This is the first GPS unit I owned and couldn't be more pleased. After consulting with friends who have owned multiple GPS units and reading various reviews, this is one of the nicest, feature-packed, and most importantly, accurate unit on the market. A useful feature for me is the integrated traffic receiver. Since I couldn't afford to move closer into town, I use the real-time traffic report to avoid heavy traffic jams, accidents, and road constructions. Just this morning, I opted to take a longer route to get to the highway because the street I usually take was under construction. I've driven sparingly on that alternate route for 4 years and never realized there was a small intersecting street in a business district I can cut through to get to the highway more quickly. The Nuvi 660 pointed that out, basically shaving off over a mile in distance, traffic congestion, and plenty of frustration. GPS owners tell me having one will change my life... I'm starting to believe. Its performance and aesthetics is worth the price of this Nuvi. By the way, the unit didn't take my 4-gig SD card, but accepted the 2-gig, and 1-gig SD cards. Maybe Garmin will eventually have updates that will read the 4-gig card.

To clarify on another review: It DOES come with 6 million POIs... for free. It's located under the subcategory of "Where to?" in the "Food, Hotels..." icon.

Update 10/22/06 - Just took this Nuvi on an East Coast trip to Washington, D.C., VA, NJ, PA, NY and its performance exceeded my expectations. It founded just about every addresses and POIs I entered, except for one because the store recently changed its name. Needless to say, I never got lost. Two other people with me had GPS systems, one was a different Garmin model, and the other with a Toyota GPS - hands down the Nuvi 660 outshined them in accuracy and user interface. In one instance, I searched for the nearest Target in Fairfax, VA. Not only it got me there, but told me where to drive around inside the shopping center's parking lot, leading me right up to the front of the store!

Go ahead and get it... you won't regret it. By the way, if you have a wife that is skeptical of whatever electronic gadgets you buy, best time to get this is right before you go on vacation. That way, she can see it in action and will come to her senses that this was a needed purchase. Hey, it worked for me... even my wife thought this was money well spent.

With this unit, Garmin has blown TomTom out of the water. The 350/360 were slick units but arguably came up a bit short in the display department when compared to the TomTom - that's all a distant memory now.

This is the most elegant AIO (all in one) GPS navigation solution I've come across to date. IMO, it represents the best compromise between size and functionality on the market today. Beyond this point, increasing the screen size enters the diminishing return territory. The SiRFstarIII chipset, while no longer the absolute best on the market, remains a reliable workhorse with rapid satellite acquisition under even less than ideal conditions. The mapping details are excellent though, as with all mapping programs, is not beyond reproach. The 660 has the most recent highly detailed City Navigator NT maps.

The voice prompts are loud, clear and timely. The ease of use is just fantastic and the visibility and quality of the display are now the gold standard in the industry with a 4.3" WQVGA LCD screen and 480 x 272 pixels. It uses the same low reflection screen as the 360.

POI access is excellent and can be navigated to much more simply than the TomTom unit which requires additional cumbersome steps. The attachment system for the Nuvi is superb and very secure. You can access your POIs directly by name rather than having to go through a cumbersome category menu and then only getting the POIs by proximity as is the case with the TomTom 910. Garmin simply blows TomTom away in the POI functionality department.

This device is intended as an extremely simple point to point navigating AIO GPS navigation solution and is not intended to enable the use of way points or easily changing the course selected by the unit. You have essentially two options: the shortest route and the fastest route. Fortunately, the mapping program selects routs that are very acceptable. Personally, I like to look at the overall route and fiddle with it. This unit is not designed for such use. Microsoft Streets and Trips is ideal for this kind of tinkering, but terrible for point to point navigation while on the go at which the Nuvi has no peer.

Make sure and get the most recent firmware updates on the Garmin website which will fix the known bugs and further improve the functionality. Insofar as functionality goes this unit is as simple as the 350/360. Even my 85 year old father can use these things! He is, to put it kindly, technologically challenged but his 350 is so intuitive and easy to use that he's had no problems whatsoever. He doesn't like to be distracted while driving so he plans his trip before leaving and simply listens to the voice prompts.

The new bluetooth feature enables the use of your hands free bluetooth enabled phone. It's a nice feature, but as with all bluetooth devices that I've used it's still not as good as talking directly on the phone. I personally have not used the built in FM transmitter and so cannot comment on it.

I can heartily recommend this product. Garmin has knocked one out of the park.

The Nuvi 660 takes all of the best features from the competition (including Garmin's other units) and blends them successfully into one unit. I tried several other GPS units before settling on the 660 (Navman 550, Lowrance iWay, Garmin 330, Nuvi 360) and while all were more than competent for the average user, I found myself missing certain features from the other units. None of the units "had it all"--until the 660.

The first thing I noticed with the 660 is the screen. It is much brighter and readable than any of the other GPS units I tried. What good is a realtime map if you can't see it? The iWay and the Navman were often times impossible to read in direct sunlight. Garmin wisely chose a white map background, which effectively eliminates screen glare. The maps on the 660 are always easy to read. They almost have a Sunday morning comics feel to them as they scroll by. I also found Garmin's POI's (points of interest) database to be more current and comprehensive than the other units.

The biggest knock I had with other compact units like the Nuvi 360 and the Navman was the tinny sound from the internal speakers. They were barely audible on the highway. The Lowrance iWay 350 had a wireless FM receiver that let you listen through your own car speakers--a huge improvement. Unfortunately, this feature was not implemented on any of the other units until the 660. In addition, the 660 comes with a 12 volt adapter and a 3 month trial subscription to Garmin's traffic update service. This was a $150 option with the Nuvi 360 and optional on the other units as well. I found the traffic update service more useful than I thought it would be. I am also a big audible book club fan and it was well integrated into the 660. Although mp3's and audible books are features on many other GPS units, they are useless features unless you can hear them through your car speakers. The 660 is the only compact unit that can at the present time (the iWay is too bulky to be considered compact).

The bluetooth features on the 660 also put it in a class by itself. I have a LG (Verizon) 8100 bluetooth cell phone which easily connected through the 660. I could receive and make calls through the 660 very easily. The wireless FM transmitter allows you to listen to your party through your car speakers. Again, this is highly recommended because of road noise. The 660 even allows you to import your phone contacts into the unit! Although my phone did not support this feature, my son's phone (RAZR) did and it was amazing.

Finally, the windshield mount is sturdy and easy to use. Some of the other units (Navman and Lowrance) had cheap plastic mounts which felt like they would snap eventually. Garmin's units excel in this area. The 12 volt car charger plugs into the mount rather than the GPS unit itself, which makes it easy to remove and store the unit when it's not in use. The 660 is still small and slim enough to fit into a pocket or purse.

Overall, the 660 gives you the best of every feature currently available in a GPS unit.

I have a somewhat unique perspective among the reviewers in being someone who is coming from the Garmin iQue 3600 (Garmin's first PDA-GPS hybrd) to the Nuvi 660. I left the iQue due to poor battery life, which has caused me to lose my custom point-of-interest and other data several times when I went more than 24 hours without the unit charging (even though it was off). And yes, I did replace the battery. It failed a second time after that.

The Garmin Nuvi 660 brings a number of advantages over older units like the iQue 3600 including:
1. Preloaded maps for all of North America
2. Brighter, larger screen
3. 3D overhead views (makes it easier for those of us without a sense of direction)
4. Spoken street names (iQue says "Turn right in 500 feet", Nuvi says "Turn right in 500 feet onto Main Street.")
5. FM Traffic from ClearChannel ($60 per year, first 3 months free with no activation required and no personal info given until you actually pay)

So far, I have owned the unit only a short time. (updates to the review to come). But so far it is a joy to use. The new suction-cup cradle (over the friction mount used by the iQue) is excellent, and provides better visibility and stability. The routing is almost the same, but you can see the updates maps improving accuracy and less attmempted to route me down a street which recently became "No left turn." The screen is far brighter, more readable than the iQue. The traffic is quite neat, though I am not yet sure if I will pay for it once the free trial runs out. But it is nice to know in my driveway what the traffic is like 30 minutes away closer to work. And I find myself using the MP3 capabilities more than I expected, due to clear sound and the great feature of the Nuvi MUTING THE SOUND when giving directions.

The only feature of the iQue I am missing so far is the speed always being displayed. On the Nuvi, it is displayed during unguided driving, but is replaced by a "arrival time" display when driving with directions. You can get back the speed by jumping to a secondary screen, but I liked having both directions as my car's speedometer is about 5 mph off.

UPDATE 10/12/2006: A few more notes to help prospective buyers...
THE GOOD:
1. Traffic works well, giving sufficient detail to avoid "hot spots". I still need more time to see if it is worth $60/year to me, but I am leaning towards it right now.
2. The MP3 player is clear and the integrated FM adapter is a god-send for folks like me with cars without a tape adapter.
3. Directions are fast and accurate, and recalculation is faster than on my iQue.
4. If you are driving and are viewing nearby Points of Interest (Food, Hotels, etc.) it updates in near-realtime to show you what is closest to you. So if the first screen of choices does not appeal, you can keep driving and see what else comes up.
5. The Bluetooth is GREAT! It is nice always having a hands-free device on-hand in the car, even when my headset is drained or left at home.
6. It is easy to underestimate how useful having a defined "home" address and telephone number on the unit is. For my iQue, my home was treated like any other address and took several clicks. For the Nuvi 660, it takes only two clicks to either route home or call home when I am stuck in traffic and will be late. It has become a KILLER feature for my daily use.

