Garmin Nuvi 765T - 4.4 in. GPS Receiver

After experiencing the new map screen on my brother's Garmin nuvi 255WT, I decided that $200 to upgrade my current be breaking the bank, especially if I can sell my current Garmin nuvi 760.

So enter the Garmin nuvi 765T, which is the refresh of the one I already own. It has the same map screen as my brother's 255WT with similar features as my 760. That means I still get the MP3 player, FM transmitter, and Bluetooth capabilities. I also noticed that the 765T animates the screen transitions while the 255WT does not. This is just a cosmetic thing and is actually slower than without those animations (you cannot turn them off, unfortunately). However, it gives it a more polished feel (much like how Apple's interface on their iPod Touch and iPhone).

In the Box
Inside the box, you don't get anything more than what was included with the nuvi 760. You get the same suction cup with ball mount, the dock, a dash mount, USB cable, 12v car power cable (FM traffic receiver built into cable), and some literature.

I noticed the 12v power cable looks different compared to the nuvi 760. It's thicker, and the FM traffic receiver is now located near the plug for the dock instead of being built into the 12v car plug. This makes the car plug somewhat smaller, but it introduces a bulge near the connector for the dock. I don't really like that, since it adds more weight and bulk near the GPS rather than keeping it closer to the cigarette lighter which is more neat and tidy.


Garmin nuvi 765T
The nuvi 765T is so much like the nuvi 760. The exterior plastic casing of both are exactly the same. The jacks, connectors, and switches are in the exact same place. The differences are color and texture. The 760 has a gray trim, while the 765T is all black now. The 765T has a rubberized feel to the case, which may keep it from slipping from your hands, but it seem to show oil and smudges more than the hard plastic of the 760. Also since it is rubberized, it is harder to clean.

Just as well, the dock and ball mount suction cup are exactly the same. In fact, the 765T makes the perfect drop-in upgrade - no need to pull out the mounting equipment that's already installed in your car if you use to own a 760. While the connector for the power and FM data is the same, the power/data cable itself is different. As stated above, the cable is thicker as it seem to have two cables, not just one. This is probably because the FM traffic receiver is now relocated near the connector for the dock. Again, I hate this design, as it introduces the bulk near the GPS than tucked away by the 12v plug. The Garmin support tech informed me this helps reception, though I cannot find any way to verify or dispute this. Both cables grabbed traffic info in the same amount of time.

Installation
For me, it was literally a drop-in replacement of the 760. The existing mount and cable worked fine with the 760T. However, even if you were to install the 765T from scratch, installation is a cinch.

The suction cup grabs onto the windshield easily, and have a very secure and firm suction when you push the lever in. Sure it comes off once in a rare while, but the incidents are few and far between. I like placing it just under the rearview mirror so I can access the unit easier. Placing it near the bottom of the windshield requires me to lean forward, which is dangerous when driving (though I suppose you're not suppose to play with it in a moving car anyways).

The ball mount requires a bit of force for the dock itself to set, but once in, it gives the right amount of tension to keep the unit in place, while giving you the freedom to adjust the angle any way you wish.

The power cable connects to the dock itself, and you can then route the wire to the 12v power socket. The cable is thicker than the one that came with the 760, which is distracting while driving though.

Just like the 760, the nevi 765T turns on automatically when placed on the dock cradle and when power is flowing to it (for example, if the car is on). When you turn the car off or pull it out of the cradle, it will ask if you want to turn it off or leave it on. It also has a 30 second countdown so if you ignore the prompt, it will automatically turn off. I find that very convenient!

I haven't used the dash mount disc, and I don't plan to. I don't like sticky residue on my dashboard, and would avoid it if I can. Since it is not illegal to have the GPS on the windshield in my state, I choose this route.

Interface
The biggest difference (and probably the whole reason for the model refresh) from the Garmin nuvi 760 is the map screen and the animiated transitions. On the nuvi 765T, every touch of a button that causes a transition to another screen is now animated. Scrolling through the large icons in the settings menu creates a smooth scrolling effect.

The animation gives the Garmin nuvi 765T a more refined look and feel, but admittedly, it slows you down a few milliseconds. While the 760 will quickly go directly to the next screen, the small amount of time it takes the 765T to “wipe” to the next screen will add up when you are drilling through the menu system.

