Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I used the 2595LMT for a trip across the USA. Previously to this unit I used an older Garmin nuvi 360. There is really no comparison between the units, this one is so much better than the old one. Screen: I larger screen size is really nice at 5". I was impressed to see the exit signs pop-up on the screen showing me which lanes I should be in. The top left corner also shows a bright white lane indicator as to where you should be with dim indicators as to where you should not be. Also nice was the fact that at the top of the screen Garmin tells you what you will be doing next. Screen Features (called layers): I went into the layer options to turn on some added detail for my trip. I activated the screen layer to show me: time for arrival, miles remaining, altitude (really cool to see why the truck was slowing down as I went up a mountain), my speed, and the road's speed limit. Speed Features: - Don't turn on the speed limit audible notification, it will drive you crazy with the 3-beeps every time you go 1 mile an hour over the posted speed. It drove me crazy till I pulled over and shut down the noise notification for going over the speed limit. - It will still show your speed and the speed limit without the audible alert on. - I liked this feature and found that the Garmin was more accurate than my speedometer when I passed by an outdoor "this is your speed" sign. - Sometimes when Garmin shows a speed limit it is not accurate. I wouldn't use their limit posting as fact. It may have been more accurate had I updated the maps before I began. (Update 7/25/2012)- I spoke to Greg at Garmin about changing the tolerance from 1 MPH to 5 or 10 MPH over the speed limit. Per Garmin this currently is not an option as it is programmed in their firmware. He thought this would be a good idea too and suggested I request this in a firmware update. I did. If you own one, please request this feature too so Garmin sees that a speed tolerance of 5 or 10 MPH over the limit is a feature we would like to have in an upcoming software update. Directions: - Garmin speaks the names of the streets and this newer version no longer says "Recalculating" if you miss your turn. Instead it just changes your route to fix your mistake. - The upcoming directions is displayed at the top of the screen so you know what you will be doing next before Garmin speaks it. Bluetooth Phone Tie-in: - I linked the Garmin to my phone so I could make and receive calls through it. When someone called my cell phone an icon popped up on the screen with a ringing tone asking me to "Answer" or "Ignore" the call. It was so much easier to answer my phone this way, by touching one button on my Garmin, than digging for my phone and sliding it to unlock. - The negative however is the fact that the person's voice coming out of the Garmin speaker was not as loud as it could have been. This may be because the speaker is on the back of Garmin. If the caller talked loud and clear things were much better. Depending on the clarity of the callers voice I sometimes get some distortion from the speaker. Best thing to do is tell the caller they are on a speaker phone and to speak clearly and not too fast. Kinda like using a cheap speaker phone. They said they could hear me clearly but I had to turn off the radio and CB to understand them. - You can also dial calls through the Garmin with larger buttons than are on my phone. As you start to punch in the phone number it pops up other numbers with the same order of digits that you dialed previously to help you just click it to finish. - There was an option on Garmin for voice dial but I didn't think to set that up before I got on the road. - Another thing I learned was to be sure you click disconnect on the Garmin at the end of the call by touching the phone icon at the end of the call and selecting the big "disconnect" icon. I forgot to do this a couple of times and Garmin wouldn't tie-in for my next incoming call. - Overall I liked the phone tie-in Voice Activated Programming: - I wasn't sure it I'd use this but now I don't use it any other way. - I changed the default voice activation command to my wife's name at first but thought that would be problematic if she were with me, so I switched it over to the respond when I say the word "Garmin". Now if I just say the word "Garmin" it will ask me what I would like to do while showing me a screen of options. I can change where I want to go without even touching Garmin. I just say the word "Home" or "New Address" and Garmin asks my questions as to the address etc. After Garmin does it search it shows me a list of addresses that it though I might have said. I then can say "1" if that is the number next to the correct location or "2" if the correct address is by that number. If none are correct I can tell him to do it again. You need to speak clearly when you are giving an address or Garmin will come up with some wild addresses. Also make sure the radio or other talking is not happening as this will confuse Garmin. - This feature is surely making me lazier than I already was. Map: - This version, with the LMT designation, has lifetime Map updates as well as lifetime Traffic. - The map is decent and while you are getting near major traffic exits it often will prompt you with a picture of the exit sign showing you where you should be. - Sometimes Garmin was a bit off as to what lane you should be in, typical with most GPS units, but for the other 95% of the time it was right on. Maybe a map update would have corrected this but I used it with the maps that were already preloaded in it since I had no Internet access where I set it up in Florida. - The map also shows some restaurant or food icons while you are on the road. There are more gas stations available at the exits but I think Garmin only displayed the icon for the ones that paid them to be included on the general map. If you go into the gas or food settings on the 2nd