Sunday 14 June 2015

The Best Garmin zumo 660 4.3" Motorbike Sat Nav with UK and Full Europe Maps and Bluetooth (discontinued by manufacturer)

Review and Buying Guide of The Best Garmin zumo 660 4.3

Very long time period evaluate. 660 vs tomtom. I have now experienced the 660 for 3yrs which changed a tomtom that i also experienced for 3yrs. Employed extensively in both of those equally in uk and europe and i nonetheless imagine that the tom tom is far exceptional at directing and getting you to your vacation spot. Garmin:+ superb mount on bicycle and in car. + sturdy+ expandable memory up to 16gb+ great pairing with bluetooth headset.

(sena)+ life span map updates+ polite guidance line+ its a garmin. Its the most effective?. . I will not feel so- garmin mapping/directions are weak when compared with tom tom or google- lousy mapping-whites out at moments. - navigates by road title in desire to highway amount. Pretty perplexing at times.

Good sat nav for bike and motor vehicle. Purchased this right after my trusty garmin quest failed following five a long time of assistance. This is the third garmin i've owned and i've always prefered them to tomtom. The device is really uncomplicated to use - much more intuitive than the quest and the mapping computer software for the laptop is simple and - crucially for me - enables you to prepare a custom route e. Away from motorways, having in very good biking roads, etc - before you established off and then downloading to the garmin. Shame garmin do not assistance this attribute on many of their vehicle only models. Monitor is crystal clear and can screen in either bird's eye (3d) or approach (2nd). The unit has 'lane assist' which is handy for motorways and also has secondary screens that you can toggle to, showing common velocity, altitude, time to place, compass bearing, route instructions, and so forth. Contact monitor is effective well and has been created for left hand operation, with a glove on - vital for a bicycle.

The unit picks up satellite reception rapidly - i've had reception indoors, which the previous quest device could not deal with - tracks properly and alerts in a lot of time for turns, junctions and velocity cameras. It also has a discreet pace restrict warning - it displays your pace in the bottom right corner of the display and puts a purple border around this if you happen to be heading higher than the limit. Its not much too intrusive. I go through on other reviews about difficulties with pois currently being displayed all the time - i assume this might be solved by the hottest firmware, 'cos it can be not a trouble i have experienced. I have only a few of niggles with the device:i personally uncovered the automobile zoom characteristic a distraction and have turned it off - i like to continue to keep the maps at a frequent scale on the display screen.

Pros

  • Worth Every Penny
  • Excellent kit, altho a bit pricey
  • Long term review.660 vs tomtom
  • Great sat nav for bike and car
  • Top of the range
  • A very nice package.

Cons

  • Sold as 'New' but was really 18 months old
  • Zumo 660 - Great product, poor routing
  • Very dissapointed.
  • Unusable with Bluetooth Headset
  • Misleading Garmin Web sales data
  • avoid this navigation

Negative Review of Garmin zumo 660 4.3" Motorbike Sat Nav with UK and Full Europe Maps and Bluetooth (discontinued by manufacturer)

Very dissapointed. . How dissapointed was i?. I spent over £400 updating my bike satnav only to sell it again within a fortnight. I previously had a tom tom rider 1, which developed the connection problem with the mount. So as my friends all had zumo's i ordered this.

Having fitted it all up off i go. I was using it on roads i know to find an address i didn't know and i had a road closure on the way so had to divert. Even from my house it was taking me on strange routes. ( yes i had programmed it all to choose fastest etc etc. ) even compared to the rider 1 the display although much bigger was no where near as clear.

Features of Garmin zumo 660 4.3" Motorbike Sat Nav with UK and Full Europe Maps and Bluetooth (discontinued by manufacturer)

  • Advanced 3-D navigation
  • Lane assist with junction view
  • Bluetooth wireless technology
  • High-resolution, glove-friendly 4.3" touchscreen display
  • Rugged, waterproof design

Garmin is happy to announce a addition to the zūmo relatives, the zūmo 660 GPS bike navigator. It options three-D properties, lane guide with junction view and a 4.3" daylight-readable, glove-friendly touchscreen display screen. Both of those a motorbike mount with components and an automotive mount are provided, so your zūmo is completely ready to navigate proper out of the box no subject how quite a few wheels it has below it.
The zūmo 660 provides full coverage mapping for Europe. The preloaded map facts functions one.two million points of interest, like resorts, dining establishments, petrol stations, ATMs and points of interest. The map facts is supplied by NAVTEQ, a entire world chief in high quality-high quality mapping.