THE BAD:
1. Traffic is not always timely. A few times I have actually gotten deeply into a traffic jam before the traffic alert popped up.
2. MP3 does not play tracks in their original order, but rather in alphabetical order based on the name of the track. This can be disconcerting for soundtracks and other albums where order is important.
3. FM adapter is not the strongest. The adapter for my iPod only ever cuts out when I am in standing traffic next to someone else with a stronger adapter. The one in the Nuvi has cut out when I was alone on the highway.
4. I really miss a paper manual that I can bring with me in the car. CD/PDF is fine, but that means I have to wait until I am home with my Mac to look up the "how to" directions.

I have owned the Garmin 360, 350 and StreetPilot III. I have also owned the Tom Tom GO. The Garmin 660 is the best one yet. I still had my 360 when I bought my 660 and had them side by side on the windshield. The difference in brightness of the 660 display was awesome. Night and day. Of course they both use the same maps, but the 660 seems to give you a heads up a few seconds ahead of the 360. Though the 360 is more compact and fits into my pocket a lot easier, the 660 far surpasses the 360 in a brighter and bigger map screen. It's an easy tradeoff.

Besides the brighter display I liked the change to the main 'where to menu' of the Go Home option. It saves a step for something you use often.

I miss the direction arrow on the map screen that the 360 had. It was nice to know where north was on occasion. Though you can find the direction of travel by going to the stats page, it isn't as easy as quickly checking the screen.

I just downloaded traffic cameras POIs. They work great with the 660.

By the way, someone mentioned that the 6 million POIs don't come with the unit and are an extra cost item. I have not experienced that with any of the Garmin units I have had. My only complaint is that the databases are not always up-to-date... but that is true with any GPS unit.

All in all, you can't go wrong with the 660. And the price is already falling!!! What next Garmin? Keep up the great work.

I travel a lot for work and started with a bluetooth TomTom device for my Palm Treo phone. It worked well but the screen was so small and I had issues with using the GPS and my work email at the same time. I decided to try the 660. I bought a Garmin for my Dad a year ago and I always loved the interface.

This week is my first trip out of town with it. It easily fits in my bag and is very portable.

The windshield mount works great. GPS does not move at all when mounted. Also easy to remove the unit from the mount when not in use. Push a button and then put it back in the case for safe keeping. Screen is easy to read even during the day. I live in Florida and so far no problems reading the screen.

The traffic feature is also cool. It announces "traffic ahead" and puts an icon on the screen. I can touch the icon, see what the problem is and then press the 'avoid' button to be rerouted around the problem. I will definitely sign up for this service when the trial expires.

Maps seem pretty accurate so far but not sure how up to date the POI are. There is a Best Buy near my house that has been there for years and it does not show up. I have also been unable to find some bigger restaurants and stores when out of town although I am not sure how long they have been there.

The bluetooth and the wireless FM seem to work well. I tested these a little and the phone call quality seemed to be good. No problems pairing with my Treo. The ability to have directions announced over your speakers is cool as well. I have not tried the music player.

Easy to use. I have not even looked at the manual it is that intuitive. I highly recommend this especially to people who travel out of town a lot.

Yes, this gets 5 stars & the best of 5 GPS products that i have owned. I won't go into same details which other reviewers already mentioned. Featurs not mentioned by others are as follows:

can we use blutooth or MP3 while navigating ? The answer is yes.
1. If you are on phone call, navi works but only visually & no voice prompts during the call. this is good.

2. When you listen to MP3, navi works and it pauses music while annoucing the turns.

3. To switch between internal speaker mode and car stereo mode, manual says hit power button twice, this is weird but oK.

4. The screen is great but still 2730 & 2830 street pilot screens are unbeatable & brightness can't adjust automatically in 660.

5. Garmin lock feature with stickers that go on car windows are good.

6. You can't have your own phone book on 660. it will show only the phone book that is on your cell. Won't pick up my blackberry phone list.

7. can buy foreign maps in SD cards & take it for intl travel.

The best gps of all !!!

The Nuvi 660 is the latest in the line of Garmin GPS units. However, Garmin really went all out on this unit with major upgrades. For example, my close friend's StreetPilot 320 has a very similar look to the interface. However, that is where the similarities end. The Nuvi 660 is much faster, acquires satellites in about 30 seconds, and zips through recalculations.

GPS features are only the start of what you get with Nuvi. You also get a complete directory of gas stations, restaurants, hotels, and basically a complete yellow pages for the entire country! If you like MapQuest or CitySearch, then Nuvi is like having both of those online services in your car while you are on the road. For example, on a recent trip down the coast, we used Nuvi to find out what restaurants were nearby. Then, when the check engine light came on, we used Nuvi to find the nearest auto service center. My wife, initially a skeptic, is now completely sold on the security and amazing functionality of the Nuvi 660.

I travel a lot and have personally used 5 different models of GPS units. Now, I can undeniably say that the Nuvi 660 is by far the best GPS I have ever used. If you are shopping for the next invention that will change your life, invest in the Nuvi 660!

I received mine about a week before Amazon expected to deliver it - great job Amazon.com! Here's a sloppy review - some of my first impressions.

I enjoy the bluetooth, but it still has some limitations when trying to connect to a device. When finally connected, though, the sound is great through the speakers in the car, and even though my phone, Samsung A920 was not recently on the supported phones list, my phone book appeared, making dialing a call so much simpler.

I enjoy the traffic service, but I am still learning how to use it. When you touch the traffic icon, it brings up a list of highways, and their conditions. I haven't figured out what order this list is in, and it keeps updating while I scroll through it, making it a bit difficult to find the road I am curious about. The unit did suggest that a "better route" was available, based, I guess, on traffic conditions. Later, however, it lead me to an exit ramp and then immediately back onto the same highway - this did not avoid any traffic. Also, while in traffic this morning, the unit told me about a jam it just as I left it in the rear view. Perhaps just a matter of receiving the update at the wrong time.

I think the MP3 sound is as good as my Creative Zen, and I love the navigation through the car speakers when it pauses the music. I wish it supported more file formats and larger SD card capacity. I found the FM transmitter not a good option with my rear antenna, but a cassette adapter works well if you have a deck in your car. It appears that the sound output jack on the base is a micro rather than a standard mini jack, so I will have to find an adapter. I wonder why they used two different sizes [one on the unit and smaller on the base], perhaps I have misidentified what the smaller jack is for - the documentation is on CDR and I haven't had a chance to look it up.

The navigation voice is a bit "digital" but clear - there are many voices available and they read street names - unless you choose not to have this feature turned on.

The photo viewer - [why do I want one in my car?] - works great and has accurate color. I could even set my favorite image to the boot-up screen.

Speaking of booting-up - the unit does take a bit of time to "load maps" when it has been turned off. I wish this were faster.

All in all, if the traffic service works well - though it doesn't work as I expected - this may be a stress and time saver - well worth any cost.

I will readily admit that I have a directional deficiency. I can (and do)get lost in my own home area, and I also travel a lot and need to drive in unfamiliar locations. I decided to invest/splurge on a GPS system, and boy am I glad I did! I feel much more confident driving around, especially on a recent business trip.

The Garmin unit is very nice: the large screen and intuitive touch controls are easy to use, and the map display is very well executed. The default map view makes it easy to see the correspondence between the map and the outside world while you're driving. Also, the voice output is great, even if the voice (David, the British male TTS voice) I picked sometimes pronounces street names in an amusing way.

The only criticism I have is about the car charger...it plugs into the mounting bracket and not the unit itself. I don't like to use the mounting bracket, because I need to move it between vehicles on a regular basis (including rental cars), so this is a bit of a pain. And, since the battery life is not super-long (seems to be around 3 hours, given the brightness and volume I have it set at), you could end up having a problem on even medium-length trips.

I have only had the unit for a few days - these are initial impressions and comments only.
1. Support: I have owned a street pilot for over three years and have always found Garmins Support Services to be first rate, responsive and willing to go the extra mile - I had some Q's on the 660 after I got it and the support was still great. I suggest emailing them though unless you have 20 to 30 minutes to spend on hold.
2. Amazons product description is inaccurate - top whit; "This map database features nearly six million points of interest (POIs), including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs, and attractions, and the data is provided by NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping." Actually the 6 million POI's is an added cost add on - and is not included in the database. AMAZON take note and correct - unreakized expectations lead to angry customers.
3. Screen legibility is better than the NOVA 350 I sent back (for other reasons) the larger screen size makes the maps displays easier to read. There is a wash out problem when the sun is low on the horizon and hits the screen directly - I think all of the GPS products using this thinner screen technology have the same problem - not just the Garnin 660 - The Street Pilot III I had NEVER washed out, I will be trying one of the after market anti glare /anti scratch products - if it works I will re-append a comment
4. The PC version of City Navigator 8 CD is not included in the box - however you can go to Garmins web Site and order a locked version of it for free (including free shipping) and then (according to tech support) you can install on your PC and unlock it with the code supplied in the box.
5. The text to speech features for upcoming turns is very useful, without it just where you actually should turn can be comfusing for complex intersections or exit/entrance ramps.
6. The 3-d option is much better than the aforementioned Nove 350, and again makes complex intersections/turns much clearer.
7. The touch screen for entering data, alone, was worth upgrading from the SP/III
8.It DOES NOT support multiple VIA or STOPS, you can only enter ONE stop/via point in a route. my old SP/III allowed multiple via points.
9. It would appear you cannot store routes or create routes on the pc and download them to the NUVI 660 (according to Tech Support) these last two points are the biggest disappointments for me as I used both extensively.
10. Price- I see Amazon has dropped its price from $999, they need to drop it further to remain competitive - hint-hint - check out answers.com online dictionary its search engine finds places google doesn't (4x4 was good)
Overall I gave it 4 instead of five for points 3,8 and 9

I bought Nuvi 660 a week back and here are my observations:

Pros:

1. Screen is clear and visible,touchscreen works well
2. Voice prompts are good,street names and directions are told much ahead of the turns making it easy to navigate while driving
3. Routes are recalculated quickly once you miss the initial route given by Nuvi
4. Bluetooth option was a good ,I was able to immediately pair it with my LG Chocolate,was able to use Phone book,dial and receieve calls easily
5. Garmin's Speaker and inbuilt mic are decent.Other persons voice on the phone is clearly heard while using bluetooth and the people on the other side never reported problems with my voice going throgh GPS mic.

