The best, most practical GPS money can buy!
Written: Aug 16 '03 (Updated Aug 23 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: AutoRouting, Victorinox-like build quality!, High Res display, Quad-helix antenna
Cons: Map data is a good 3-5 years out of date.
The Bottom Line: Shop no further! This is the one to get.
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| hc_ca's Full Review: Garmin GPS V GPS Receiver |
This would be the 4th Garmin GPS I've owned, the previous ones being: eTrex Venture, eMap, III Plus, and eTrex Legend. Of all the GPS's I've owned, this is by far the best one! Not because of the price however... The quality of the unit, with the durable scratch-resistant plastic casing, precise high quality rubber keys, and smooth retracting antenna makes operating the V enjoyable.
The GPS V comes standard with a high resoltion screen which is very easy to read. There is a 500 waypoint storage capacity along with 10,000 point track log memory. Essentially, the V is just an evolution of the GPS III+. It is built off of the same chassis, but has improved display, circuitry, and memory capacity. 19mb to be exact.
The first thing you notice about the V when starting it up, is how simple it is to operate. Everything is straightforward, with simple menus and a small amount of easy to understand buttons. However, the true power behind the V is the fact that it can also be very customizable for techno geeks like myself, who don't just want to get from point A to B. The map page, along with the navigation page information fields can all be changed to over 20 different readings.
If you have ever owned another GPS before, you will notice right away how FAST and accurate the new V is!! I got the thing initialized in less than 30 seconds from the factory. This is something most GPS's take 5 minutes to do. On top of the speed issue is the accuracy. WITHOUT WAAS enabled, I can get 13 feet accuracy most of the time. Thats incredible.
Now for the best part of the GPS V.... Auto-routing! I had no idea how helpful, and fun this feature is! It gives YOU the true power of a professional street navigation system that fits into the palm of your hand, for a lot less than $500. All you have to do is tell the GPS where to go and it automatically calculates a road route for you with full detailed turn-by-turn instructions. You have the choice of choosing: street addresses, cities, points of interest (i.e. gas stations, shopping malls, etc.), interstate exits, personal waypoints, and more. Once you select a destination, the V asks you how you would like to get there. A menu window pops up with the options: Faster Route, Shorter Route, or Off-Road. Selecting Faster route utilizes faster roads (i.e. interstates) to get you to your destination faster. Selecting shorter route calculates road directions "as the crow flies". Lastly, Off-road option is for a straight line course to your destination. Useful for Geocaching and such...
Thats not all though! Perhaps the coolest of the coolest feature is that the GPS automatically recalculates when you take a wrong turn, and offers detour routes for you at the push of a button. Lets say you take a wrong turn on the course by accident. In less than 10 seconds most of the time, it will recalculate a new route for you mindful of the road you are now on. It's a very nice feature, and also highly accurate! Now, lets say you are travelling somewhere and.... oh no!, the dreaded road construction flagger. No big deal, just goto the route page, open the menu and select "DETOUR". The GPS then asks you how much of a detour you want to make. Select a distance and it automatically calculates a new route around the contruction area by finding alternate roads. Again, another very cool and highly accurate feature.
How does the auto-routing system work while driving? While navigating, there is a text strip at the top of the map window that tells you information about the next turn you must make. For instance "HWY 89 to Leeville Rd." or something like that. As you get closer to the turn, the GPS first gives you an audible and visual warning that the turn is coming up in a certain distance. Once you get even closer, the GPS beeps at you and shows you a detailed picture of how the turn looks and how far it is away. Just follow the directions, and the process begins all over again.
What else does the V offer? The V comes with an active track log recorder which means it plots your path while travelling (if you want it to) and you can use the path to navigate back where you started. This feature is called "TracBack". Pretty simple and effective.
There is also a fishing calculator, sunrise/sunset information page with detailed diagrams of the actually sun and moon, calendar, gas mileage calculator, and even some games to play. There are even anchor drag and proximity alarms for boaters available to be set and turned on.
When you order the GPS V Deluxe package, you will also get a nice dash mount kit, 12-volt adapter for the car, and also a Mapsource Citypoint CD with downloadable detailed maps for your V. These downloadable maps are what give you the ability to look up addresses, and find points of interest etc. It also gives you the ability to see small urban roads and side streets. The Citypoint cd is also fully unlocked, so you won't have to buy different regions anymore.
All in all, this GPS is perfect IMO! I can't find anything that stands out to be improved. Perhaps maybe more memory in the future, but as of right now, 19 mb seems to be enough for normal use. Battery life is decent with 25 hours on battery saver mode, and accuracy is outstanding.
Good job Garmin, keep up the good work!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
hc_ca
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Location: Lake Tahoe, CA
Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 0 members
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