Aside from the animation, the 765T is just as easy to use as the 760, with intuatively placed icons and features.

The Map Screen is the largest change, and was the real reason why I upgraded to the 765T. One of the reasons why I felt the nuvi 760 was akward to use was the fact that the next turn was not communicated very well to the driver. It would just give you the distance to the next turn on the lower right hand corner. To find out which direction to turn, you’d have to touch that corner to open up a more detailed map that shows you the actual turn.

On the 765T, the distance to the turn is now on the upper left hand corner. Big deal, right? But the real improvement is the fact there is an arrow that shows you the direction of the next turn, which makes it easier to glance at the unit without touching it to get that info. Touching that corner will show the same detailed map of the turn itself.

The arrows also serve as the advanced lane guidance, which shows you multiple arrows that indicate the lanes, and the grayed out arrows are the lanes you shouldn’t be in, while the white ones are the lanes the 765T suggest you to take. This makes navigating tricky junctions more managable. This is huge, as I get confused more often on the 760 without this advanced lane guidance feature.

The traffic icon makes an appearance on the 765T, which shows you the severity of traffic on your route by displaying one of three colors: red, yellow, or green. Clicking on this icon gives you the option to look at the detailed map of your route with colored lines that show you were the traffic is located at. You can also check the other freeways near you that is backed up or closed. No need to go into the system menu to get this info, like the 760!

The bottom right part of the screen can be configured to display various information now, instead of being fixed. The 760 shows the estimated time of arrival on the left, and the distance to the next turn on the right. On the 765T, the left shows your current speed, while the right is configurable to show you one of five info: estimated time of arrival, distance to destination, estimated time to destination, direction of travel, and Elevation. When not in a route, it also lets you set it to display the current time.

Not everything is rosey, however. The animation while driving is much smoother, but it comes at a cost: the map draws much slower than the 760. Also, the map isn’t as detailed compared to the 765T, even at the most detailed setting. Some argue that details aren’t a huge issue, while others would like to get as much details as possible. Details include the names of smaller streets, and sometimes major ones that are not in the immediate vicinity of you.

Finding an Address
Address input is the same on the 760 as it is on this unit, so while I said it was easy input when I reviewed the 760, I am starting to find faults after using this input method for 3 years.

With the Garmins, it asks for info in this order: state, city, street name, then house number. It seems backwards, but if you think of it as a computer eliminating possibilities, it starts to make sense. The fault I'm starting to see is that I don't always know the city! When you live in a city with many suburbs, almost everyone just tell you the first line of the address. The city and zip code are usually unknown.

Most mapping sites like Mapquest and Google will fill in all that info for you, but not with the nuvis! I'm not sure if this is an issue with all GPS, or just the Garmin, but suffice to say, I always end up using Google Maps on my iPhone first before I can input the address into the GPS, which bogs me down.

The onscreen keyboard is QWERTY so it makes it easier to type than the alphabetically arranged keyboard. Of course, I found out this was a setting you can change in both the 760 and the 765T. It's just that the 760 defaulted to the ABC keyboard, while the 765T defaults to QWERTY.

The touch screen is more or less on parity with the 760, which is to say not too sensitive. I think we've been conditioned to the nice sensitive capacitance screens of the iPhones.

Calculation time depends on how long the route is going to be, but I normally find that my usually trips (around 10 to 20 miles) only take seconds to calculate. Complex routes, no matter the length, will take longer. Since it's different every time, I can't give you a definitive time. Suffice to say, they are short enough that I'm not left sitting there waiting forever.

Recalculation time (for when you miss your turn) isn't much faster than the 760. At times it feels a bit slower, while at other times it seems quicker. I've missed a few turns because the next turn it recalculated for me was missed because of the time it took to recalculate! This only happens when the recalculated turn or exit is very close together, so I can't realistically blame the GPS. It usually sets me up at the correct recalculated turn if I missed a turn in a Chicago block going about 25-30 MPH.

