Garmin Nuvi 760 - 4.4 in. Car GPS Receiver

The Garmin nuvi 760 is my replacement for the aging Garmin StreetPilot III I have owned since the early millennium. The old workhorse did it's job, but newer models have more memory, more map data onboard, faster calculation times, and have bigger and better screens. Touch screens on most new models also make them easier to use as well.

The Garmin StreetPilot III uses a proprietary memory stick to hold map data. The included stick is only 32 MB. This was enough to hold detailed roads and POIs for the Chicagoland area and neighboring suburbs. If I ever need to travel outside of the region, I had to delete data off the card and add relevant ones in. Not only that, but Garmin (at the time) required you to purchase map data for different regions, making it a very expensive ordeal. A CD has all the map data for the nation, but you'd have to buy unlock codes to unlock them. Worse yet, the data cable that connects to the PC to transfer all this data was serial, which has gone away in most PCs, giving way to the modern USB port.

Fast forward to today, and the Garmin nuvi 760 comes with 2 GB of internal flash memory. All of the map data in the US is already loaded, and there is still around 500 MB of space left for you to put in photos and MP3s. An SD card slot allows you to add storage for more MP3s and photos, as well as purchased map data (outside of the country) and applications (more languages, translations, etc) geared for traveling abound. And of course, it interfaces with your computer via a modern USB port.

When connected to the PC, both the internal memory and the SD Card are given separate drive letters. There really isn't any required software to be installed on the PC, and there really isn't any CD included in the box. I backed up the contents of the internal memory just in case, however.

Basically, the new Garmin nuvi 760 is a stand alone device that doesn't really require a PC for anything important at all! Sure, you'll need a PC to load MP3s to the device, but then again, you can just use a SD Card reader and load it on a card instead. The nuvi can charge the internal lithium battery via the USB port as well as when it is placed on it's cradle (and plugged into the 12v car adapter).

In the Box
The box for the Garmin nuvi 760 is much smaller that I expected when it came to my door. I expected a huge thick manual and maybe some CDs, but none of those were inside. Instead, you get the Garmin nuvi 760 unit itself, a quick guide (both English and French), a few adverts for Garmin accessories, a multi-lingual warrantee booklet, a suction mount, a surface mount, the cradle, and the 12v car adapter.

Installation
Installing the mount is very easy, and didn't even require instructions. But then again, neither does using the Garmin unit itself!

If you live in a state where they allow you to install on the windshield, you can use the suction cup mount. It grabs onto the smooth surface using a latch. The suction is so strong that it has never fallen off on it's own since I put it on a couple months ago! The ball joint is ingenious, as it allows the cradle to snap in and swivel in many directions. It seems to hold the Garmin nuvi in place very well. It's not strong enough to hold the unit in place when you try to push the virtual buttons on the touch screen, though, so you might need a second hand to hold it in place, or just make sure that you are holding the unit in place with your hand while pushing the virtual buttons with your thumb (think remote control or Game Boy).

Installing the nuvi on the cradle is pretty easy, too. It just snaps into place. You can leave the cradle on the suction mount and remove the nuvi unit by holding down a button on the bottom of the cradle. This releases the latch and allows you to take the Garmin nuvi with you. The only bad thing about this is that people can see that you have a Garmin GPS (the cradle have the Garmin logo on it), and the possibility of a break-in is increased.

If you can't install it on your windshield due to state laws, you can use the surface mount instead. It's basically a smooth round metal disk that has an adhesive on the back. It sticks anywhere you'd like on the dash, giving a smooth place for the suction cup mount to install. This also gives you the possibility to install the Garmin nuvi closer to you if you have a windshield that is very deep.

The surface mount has a con of being semi-permanent. If you ever decide to remove it, you will ruin the adhesive, and you will have a hard time cleaning the residue off your dash.

The 12v adapter connects to the cradle itself. When the 12v adapter is plugged in and powered up, placing the Garmin nuvi on the cradle will automatically turn it on. When you remove the nuvi from the cradle, it will ask if you want to turn the unit off or keep it on (via battery power).

If you wish to turn the nuvi on and off without the cradle, there is a power switch on the top left. It also functions as a HOLD switch (like you have on MP3 players). Powering the nuvi up is as simple as just pushing the sliding switch. However, turning it off isn't as easy. For some reason it's a hit or miss when I try to turn it off. I can hold it and it will turn off after 8-10 seconds. But supposedly, if I slide it, it should turn off. Sometimes it works, most of the time it doesn't. Sometimes sliding it slowly (while pushing down on the switch) turns it off, but other times it doesn't. It can't be a problem with the switch since turning the unit on slides the same way (uses the same switch), and it turns on consistently. If anyone who owns this or a similar Garmin nuvi model (700 series), please comment on whether this is a problem or not for you as well.

