GPSTrends.com

2 Comments Written by Kate on October 23, 2008 – 7:03 pm

The most recently released Garmin Nuvi 880 has innovative features similar to the 850 and 780 models, and is known as the best GPS to use for speech recognition.

Features

Our favorite features are the ‘Speak Commands’ and ‘Where Am I’ features. The ‘Speak Commands’ feature can make driving with a GPS a lot safer. If you need to re-route to a new destination, avoid a toll road, or if you just don’t have time to program your destination before you start driving, you can tell the Nuvi 880 where you want to go (simply by talking) and tada! A route to your destination appears. No more trying to look at the GPS and use the touch screen while driving.

Our other favorite addition to the Garmin Nuvi 880 is the ‘Where Am I’ feature. If you’re like us and tend to lose your car in big parking lots (such as at the grocery store, the mall, movie theater, and especially at theme parks), then you’ll love this new addition to the Nuvi 880. Now you can take the Garmin Nuvi 880 off of the windshield mount, and it will record your location. So, after a hot date, you won’t have to spoil your ego anymore by walking around the parking lot wondering where your car is. This is actually a great feature for a rental car when folks forget which car is theirs and when they are in an unfamiliar place…we see lots of potential here.

Other than our personal favorite features, the Nuvi880 has a lot more going for it which keeps Garmin above its competition. One feature is the Hands-Free calling which uses Bluetooth technology. Now when your Mom calls you while you are on the road, the wireless Bluetooth technology will find your cell phone and you can chat through your GPS by using its built-in microphone and speaker.

A brand new feature on the Garmin Nuvi880 is its content from MSNDirect. This is basically the perfect travel companion for your trip with its access to weather conditions, traffic, gas price comparisons, stock prices, news, local events,and movie listings (If you have ever tried to find the latest movies and showtimes while driving then you know it almost never works the way it should). Basically, the Nuvi 880 is your own personal travel agent. Who knew traveling or navigating around town could be so easy?

The Nuvi880 is also a trendsetter in that it can also be a source of entertainment. Remember how the cell phone became a camera, video camera, gps, game player, music player, internet browser, planner, and even more? Well, it looks like Garmin is taking the lead in selling a GPS device that is an all encompassing one stop convenient electronic device. On the Garmin Nuvi880, you can listen to audio books, listen to MP3’s, upload and view pictures, convert currency, play games, and set an alarm clock. Additionally the Garmin Nuvi880 has an FM Transmitter that conveniently transfers all audio to your car speakers to make it easier to hear.

Below is a full list of features for the Garmin Nuvi 880:

Features:	Garmin Nuvi 850
Physical Performance
Unit dimensions, WxHxD:	4.9″W x 3.1″H x .7″D (12.5 x 7.8 x 1.8 cm)
Display size, WxH:	3.81″W x 2.25″H (9.7 x 5.7 cm); 4.3″ diag (10.9 cm)
Display resolution, WxH:	480 x 272 pixels
Display type:	WQVGA color TFT with white backlight
Weight:	6.2 ounces (176 g)
Battery:	removable, rechargeable lithium-ion
Battery life:	up to 4 hours
Waterproof:	no
High-sensitivity receiver:	yes
RoHS version available:	yes
Maps & Memory
Basemap:	yes
Preloaded maps:	yes
Ability to add maps:	yes
Accepts data cards:	microSD™ card (not included)
Waypoints/favorites/locations:	500
Features
Voice prompts (e.g. “Turn right in 500 ft.”):	yes (internal dual speakers)
Speaks street names (e.g. “Turn right ON ELM STREET in 500 ft.”) :	yes
Speech recognition (navigate with voice commands):	yes
Lane assist (guides you to the proper lane for navigation):	no
3-D map view:	yes
3-D building view (displays buildings in 3-D):	no
Auto sort multiple destinations (provides most direct route):	yes
Auto re-route (fast off-route and detour recalculation):	yes
Choice of route setup (faster time, shorter distance, off road):	yes
Route avoidance (avoid highways, tolls etc.):	yes
Custom POIs (ability to add additional points of interest):	yes
Hands-free calling with Bluetooth® wireless technology:	no
FM traffic compatible:	yes
MSN® Direct for U.S. compatible:	yes
TomTom Mapshare compatible:	no
Help Me! (find closest hospitals, police & gas stations, nearest address & intersection)	no
Where Am I? (find closest hospitals, police & gas stations, nearest address & intersection):	yes
Garmin Locate™ (marks position when removed from windshield mount):	yes
Photo navigation (navigate to geotagged photos):	yes
MP3 player:	yes
Audio book player:	yes
Picture viewer:	yes
Garmin Garage™ (select car-shaped icons for map navigation):	yes
Current Location Icon Choice	no
World travel clock, currency & unit converter, calculator:	yes
Touchscreen:	yes
Qwerty or ABC keyboard (choose keyboard layout):	yes
Remote control:	yes
FM transmitter:	yes
Headphone jack/audio line-out:	yes
Dead reckoning:	no
Garmin Lock™ (anti-theft feature):	yes
Motorcycle-friendly:	no

What we don’t like about the Nuvi 880

One of the downfalls of this device is the extra price you pay in order to take advantage of the full list of features. The following is a list of prices for the additional services:

• MSNDirect – You get the receiver which gives you the access from your GPS and the first 3 months of the service free. After that you can either pay $129.95 for unlimited use, or you can spend $49.95 a year.

• Garmin Travel Guides – The guides range from $69.95 for all of North America to $160.70 for all of Europe.

• Garmin Games – VIP Game Bundle will cost you $19.95 or you can buy each game separately for $4.99 each.

• microSD memory card will cost you $24.99

When you start getting into the higher priced GPS devices we think it’s annoying to dish out almost $900 and still have to pay for all of the accessories.

What we like about the Nuvi 880

Although the extra features of the Nuvi880 do make it more expensive, the Nuvi880 is an innovative GPS that is unlike any other with not only the number of features but also the quality of each feature. With this GPS, you can ask for directions to a destination by simply speaking out load, find your car in the parking lot, make phone calls without having to touch your phone, listen to text messages, hear live traffic reports, see gas price comparisons, movie listings, play games, and many other options that make the Nuvi 880 a lot more than a global positioning device.