Accessories

WOW WOW WOW even for technically challenged
I have only had the Nuvi 760 for one day, so this review is about the setup and initial impressions of the out of the box settings.
This is my third Garmin. I started with the Street Pilot C530, followed by the C550 and now the Nuvi 760. Garmin discontinued support for the C530 about one year ago. That means that there are no new firmware downloads. The C550 which is top rated is still supported but its technology is outdated and it takes a while to lock onto the satellites. On the other hand the Nuvi 760 locks onto the satellites within a few seconds and has added features that makes the C550, in my opinion, not competitive given that its price and the Nuvi 760 are so close.
OUT OF THE BOX:
The unit cannot be used without visiting the Garmin website to unlock it.
At the website you will be required to insert the serial number. That's not unusual, but the serial number is printed in such small type that a magnifying glass is recommended if your eyesight is not perfect. It is also difficult to find. (It is directly above the car power adapter plug located on the unit's upper rear side.) Next, Garmin requires the downloading of a couple of programs necessary for the downloading of firmware and maps. Since browser windows need to be closed as a conditon of installation, after installation one must start the registration process over again. I could not download the preliminary softwar or register my unit using my Mozilla browser (Not sure if that is true for everyone). It took a while to figure that out. Once I switched to my IE browser, the registration and unlocking went smoothly but there is an extensive firmware update that took quite a bit of time to download and install.

Garmin has fixed the problem that prevented recent purchasers from immediately downloading the latest N. America Maps. After registering and downloading the new firmware, one must click on the Maps section of the Garmin menu. If things are working correctly, it will take you to a screen for updating maps. If not it takes you to a screen with a lengthy listing of all of its maps. If that happens go back to the menu and search around until the map update page appears. Purchasers are allowed to update to the 2009 North America map for free within thirty days of registering. Note: During the process you will be provided instructions that state "Connect Unit". My unit already was connected to the computer and and despite several tries, I kept circling back to the same page. Finally I disconnected and reconnected the USB cord and everything was fine. Although I was using a relatively new laptop with a Core Duo processor and 2GB of Ram, the map download took a several hours. That may be a function of the number of other users downloading at the same time.

When the unit was fully updated, it was impressive on its first trial. I still need to make adjustments to the screen brightness. the volume is set by the factory at 80% but on my unit Jill is hard to hear. The pronuciation of street names is flawless. I live in Louisiana and I am interested to hear the pronuciations of some of our Cajun / French names. Finally, I own an LG CU500 cell phone that is not on Garmin's Bluetooh compability list. No problem at all. I went into the bluetooh tools section of the LG phone and found the screen that allowed me to name my unit. As directed by the online instruction manual (none comes with the unit, you must access it at the Garmin website) I enabled the bluetooth option and named the unit "Nuvi 760". I then went to the Nuvi 760 tools section where there is a button to search for bluetooth devices. It found my phone in about one minute and I was connected.

For those of us who are inherently technologically challenged, the registration,firmware updating, unit unlocking, bluetooth connection and map updating process is a humbling but absolutely worthwhile experience. I am thrilled with the unit and I have high expectations that it will exceed the "Best of Class" rating of its predecessor Nuvi 660.

Foolsproof
I've been using GPS since it was a very simple device to make waypoints and to know which was the right way to go directly to any place, not preloaded maps of cities, don't talk about voices telling you streets names, etc. In my case I've started to use it at the sea with a boat. Then I've used it in land and one day I went to Miami which is a very large city with many same looking places and took it with me and marked waypoints at different places I've went including the house of a friend of mine who was laughing at me because of it, but since this very moment I've found it useful cause I've saved a lot of time, gas and money in the car trying to find out the right way or asking people at the street. After it, I've been buying newer versions of Garmin GPS and growing up with it's use, but what I've found with those latest versions of Nüvi series is not only to shut my Miami's Friend's big mouth up, but that they are what I call "Foolsproof", it means, anyone can easily handle it, so far that they did not include in it's software the possibility of handle routes, waypoints and tracks through the PC, maybe because the designers thought that it was unnecessary for ordinary people. I inquiered about it to Garmin's support and they inmediately gave me an answer sending me for free, the Nüvi series software update for 2009 which includes the handeling of the 4 things through the PC: Maps, Tracks, Routes and Waypoints, and it makes my Nüvi 760 perfect.

garmin 760
the 760 is a very good gps. hands free phone works great, directions work great, and the bean bag mount is a must have. the only reason i dont give it five stars. is the map, (i down loaded the new 2009 map).my home street is not in the garmin, the street has been there 6 yrs. ok maybe its too new. i put in food/pizza, 1 mile away from Luigi's pizza. doesn't bring it up. i figure, too new, oops wrong, been there 18 yrs. my friend has a nav system in his car. knows all the streets, and stores. i thought these gps got their maps from the same place? next time i buy a new car, i get the navigation pkg.

My First GPS - Garmin Nuvi 760
After reading many of the reviews I decided on the Garmin Nuvi 760 for my first GPS. I couldn't be happier. The unit was very easy to set up, the operation was flawless from the get-go. The screen is clear and easy to see the text, hear the voice and navigate to practically anywhere. Since I haven't owned any other GPS systems it is impossible for me to compare but I am very happy with this purchase. I would advise anyone to spend the extra money and go with this unit, you'll like it too !
One other thing, get the Garmin mounting unit for about $25, you will be extremely happy with that also.

Easy to use, does what it needs to
After reading R. Epstein's bad review I had second thoughts but am very glad I didn't let it keep me from ordering the Garmin.
It is the first GPS I have owned/used and I couldn't be happier with it.
The first trip I used it on was a trip from Salt Lake, Utah to Syracuse, NY.
Following directions could not have been easier! (I actually forgot to take my maps and my AAA triptix so I had to completely rely on the GPS) The interface is VERY intuitive. I love you can use it to find restaurants, gas, parks, hotels, hospitals. It is kind of like carrying a phone-book for every town you travel through. I had a tire blow out in Lincoln Nebraska and I used it to find a local Firestone tire store. I won't be taking any long trips without it.