have, the aircraft might have been in a wreck and parted out. That might not be a bad thing (as long as you buy from a reputable source like Wentworth, to name one), but it could be a bad choice if the airplane crashed in water or sat outside unprotected after the wreck. Again, you want traceability, and preferably buy from a Garmin dealer who can bench test it. The FAA Form 8130-3 is what you want to see with any used avionics. It’s essentially a blessing that the unit has been tested to meet original specs.

Then there’s the issue of antennas. Does the used navigator even come with an antenna? Some do, but others don’t, especially when replacing the unit with an Avidyne, which uses a Garmin antenna. And even if it does comes with an antenna, do you really want to slap a weathered, scrappy-looking antenna (you can’t paint it) on your new kit?

What about buying a non-WAAS GNS 430 or 530? These can be more than 20 years old (the GNS 430 came out around 1998), and we know Garmin is offering trade incentives on the GTN series just so it can source obsolete parts for old GNS navigators. You could send the unit to Garmin and have a WAAS mod done, but that has a $4495 list price. See what we mean? You’d have to buy these units real cheap. And the WAAS upgrade doesn’t automatically cover stuff that might need repairing. That’s above and beyond.

Last, don’t underestimate the cost of a complete installation kit, to include mounting rack, backshell, connector kit and other miscellaneous parts needed to put it in. Garmin doesn’t sell kits for the GNS navigators anymore, so shops will have to put a kit together and they know they’re worth money. We’ve seen full, never used kits sell for as much as $1000.

We wouldn’t completely dismiss the idea of buying a used navigator, but the price has got to be right—even after factoring in repair costs and install kits. That doesn’t always work out, and it’s a setup for buyer’s and installer’s remorse. That’s a losing proposition, in our view.

That was my thinking on the upgrade path for my GlaStar. As purchased, it had no IFR capability at all. No VHF nav, no IFR GPS, not even a heated pitot tube. Got to give the builder credit for sticking to a plan—that is, to make the lightest, simplest VFR airplane possible. Heck, it didn’t even have an OAT device!

Last month in roundtable form, we discussed whether VHF navigation is needed in today’s IFR environment, and our panelists came out with mixed opinions. Some, like me and Paul Dye, are willing to bet the GPS constellation is reliable enough for our needs, while the others pointed out the wisdom of redundancy and expanded capability that VHF nav provides.

So from where I started—an older but still very good Apollo SL40 com and an even older Narco AT 150 transponder, but no ADS-B Out—with the desire to add an IFR GPS, the decision almost made itself. Especially since I’m not in the mood to completely rework the panel, and it’s largely out of space both above and below the radio stack. Simply put, the price differential between adding the Garmin GPS 175 and an external ADS-B Out module or going straight to the GNX 375 was minimal. In terms of capability, I’d get both ADS-B In and Out with the 375, though since I already have a Garmin GDL 50, that’s not such a huge deal. (And I kind of like the battery-powered attitude/GPS backup that device provides.)

Indicators are another variable here. I didn’t have any to start with, hence the earlier purchase of the Garmin G5. (See the review) Although getting full functionality from the GNX 375 (or the GPS 175, for that matter) requires an optional ARINC 429 module, this also creates a future upgrade path for the TruTrak autopilot to accept full vertical and horizontal guidance and, therefore, fully coupled navigation including approaches. Remember, though, that for legal IFR approach capability, these navigators have to be connected through a compatible indicator, and these aren’t cheap.

More and more higher end “touring class” motorcycles are incorporating GPS into their standard feature set or in one of the option packages, but the technology can easily be incorporated on any motorcycle, and probably for a lot less money.

The unplanned trips to wherever a tank of gas gets us. But if you’re trying to make an “a-to-b” type of trip, as I’m sure we all have, then I’m sure you’ll understand the magic that comes with either good directions or a map.

Although manufacturers are beginning to make units specifically for motorcycles, these tend to be rather expensive. I was looking for a more moderate approach, say in the $350.00 range.

Photo Above: Glare from the sun washes out the c330’s screen, although this GPS is not designed for external use. Garmin says the c330 is not recommended for motorcycles.

There’s the C330 with a suggested retail of $349.99; for me, it was a match made in heaven – a well respected company with a price point I was comfortable with.

So what’s to lose?  The old MasterCard flew out of my wallet and I was completing the purchase online faster than you can say “Global Positioning System”.

Garmin says “(the) StreetPilot c330 comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps, including a hefty points of interest (POIs) database with motels, restaurants, fuel, ATMs and more.

In addition, the c330 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.”

Let me just start by saying that this is one of the greatest gadgets I’ve purchased to date. I thought nothing would enhance my riding pleasure more than satellite radio, but I was wrong.

BBeing able to fill the tank and head somewhere I’ve never gone before has been great fun. Especially when I didn’t really care where I was going or having to leave breadcrumbs to figure out how to get home.

AAccuracy is excellent thanks to the C330s’ ability to incorporate Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) and although there’s no headphone jack to incorporate the audio into your helmet, the prompts on the screen make for easy turn-by-turn navigation.

Another thing: it’s very light and the mount that comes with it has a very high quality suction cup. It holds firmly to my tank which I found to be a much more convenient mount for me, rather than having it up on the windscreen.

In my line of sight, it’s centered just below the speedo (something I should check more often anyway). (Editor’s Note: See the wBW article on a handlebar ball mount specifically designed for Garmin GPS units).

Even though the screen is “bright” I’ve found that if the sun is directly overhead, it is possible to have the screen get a touch washed out, as illustrated in the photo above. A quick hand over the top for a touch of shade is all you need to clearly see it.

This doesn’t necessarily bother me, as the GPS is intended to supplement my ride, not automate it. I use it mostly for figuring out where I’m going in the long term rather than staring at it before every decision point.

Even if I’m not using it in “navigation mode” meaning I haven’t told it where my destination is, it’s neat to use the “view map” mode to see the moving map and what the name of the next street upcoming is.

However, if you’re not the person that rides in every downpour, then you might consider getting the less expensive “I die in water” type. They are half the cost and have the same basic features.

(Editor’s Note:See the wBW article on modifying a Garmin i3 and i5 to add an external speaker jack; the same modification could probably also be done to the c330).

It’s a tremendous bang for the buck and hey — if you decide to get one specifically designed for motorcycles later on then you can always use this one in the car. Or sell it on eBay.

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From “D.R.”:  “I was reading your review of Garmin C330 and noticed your comments about screen washout. There is a solution for your readers (especially for motorcycles).

Our company makes a GPS accessory sun shade for the most popular GPS units. Basically these shades prevent direct sunlight from reaching the screen, dramatically increasing screen visibility

If it gets wet, the contacts on the unit quickly pit and corrode. It won’t start up below 32 degrees F. The suction mount cannot be trusted. The screen scratches easily. The c500 series screen is much brighter.

From “N.F.”:  “This is not a comment about the C330, per se, but about GPSs for bikes in general. I considered a lot of GPSs for my bikes, and I own crotch rockets, cruisers, and tourers. It is possible to use tank bags on all three types, but wired power is not necessarily easy provided.

So, my criteria was 1) must be thin and easily and safely fit in the top map pocket of a tank bag; 2) must have at least 4 hours of battery power; 3) must be readable in direct sunlight; 4) MP3 play while navigating a route.

Most of the GPSs like the C330 are way too thick to fit in the map pockets. Those that aren’t too thick have a fold-out antenna, which could easily be broken if folded out and stuffed in the map pocket (if indeed it could be stuffed in there at all). Some can’t play MP3s while navigating. My choices narrowed dow