Cons:

1. The windshield mount and permanent dashboard stick are useless as the mount falls off from the windshield while driving. This a huge risk of damaging the GPS or take away drivers concentration due to the fall-off. Windshield mount causes circular impressions on the windshield and the permanent stick would spoil the dashboard. We need to get a Garmin Portable Friction Mount(Bean bag) which costs an additional $27 which I think should have been included in the box with this GPS.
2. The battery life of the unit is around 2-3 hrs during regular use and need to be switched back to power which will make wires hanging on your dashboard.
3. The leather case provided with the GPS doesnt fit the GPS properly in the sense it is too tight to push and pull the nuvi from the case. Hope the case gets loosened after using it for longer period

I purchased this after many days of research and am very happy with the results.I am retired and on the road traveling to new and unknown destinations.So far the Garmin nuvi 660 has proven to very helpful for food& shelter,fuel and getting me back on track in unknown places.The text to speech is a must for easy travel.The bluetooth paired easily with my verizon Lg8300 phone.This is the first and last GPS anyone needs,one will never need to upgrade it does it all.The 4.3 In. widesreen is easily seen both day and night.The FM transmitter works well,and the whole package can not be beat.(no need for extras or add-ons comes with it!)Buy it you will like it I did!!!!!!!!!See you out there om the road.

I travel 4-5 days a week, throughout the US and Canada - most times in new cities and I love the fact that I can find restaurants, shopping, ATM's, gas stations, etc in every city, and it is so easy to use and re-calculates so quickly. Everyone I know who doesn't have this model has so many more issues than I do and I have convinced probably 6 people to get this unit or change from what they had since this is so much superior.
Now the bad. It doesn't always take you the best route, it doesn't know when there are a lot of traffic lights and so will take you on back streets where there are lights every block instead of a highway. It doesn't have some streets/ neighborhoods that are several years old and does sometimes get 'confused' and sends me in circles and wants me to go somewhere there isn't a road. Luckily that doesn't happen often, but it has happened several times.
I think it is the best one on the market and it is so portable and easy to update which accounts for a lot. With all my traveling, I bought the one I think is best, and I still believe this one is it.

The navigation, MP3, and bluetooth features of this unit are very well done, especially for a 'convergence' device. The voices and pronunciation of streets is a very welcome addition to the limited canned responses on my old BMW unit.

They could have easily done a poor job adding on MP3 and Bluetooth support (and from what I understand, in the past they have), but on this unit its very well done.

The unit itself is delightfully compact and the windshield mount is excellent, solid, and very easy to install. The screen is very, very bright and I dont think anyone will have a problem with it in daylight.

The reception is exceptional (13 ft in my bedroom not near window!) and the interface is fast and responsive.

I've had and used about 5 different GPS systems over the last 6 years. My first one was Navman for my Compaq Pocket PC. Although when I got it I thought it was great but today it would be ancient technology.

I then was in Florida on vacation and was tired of it freezing so I bought at Magellan 300. I didn't like that you had to connect it to power as there was no battery and the routes weren't very good so I returned it.

I then bought a TomTom Go 300 and loved that and still have it. Its screen is somewhat dim compared to newer ones and it won't sync with my iphone. The software update now lets you see the address of a POI whereas before you didn't know where you were going. For instance, you type in "Wendy's" and it would not let you know where you are going but the update now does which is good.

Then I bought Pioneer AVIC S1 as a gift for a friend and used it first and liked it although the touch screen wasn't quite as responsive as TomTom. I then got to use Lowrance iway i350 for a week. I was not impressed at all as the routes were somewhat bizarre.

Then I bought the Nuvi 350 and it was and still is terrific. The touch screen is very responsive, maps are accurate and the form factor and added features made it great for $400 compared to the launch price of almost $1000.

Last month I got to try the new Navigon 7100. The specs were terrific but using it was a disappointment. The touch screen was very unresponsive, you had to push hard on the screen with no sound so you don't know if it registered. The traffic was free for life which I thought was an added bonus but using it was very disappointing as you really couldn't understand the unfriendly interface. I couldn't sync it with my iphone. The mapping software always gave me bizarre routes. The windsheild mount looked good but was difficult connecting it.

Then I just got the Nuvi 660 for only $399 at Amazon, which is cheaper than today at nearly $500. I don't know why the price flucuates but at $399 I couldn't turn it down. The 660 is like a larger, BRIGHTER 350 with more features. It includes the FM radio, Traffic radio, Bluetooth and other features not found on the 350. After using it for only one day, I am completely amazed at what its capable of and very easy use. The screen is proabably twice as bright as the 350 so its easy to see on the brightest of days. The text to speech is great (just like the 350). The bigger screen makes typing a joy. After having and used several other companies GPS, Garmin is my very FAVORITE.

If I could rate this Garmin nuvi 660 a 10, I would. It has navigated me through 12 states since June with only one hitch; it took me to a new housing development when I was trying to locate a nursing home. Brand new developments are generally not on the pre-mapped areas. They can be downloaded, however. I am never without my GPS Garmin nuvi 660.

As a GPS, Garmin is top notch in accuracy. The Nuvi is so sensitive, I can get a fast GPS fix INDOORS. That's something the iQue 3600 never could do. Screen is clear and large and very readable in day or night time.

Voice announciation is perfect as it'll read the street names/turn list.

The bluetooth functionality works rather well with the motorola phone we got. Being able to dial through the display or access phone numbers is quite handy.

Here's my laundry list of quibbles.
While the screen is large, it is a widescreen so it's display is somewhat abbreviated on the vertical which is a small nuisance if you're headed north or south in a north oriented map. You really need to know whats ahead of you rather than to the side of you. 3D view is also hampered this way too.

There's no shortcut button to take you right to the map display. A nuisance for someone who doesn't want to be bothered with menus while you're driving. Garmin should've allocated space on the widescreen for some button presets.

It doesn't seem to have as much POI as my iQue has. Some stores are missing. Maybe I should read the manual? ;)

No automatic volume setting for speaker output. It seems like an easy feature for them to implement by sensing the internal microphone and adjusting volume accordingly. So you have to find a volume too loud at idle and a bit soft at speed to find a right balance.

Windshield mounting is very good but it's incompatible with the friction mounting base, requiring you to buy another accessory, the automotive adapter. And, only one adhesive mounting puck? What gives? 2 pucks would've been nice.

It seems like the mounts are incompatible with the other nuvi as the have differen SKU.

These problems are relatively minor and doesn't affect the overall fine performance.

I have been a Garmin user for years after having bought two Street Pilots. I leaned toward the Nuvi660 due to familiarity, good reviews and it would fit all the mounts I had already accumulated in my cars and my computer bag. One thing I had really not liked about Garmin was their overly burdensome process for getting map updates. I had never found their website intuitive or their customer service to be available when I needed them. I don't need them much but it usually had to do with map updates. I honestly don't think we should have to pay for map updates...software functionality perhaps but the maps are just part of keeping the product doing what it is supposed to do in my opinion...oh well.

Things I like:
1. The full US map is on it...I no longer have to move maps from my comptuer to the unit and back when I travel...(somehow that process however always proved easier than me slowing down and getting a bigger memory card).
2. Very light and portable, speakers are built in (StreetPilot speaker was in the power cord).
3. Touch Screen works great - a number of things are not intuitive...you learn to touch things (like the car to save a favorite (formerly called a waypoint) to see if it will give you the menu you are looking for.
4. Graphics are good, screen is very bright.

Things I don't like:
1. Missing an obvious North indicator (have to go to a different screen).
2. No battery indicator?
3. Although the unit is portable, the little stand that holds it properly is somewhat funky shaped so you are still forced to carry a number of things with you (less than before however).
4. The protective case is nice but it does not hold anything else (stand/power cable).
5. The traffic indicator seems to be useless. The graphics don't really tell me much or seem to re-route me. It tells me an estimation in minutes about how long I will be delayed and if I push the little indicator that came up it will tell me if a better route exists or not...it usually doesn't. Jury is still out on the traffic indicator. I think I get it free for the first 3 months but have to decide if it is worth paying for later). (FYI - you have to use the power cable to get the traffic updates).

All in all, I am happy. Still seems a bit expensive but I paid more for the StreetPilots back in the day than this so it feels like a bargain. I have not personally compared this to the lower priced competing brands.

