Which Sat Nav

[O.C.]

And before ya say owt George I know you don't approve 

I've  decided that I fancy changing my Tom Tom Sat Navand am considering the Garmin Zumo 660

What experinece/advice has anyone on here got that might help the decision making process.......... all help greatfully received 

I'll be using the device in the U.K and on the continent

[routemaster]

Hi

I recently upgraded from the 550 to the 660. Both are very good sat navs but I would say the 660 has the edge on the 550. The screen is bigger and better, facilities like lane assist plus at some junctions it will show you a picture of junction and which visually show which lane to take (came in very handy on complex motorway junctions in Europe) are very handy.

I don't listen to the voice directions so can't commen on those but general navigation for motorbikes is very good. I like hat you can add a micro sd card for things like music and the bluetooth connection/quality is pretty good. The only dislike is having to take rear cover off to connect it to the PC but that just a minor niggle.

The PC software Basecamp, which replaces Mapsource, is very good but it took me a long time to learn how to get the best out of it in route planning - I have over 600 routes. For straight forward use it is easy to use plus you can tailor the motorcycle profile to suit your individual preferences.

I like it and would recommend it for consideration.

If you are an IAM member you can get 20% discount from Garmin, which makes it cheaper to buy than say Halfords.

Hope that helps

Steve

[viper]

ive had the zumo 550 for a few years and always been very happy with it, id never have a tom tom only because i like my zumo so much. Im sure the 660 is better with the bigger screen but the 550 represents much better value for money being the older model. I never use the voice commands , just have it on a high mount so i can easily glance at it

[Kevin]

What do you want to use it for? Just navigation or do you want to listen to music from the SatNav as welll? There are cheaper Garmin options if you want simple navigation, the Zumo 220 for example and they are bringing out the 350LM later in the year.

We listen to music and run both a 550 and a 660. The 550 is easier to see in bright sunlight but the 1000 track limitation of the MP3 player, limited memory and smaller screen of the 550 give the 660 the edge IMO.

The fact that both allow routes to be preplanned on the PC using Garmin software is what pushed me towards Garmin in the first place rather than TomTom. Having said that I can't agree with Routemaster's assessment of Basecamp which I think is pretty appalling (the software, not Routemaster's assessment!). It has grown out of hiking software and is not as usable for route planning as Mapsource - the Find feature is primitive (even compared to Mapsource) and it won't do post codes. Fortunately Mapsource still works and I'm sure they'll get Basecamp sorted out in the end.

Kevin

[Mogster]

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!  which is to dsay the 660 is a great unit, the only time it gets lost when the roads sometimes don't match the map and of course the idiot who puts the routes in..   

[Barry7]

I am very happy with the Zumo 220, it replaced my good old Quest that died after many years of hard use.

[O.C.]

Thanks for the replies 

I will be using the unit for navigation but would also like the facility of MP3.

I haven't decided as yet, but and favouring the Zumo 660 as it seems to offer the most suitable features for my needs.

[Rusty]

+1 with Routemaster ... got my 660 last year and am very pleased with it .. no music on it yet ... keep meaning to get it sorted ! Quality bit of kit .. mess around with map source and make up your own routes etc .. lots of demos on You Tube which you may find useful ...  have used it in the car too.. nice big screen easy to operate and find your way around ! Thoroughly recommended by me !!

[BigAlan]

Tom Tom Urban Rider Europe was my choice, so far so good, links in with my autocom a treat.

Alan

[Hans]

Tom Tom Urban Rider Europe was my choice, so far so good, links in with my autocom a treat.

Alan

Half the price - twice as fast..... +4 time more pretty!   

[frenchbiker]

Thumbs up for the 660, if you get into the custom route planning and creating waypoints directly on the map, a great edge. Also with the SD card you can get a lot of extras such as restaurants maps, city guides and so forth...blue tooth works well but will drain the battery very quickly on your helmet com.

[O.C.]

A pal of mine has just bought a Zumo 660, he's been using TomTom for a few years. Prior to which he had an earlier model Zumo

He rang tonight saying that the volume on his new Zumo is very poor and only about half as good as his current Tom Tom... he's tried it hardwired and Bluetooth, strangely the bluetooth option is slightly better..he uses an Autocom comms set up

Have any of you Zumo users experienced problems with low volume on your device ?

[routemaster]

No not had any problems with volume control - my 660 is connected to a Scala G4 unit.  Just on the odd occassion the bluetooth connection will drop out and I think that is the G4 issue rather than the 660.

Kind regards

Steve

[Kevin]

A pal of mine has just bought a Zumo 660, he's been using TomTom for a few years. Prior to which he had an earlier model Zumo

He rang tonight saying that the volume on his new Zumo is very poor and only about half as good as his current Tom Tom... he's tried it hardwired and Bluetooth, strangely the bluetooth option is slightly better..he uses an Autocom comms set up

Have any of you Zumo users experienced problems with low volume on your device ?

Which interface lead is he using? The later lead  Part number 4066 - is much better from a volume perspective. The page I linked to says Bluetooth will be louder but ours is wired and we have the volume on the 660 at about 80% which is quite audible but we do use in-ear monitors.

Kevin

[O.C.]

Which interface lead is he using? The later lead  Part number 4066 - is much better from a volume perspective. The page I linked to says Bluetooth will be louder but ours is wired and we have the volume on the 660 at about 80% which is quite audible but we do use in-ear monitors.

Kevin

Thanks Kevin.....I'm not sure of the part numbers in question, he rides a GS, he did say that the lead he's using has a suppressor or filter and that may be the cause of the problem

He too uses moulded ear noise defenders but has had no problems at all with hearing the Tom Tom, Apparently he reckons that some concerns have been expressed about low sound levels on the Garmin forum