Quite Good.. Sat nav on a bicycle? who'd a thunk it. I came to garmin from numerous several years with tomtom. Let me just say that i imagine the tomtom display is amazing, but getting examine about numerous troubles with the rider two, i went for the zumo. Installation: piece of cake. I have a bmw r1200gs, acquired the formal bmw canbus plug, soldered it to the naked wires on the provided bicycle mount, plugged it in to the supplied socked below the headstock, and instantaneously had a doing work, smart electrical offer to the device. The ram mount connected pretty merely, and, to date, has been rock strong (though do make absolutely sure the device is the right way seated and clicked in, or it could bounce out. Bluetooth: are unable to really remark as i don't habitually use bluetooth (i use a schuberth c3 and scala rider and so on are incompatible as the mic booms are as well brief and the bluetooth 'pod' mount then fouls the sun visor mechanism - there is, i fully grasp, a lengthier mic increase available from scala, but frankly, life's too short). Labored okay with my nokia n95 8gb when i tested it in the household, but haven't utilized it 'in anger' though. Cabling: i routed the cables beneath the gas tank, and tucked the 3 sockets (audio, mic and usb (for the targeted traffic receiver)) less than the seat the place i could get at them when needed. Use: so much, great. The menu takes a little bit of receiving used to (don't forget i've been spoilt by tomtom for years), but is intuitive. Routes are uncomplicated to set up, both on the device and on the pc completely ready for uploading. The sun can be a bit of a trouble, specially when it shines specifically on the screen. The unit is (allegedly) non reflective, but washes out in brilliant sunlight even on utmost brightness. The voice commands are machine created and take a little bit of getting utilised to, but commonly are instructive and correct. The mp3 player is a helpful addition, and my unit at present has an 8gb sandisk extremely micro sd card with plenty of tunes on. The unit is also compatible with audible audiobooks if you sense the need. Grasp quantity is significantly superior afer the previous firmware upgrade (jan 09), and i use an utterly bathroom normal pair of helmet telephones i bought off ebay. Navigation is as seamless as it can be, and normally exact. I have found that i have from time to time desired to search at the proposed route, and occasionally use waypoints to get the route i needed - but then which is a foible of all satnav. The superior point about this unit is that it makes it possible for you to do that easily. It's water-proof - i went by means of a cloudburst in france. I resembled a drowned rat, as did my baggage, but the garmin was fantastic. Website traffic: linked to the gtm12 fm website traffic observe, targeted traffic updates are commonly ok (i routed the cable all around the frame and secured it with cable ties, despite the fact that be warned they're extra erratic using the monitor mounted in the auto). Have to say i do not use them a enormous sum while on the bicycle, but they're valuable in the motor vehicle. Updating: quite uncomplicated by means of my. Garmin. Com. You will have to download and set up a plug-in for your browser for the device to be 'seen' by the web site. I use firefox and chrome and have experienced no difficulties in vista. The map updates are additional challenging nevertheless. You get just one cost-free update with the device so that you get started with the most up-to-date map. You will need to link your device and download an completely massive file - 2gb+. Instructions say you will will need 13gb totally free difficult generate house - this is totally critical as the computer system will then 'unpack' the file in advance of it processes it and uploads it to the device. At the time you've downloaded the huge file from garmin (which can get hours and hours - be warned), and you simply click to open up it, really don't be astonished if you have to hold out in surplus of 20 minutes just before anything at all transpires - it is really the indigestion established by the laptop examining the substantial file. In vista you can flip off the safety options which speeds things up considerably. Just make absolutely sure you do not unplug the unit at any position, or you'll have an high-priced paperweight. I allow for a good couple of hours for updating the map (which is the 'all europe' a person) immediately after downloading the file from garmin. Total: i like it. A good deal. Just try to remember to just take it with you when you are on the bike and cease to gasoline up!edit : eight jan 2011. Possessing lived with the device and employed it intensely for a 12 months i am still quite impressed. Garmin have revised the update technique, employing an solely net-driven interface, so no much more downloading enormous data files and hoping to open up them. That explained, i still consider to preserve a healthier house on the computer system when i do the update. I purchased the 'lifetime' maps for the zumo, which give me updates quarterly. There have been some concern with firmware updates in 2010, that created the unit unstable and most likely to abruptly flip alone off. I found a option was to take out the sd card ahead of undertaking the update. Since the final update (to four. ) points have bought much better. I also use the bluetooth now. I really don't want to acquire calls when i'm using, so do not use a headset, but use a low-priced bluetooth device for music i acquired from ebay. This allows me listen to the route recommendations and mp3s with no acquiring trailing wires. The draw back becoming the bluetooth device is battery operated so i need to have to carry a charger. All in all, a very good package and a wonderful unit that (so significantly) has been trustworthy other than a handful of slight firmware induced glitches. .

