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★★☆☆☆
Nuvi 680 a big disappointment.
I've had four Garmin GPS units over the years (1 aviation, 2 auto, 1 marine). Each unit has been terrific and Garmin's after sales support is, without question, the very best I've received from any company. Garmin has always proven to be the "ideal model" in my customer experiences with the company. Given my wonderful experiences with Garmin products and support, I was excited to use the Nuvi 680 in my extensive travels.
My enthusiasm was short lived and was quickly replaced with frustration. The 680 was continually lost, directed me to a hotel it thought was located on the median of a major interstate (1/2 mile from the actual hotel), wouldn't find major cities or close restaurants and hotels. It wasted far more time than it saved. While the MSN Direct was interesting, in the end the information it provided was marginally helpful at best.
Things I liked in the 680: beautiful screen was easy to read in all light conditions; touch screen worked very well; menus were easy to use; all the pieces fit together nicely; the unit is thin which is what initially attracted me to the Nuvi--very nice for travel.
Cons: the 680 was totally lost and I used it in several states over many hundreds of miles of driving. I flew into Memphis and when I typed in "Jackson," the 680 gave me cities named Jackson all over the US, but wouldn't list Jackson, MS (200 miles away--and the state capital of MS, for heavens sake!).
When I typed in "Hilton" it gave me a list of Hilton hotels 250 miles away from my current location. I gave the unit plenty of time to acquire satellites and know where it was. I tried all the menu options, e.g. "from current location," etc. to no avail. I hit "GO" to a BBQ restaurant and the 680 took me 15 miles to a large public park without a restaurant anywhere to be found in or near the park.
I'm a Garmin fanatic, but I regrettably returned the unit as it was completely unusable and sent me on wild rides. Perhaps I received a bad unit--I hope so! Now I'm out shopping again, . . .
May 2007 · Electronics