Routing
Just like the 760 and the 255WT, the 765T tend to route by what it believes is the fastest time. This can be changed of course, but it still looks at the posted speed limits and uses it to weigh heavily in the route it takes. This means that it avoided Chicago's Lake Shore Drive because it's a 45 MPH road, but instead picks an out-of-the-way or sometimes congested I-94 freeway since the speed limit is 55 MPH. Lake Shore Drive, of course, is much faster in many routes I take near the lake. The online mapping sites seem to be more intelligent in that way.

Still, if you're going somewhere you're unfamiliar, you won't really care as long as you just get there without getting lost.

It does seem to learn after a while, unlike the 760. If you're stubborn and keep ignoring the GPS, and you keep driving the same route (say to work, school, etc), it will learn to just give the route you always took. The only time it deviates from the standard route is when there is traffic.

Traffic
As noted earlier, the power cable doubles as the traffic receiver, and is different from the one included with my older Garmin nuvi 760. The reason for the different cable is because the 765T comes with free lifetime traffic from a different provider (NAVTEQ Traffic) while the 760 came with a trial service from Clear Channel, and will require you to purchase the service after the trial period. There's no such thing as a free lunch, and the traffic data from NAVTEQ is no different - it is ad-supported. The 765T display the ads in places where it makes sense and out of the way, however. For example, when you are looking for points of interests (hotels, gas stations, restaurants, etc), you will get an ad that's relevant to your search in a small corner. The 760 came with a free 2 or 3 month trial of the Clear Channel traffic, which is ad-free. After which, you have to pay for either the yearly or the lifetime subscription. The cable is interchangeable with either the 760 and the 765T, and the nice thing is that you can use the NAVTEQ ad-supported traffic on the 760 and never see the ads because the 760 does not support the displaying of ads in the first place.

Since I paid for the ad-free Clear Channel traffic service, I decided to continue using it on my 765T. As for which is better, I found no difference between the two service in Chicago. Both have failed me before, and both have informed me with correct traffic info. In other words, I cannot rely on the traffic info consistently for rush hour traffic on either service. However, both excels in reporting traffic due to accidents, road closures due to weather, and constructions.

Bluetooth
Bluetooth functionality does work with the iPhone. I was able to make calls using the voice command as well, which is nice. However, the tiny speaker on the Garmin nevi 765T didn't fare too well. You can connect the audio out to an auxiliary audio in on your car stereo, but I already do that with my iPhone, so I found no need for Bluetooth functionality. There are two microphones this time around. The second mic is suppose to allow the nuvi to cancel out noise. It seems to work, as my callers say between the 760 and the 765T, the 765T sounded a bit better. So to note, it's not a vast improvement, but it's an improvement.

What's disappointing is the advertised AD2P profile, which allows for stereo audio over Bluetooth. I was not able to get it to work with my iPhone. I was hoping to wire up the GPS to my auxiliary in jack, and just have my iPhone connect wirelessly to transmit my music and podcasts. Bluetooth is suppose to pair up automatically overtime you enter the car, so that would have been very convenient! You are also suppose to be able to control the play, pause, and track selection as well.

So while phone functionality works, stereo Bluetooth AD2P did not - at least not with the iPhone.

The Upshot
I the redesigned map screen, as well as the addition of advanced lane guidance is what made me feel that it’s a worthy upgrade from a 760. When I bought the 760, it was nearly $600! You can now get the 765T for around $200! For me, $200 makes upgrading to the 765T worth it. After all, you get a map update, as well as a better map screen. A map update cost about half of the price of the 765T by itself! So you can see, even if you already own a 760, it’s easy to justify purchasing the 765T. Plus, it’s basically a drop-in upgrade since the dock is the same. Also, if you didn’t pay for the traffic service on the 760, the upgrade to a 765T is made extra sweet by the addition of lifetime traffic, even though it’s ad-supported.

While it’s an older model, none of the current models in this price range offers a dock like the 760 and the 765T. I love the fact that I don’t have to hook up any wires to the GPS unit itself. All I have to do is drop the unit on the dock and it will power up. Take it off the dock, and it will count down to power off.

If you can still find the Garmin nuvi 765T for sale (especially around $200), buy it now! They are getting harder to find.

And oh, I was able to sell the old Garmin nuvi 760 for around $170, which made the price to upgrade to the 765T about $30 for me. I’m giddy.