Accessories

A great device but not perfect
I bought the 780 for the MSN service only to discover that I barely need it. The fuel price updates are nice, but there is no way to sort the prices so I am stuck looking at them sorted via distance. Sometimes that gas station is behind me, and when I am traveling, I do not go backwards unless I must.
As far as finding movies, and the other features, they are fairly useless to me. I can find Starbucks and WalMart and all my favorite restaurants without that MSN service.
As far as gps technology goes, it is pretty good. Sometimes it tries to take me through gated communities or closed roads, and a couple of times, it has taken me in directions that make no sense whatsoever, but most of the time it gets me right where I am going. Sometimes it has directions that are better than the way I normally travel.
I don't trust it to plan critical trips without reviewing what it is going to do before I leave. I wish I didn't have to do that, but I think this is a reality with any gps.
There are several things I love about this gps above others:
1. Google maps lets you send points of interest to your gps. This is only available for Garmin or Magellan gps owners. This feature alone has made me love owning a Garmin. Nothing beats finding your location on satellite and sending it to your gps. Especially if you don't have an address. I found a friends property in the mountains via satellite imagery and sent it to the gps. Once you give the 780 your Google point, it takes you right to the door.

2. The audio out connects right to the aux plug on my stereo. While the audio is tolerable for navigation direct from the gps speaker, when I connect it to my stereo, the bluetooth phone conversations are crystal clear and the directions are pristine.

3. The database of poi's is amazing. I have yet to look for a store or restaurant that it could not find. While camping recently, I looked for a Wal-Mart in Flagstaff, AZ. It not only found one that I would not have been able to spot from the highway, but it took me through all sorts of streets to get to it so that I looked like a local in a town I have never driven in.

4. When navigating complex intersections, the 780 always tells me what side of the highway to be on. This has saved me many a frustrating experience of not being able to make a turn because of being in the wrong lane position.

5. The traffic monitor, which may or may not be related to the MSN feature, is pretty cool. When it is issues a traffic warning, clicking on the warning button gives you the option of rerouting. If rerouting does not save time, it warns you of that. So far, I have never rerouted. I have realized, unfortunately, that sometimes the traffic info is outdated. It has told me that I was going to have delays, only to arrive and find the roads crystal clear on more than one occasion.

After having had the 780 for almost 3 months and having put it through most of its paces, I am a very satisfied customer. I would have probably been just as happy with the 680, but I guess I will never really know.

Navigation feature is great, MSN feature fails
I travel in a major metropolitan area and should have no problem getting a signal for the live MSN content with this device, however its performance is extremely erratic and therefore unreliable. Who needs stock quotes that haven't updated in three days? I've made numerous phone calls to both Garmin and MSN and of course each blames the other. My last interaction with Garmin they told me it must be the tinted windows in the car that is blocking reception and I should be getting a good signal based on my location. Of course that doesn't help me. Then they said I could get better reception using the device outside the car, which is just stupid to suggest. You may not experience the same issues, but based on my experience I would recommend a less expensive model without the MSN feature to save money and frustration.

Sit back and leave the driving to Garmin
LOVE IT. Even my wife loves it. This is porbably the first electronic gadget I've ever bought where my wife wants to use it more. Very easy to use. It only locked up a few times because I was zooming in/out too fast as it was navigating. perhaps if I let it go it might have caught up . It was no big deal to turn it off and on to get me going again. The MSN is great. It actually gave me a thunderstorm warning and asked if I wanted to go around it. Traffic updates were good, gas prices were dead on, most of the time. Weather forcasts were great, The "text to speech" was cool. We chose the Ennglish mans voice and he would read any text messages I received on my (bluetooth) phone. Pretty funny. The FM transmitter isn't great at all. What else can I say, I've owned the Garmin eMap (VW bug)and thought that was nice, but this is like a Porsche. Garmin's website is also great for updates and software. That's all, now I want the voice recognition nuvi880 but really who needs that!!! Enjoy and buy this unit NOW!

Great, when it works!
I loved my new Garmin. Mapping and ease of use better than the GPS in my Mercedes. However, I was on a trip in Florida (nearly 2000 miles from home) when the screen froze with a 'firmware update in progress' message. Unfortunately, ....it never updated. I got in contact with support (took 2 days) and was told how to do a 'system reset'. Great, I lost all of the poi's and locations I had programmed in. I wouldn't buy one again, based upon this experience. For those of us who travel a lot, and who like to pre-program destinations, stops etc... The thing just has to work!

Good, but needs more integration
Overall, I love the GPS. It tracks quickly and accurately and the trial service for MSN Direct is a great idea to try it out before committing.

My only problem is that the MSN direct screens are in their own menu item and it's 2 or 3 levels deep to get what you want. It would be nice if the MSN screens could integrate with the Garmin screens so you didn't have to go to different areas for different things. A "one stop shop" if you will.

Overall, very nice unit and pleased with Garmin.