Finding an Address
Finding an address you wish to route to is pretty easy. Thanks to the touch screen, it's much easier than my old Garmin StreetPilot III. It feels more like drilling down than entering an address as you would naturally. We normally start with a the house number, then street, then city, state, and lastly zip code. However, the Garmin asks for the state first, then city, the street, then the house number. As you are entering street or city, it will bring up a screen with a possible list of names when it is able to eliminate a good amount of possibilities. This makes entering streets and cities easier. Unfortunately, this means that the Garmin is not very forgiving if you misspell.

The on-screen keyboard is not QWERTY, but arranged in alphabetical order.  This makes it hard to type out what you need quickly.  Most of us are now used to on-screen keyboards due to the likes of the iPhone, and other touch screen phones without a keyboard.  Also, there is a slight delay between hitting the on-screen key and the device actually registering it, making it a bit akward if you do eventually get used to the key arrangement and type fast.

Calculating the route is also much faster than my old StreetPilot III. The SPIII seems to take a while to warm up before it gets any quicker. I notice it takes a very long time to calculate routes when you first start it up, but after that, calculations are much shorter. Still the quickest calculation time of the SPIII is no match for this newer nuvi. Even when the nuvi is first powered up, calculation is much faster than the SPIII when it's already warmed up. In fact, the temperature doesn't seem to affect the calculation speed of the nuvi at all.

Calculation time depends heavily on how complex the route is, so I cannot give you a time. But with subjective use, calculation is fast enough that it isn't frustrating. Calculation is so quick that if you miss your turn, it quickly recalculates it so that you won't miss your next turn! The SPIII was so slow that by the time it finished calculating, the suggested next turn was already missed, and it goes into a recalculating cycle (where I would keep missing the next suggested turn) until it finally gives me a turn that has enough cushion.

While the recalculation is quick, the nuvi 760 still takes a while to realize you're off course.  So in many cases, I still miss the next turn or exit, especially in tightly knit blocks like in Chicago.

Routing
It's hard to judge the effectiveness of routing. The Garmin nuvi 760 tends to use roads that have the fastest speed limit first. This means that any major freeways (including toll ways) have priority in the route. If you set to avoid tolls or freeways, it will try to calculate a route to avoid them.

With the FM traffic functionality, if you calculated before the traffic info was received, it will not recalculate a new route around the traffic until you get closer to the trouble area. I find that it takes about a good 5-6 miles in some cases for it to recalculate. In some cases, it was as close as a mile. Worse yet, sometimes it won't recalculate until you're already in the middle of it. Of course, when this happens, most people would just force it to recalculate by taking an exit (leave the planned route), go to the Traffic section and hit the "Avoid" button, or hit the "Detour" button on the main screen. Since most surface streets don't have traffic info, the resultant detour sometimes is worse than if you haven't left the congested freeway in the first place, or it will steer you into another congested freeway.

There was another time where I had a client located in the south east side of Chicago. As anyone in Chicago knows, it'd be quicker to take Lake Shore Drive going south. Instead, the GPS (as well as Google Maps) instructed me to take the Dan Ryan (I-94 East), which actually takes me south (Chicago is weird like that), but it puts me 3 miles west of where I need to be. I then had to take a surface street through an unsavory part of town towards the lake. I decided to take Lake Shore Drive back home, while the GPS seem to keep recalculating for a good bit trying to instruct me to travel using the Dan Ryan. This behavior is probably because Lake Shore Drive is not considered a freeway (45 MPH speed limit), but it's actually much faster than driving west to a freeway that is heavily used by other Chicagoans. Not to mention that LSD it's a very nice drive!

Routing in the suburbs is much better. However, there is one instance where it instructs me to take several lefts to get onto a road to get me to work. Google Maps had a better way, instructing me to take a few right turns and a single left turn to get to the same road. The left turns are more hazardous than the right turns. The right turns are also quicker since you are turning into the flow of traffic.

A GPS, then, is really to give you a good idea on how to get to your destination. It may not always be the most efficient, but you'll eventually get there.

I like the fact that if you add a new destination when you're already in a planned route, it asks if you want to set it as a new destination or as a part of the current route plan. This allows you to make changes in the route when something comes up (Need gas? Realize you have to pick up grandma? Forgot to pick up the kids?).