Actually, I would more accurately say, very good Garmin. Lot's of great features, very lightweight, easy to setup and go. Comes fully loaded with maps and features galore including a wonderful bluetooth capability. Multiple voices, local eataries, gas stations, traffic, points of interest, detour allowances all in abundance. So what about downsides? Well, it is a little bit slow to recalculate which isn't a big deal unless you are on a highway in a big city, in which case you may miss a quick turn which could have saved your trip. Also,it sometimes takes a bit longer than it should to acquire satellites when you start up (not always, but sometimes). Overall I would rate it a must have for all drivers.

The Nuvi 660 is great for those who just want to quickly route to places without having to go through a bunch of steps. It routes very well, and fairly quickly. The maps are pretty accurate and it does a good job of picking a good route. Don't expect a lot of flexibility with your route, however. There is a re-route button, but pressing it just causes the route to be recalculated with some different roads (you don't get to pick which ones).

The big plusses are:

1. The routing. Garmin is really good at this. It picks a route for you fairly quickly and recalculates in a decent amount of time. It has routed me incorrectly a couple times (ie. turn left from a divided road), but its possible this was an error with the map data, and wasn't anything too bad.

2. The mount is very well designed with a ball joint allowing you to swivel the 660 around a bit. You connect the power to the mount, so you can quickly release the unit and go. Attaching and releasing the 660 is really easy and the suction cup is super strong.

3. The TMC unit is built into the cigarette lighter charger, and doesn't require an extra antenna.

4. You can pick from a whole bunch of locales. I'm a big fan of the Austrailian accent. The voice commands are clear and the Text to Speech works very well on all but the wierdest street names.

Minuses:

1. You get the route it gives you and thats it. This is a big reason why I returned mine. I very often know that I want to skip part of my route (ie. a road thats congested) and just want to re-route through that part. The garmin doesn't give me the choice and I'm at its mercy.

2. The POI database is pretty lame. I haven't done a comprehensive test or anything, but very often I tried finding places and came up with nothing. Sad really, but I guess you have to give and take.

3. The flip up antenna is kindof annoying. Its not the worst thing in the world, but would be nice if it wasn't necessary.

Conclusion:

If you just want a route and don't care about re-routing, finding places via the POI database, or are just not too technically savvy, then this is a great GPS.

I have owned a Nuvi 350 since June but when the Nuvi 660 was announced and and shipping I bought it. The Nuvi 350 was an epiphany for me and transformed me from being a reluctant driver to being a person who will now go any where. It was just that dramatic of a device. I take it in my briefcase on trips and now feel comfortable in any city I travel.

I bought the Nuvi 660 primarily for the larger screen. After about a month of using it these are my observations:

1. Bright screen. Significantly better than the Nuvi 350. However the resolution surprises me - roads that had curves on the 350 now have jagged edges that make up the curve. I don't know what the resolution is on this machine but I think that if they increased the resolution the rendering may be a little closer to what I received on the 350.

2. Bluetooth. I use a Motorola Q phone which Garmin indicates on its website as compatible. It took a little effort to pair the two together but finally it works and it works like a charm. My phone book is available on the Nuvi while the two are paired which is great. And the Nuvi supports voice calling which I prefer. I am told by the people I call that the Nuvi is clear and free of any distortions.

3. FM Transmitter. This may be my biggest disappointment. I looked forward to clean and clear transmission through the radio using the FM band. And I have to say it is and it isn't and it depends on the place I am travelling and the time of day. I have tried different stations with only incremental changes in quality up and down. It is clear but not crystal clear. And sometimes you get a background crackle. In reading the manual it explains that a number of factors can affect reception including the postion of the FM antenna in the car and the environment. The result I am experiencing is consistent with my experience with ipod FM transmitters. So I assume that this is an industry compliance issue and not a technical issue with Garmin. I enjoy being able to change the volume of the call up or down - a very big plus for me. The internal speaker on the 660 is excellent but, even with its quirks and occasional interference, I prefer using the FM band.

All in all a great purchase and another great implementation by Garmin. Simply amazing. The only issue with me now is trying to fight the incessant compulsion I feel in having to buy every new product Garmin brings out in the Nuvi family. However as long as I have family members anxiously waiting with their wallets for my older models the cost to upgrade is never too bad.

This is one great tool that I don't know how I lived without. The bluetooth is really easy to set-up and it copies your phone book from your phone. Then also you have the capibility to place a call right from any of the thousands of Points of Interest. And if a POI is not in the listings you can add it along with the phone number. Awesome is all I can say. I just returned from a trip to Detiot MI. The Nuvi had a bit of a tuff time in that city but if you've ever been to Detriot you'll know why. Nothing bad about the city of Detriot but the frontage roads along the highways and some of the exits didn't match with the Nuvi. Not sure who was a fault on that one. I have not yet enabled the FM connection so I can't say a whole lot about it. But it does sound like a feature I'd be interested in. Overall this is one great tool. Highly recommended.

Compared and compared this device and online sellers for days...

Cannot beat the Nuvi 660. Tipping point for me was the ability to ensure Bluetooth with my PalmOne Treo (on the Verizon network). Price through Amazon was astounding and for real. Trust the Amazon sellers on lowest price...you may not have heard of them before, but if you check them out (high % satisfaction over THOUSANDS of reviews) and you'll do just fine.

This thing is easy to use (as I expected), Bluetooth runs flawlessly and I'm happy with the sound (me through the device and the caller through the internal speaker). Couldn't care less about the FM transmitter..if you've ever worked with FM for an IPod or similar, you know the technology leaves a lot to be desired. Tried it and it was okay, but not why I bought the Nuvi 660 (same goes for MP3 and audio books, but it does those too).

This thing is deadly accurate and knows it's left from it's right. Great resources for service after sale at palm.com (even downloaded custom vehicle icons to have some fun with for free!).

Bought a 512MB expansion card, but probably won't need it. Has plenty of onboard map detail and room left over (basically a 2GB HD in this thing with roughly 400MB left for space).

Compared hard and directly to Tom Tom 7/920's and passingly against Magellan (hard to research Mag's for value/price curve and their website sucks).

Garmin quality is a foregone conclusion for me....Bluetooth on the Treo was the kicker for me (if you're on Verizon be sure your PalmOne software is 1.05a or higher...if not there is a link right on the Palm website to help you out with this), and Amazon proved I didn't have to spend $600 or even $700 for this thing (not even close!).

Even got the friction mount for the dash of my Murano (if you know these cars there is TONS of room up there for the Nuvi and the mount). THis thing will be in the car frequently for 200 - 300 mile business road trips and will be brought with me when I fly for use in the rental car.

Unbeatable and super satisfied...which is why I bothered to even write this (which says a lot, be assured).

Best,
JWM

Just received my GPS from Amazon. Fortunately it arrived intact as the packing provided by Amazon was a large oversized box with two inflateable packing ballons that were wofully inadequate possibly the worst packing I have ever seen for a mailed or shipped item. In spite of the shipping I am delighted with the unit. We live in a remote location that is not even plotted on the county map. The GPS not only found our home but also plotted the location of our private road. All of the components work very well including the Bluetooth functions (where did Bluetooth come from anyway)to say the least I am impressed with the unit and would recommend it very strongly.one of the reviewers mentioned that they did not feel that the unit was build solidly.Based on the quality of fit and finish of my unit I would have to disagree with that statement. I have now had my nuvi for about 2 weeks. Every function on the unit works perfectly.There is nothing that I would change.All adjustments including volumne and contrast are a simple one finger tap away.If you are using a computer to read this review you will not even need to read the instruction book to fully utilize the unit!

I love my Garmin Nuvi - drove from DC to Atlanta this Thanksgiving and since I have the FM transmitter it detected a delay around Charlotte and routed us around it - slick! Then on the way home we came across a long line of red tail lights - must have been an accident up ahead. I pressed the detour button and voila - it routed us around that, too! I love this thing sooooo much.

I purchased this GPS on 8/14/2008. This is aproximately 9 months after I355 opened in the Chicago. This is a major 8 lane 15 mile stretch of highway that is not in the GPS. My inlaws bought a Nuvi 200 before we did and their maps included this road.
br /
br /I bought this unit 3 days before Garmin's new map garauntee program started. I had to pay $70 to update the map JUST TO GET THIS ONE ROAD!
br /
br /I feel very ripped off. Amazon was evidently selling off old stock. And Garmin does not appear to care about its customers to make sure merchants are keeping their maps updated.
br /
br /Not having this route is a major pain in the but, since everytime we go south out of town, it tries to take us on surface streets. Crazy. When I am driving on the I355, it annoyingly tries to tell us to turn on every road we go over.
br /
br /Otherwise this GPS functions ok. I like the feature that speaks the names of the road you are about to turn on, instead of just telling you to take a right. This is very good when there are several streets within a couple tenths of a mile.
br /
br /I am giving this product 2 stars for poor customer support.
br /

I used to have Garmin iQue 3200. Now that it's more than three years old and does not hold charge, I decided to "upgrade" to Nuvi 660.

Good news: routing is faster, and the screen is much easier to read.

But in many respects, it's no better than a three-year-old product.

Time to acquire satellites: very bad. If I turn it on while in the garage, it will pop the screen "Are you indoors?" (same as my old unit), followed by another screen (!) - "Are you still in California?". The last thing I need when I am driving is having to push those pesky "yes/no" buttons on the device that is supposed to help me.

FM Traffic receiver. This was the reason I wanted this unit. What I found out is, in Los Angeles, it's pretty useless. Delay that it predicts has little to do with real traffic flow; it would jump from 27 minutes to 4 minutes, than back to 27 within a minute. Is it worth 60 bucks a year? Not to me.

