Garmin Nuvi 765T - 4.4 in. GPS Receiver
- Form Factor: Fixed
- Map capabilities: Internal, Map cartridges / Data cards
- Screen Size: 4.4 in.
- GPS Type: Handheld (Outdoor)
- Input Method: Touch Screen, Keyboard
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Fantastic features, finally available at a decent price
Pros
Lifetime traffic, lane assist, ecoroute, plays MP3s, bluetooth, FM transmitter, widescreen, intuitive
Cons
Routing sometimes sub-optimal, FM transmitter connection spotty, menus complex
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
This fantastic GPS does so much more than I could hope for. Once you know its limitations, it will offer great navigation, rerouting, bonus info, and features like mp3 playback
I just purchased this unit over the Thanksgiving holiday after a LONG search process to find the ultimate GPS out there right now. Until I purchased this unit, I was running TomTom 6 on a Palm Pilot, which was a travesty. But I wasn't going to shell out two hundred bucks on a device that didn't have the features I wanted. Well, the Garmin 765T has absolutely everything I could hope for in a GPS, and many of those features work quite admirably.
Overview
The Garmin 765T is a perfect all-in-one GPS unit. It comes with the traffic receiver built into the power cord, along with Bluetooth, an FM modulator, and mp3/audiobook playing capabilities. I felt all of these features were important, and was very excited to get them all together. This unit is not brand new like the 1400 series, but a lot of the features work more reliably, as I gathered from other reviews. You get loads of features:
4.3" widescreen display, much better than the old-fashioned square display. This makes directions much easier to read.
Lane assistance for intuitive highway driving. Now THIS is a cool feature. A new one for Garmin and also available on the 1400 series, Garmin's map service stores knowledge of what's printed on highway signs, and recreates incredibly accurate pictures of the green highway signs (even the number of lanes, with solid and dashed white lane markers on the ground!!!) so you know exactly which exits to take.
Lifetime traffic with the built-in receiver, which is in the power cord (not the actual unit). This handy feature will get you out of a jam if you use it under certain conditions. Read on for more info.
Mp3 and audiobook playback through a fairly simple user interface. This is not a standard feature on Garmin units, and you usually have to pay a lot for it. But on this unit, you can play back the tunes while you drive, which is very convenient if you want to hear both your music and the directions on one device. It will even pause the music when directions are read aloud. You can store on the device itself, or on the...
SD card slot to store all of your media - photos, music, audiobooks, whatever. Supports SDHC cards.
Spoken turn-by-turn directions, in a wide variety of voices and both genders. I chose the sexy British woman's voice, of course. The street names are fairly accurate, although sometimes comically wrong with strange names.
Bluetooth connectivity means you won't have to take your phone out of your pocket to keep on talking. You can call right from your GPS, including searching for numbers, recent calls, etc.
FM transmitter lets you play all of the audio from the device through your car stereo. Nice feature, albeit underpowered. More later.
Over 6 million points of interest, including phone numbers, for stores, restaurants, hotels, airports, and all sorts of fantastic places you wanted to go but could never find. The phone numbers are a lifesaver when you're finding restaurants and hotels from the road.
What's in the box
You get plenty in there:
Garmin 765T loaded with City Navigator NT
Car charge cable with built-in traffic receiver
Quick setup guide (not too helpful, real manual on the Garmin website here: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/store/manual.jsp?product=010-00715-20&cID=134&pID=14926
Suction cup mount - works great, you won't have to buy a sandbag-style mount
Dashboard disc - lets you stick the suction cup to the rough dashboard
USB charge / data cable
Taking Advantage of the Cool Features
I've used a few Garmin units in the past, and this one has a few nice upgrades. For one, you can get rerouted to avoid traffic if you know how to use the system. With the traffic receiver, your standard map will get replaced by a greyed-out map with colors indicating traffic level - medium or high density. The FM traffic receiver picks up notices about traffic delays, usually only on highways, and can be used to reroute you (sometimes without your knowledge) to avoid the traffic. You can disable the rerouting, and the system will just tell you how long you'll expect to be stuck in traffic, often right down to the minute!