Extensive Time period Assessment.660 Vs Tomtom. I have now experienced the 660 for 3yrs which changed a tomtom that i also experienced for 3yrs. Applied thoroughly in both of those equally in uk and europe and i continue to assume that the tom tom is far excellent at directing and obtaining you to your destination. Garmin:+ outstanding mount on bicycle and in automobile. + robust+ expandable memory up to 16gb+ excellent pairing with bluetooth headset. (sena)+ life time map updates+ well mannered support line+ its a garmin. Its the best?. . I you should not imagine so!- garmin mapping/directions are very poor when when compared with tom tom or google- weak mapping-whites out at occasions. - navigates by street title in preference to street range. Pretty bewildering at moments. You may well be informed to 'turn ideal on church rd' only to uncover it is a continuation of the principal highway you are already on!- navigating out of towns by utilizing street names and not on the floor signage. - out-of-date maps (even with life span maps) like wrong velocity limits, really rudimentary display screen. - spoken guidance occasionally late and deficiency state-of-the-art info. - maps can be quite cluttered. - terrible illogical internet web-site and interface (nonetheless a new just one has just been released)- expensive- assist will not feel to be bothered about fundamental map programming challenges. - its a garmin. . Is it the very best?. . I however never assume so!tom tom+ excellent very clear mapping. + navigates by highway range 1st and then highway title. + sensible routing instructions out of metropolitan areas. + great bluetooth. + exceptional insightful and properly timed spoken recommendations. + very good shopper assistance. - not so robust- unique bike mount weak (aftermarket ram mount purchased - quite very good)- 4hr map updates above internet. * the garmin is plainly a us biased machine while the tomtom is european. * the tomtom therefore makes use of routing that is highway range and desired destination/future town based fairly than just giving you the future street title as on the garmin. Even with aid expressing this was going to be resolved in excess of a year back very little appears to have been accomplished. (you do from time to time get a road variety to aid you but this is generally only on the significant trunk routes and you generally know wherever you happen to be going in any case!).