screen you can find all the other gas/restaurants. Live Traffic: - This was another really nice addition to this Garmin. - To use the Traffic Feature Garmin must be connected for power using the supplied power cable. Makes sense since you usually use the power cable on a trip. - I put the power cable so it looped behind the Garmin which allowed the little plastic box on the power cable to see clearly through the windshield, this is the receiver for the Live Traffic feature - You can check the signal strength of this feature by clicking on the car icon on the right of the screen. - When you are in areas where the traffic feature is used the car icon will turn a color like green or red instead of being light gray meaning no transmissions in the area to read. - I found the traffic feature to work in most larger areas or where the department of transportation has installed the radio transmitters. If you are is small town areas there is a really good chance that this feature won't be on since no radio transmitters have been installed. - The only strange problem I found was the fact that some of the areas I was driving through had no power due to a storm. Garmin got scared and told me the freeway must be closed, I knew better since the city on both sides of the freeway were dark with police light flashing directing traffic in the distance. I was sure the radios in that city were not transmitting, so I continued on I-75 without incident. Sometime we need to remember that these are only computers. - By clicking on the icon when a warning was approaching Garmin would tell you that it was congested, a traffic accident ahead, etc.. This feature is only as good as the city that was transmitting the information. Some times it warned me of an accident that was already cleared. I liked when it showed how long the expected delay would be. But then again sometimes there was congestion, for a person changing their tire, that was not transmitted by the local city. Internal Memory: ***VERY IMPORTANT*** - The reason I bought this Garmin was because my older Garmin could no longer hold the newer maps. The new maps tend to be bigger and my old unit was limited to 2 gig internal memory. Since the maps became large it could no longer update. - This Garmin has the biggest internal memory at 8 gig. I had to do a ton of research to find this out as Garmin doesn't tell you on their website or in the specs. Be careful since Garmin still sells units with small internal memory which will mess you up for future updates. - With 8 gig of internal memory I will have no problem with the newer and larger updates for maps. Adding Memory: - You can add a microSD card to store person stuff on this unit. - You can add books and photos to the GPS but I personally think this is a waste of time. Why would I want my photo album on this thing or a book on a small 5" screen when you can but a descent reader with a big screen that would be much better for that purpose. Typical Features: - You can manually search for restaurants, fuel, hospital, police, etc. just like the older units. - You can even manually type in the address if you want to but why would you do that when you can just talk to this unit. Battery: - Using the unit on battery will only give you a couple of hours of life. Plus, if you are driving this disables the Live Traffic feature that requires the power cord for use. Manual: - The manual that comes with the unit is basically how to get started. More of a simplified instruction guide with a few pages. - The real manual that explains everything must be downloaded from Garmin. I didn't have any computer connection available when I was setting mine up but by looking at the simplified manual it was very intuitive and pretty easily to figure out. I would however recommend at least reviewing the simplified instruction manual that comes with it so you can learn about some of the cool features and how to use them. Price: - Amazon had the best price on this unit with free shipping using Amazon Prime. I searched around and found some priced the same but the shipping made them no longer a good deal. I also know I can trust Amazon compared to some of the other companies I've never hear of. I also bought the accessories on Amazon as I'm too cheap to pay Best Buy prices or Garmin's price. - There is a top-of-the-line model that does more than this Garmin but this does enough for me. Accessories: - The unit does NOT come with a case, be sure to order something to put it in. I ordered a hard case to store it and the cord in as well as a leather thinner case for when I travel. This way I can stash the cord and mount under the seat while I take Garmin out of the vehicle to keep him safe without having to carry a big case with the cord in it. I don't know why Garmin stopped providing a protective case, must be for money of course. - I also bought the non-slip pad that allows me to sit him on the dash. I'm not a fan of the suction cup mounts as this advertises to break the window and look for a GPS inside. Besides the bean bag stand allows me to put him on the seat, in my wife's hand to find a restaurant, or anywhere on the dash I want. Overall, If you are looking for a nice GPS that will handle future map updates, can use voice commands, has a bigger screen than most, and has a reasonable price I don't think you will be disappointed. I've used this thing hard and am impressed with the results I got. Do your research when you look around as I did. I spent 1 week reading review after review and tracking down internal memory specs before I choose this one. Electronicbuff UPDATE 12/26/2013 When updating the Lifetime Map program you need to be running a newer version of Windows XP (2005 or newer), or Windows 7 or Windows 8. This is because the updating program called "Garmin Express" requires an updated program from Microsoft to install. I had a machine using Windows XP 2003 and had to use my Windows 7 machine for the program Garmin Express to install.