Map Screen
The Map Screen, while informative, still lacks something when compared to the SPIII.  I didn't know what it was until my brother bought a newer Garmin nuvi with a newer updated map screen.  It was the turn arrow!

With other GPSes, including the SPIII, there is an arrow present that tells you which direction to go on the next voice notification.  The nuvi 760 is devoid of such thing!  Still, after owning the unit for so long, I am used to keeping my eye on it, but acknowledge that small arrow makes a huge difference.

The map defaults to a 3D view, and updates regularly.  I've always thought the graphics were pretty good, though the newer Garmins now have smoother graphics even though they are still the same resolution.

On screen, you see the distance to your next turn, your estimated arrival time, any delays due to traffic, and the street or exit you have to pay attention to for the next action.


Points of Interests and Favorites
The list of POIs (Points of Interests) is pretty good. When I started working at my new job, it was very helpful in finding the closest branch of my bank as well as finding restaurants and shopping centers. I was impressed that I can find most of what I need on the unit without needing internet access.

However, depending on your spelling and how far the POI is from your current location, it can take forever to produce search results.  It seems that the further you are from, say, a McDonald's, the longer it will take to find it.  It seems to try to match what you typed in to POIs in your area, and when it doesn't find any, it keeps searching for POIs further away from you.  If you have an internet-connected, phone, you're better off finding the address that way and inputting the address into the GPS.

Once you find your POIs, you can save them to your Favorites list. You can also enter addresses manually to your favorites and give them a name (such as Home, Work, Bank, Mom's house, etc). A nice touch is that the text-to-speech works with these names. For example, when get close to your home, it will say "Arriving at home on left" or if you set one of your favorite POI as "Pete's place", it would actually say "Arriving at Pete's place".  That's kinda neat.

Garmin took this feature and tweaked it to advertise another "feature", which allows you to find your car in a large parking lot (so long as you take the Garmin nuvi with you). It sets a temporary favorite point at where you remove the Garmin nuvi from it's cradle. When you are lost, you can then find your car's last position!

FM Traffic Info
The Garmin nuvi 760 comes with a free month of FM Traffic data. It automatically activates when you first plug the nuvi into the 12v cigarette adapter. The cigarette adapter have the FM traffic receiver built in. There are 2 LED lights. The first one lights up green when it is powering up and charging the nuvi (when it's on the cradle). The second LED blinks amber when it is trying to search for the traffic signals. A solid amber means that it is receiving the traffic data, while a solid green means it is done and everything is good.

I sometimes find that the amber lights keep blinking, giving me no traffic info at all. Getting it to work seems to be hit or miss. Sometimes removing the nuvi from the cradle and then placing it back would work. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes unplugging the adapter from the 12v socket and then plugging it back in will work. Sometimes it doesn't. After trying both methods a few times, I'd give up and just drive without traffic data.

When you do get traffic data working, you can see which roads are bad (red), decent (yellow), and okay (green). Non-marked areas are usually standard speed (not congested). I've noticed that most of the freeways are well covered, but surface streets are mostly ignored. A only a few surface streets are reported, however, especially if they are major roads.

You can also view traffic delays via a menu that let you see how badly each freeway or road is. The top most button is the traffic delays the nuvi sees on your current calculated route. This is pretty useful to see traffic conditions at a glance and allow you to make your own mental route because unfortunately, the Garmin isn't that intelligent. As stated above, routing around traffic is a bit quirky.

Media Player
While it says "Media Player", the Garmin nuvi 760 does not play videos. It only plays MP3s (not even WMAs) and Audible audio books. The Media Player does support ID tags very well, and allows you to sort by Artist, Album, Genre, and more. In essense, it feels polished enough. It does seem to require a lot of attention to navigate around the interface, so you'd probably only want to mess around with it at a red light or when you're at a consistent speed on a straight road with absolutely no traffic.

I found no faults with the sound quality of MP3 playback. The audio controls were easy to manipulate. You get the usual skip back and forward buttons which doubles as a fast forward and rewind when you hold the button down. The large Play button becomes a large Pause button when the music is already playing.

There is also a volume button that takes you to a screen that allows you to adjust the navigation and music volume independently. It also have a master volume if the navigation/music volume ratio is to your liking.

The top right part of the screen displays a small album art, which is a nice touch. The left side displays the songs on your play list (bold text is the currently playing song). There is a progress bar that tells you the total time of the song as well as the time that already elasped. Below that, it tells you what song number in the song list is playing (2 / 10 for example - playing track 2 of a total of 10 tracks).