Fantastic Sat Nav For Bike and Automobile. Bought this just after my trusty garmin quest unsuccessful following five a long time of provider. This is the 3rd garmin i have owned and i've generally preferedthem to tomtom. The unit is really straightforward to use - far much more intuitive than the quest and the mapping computer software for the computer system is straightforward and - crucially for me - makes it possible for you to prepare a custom route e. G. Absent from motorways, using in great biking roadways, and so forth - right before you set off and then downloading to the garmin. Disgrace garmin really don't support this aspect on many of their car only units. Screen is apparent and can screen in either bird's eye (3d) or prepare (2d). The device has 'lane assist' which is helpful for motorways and also has secondary screens that you can toggle to, displaying typical velocity, altitude, time to place, compass bearing, route guidelines, etc. Touch display screen performs properly and has been created for left hand procedure, with a glove on - important for a bicycle. The device picks up satellite reception quickly - i've experienced reception indoors, which the aged quest unit could not handle - tracks properly and alerts in lots of time for turns, junctions and pace cameras. It also has a discreet speed restrict warning - it displays your pace in the base suitable corner of the monitor and places a red border all-around this if you might be heading previously mentioned the limit. Its not much too intrusive. I read on other assessments about troubles with pois becoming exhibited all the time - i imagine this could possibly be solved by the most up-to-date firmware, 'cos it is not a problem i have knowledgeable. I have only a pair of niggles with the device:i personally observed the vehicle zoom aspect a distraction and have turned it off - i like to maintain the maps at a continual scale on the show. Its weatherproof for use on the bicycle (excellent), but this implies that when not in the cradle, all the connectors and the sd slot are accessed by getting rid of the battery. Observed this inconvenient - charging from the usb on my computer or connecting to the pc for facts transfer entails taking the battery go over off to obtain the usb socket. There is a usb on the exterior of the case, but this is for use with the bicycle cradle only. Unit is not going to demand or transfer data on this. Once you have transferred knowledge, you have to disconnect the usb to substitute the battery cover, to examine if the data transfer has worked thoroughly. A headache, and offered that they managed to put weatherproof external connections on my old quest, thought they could have done improved in this article. Contact monitor drains the battery. My quest - button operated - would operate for about twelve several hours on a demand, but the zumo seriously does want to be wired to the bicycle - you are unable to simply just experience and recharge at the stop of the working day. Were being it not for these issues, i might have rated it 5*these are not major difficulties, the unit is nicely built, will come with every little thing you want for automobile and bike and its crystal clear from expending some time with it that 'real' bikers have had a lot of enter into the layout. .

Budget  Garmin zumo 660 4

Product Info

  • Product Dimensions: 2.3 x 13.5 x 8.4 cm ; 272 g
  • Boxed-product Weight: 1.6 Kg
  • Batteries 1 Lithium ion batteries required.
  • Item model number: 010-00727-01
  • ASIN: B001PKTBR2

Conclusion of Garmin zumo 660 4

I agonized for numerous weeks over this acquire and regarded the relative deserves of the garmin zumo 660 vs the tom tom rider v2. The major purpose i made a decision on the garmin was for the reason that i desired to prepare my bike rides on the pc and then add them into my sat nav. This unit also arrives with a car mounting package and the garmin recognises regardless of whether it is in the auto or on my bicycle (with various routing preferences quickly picked with possibly cradle). The package arrives with two mounting kits - just one for motorcycles and one for automobile use. Both equally use the ram mount (ball and socket kind) method and with regard to bike use, arrives with a sort of common mounting package which can both clamp direct to your brake or clutch lever mount bracket, or through an bundled u bolt all over the handlebars or other suited place.

The adjustable cradle properties the vital wiring loom which is prolonged sufficient to route to most battery spots, but personally, because i have a lot more than 1 bicycle, i have picked out to healthy a 12v cigar plug so i can transfer the device between bikes. The other mount possibility is a car or truck cradle that uses a suction cup for the windscreen, once again with a acceptable wiring loom that is pre-fitted with a 12v plug as typical, so also simple to transfer in between cars and trucks. Apparently enough, the zumo understands which cradle is in use and improvements the little icon between automobile and bike as essential - an even nicer contact is that these icons can be altered for distinctive kinds that can be downloaded free from garmins website. The zumo has a created in battery pack and should really give all over 4-5 hrs use on its individual which indicates the unit can also be used although walking or biking if thats what takes your extravagant. The garmin 'gui' is quite similar to thier handheld models (etrex) and so working with it straight from the box was extremely straightforward without having having to vacation resort to the guide (involved on the map program dvd).