Here's a question I know you have - okay, this plays mp3s, but how do I get them on there? I bet it's really complicated! Nope, just plug in the Garmin via USB into your computer (cable included), and it just shows up as another drive! Don't accidentally delete the operating files, but you can drag and drop your media on the ample 2 gigs of spare storage space.
Routing can get a bit tricky, since there's only one waypoint you can add, and city navigation seems to be fairly flawed. I like near DC, and this thing sends me straight through the city to avoid highway traffic! So in metropolitan areas, be prepared for some surprises, although you'll always get where you want to go... eventually.
You can customize your device with different voices and a different vehicle icon. I'm driving around as a Chipotle burrito with Frankenstein voices, both of which were found for free in the Garmin Garage here: http://www8.garmin.com/vehicles/
You're guaranteed a map update up to 60 days after you first activate your device, along with free firmware updates whenever available. Just make sure you register your device, and then you can get all of the road changes and POI updates entered into your GPS. This handy feature worked like a charm for me, and is found here: https://my.garmin.com/maps/nuMaps.htm. Afterwards, you can pay for different subscription plans to keep your maps updated if you want.
There's a nice new feature that lets you track your environmental impact called ecoroute. It will tell you how much you're spending on gas based on some efficiency parameters you tell it, as well as your driving pattern. This is added to the trip computer, which also shows speed, time, odometer, miles to go, heading, etc. You can select a route that is more efficient, to reduce your carbon footprint, and you can score your driving based on efficiency parameters to challenge yourself to be a more green driver. Now THAT is forward-thinking.
The device works well untethered - battery lasts up to 3 hours, only weighs 6.5 ounces (less than half a pound), and has a great feature called 'where am I' that lets you mark where your car was, and then helps you find it again if you lose it in a parking lot.
The FM modulator doesn't have the best clarity, but it does work. You have to turn your car stereo way up to use it. The 765T does have a headphone jack, though, so if your stereo has an auxiliary input, you're set! No need for a radio, CD player, or Bluetooth earpiece any more - what a cool multipurpose device.
What I like
The device has great features, and it works reliably and starts up quickly. It helps me brace for traffic on routes I can't avoid. It allows me to get rid of a few old technologies like CDs and my Bluetooth headset. It helps me be more eco-conscious because I can see just how much gas I'm wasting to drive to the movies, which is sometimes a surprisingly high cost. The speed limit is also stored in the road info, so you can almost drive without looking out the window. It can help me find almost any store I need, and helps me find gas when I need it, without getting too far off my path. The lane assist feature eliminates all confusion with highway exits, and gets me where I need to be on time, almost every time.
What I dislike
I say ALMOST every time because of a few things. I always have to have a few gripes and warnings.
First, the accuracy on this device (like every commercial GPS) is only good down to maybe 10 meters. That's not too good if you're on an express lane next to a local lane, and don't know which one you're supposed to be on.
Also, the lane assist doesn't do a great job of alerting you to what's happening next. If you're paying really close attention, it will tell you to exit, and then stay in the right lane, but it won't tell you why. On complex highways, exits followed by more quick changes sneak up on me sometimes, especially on the cobweb of bizarre exits around Arlington.
The big problem I have is with city navigation. I can't believe the device sends me through the heart of DC instead of around the beltway, and I would imagine this is similar in other cities. So with all of the nice bells and whistles, I guess sometimes Garmin misses the whole point of a GPS - getting you where you need to go in a non-stupid way.
Honestly, the menus need some work. If I want to change my routing preferences to avoid a toll road, or to make a u-turn, I have to hit like 10 buttons, and then I have to hit them all again to get back to the map! This is a blatant violation of their safety guidelines, and since I do it anyway, it's just plain irritating. Sometimes the device hangs for a second and I end up hitting the wrong button, but this is a minor problem. Still, for a device that's just one big touch screen, with the only hard button being for power, this thing works really well.
The Bluetooth is a bit spotty. Don't think this is the most perfect thing ever. I like it, I make calls from it, and it's a great convenience. But sometimes people on the other end are unsatisfied.