There are two buttons that allow you to set it to repeat the song or the entire list, or just play the list once and stop.

I actually play podcasts with the Media Player and find that it works very well. I wish that Garmin have a setting that allowed for how navigation voice overs work. For now, it is hard-set to completely stop playback of music (or podcast) and announce the directions, then continue the playback. The interruption is jarring. However, I like it this way for podcasts, since you wouldn't want to miss any spoken words. For music, though, I rather have the music fade a bit while it announces the directions.

FM Transmitter
While there are some people who say the FM Transmitter isn't all that great, I thought it handled itself pretty well. The sound quality isn't as good as a direct connection via the headphone jack to an Aux input or cassette adaptor, but it definitely sounded much better than some of the FM transmitters made for iPods and other MP3 players.

In Chicago, a city bustling with just people, but also radio waves, I found that 88.5 MHz did decently. There was a part of town out in the west suburbs that interfered, but it was mostly a clean signal. Of course, playing MP3s through it doesn't sound as good as a direct line input, but it didn't sound any worse than a good FM radio station. Just like with FM radio station, the only time you really hear static or noise is when there are quiet parts to a song. In the short dead air that comes from the pause between the song and the direction announcements, you can hear fizzing and fluttering. Announcements came in clear enough for you to understand. Music comes in clean enough to be enjoyable and sounds just like any other major FM station.

Other Features
I don't actually use any of the other features that Garmin touts. There are many, and it's nice that they're there for travelers. The Currency Converter, Unit Converter, Language Guide, and World Clock are obviously geared towards international travelers. It also comes with a standard calculator (I use it to calculate gas mileage) which is about the only feature other than the standard routing and Media Player I'd ever use.

The Picture Viewer is nice, as it allows you to use the excellent battery life of the Garmin to turn your GPS into a digital picture frame on your desk if you wish. Put it on your desk at work if you like (should last you half the work day), then place it back in the cradle in the car to charge and use for navigation or MP3 playback.

Bluetooth
The Garmin nuvi 760 has Bluetooth to allow for hands-free cell phone use. If your cell phone is supported, it will see the Garmin as a hands-free set. The nuvi has a built-in mic, and uses the built-in speaker for the speaker. If your nuvi is hooked up to bring sound to your stereo system, then your phone call would come through that.

Unfortunately, my old cell phone was not listed on Garmin's site. Any attempts to pair the nuvi with my Palm Centro would cause the nuvi to keep trying to connect to it, which will require me to reset it.

I have yet to try with my iPhone since it works great as a hands-free phone by just connecting it to my car's Aux jack and using the built-in mic.

Battery Life
Even when new, battery life  wasn't stellar.  It would barely last an hour while actively using the GPS radio (such as viewing the map in real time, or using it to route you).  Worst yet is after a year and a half later, it would barely last 5 minutes.

This unit is definately one to keep in the car with the power plug.  There are online guides on replacing the battery yourself, and that's probably what I will do.  Reports of Garmin charging around $200 to replace the battery is ridiculous, since you can get a replacement GPS for around the same price.  Perhaps... a Tom Tom!

Conclusion
While some routes are questionable, if I were to travel to an unfamilar place, I wouldn't care. After all, the point is not to get lost. However, it is a bit of a disappointment that it did not find a route that was better than what I normally take.

It also have lots of features, which a good amount won't be used. It's niec that it's there, and it's nice that most of them are on all of the 700 series, and not just on their high-end 760.

Today's low to mid range GPSes have actually beaten the nuvi 760 in many areas, including calcuation and recalculation speeds, better map screens, and lower prices.  And that's within Garmin's own family of GPSes!  Going outside of Garmin, others offer advanced lane guidance, which is helpful in cities with complex junctions like in New York City.

I bought the nuvi 760 about a year and a half ago for nearly $500.  It's now on the market for around $220.  My brother just bought an "entry level" Garnin nuvi 255WT that is wrth the same price, but got it for less due to a sale (lucky guy got it for $130).  It lacks Bluetooth and a music player, but I honestly never used either.  It's got the updated map screen, and updates a bit faster and smoother than mine, as well.  Not to mention, it has free (ad supported) lifetime FM traffic!

The nuvi 760 does have a better mounting solution than the nuvi 255WT, however.  Stil, when push come to shove, I think the "low end" 255WT's better map screen is more important, and just barely edges out the "high end" nuvi 760.