Points of interest. I am sorry, folks, my old Palm from Garmin had much more detailed information than the new thing. Even such simple queries as the nearest Whole Foods Market take a minute or more (!), and usually don't even find the store I was going to for years. UPDATE: it was not able to find Costco in Van Nuys!

The Nuvi 660 has a great screen that is of optimal size. For the most part, it's a nice GPS unit for the price. However, it does have its limitations.

Here are just some points I like about it. I'll elaborate when necessary:
- Intuitive graphical interface - You can basically turn this unit on and begin using it. Although reading through the manual is recommended.
Generally speedy - For the most part, the unit is generally fast. Browsing around the maps is sometimes slow, but it's still good for a dedicated unit.
- Fast route calculations
- Good menu system
- Good set of POI
- Good set of utilities in Travel Kit - MP3/Audible player, picture viewer, unit conversion
- Bluetooth capability
- Fast satellite reception

Here are my knit picks:
- ETA calculations are horrible - This is especially true with surface streets. I find the calculations are off by at least 10 minutes. It seems Garmin was rather conservative in time estimates and don't take street lights into consideration. As an example, if I have to travel 4 miles on a 45 mph street, then naturally, I'll arrive rather quickly to my destination. However, if I have to go across 15 street lights before I get there, then there's a great likelihood that I won't be traveling 45mph the entire length. I know street lights aren't stored in the mapping databases. However, the fact that there are many intersections gives a good indication that at least a number of them are street lights, thus requires additional time.
- No freeway traffic indicators - If you sign up for traffic, you'll notice you need to go to a different screen to see freeway conditions and traffic alerts. It would be nice to get color status on the map overlay (red/yellow/green). You only get traffic alerts on the map if you set a destination and your route comes across a traffic alert.

For me, none of these points were deal breakers. It's still a great GPS unit that I would recommend.

Edit: As someone pointed out, Text to Speech is a feature that needs to be enabled!

The maps and directions are great. It did not come with complete written direction, only a quick guide. It does provide a CD with the complete directions. The bluetooth is not impressive as the person on the receiving end of the call has trouble hearing you.

This is very a very nice product although, I drive semi and have used it while driving what I've known as the shortest route, it wants me to take a differemt route that I know for certain is longer. By taking the route I chose, it had shown I had taken the shorter.
Another thing I've noticed is it sometimes shows I am off the road and driving in some field when in fact, I am on the right road.

I'll make this quick. Navigation works superbly, I didn't even know some these roads existed. Traffic information is quite cool and useful. I was heading into the Holland Tunnel yesterday, and it brought me around this big traffic mess. I had no clue where I was going, but eventually I ended up right before the tunnel, saving an easy 20 mins worth of traffic. The FM transmitter is kind of shotty, although in my BMW, the antenna is built-in into the rear winshield. I suppose a tape adapter would work well. Other than that, awesome widescreen, great directions, and worth the extra money over the basic units. Oh yeah and the bluetooth works great. It is still available for $750, just look it up on [...]and you'll find a few places.

To qualify my review, this is my first GPS NAV system, and although I have observed others, I had not owned one until now. I decided to purchase a portable system after a recent trip because I realized how advantageous it would be to have one. As luck would have it, the Nuvi 660 had just recently been released, and based on the rave reviews here and elsewhere, I opted for it.

The unit is pretty intuitive right out of the box. It also came charged and ready for use, unlike most electronics, so I was able to play right away. The satellite receiver seems very good, aquiring an accurate location from my family room when switched on. After reading the basics in the manual I programmed some preferences and since have taken it on a few short test trips.

The positioning is extremely accurate, and the maps are very detailed and accurate also. I did have one situation where it tried to lead me left instead of right to a POI, but I assume that is a fault of the map company, not Garmin. There is still no substitute for looking out the windshield from time to time!

I like that you can set different voices, and I currently have mine set to a female voice with an Australian accent (the guys will understand). The voice directions are timely, accurate, and easy to understand. The spoken street names are very good (pronunciation is funny sometimes, but very accurate in general). I haven't tried the traffic alerts yet, but that should be interesting.

The handy case is easy to slip the unit into when leaving the car, and the suction mount is very good. I have also ordered a friction mount, which I plan to use when traveling in rental cars, etc. After just a few days, I am very pleased with this unit and highly recommend it!

I just returned from England where I used the Nuvi 660 extensivly with the UK SD card (requires separate purchase). My business partners were incredibly impressed with the accuracy and detail of this unit. It was excellent in locating gas stations, hotels and even a McDonalds for an early morning coffee. At one point the driver missed a turn in a roundabout and the Nuvi immediately rerouted us down what was basically a remote back country road that we would never have even considered to get us back on track very quickly. This unit is truly 'State of the Art'.

This is my 1st GPS. Before I bought this unit I did a lot of research and found that either 360 or the 660 would be right for me because of the size and capabilities. Today I received this unit and I have spent the past 5 hours playing with this unit. Here are my views about this product:
1) Clarity/Crispness of the Widescreen are really cool...better viewing than the 350/360(I saw them at best buy). I think the size of the unit is just right. Anything more would fall into the bulky category. Garmin did an excellent job in this area.
2) Bluetooth . I made about 5 calls and everyone I called said the call quality was good.
3)FM transmitter: Coudn't get the clarity of the in-built speakers...Tried different channels...Not sure what was the problem.
4)If you have the money to buy other options like language guide/travel guide, they will be useful for people who travel a lot overseas.
5) SD slot: This was also one of the reasons I choose this unit. I plan to do some travel to Europe and all I have to do will be to borrow an Europe SD card from a friend of mine and I am set.

All in all I think this unit is worth it's money.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3JEX3MVMC7UJU

This little device has changed my life. I can now jump in the car and go anywhere without having to print out mapped routes from on-line services or other directional notes. With the speech-to-text feature, large screen, and clear visual directions, I feel safer and more in control. No more glancing down to try to read directions while navigating. A quick glance at the GPS screen and just listening to the voice directions get you where you need to go. I'd highly recommend this unit to anyone.

I bought my Nuvi 660 one year ago and I am VERY pleased with it overall. The boatload of features, great graphics, reasonably accurate routing and Garmin quality are just a few of the reasons I love it.

I travel extensively throughout the U.S. via a large motorhome towing a personal vehicle. The 660 has been an absolute lifesaver when negotiating complex metropolitan freeways and route changes. The excellent audio directions allow me to fully concentrate on driving the rig in heavy traffic. Just listen and follow the directions!

As other reviewers have mentioned, the unit is not perfect when it selects the route. Even with the provided preferences it often does not pick the most logical route. With this in mind I always double-check its choice against my roadmap. For me this is not a major drawback, as it more than makes up for it in so many other ways.

I highly recommend this unit, especially at the current price here.

This unit is quite remarkably user friendly. It guides the user through each step of entering information. A trip can be pre-planned and each destination point saved so that there will be no need to enter information while on the road. I've used mine several times without consulting the manual. In fact, though, it would be nice if the manual was printed vs. available only online where it is somewhat difficult to read. If the driver chooses a path other than that recommended and announced by the unit, it "recalculates" and directs according to that new path. Very handy, except that on at least one occasion, I think the new directions were way off base. I know how to get home, and I'm quite sure those directions wouldn't have gotten me there; at least not in any timely manner. Regardless of that, if one has no idea how to reach a destination, the Nuvi 660 provides great peace of mind and can be a huge time saver. In another instance I chose to ignore the directions announced, thinking I knew better,and found myself heading the wrong way. The 660 is packed with other features I haven't even tried yet. Because the Nuvi's electronic female voice tells me what to do throughout my trip, I've nicknamed mine "Mom".

I purchased this and used it immediately on a 2800 mile road trip. I took a route I was not familiar with. The Nuvi was FANTASTIC. I am still getting to know all the features but would definitely recommend this. VERY easy to use. I also recommend the Amazon shopping experience. Shipping was fast.

This unit could not seem to aquire satellites in less than several minutes, sometimes not at all. This would occur in areas where the Nuvi 360 I already had (and gave to a family member) could immediatly get signal. Might have just been a lemon, I'm going to get another 360 and save $100.

I was quite impressed initially to read the features and didn't waste any time to purchase it. It has everything that I was expecting and works the way it is supposed to.

Below extra features are the reason I basically went for this system.

1) FM Transmitter
2) Bluetooth

Both these features infact work fine and really impressive. It got paired up with my iPhone very easily. You can even use the FM transmitter to hear the phone voice on your car speakers, instead of navigation system.

But surprisingly, it disappointed me with the navigation itself. Below are my observations.

1) The route selection is not good. Not sure what is the criteria of its selection. It just takes you through some weired path, even when proper signalled streets are available covering same distance. ( This I feel more with the known places/routes that I am commuting for long time now. May be at new places this just shouldn't matter.)

2) It's location precision is not quite accurate. It cannot recognize if you are on Trucks lane or Cars lane on the Turnpike (New Jersey).
3) Also it always directs to trucks lane even when the cars setting is selected.
4) There is no option to select from recent destinations.
5) There is no option to select avoid highways or tolls.

Having expected it to work just fine with navigation, I am quite disappointed with the navigation system itself.

Otherwise it is OK to buy this product.

This is an outstanding product. The Garmin Nuvi 660 is extremely reliable and overall a fantastic driving tool.