Overall
Okay, long review, but it's a product loaded with features. In all honesty, I love this device. It's got tons of extras, and streamlines my driving and navigation. It helps me easily find and contact people and places, cut down on fuel waste, avoid traffic, and listen to music while navigating. It's truly hands-free and usually sight-free, because it speaks to me and I don't have to take my eyes off the road. But if I do, it's full of great info, like my current speed, miles remaining, even the posted speed limit! Compared to both my last GPS solution and previous (and even newer) Garmin units, I think this one is currently the best one out there for the money, if not the best one available period.
Overview
The Garmin 765T is a perfect all-in-one GPS unit. It comes with the traffic receiver built into the power cord, along with Bluetooth, an FM modulator, and mp3/audiobook playing capabilities. I felt all of these features were important, and was very excited to get them all together. This unit is not brand new like the 1400 series, but a lot of the features work more reliably, as I gathered from other reviews. You get loads of features:
4.3" widescreen display, much better than the old-fashioned square display. This makes directions much easier to read.
Lane assistance for intuitive highway driving. Now THIS is a cool feature. A new one for Garmin and also available on the 1400 series, Garmin's map service stores knowledge of what's printed on highway signs, and recreates incredibly accurate pictures of the green highway signs (even the number of lanes, with solid and dashed white lane markers on the ground!!!) so you know exactly which exits to take.
Lifetime traffic with the built-in receiver, which is in the power cord (not the actual unit). This handy feature will get you out of a jam if you use it under certain conditions. Read on for more info.
Mp3 and audiobook playback through a fairly simple user interface. This is not a standard feature on Garmin units, and you usually have to pay a lot for it. But on this unit, you can play back the tunes while you drive, which is very convenient if you want to hear both your music and the directions on one device. It will even pause the music when directions are read aloud. You can store on the device itself, or on the...
SD card slot to store all of your media - photos, music, audiobooks, whatever. Supports SDHC cards.
Spoken turn-by-turn directions, in a wide variety of voices and both genders. I chose the sexy British woman's voice, of course. The street names are fairly accurate, although sometimes comically wrong with strange names.
Bluetooth connectivity means you won't have to take your phone out of your pocket to keep on talking. You can call right from your GPS, including searching for numbers, recent calls, etc.
FM transmitter lets you play all of the audio from the device through your car stereo. Nice feature, albeit underpowered. More later.
Over 6 million points of interest, including phone numbers, for stores, restaurants, hotels, airports, and all sorts of fantastic places you wanted to go but could never find. The phone numbers are a lifesaver when you're finding restaurants and hotels from the road.
What's in the box
You get plenty in there:
Garmin 765T loaded with City Navigator NT
Car charge cable with built-in traffic receiver
Quick setup guide (not too helpful, real manual on the Garmin website here: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/store/manual.jsp?product=010-00715-20&cID=134&pID=14926
Suction cup mount - works great, you won't have to buy a sandbag-style mount
Dashboard disc - lets you stick the suction cup to the rough dashboard
USB charge / data cable
Taking Advantage of the Cool Features
I've used a few Garmin units in the past, and this one has a few nice upgrades. For one, you can get rerouted to avoid traffic if you know how to use the system. With the traffic receiver, your standard map will get replaced by a greyed-out map with colors indicating traffic level - medium or high density. The FM traffic receiver picks up notices about traffic delays, usually only on highways, and can be used to reroute you (sometimes without your knowledge) to avoid the traffic. You can disable the rerouting, and the system will just tell you how long you'll expect to be stuck in traffic, often right down to the minute!
Here's a question I know you have - okay, this plays mp3s, but how do I get them on there? I bet it's really complicated! Nope, just plug in the Garmin via USB into your computer (cable included), and it just shows up as another drive! Don't accidentally delete the operating files, but you can drag and drop your media on the ample 2 gigs of spare storage space.
Routing can get a bit tricky, since there's only one waypoint you can add, and city navigation seems to be fairly flawed. I like near DC, and this thing sends me straight through the city to avoid highway traffic! So in metropolitan areas, be prepared for some surprises, although you'll always get where you want to go... eventually.