This also means that any tracks or waypoints established by an etrex (potentially other models as well?) can be simply transferred into the zumo to help later on navigations to old haunts. Car or truck use is straight ahead just like any other sat nav unit, but motorcycle use is enhanced by the point that the bike wiring loom also is made up of extra prospects so that you can join headphones to pay attention to the directions while putting on a crash helmet and also a guide for a microphone as the device can also be utilised with bluetooth(tm) phones to make and recieve calls although on the transfer. Btw, the zumo also acts as a bluetooth handsfree cell phone package when in automobile method. A further pleasant aspect, esp for motorbike use, is that microsd playing cards can be applied with the zumo and crammed with your favorite mp3 tracks which the zumo will enjoy as you experience along. Maps look rather good so far with cost-free 60 day updates, and address most european international locations, altho i only intend to use mine for uk use so not concerned about the extras at the second.

The supplemental computer software dvd is also wonderful and fairly effortless to use and makes it possible for you to pre-strategy a route and when satisfied, you can down load this immediate to the zumo through the provided usb guide and its prepared for your subsequent trip out. Defintely, but then i love all my gps models anywaywould i advise this device to any 1?. Again, yes, altho cant truly protect its superior rate in contrast with equivalent automobile only units. I have a bmw r1200gs, acquired the formal bmw canbus plug, soldered it to the bare wires on the supplied bicycle mount, plugged it in to the provided socked beneath the headstock, and promptly had a operating, intelligent electrical offer to the unit. The ram mount hooked up pretty simply just, and, to date, has been rock strong (despite the fact that do make certain the device is effectively seated and clicked in, or it may possibly jump out.

Routes are quick to established up, both of those on the unit and on the laptop completely ready for uploading. I have found that i have in some cases needed to look at the proposed route, and at times use waypoints to get the route i preferred - but then which is a foible of all satnav. Site visitors: linked to the gtm12 fm site visitors watch, traffic updates are typically alright (i routed the cable all around the body and secured it with cable ties, whilst be warned they're a lot more erratic employing the watch mounted in the automobile). Have to say i will not use them a enormous quantity even though on the bicycle, but they're handy in the car. You will have to download and put in a plug-in for your browser for the device to be 'seen' by the website.

The map updates are much more challenging on the other hand. You get one particular totally free update with the device so that you start with the most recent map. You will want to connect your unit and down load an completely huge file - 2gb+. Once you've downloaded the huge file from garmin (which can take hours and hours - be warned), and you click on to open it, will not be stunned if you have to wait around in excess of twenty minutes just before nearly anything takes place - it can be the indigestion designed by the computer system examining the large file. I allow for a very good pair of hrs for updating the map (which is the 'all europe' just one) following downloading the file from garmin.

Garmin have revised the update treatment, working with an totally world-wide-web-pushed interface, so no a lot more downloading big data files and making an attempt to open them. I purchased the 'lifetime' maps for the zumo, which give me updates quarterly. There were some issue with firmware updates in 2010, that produced the device unstable and very likely to quickly convert alone off. Garmin:+ outstanding mount on bike and in car or truck. (sena)+ life time map updates+ polite aid line+ its a garmin.

I you should not feel so- garmin mapping/directions are lousy when when compared with tom tom or google- weak mapping-whites out at situations. - outdated maps (even with life span maps) such as improper velocity limitations, incredibly rudimentary show. I continue to really don't consider sotom tom+ outstanding apparent mapping. - not so robust- initial bicycle mount poor (aftermarket ram mount ordered - pretty very good)- 4hr map updates about online. * the tomtom consequently takes advantage of routing that is road quantity and vacation spot/future city based mostly somewhat than just supplying you the following road title as on the garmin.

(you do sometimes get a road number to help you but this is normally only on the major trunk routes and you normally know exactly where you are heading in any case). Bought this after my trusty garmin quest failed just after five many years of company. The unit is incredibly simple to use - far more intuitive than the quest and the mapping computer software for the laptop is simple and - crucially for me - lets you to system a tailor made route e. Away from motorways, getting in excellent biking roadways, etc - right before you set off and then downloading to the garmin. Disgrace garmin never support this feature on several of their vehicle only units. The device has 'lane assist' which is handy for motorways and also has secondary screens that you can toggle to, demonstrating normal pace, altitude, time to place, compass bearing, route recommendations, etc.