Pluses:
1. Easy to use / great user interface - the touchscreen and easy to find features are all designed to make navigation as easy as possible.
2. Extremely fast calculation - this is both for initial driving directions as well as re-calculation when you take a different route
3. Very sensitive - I have never had an issue with satellite reception
4. Versatile - finding points of interest can be a cinch. For example, if you are traveling to a city in another state and want to find a hotel, you can set your current location to any address and have the Nuvi find you a hotel!
5. Extremely reliable - this unit has *never* let me down, even in some complex and frustrating driving situations. I never drive without this unit!
7. Traffic avoidance - The 660 comes with a power adapter that also serves as a receiver for traffic avoidance information from particular providers. This is a great feature but is not always 100% reliable. Since the information is real-time anyway, my expectation is that reliability will be medium at best. No real disappointment here.
8. Good value - Considering how much this unit has helped me
a) find any address or point of interest that I care about
b) get around nasty traffic situations
c) find alternative routes when needed
d) reduce the stress associated with traveling to places that I have not been to before
9. The unit comes with all the stuff you need to get going:
a) power cable
b) carry case
c) USB cable for computer
d) wall charger
e) windshield mount
f) FM transmitter

Minuses:
1. Instructions are terrible - the instruction manual for this unit could hardly be worse! This is surprising considering how much thought went into the user experience from the device standpoint. Fortunately, for most things, the unit is so intuitive, you shouldn't need instructions much. But when you do, you are in trouble. For example, if you want to know how to attach / detach the unit from the windshield mounting device, you either figure it out yourself or...
2. Attach / detach from windshield mount can be a pain - you have to line up the unit just so, so that you can attach it. This is a pain, especially when you want to get moving quickly. I will say that once you get used to it, this is no longer a problem.
3. Startup is a little slow - this is a little surprising. But what I frequently do is start the unit up before I get into the car. By the time I am ready to set it up, its usually completed its startup.
4. USB attach to computer does not charge unit - very surprising! This usually doesn't matter unless you want to do a sizable upload to the unit from your computer and there's not much juice left.
5. No direct access to MP3 player controls from the main screen - this lack requires you to interact with the unit more than you want to if you need to say, turn off a recording.
6. MP3 uploads take a very long time - yes, VERY slow. My iPod Nano is probably 20x faster!
7. FM transmission flaky - this unit comes with an FM transmitter so that you can hear its output over your FM radio. This is a great feature BUT, you have to find a good spot on your FM dial to transmit to. I found that this can be different at different times of day and will also constantly change as you drive. Also, the (bad) instructions do not tell you that the power cable also serves as the FM transmit antenna. It must have a clearsite view to your car's FM antenna. I found that if you drape the cord over your rearview mirror, this improves transmission somewhat.

Overall, this unit is truly excellent and I strongly recommend it.

I bought the Nuvi 660 around July '08 with the dash pad and both work very well and are reliable. The unit plays the MP3 and jpeg files well. The bluetooth also works great. Overall I'm quite satisfied with the purchase/unit.
br /
br /I did try the free three months of FM traffic and found that it really isn't very accurate - although from someone who has lived and driven the route to/from work for several years I know the best alternate routes. The 660 alternate routes were combersome if I were to follow them. I also don't like that some of the main secondary roads that are congested during rush hour are not on the traffic map - so even though you know they are backed up it takes you there anyway. But you really can't blame Garmin for that because it is another provider who analyzes the traffic patterns.
br /
br /My charger/FM transciever broke after about 4 months (looks like it came unscrewed) so I think I fixed it myself.
br /
br /The maps are somewhat outdated as well but again it is Navtrac that is to blame. There is a way to tell them of new roads, etc via their web site, but keep in mind that any changes will have to be installed on a future map update - which you must buy.
br /
br /As for playing the mp3s and directions using the FM transceiver - its fine but you can't listen to your radio and the garmin directions at the same time - as it requires it's own FM station.
br /
br /What I really like is the bluetooth which works great and was easy to set up. Too bad it doesn't talk to a bluetooth headset - like my previous zumo did.
br /
br /I also really like that it is small and portable. This way I don't have to leave it in my car. That's how my zumo got stolen. In my opinion Garmin really should step up and find a solution for this as many people get their GPS stolen.
br /
br /All in all I'm satisfied with the 660. I just don't recommend purchasing the monthly traffic subscription - unless you are really bad with traffic.

I bought the Garmin Nuvi 660 2 years ago, which was the latest and greatest at that time ($750 on sale, $1000 retail). After all this time, I use it nearly every day and am not itching to buy the latest and greatest. It's small enough to take with me in a friend's car or on trip in a rental. However, I won't give it a 5 star since there is room for improvement:
br /
br /1. Battery life drops over time (I've already switched it out under warranty by the end of the first year). This is not a big deal if you leave it plugged in all of the time, assuming you have a spare light adapter in your car. The GPS is not really that small and portable anymore when you have to bring along the long power cable.
br /2. The bluetooth capability is not great, but I'm happy with my Jawbone that I can use in and out of my car anyway, so this is not a deal breaker.
br /3. A monthly membership is required for traffic updates (a small fee, but it's not quick and reliable, Google Maps with traffic on my iPhone is much better AND free). This is not necessarily a deal breaker, but then my GPS cannot give me alternate routes then.
br /4. For traffic updates, the charger must be plugged in at all times, which does eat up the battery life.
br /5. There is no option to force the GPS unit to give me alternate directions, but I can start driving a different way, so it will eventually give me another route. There is an option to avoid freeways, in case I want it to take the beach roads, like PCH.
br /6. It cannot give me a point-to-point directions, meaning it can only give me directions starting at my current location at that time.
br /7. The map updates are not free; this is not a deal breaker, but it's annoying when I'm trying to find a new place. At least I can save the next nearest major intersection or the exact xy-coordinates with the new location's name for future reference.
br /8. The suction cup does not work well to mount to the window or my dash, so I ended up buying the bean bag holder, an accessory through Amazon.
br /9. This is good for being portable, but the downside is that it's not integrated with my sound system, meaning my car's radio volume does not decrease when my GPS unit is giving directions. I usually have the volume turned off anyhow and just read the directions.
br /10. The GPS unit does not include traffic when providing an estimate on the travel time, so I consider it as minimum travel time if I wasn't driving in LA traffic.
br /11. This unit does not have voice recognition, meaning I have to punch everything in on the touch screen.
br /
br /So what do I like about it?
br /1. Options for viewing in plan view or 3D.
br /2. Option to be pointing north always or in the current direction.
br /3. Records time, speed, and other stats, which has proved to be good by resetting it before handing my car over to a valet guy and then checking my GPS when I get my car back to see how far and how fast my 350Z was driven.
br /4. Visibility of the number of miles until my next turn, so that I don't have to merge into the slow lane until I really need to.
br /5. Knowing the minimum travel time, assuming no traffic, but I wish it did account for traffic as I mentioned earlier.
br /6. I can save my favorite locations with phone numbers.
br /7. Good maps as of January 2007 when I first got it, so now I call up 411-Google for new phone numbers to call for directions while I'm driving or look it up in advance on Google Maps and then save it to my GPS.
br /8. Load your favorite photos (and MP3s, but I haven't tried) via a SD card.
br /9. Value Card for $50 per year to get local discounts but I never used it, so it was a waste for me.
br /10. The contrast and lighting look good in day and night.
br /11. Large display is easy to read.
br /12. Have a bunch of places, such as restaurants and as stations, at my fingertips, so I have more freedom to go anywhere I want!
br /13. Easy to use and fairly intuitive. I rarely had to read the manual.
br /14. Repair fee is a flat fee regardless of the problem, and I think Garmin just gives you a refurbished unit anyway. I could not tell a difference except for the fact that my favorites were gone and that my special screen protector was not there.
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br /These are in no particular order, because some of these may be show stoppers for you or some may weigh more in terms of importance. The price has decreased by more than 50% and this model is still worthy as it was 2 years ago. Garmin is a reliable brand in general. I'd recommend it to friends, family, and strangers AND I'd buy it again.

Having used a few different GPS systems from the Nuvi 200 , Tomtom and hand helds, I decided to try a large screen ( frankly I thought I'd prefer the small Nuvi 200 so there was less distraction at night). Right away I loved the larger screen. I also wasn't sure I "needed" all the extra functions or if they were worth the extra price ( I how ever got a great deal so there was little price difference). Once updating the maps to 2009 version I was able to compare the 660 to the units I was accustomed too and it far exceeded what I had hoped. I've even taken it through the woods to Geocache with, and other than knowing to be delicate with it it performed perfectly there (with the exception of it trying to direct me from the woods to the nearest road). I have noticed that the FM transmitter isn't very good , hard to find a very clear unused FM station and even then it tends to pick up static. But Putting the audio over the car radio is a great idea, I think that if wired direct to the radio it would get rid of any RF interference, but I haven't gotten far enough to see if it even can be wired direct. While using the FM transmit you do have to tune into the desired FM "station", and because it needs an unused frequency you can't listen to the radio while in this mode. The bluetooth works perfectly for me and again the FM transmitter was a little scratchy , but typically I'd turn down the radio while on the phone so having the unit tuned to its own frequency was less important while using the phone. Overall I'm very impressed with the unit, I have subscribed to the traffic alerts even though in New Hampshire I thought there would be little to monitor, however the state has just started to untilize these systems. I can note that a few of the traffic alerts are generic in that "traffic ahead" is just pushed the fact that generally there is a traccif problem in this area. But other than these few generic ones the one that broadcast when a new even accident/construction etc work great even though I've only used the unit locally as of yet ( a friend is borrowing it to go to Virginia for a couple weeks I'll know soon how it works overall. No problems with the unit at all, and after using the Nuvi200 this weekend I really do love the larger screen and all the options I didn't think I'd even care about. I haven't used the MP3 player as my car Alpine deck plays them anyway.
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br /The only con I have is just the weak FM transmitter and that ( as far as I know) it has to be set to an unused station. Hopefully I can direct wire it to my car deck to get rid of any interference in the built in FM transmitter.