You can customize your device with different voices and a different vehicle icon. I'm driving around as a Chipotle burrito with Frankenstein voices, both of which were found for free in the Garmin Garage here: http://www8.garmin.com/vehicles/
You're guaranteed a map update up to 60 days after you first activate your device, along with free firmware updates whenever available. Just make sure you register your device, and then you can get all of the road changes and POI updates entered into your GPS. This handy feature worked like a charm for me, and is found here: https://my.garmin.com/maps/nuMaps.htm. Afterwards, you can pay for different subscription plans to keep your maps updated if you want.
There's a nice new feature that lets you track your environmental impact called ecoroute. It will tell you how much you're spending on gas based on some efficiency parameters you tell it, as well as your driving pattern. This is added to the trip computer, which also shows speed, time, odometer, miles to go, heading, etc. You can select a route that is more efficient, to reduce your carbon footprint, and you can score your driving based on efficiency parameters to challenge yourself to be a more green driver. Now THAT is forward-thinking.
The device works well untethered - battery lasts up to 3 hours, only weighs 6.5 ounces (less than half a pound), and has a great feature called 'where am I' that lets you mark where your car was, and then helps you find it again if you lose it in a parking lot.
The FM modulator doesn't have the best clarity, but it does work. You have to turn your car stereo way up to use it. The 765T does have a headphone jack, though, so if your stereo has an auxiliary input, you're set! No need for a radio, CD player, or Bluetooth earpiece any more - what a cool multipurpose device.
What I like
The device has great features, and it works reliably and starts up quickly. It helps me brace for traffic on routes I can't avoid. It allows me to get rid of a few old technologies like CDs and my Bluetooth headset. It helps me be more eco-conscious because I can see just how much gas I'm wasting to drive to the movies, which is sometimes a surprisingly high cost. The speed limit is also stored in the road info, so you can almost drive without looking out the window. It can help me find almost any store I need, and helps me find gas when I need it, without getting too far off my path. The lane assist feature eliminates all confusion with highway exits, and gets me where I need to be on time, almost every time.
What I dislike
I say ALMOST every time because of a few things. I always have to have a few gripes and warnings.
First, the accuracy on this device (like every commercial GPS) is only good down to maybe 10 meters. That's not too good if you're on an express lane next to a local lane, and don't know which one you're supposed to be on.
Also, the lane assist doesn't do a great job of alerting you to what's happening next. If you're paying really close attention, it will tell you to exit, and then stay in the right lane, but it won't tell you why. On complex highways, exits followed by more quick changes sneak up on me sometimes, especially on the cobweb of bizarre exits around Arlington.
The big problem I have is with city navigation. I can't believe the device sends me through the heart of DC instead of around the beltway, and I would imagine this is similar in other cities. So with all of the nice bells and whistles, I guess sometimes Garmin misses the whole point of a GPS - getting you where you need to go in a non-stupid way.
Honestly, the menus need some work. If I want to change my routing preferences to avoid a toll road, or to make a u-turn, I have to hit like 10 buttons, and then I have to hit them all again to get back to the map! This is a blatant violation of their safety guidelines, and since I do it anyway, it's just plain irritating. Sometimes the device hangs for a second and I end up hitting the wrong button, but this is a minor problem. Still, for a device that's just one big touch screen, with the only hard button being for power, this thing works really well.
The Bluetooth is a bit spotty. Don't think this is the most perfect thing ever. I like it, I make calls from it, and it's a great convenience. But sometimes people on the other end are unsatisfied.
Overall
Okay, long review, but it's a product loaded with features. In all honesty, I love this device. It's got tons of extras, and streamlines my driving and navigation. It helps me easily find and contact people and places, cut down on fuel waste, avoid traffic, and listen to music while navigating. It's truly hands-free and usually sight-free, because it speaks to me and I don't have to take my eyes off the road. But if I do, it's full of great info, like my current speed, miles remaining, even the posted speed limit! Compared to both my last GPS solution and previous (and even newer) Garmin units, I think this one is currently the best one out there for the money, if not the best one available period.