Contact display screen performs properly and has been designed for left hand procedure, with a glove on - essential for a bicycle. The unit picks up satellite reception rapidly - i have had reception indoors, which the old quest device couldn't regulate - tracks precisely and alerts in loads of time for turns, junctions and speed cameras. It also has a discreet pace restrict warning - it demonstrates your pace in the bottom ideal corner of the screen and places a red border close to this if you're going earlier mentioned the limit. My quest - button operated - would run for about twelve several hours on a demand, but the zumo seriously does need to have to be wired to the bike - you cannot simply just experience and recharge at the finish of the working day. Have been it not for these difficulties, i'd have rated it five*these are not huge concerns, the unit is well produced, will come with almost everything you need to have for car and bike and its clear from paying out some time with it that 'real' bikers have experienced a large amount of input into the style and design.

Zumo 660. The device came with all the fittings/cables i needed, and was easy to instal. It is all really rugged feeling. It is fairly easy to get started with the navigation. It calculates quickly, and re-calculates quickly, although it occasionally freezes up when i go off route. Where it falls down is in the pathetic instructions. I downloaded the full set and they are better but could be more intuitive/detailed (but who reads them!!!). I'm getting better with practise. The camera warnings, and speed limit warnings are useful, although i can't read what it says on the screen (probably common to other makes). The petrol station locator has helped me. The lane advice is very useful. The map is not wholly accurate and sometimes goes the wrong way, but i haven't downloaded my free update yet. It's done all it said it would, and all i want it to do. It's resisted the rain and vibration on my bike. I'm pleased with it. .

Obsolete. I have bought this navigator for my euro-roadtrip, riding from london to athens and back. Below you will find my short summary of strengths and weaknesses of this device as well as a short commentary on my experience with it overall. Used it with a scala rider g4. The good:1. Excellent build quality - solid, waterproof, convenient size2. Good touch screen sensitivity - really is glove friendly, at least with thin leather gloves3. Excellent for mobile phone use - great way to control your mobile phone on the move. Easy to answer calls, easy to dial calls without having to take the gloves off. 4. Easy to install on a bike5. Speed cam alert is handy and works well6. Takes you where you need to gothe bad:1. Extremely difficult to plan route on the move - although there are all sorts of search functions, there is no convenient way to look at the whole route to see what towns, etc you are passing along the way as the map is too schematic. 2. Hardware is slow - as soon as you miss a turn you are lost, as the device seemed unable to both recalculate and display a current map at the same time, which makes it impossible to figure out your own solution to that wrong turn before zumo comes up with something itself. 3. Poi alert only works for cameras. Very difficult to plan fuelling stops4. Click in mounting system is unreliable - there is no distinct click, leaving you open to a risk of not fully securing it on the mount. Which was the end of my zumo 660 as it fell off on a highway near marseille5. Music player was disappointing. Somehow, sound quality was much better when streaming music from my blackberry6. Voice guidance is redundant at all but very low speeds, both due to noise and inaccuracy of positioning. I soon got used to just using the voice as a que to check the screen as see where i am going next. 7. Slooooooow. Impossible to use the device for driving by map rather than by instructons (withouth a pre set route the navigator is simply not fast enough to upload relevant map sections as you drive through a city, so most of the time you see a rider icon on a blank background)overall my experience with the 660 was frustrating, mostly due to the fact that being a long time user of old-school paper maps, later replaced by google, i was simply not ready to the lack of detail and the "all you need to know is where to turn" philosophy of this navigator. To make it work for me, garmin has to do the following1. Use adequate hardware - i want the map to be always on the screen, not taking 2 minutes to load each time i decide to take a detour or miss a turn2. Change map design. Google has done it best, but there are a bunch of other electronic maps that achieve the right balance of info vs. Usability. I want to be able to see the map with all the roads and street names at my fingertips. 3. Put in some 3g or tethering functionality - the device should be able to load up a local search service4. Add a few extra features to address the music quality, poi warnings, etc. .

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