This is my 1st GPS unit and I studied several different units Tom Tom, Magellan other Garmin units as well and came up with this little jewel! I received it from Amazon.com just 4 hrs. ago and I have driven all over testing and having a good ole time with my 660. The instructions are clear and precise the recalculations after a missed turn are fast. The clarity of the screen is excellant the night vision is awesome I just can't stop praising this unit! The only problem so far is the FM Transmitter is not as clear as the units speakers but I haven't had much time to find an open FM channel. Ease of use is another highlite, I have no patience to look at a manual and I have just about figured out most of the units operation without it! Overall I am a happy camper and my Brother is jealous because my GPS unit can go with me anywhere and his is mounted in with his car stereo! Not to plug Amazon.com but it was the cheapest price in town... Mike

I conducted extensive research before finally taking the plunge and buying a GPS. I currently live in West Virginia. The state isn't always up to date with current technology, and maps on several well known websites are typically outdated. This was my main concern with purchasing a GPS unit. If readily available maps aren't current, will they be on a GPS? With the Garmi nuvi 660 the answer is a wholehearted YES! On my inaugural journey I selected a destination I am familiar with. The GPS got me there easily. On the return journey I intentionally missed turns to see how the GPS would react. The unit says "recalculating" and offers alternate directions. This unit has maps of one lane roads in the middle of now where West Virginia.

The unit is small enough so it isn't distracting while driving, but large enough to easily read and operate. The brightness can be adjusted to minimize the reflection on your windshield when driving at night.

I really like the Music Player feature, as I currently have to operate my iPod through a FM transmitter and cannot have two things plugged into my cigarette lighter at the same time. I have two main comments concerning the Music Player feature. First, it does not play MP4 files, only MP3. Keep that in mind when trying to transfer files. Also, it has the handy feature of muting when the GPS needs to give directions.

I have not used the bluetooth function yet, and therefore will not comment on it. I haven't used the windshield mount because I anticipate moving the GPS from one car to another. For this reason I bought a portable friction mount. It works wonderfully and does not slip off of the dash at all. I have found the points of interest to be accurate and surprisingly abundant for the area that I live in. It is easy to add your own points of interest for ease of use.

All and all I couldn't be happier with the unit. It is very user friendly and the maps are excellent.

I purchased the 660 over the Thanksgiving holidays when prices were nearly 50% off; Amazon did an outstanding job with timely shipping. Here are some quick notes for your consideration:

- The portability is impressive; slip it into the carrying case and then into a back pocket of your jeans; likewise, it would also fit elegantly into a ladies purse--don't make the mistake of leaving the 660 in the center console while away from the car--potential thieves can see suction cup marks and figure most of us are lazy enough to leave the unit in the car.

- The 660 package has everything you need accessory-wise, including USB connection to your computer, 110V connection for recharge, cigarette lighter adapter for the vehicle and a carrying case--you don't need to buy the carrying case when prompted by Amazon as you check out. I fell for the prompt and now have an extra carrying case :(

- My family immediately had the opportunity to give the 660 a shake-down in the Orlando area during a one-week vacation. Again, it performed superbly, with a few exceptions:

- On 3 occasions, the 660 steered us to addresses (Publix Supermarket, Hard Rock Cafe, & a Sprint dealership) that were non-existent. Lesson learned: Verify by phone before you travel to your destination first!

- The recalcuate route function works well when you deviate from highlighted route, although the female voice sounds pissed when she says "recalculating" :)

- The Bluetooth function works well. People I called from the vehicle reported poor sound quality from the microphone built into the 660. What was really cool is that the unit links with your phone's address book--the voice-activated dial unit works very well also.

- The function that allows you to route instructions into the vehicle's FM radio was marginal--lots of static and low volume. The internal volume is sufficient.

- The subscription service for traffic reporting worked to perfection--as we were returning to our hotel, the yellow diamond indicating a delay popped up. Using the re-route option, we took the detour that was recommended and ended up at our destination quickly.

- Although the service is supposedly in use for the Washington DC area, I've not seen a single alert in a month and don't plan on subscribing when the trial period expires.

BOTTOM LINE: I'm very happy with the Nuvi 660, would buy it again, and would highly recommend purchase to my friends, relatives, and acquaintances!

I got the Nuvi 660 from a Black Friday sale. I normally wouldn't have gone for one this big except for the deal. I'm glad I did as the extra space on the screen makes viewing while driving easier. Some of the pros I've noticed so far are fast (5 sec) rerouting if you can't make the turn it wants, good visibility and audible voice instructions. I haven't really played with the mp3, bluetooth or traffic system yet. The only real con I've experienced is that when I told the unit to return me home from a friend's house it took me on a different path than it brought me before and this path was a little indirect. It may have had to do with how it was setup for routing priority with regards to whether it chooses the shortest route or the quickest. Hence, like any mobile device, make sure you use your head when you use mobile electronics in your vehicle.

I am very impressed with the performance and accuracy of the Garmin Nuvi 660 I recently purchased. I am in the service business and drive an average of 100 miles per day in and around the city. So far, I have not had to pull out my city map even once to find a customers house. The female voice has an occasional problem pronouncing some of the spanish named streets we have here, but then so do many of the newcomers to the area. I decided to drive the exact route the GPS suggested, and even discovered a few shortcuts I was not aware of. There have also been a couple times I deviated from the suggested route due to my personal knowledge of construction activity and the effect on local traffic. After recalculating, the Garmin had no problem changing over to the route I was currently using. I have every confidence after my local trial runs that this will be a huge help when trying to navigate in unfamiliar territory while on vacation. The POI's list a few places that are no longer in business, and are missing a few of the newer places, but overall quite accurate. I had no problem at all linking to my Bluetooth enabled phone, and find it very convienient to be able to dial a restuarant or store by just touching the number on the screen. Overall, I don't feel you can go wrong purchasing this GPS. Is it perfect? No, but neither are the local maps we purchase to find our way around. I have not had any prior experience with any other GPS navigation systems, but would not hesitate to purchase one of these again.

After reading all the good reviews about this GPS, I decided to buy it through Amazon.com since it was on sale right after Thanksgiving. Initially I wanted to get a Nuvi 360, which is a cheaper one, but the screen is too small and it lacks other features too. You can compare the products at garmin.com.

Nuvi 660 has all the features I look for in a GPS: widescreen, bluetooth, mp3 player and FM transmitter. Th bluetooth feature provides a convenient hands free talking without ever reaching for your cellphone to answer or make a call (you need to have a compatible bluetooth phone). To me, this is the best feature I'm looking for besides excellent turn-by-turn voice prompts which informs you of the street names.

The mp3 feature is very nice. No more reaching out for CDs or fiddling with the iPod. You can direct the sound through your car stereo via the FM transmitter. I already have an iPod transmitter but I don't regularly use it since it's not easy to browse through songs in the small iPod nano screen. Mp3 Songs can be added via the USB cable provided from your PC.

Other features such as picture viewer and languange guide are good too. It's a bit slow to view the pictures but hey, that's not what this GPS is for. It's just nice to have. Since it's portable, I can use it in my other car and rental cars too. This makes the product better than the in-dash GPS installed in cars. Imagine, if you have a GPS installed in your car, it's stuck there forever. You have to get another one for your other car and you have to pay extra to get GPS for your rental car.

I've been delighted with my nuvi 660 and couldn't recommend it higher. It's found every restaurant and store I've looked for so far--and includes the phone number as well as the address and direction for getting to it. The display is just the right size--big enough to read without putting on my reading glasses, but small enough so that it doesn't interfere with vision out the windshield at all (I put the mount on the dashboard, not the window, and it's working out just fine there). Note that the manual is included both within the GPS itself as well as in the CD you get with it. Basic use was pretty intuitive, but now that I've used it a little bit, I've realized that reading the manual has opened up several options that I hadn't known were there.

I sell homes and I saw this product with a client. It is wonderful to navigate around town and especially great at night. The back light changing from light to dark at night is a nice feature. I highly recommend this product to anyone who travels or who must find new addresses while driving.

I love the garmin nuvi 660. It gets you where you need to go and if you miss a turn, it quickly tells you "recaculating". This item is amazingggggggg... I'm very pleased with this product and would buy it again if i had to.

This device is unbelievable! I recently spent a week at Spring Training in Phoenix, and had tickets for 5 games, at 4 different ball parks all in different parts of the suburbs. A week before my trip, I entered the addresses of the parks, and saved them under 'favorites' (also my hotel). I drove from my home in Nevada, and this thing took me right to the first ballpark. After that, no matter where I was, I just touched the next destination and it would take me right there ! Plus, if I missed a turn, or went the wrong way, it would automatically get me back on the right track ! Also, whenever I got hungry, it would give me a complete list of many, many resturants - all categorized ! The ONLY thing wrong with this thing would be if it ever broke, I would still be hopelessly lost !!
One other nice feature is that it has an MP3 player and FM transmitter so
you can listen to your music through your radio, and the voice interrupts when a turn is coming up.

Purchased this product for my fiancee a month ago. So far she loves it! A definite improvement over the TOM TOM GO 700 we have. The street names help a lot in places where there are multiple turns grouped together or close to each other. The 4.3 screen, although not significantly larger does make a difference. We haven't used the real time traffic updates yet so can't provide any feedback on this feature. The POI seem to be complete as even small places have been located. Bluetooth works fine with good volume control and very little pickup of background noises. The compact size is also nice enabling her to easily slip it into her pocket or purse. So far no complaints at all.

This is probably the best practical gadget I have offered myself lately. It just fascinated me with how accurate and simple driving has been for me since I have been using this tool. Being late for appointment is now things of the past because even when I mistakenly take a wrong turn this G-660 just takes me back on track by providing alternative way to get right back to the trajectory I originally logged in.
Dr. Israel King,Ph.D. Author of How To Keep A Man

We were looking for a GPS for using on long trips, as we were headed to Mississippi. Couldn't decide on a portable one, or one installed in my dash. My wife told me to try this one and see how we liked it before paying for a more expensive one installed. I was concerned about the size of the screen, but even my bad eyes can see this widescreen with ease. I am glad we got the 4.3" instead of the smaller screen. (This is a definite plus for a GPS.) It has everything you need, and we used most of them on the trip. The links to find the closest fuel, food, etc. were very helpful, as we pull a camper and can't afford to go wrong with this info. One of the links we didn't know about was the cell phone (bluetooth) link that is especially helpful. It's difficult enough driving a camper, let alone when a call comes in or I need to make a call. With just a few pushes of a button to log my phone in, I received calls through the GPS and placed them the same way, without taking both hands off the wheel. Your complete address book (with the phone numbers) comes up on the screen for easy dialing and I don't have to reconnect each time I get in my vehicle. The plus for this was the fact that we can now use this item in all of our vehicles! And the price was definitely a plus - all of our friends were shocked at the cost and now want one too!

I got this product and I am very satisfied with its performance. The best part with this equipment is integrated bluetooth technology. I did like the Garmin nuvi 660 for its compact size and features. I will recommend anyone who wish to buy this product to go ahead with out any hesitation.

Let's just say I was not gifted with a sense of direction. This product has taken all the panic out of going places for me! I've actually gotten lost in a parking garage! I highly recommend this product to anyone with issues like mine. It's easy to operate and understand and I don't know why I waited so long to get one. If you know of anyone who is directionally challenged like me this is the ultimate gift!

We got this for Christmas, used it only in the car which is parked in the garage, and by September it was totally not working, it can't find the satellites. Sent it in, got a replacement. In less than a year later, the replacement is also having the same problem. Totally useless. This model cost $800! somehow you expect more than a year, don't you?
br /Contacted their tech support, and for a flat fee of $225 they will repair or replace it. And why do I want to risk ANOTHER bad unit? Time to try their competition.

Works mostly fine for it's intended application of getting you from here to there. Maps generally up to date. The audio and FM performance, however, are abysmal. At max volume it is marginally understandable at speeds below about 40, mostly useless over that. This is a well documented shortcoming of this unit; it's saving grace is Bluetooth and a direct audio output, but it does add more complication to the navigating experience. I rate it just OK.

Purchased after a defective Nuvi 350 to provide Bluetooth and voice notification on roads. Works well but disappointing on 3 counts: i) no option for using a QWERTY keyboard (TomTom One is changeable); ii) rather slow in finding satellites; and iii) missing addresses. Looked in vain on this Nuvi and an older one for Old Saw Mill River Road in Tarrytown, NY- not an option whatever way it was entered - did not exist according to Garmin. Took less than 30s to find and lock in on my TomTom One.
Garmin software seems outdated.
Maybe a higher end TomTom would be the solution?

br /I bought this product after my TomTom Navi has been stolen. Although I was mostly happy with my TomTom I decided for this product because I wanted to have a comparison with other products and also because the Point odf Interest Database in TomTom is not that good.
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br /I rate this product with three stars because it essentially gets you from start to destination with reasonable precision but it has a number of small flaws. Here the details in comparison to TomTom Go 920:
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br /1. Navigation
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br /The TomTom is clearly better. The map data of the Garmin is way behind the map data from TomTom (although I bought the Garmin 1/2 year later!). Often the house numbers are not correctly located. Some streets are missing.
br /Finally the path chosen by TomTom is the one that is better. The Garmin has a tendency to let you drive long ways on Highways and interstates even if the shortcut on smaller streets is definitely shorter and quicker.
br /The great thing of TomTom MapShare. This is a nice way to improve the map quality.
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br /2. Displayed information
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br /Again TomTom is better: On TomTom I can configure to see all kind of information such as my current speed, a compass and many other things. I can't do that with the Garmin.
br /But the point I really hate about the Garmin is the very optimistic time of arrival. Seriously, even if you do a lot of speeding it is almost impossible to arrive in the time frame calculated by Garmin. They seem to assume that you are always driving 10mph over the speed limit and that all traffic lights are green.
br /TomTom is quite conservative with the Time of Arrival and usually you can do it faster than the device estimates (which is what I find a lot nicer).
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br /3. User Interface:
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br /Ok, this is difficult to say and depends on your taste. The only big flaw that I see in the Garmin is that you can't chose the city by ZIP code. TomTom can do that and often this removes any problems with ambiguous city names and even reduces the streets to chose from in larger cities.
br /Voice input I did not test in great detail.
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br /4. Multimedia
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br /Garmin is the clear winner in this category. For some strange reason TomTom did not read the SD cards or at least I could not get TomTom playing back MP3 stored on the SD cards.
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br /5. Points of Interest
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br /This is also a winner for the Garmin. TomTom has quite a flat database with only a main category. Garmin has a more structured database that allows for a much more exact searc for POI. For example, Garmin allows for searching for restaurants of a certain category such as Italien, American etc. With the TomTom it is only possible to browse for restaurant names.
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Garmin nüvi 660 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator Used this baby the first day i got it traveling upstate It was dead on and got me to both of my destinations without a mistake.
Using the FM transmitter was not fun because i have satellite radio and it does not integrate so you must stay tuned to the FM frequency if you want it thru the car stereo.
Also directions were poor reguarding setting up for traffic alerts.
Other wise great price and delivery at Amazon as promised.

This is definitely a nice GPS unit. I really like how it says the actual street names, and the side of the road your address is on. If I had to purchase again, I would probably get a lower model, as the bluetooth and MP3 seemed nice, but they are not of the same quality as the gps, and a wireless bluetooth headset works much better, as well as an ipod.

Awesome product. Only complaint is that the preloaded information didn't have maps including roads that had been there for over a year. Otherwise, this is easy to use, and if you decide to go a different way than it originally calculates, it doesn't send you in u-turns to get back to the original route. It merely 'recalculates' and finds you a way based on your current position.
I LOVE the feature that lists the restaurants close to your location.

Very nice interface but has its downside: This is the 3rd GPS product I've used. I've used IntelliNav and PockeMap Navigator before Garmin.

1. Do not buy the FMC traffic update annual subscription fee of $60. It is overpriced and practically useless. It is often inaccurate telling you about upcoming traffic that is no longer there. Nuvi 660 then takes you in circles with the false traffic report, often adding more unnecessary delay in your trip as much as 45min. I am not kidding!
2. Cannot avoid a segment of the route. If I want to avoid a particular freeway like US-101 because I know traffic is horrific there. Garmin does not give me the option to avoid US-101 on the route. If you don't know the area and that slow drivers drive on US-101, then you are out of luck.
2. Cannot Zoom-In in 2D mode. If I want to see the names of the surrounding streets around the freeway so I can find my way around traffic alerts, I cannot do this because the Zoom-In function will not allow me. The 2D view is practically useless. The 3D view is not a good option if you are trying to do this.
3. My commute takes me from I-80W San Francisco to I-880S San Jose and this Nuvi 660 tries to route me around to I-980 Oakland which would take me on a longer route instead of routing me directly to I-880S ramp. Obviously, Garmin needs to do some work here.
4. Accesories are pricey! There's no reason I have to shell-out $200+ for a Garmin auto charger with a useless FMC traffic update receiver or $25 for a suction cup mount.

Overall I am satisfied with the product but PocketMap Navigator has a better interface, I just wished Garmin had used their software instead.
This product really deserves 3.5 stars but I can't select 3.5 stars. Garmin is probably better than Magellan, Tom Tom, or other generic brand GPS but inferior in interface compared to IntelliNav or PocketMap Navigator.

This is a great unit. However, my sound system radio, does not permit tuning to an FM station, that is not occupied, thereby, rendering the unit's built-in FM transmitter unusable. However, I would still recommend the unit as all other specs, work better that the other brands I have considered.

I purchased the Garmin 660 and love it. I do wish that it had a feature to get a repeat on the turning instructions. Sometimes with the radio going I miss the announcement tone.

In really rural areas watch out. You may find some roads that you didn't knew exist.

It is a really nice gadget to have. I have used other GPS before but this one is really good, nice and bright colors (even in the really bright sun) and the maps are better than any of the other ones I have used. Tje layout and interface is easy to use. I can't give it 5 stars for two reasons. One, when there were multiple exits right next to one another, it would be hard to figure out which was the right one, sometimes you had to be right on top of the exit before it would make sense. The other thing is that every once in a while it became confused. For example, in the hotel parking lot, we had to go around in a circle, it wouldn't be able to figure out where we were until I stopped and the Nuvi got its bearings. One final afterthought is that in downtown areas where there were tall buildings, due to the buildings obstructing the GPS signal, it would get lost. Once we were not surrounded by tall buildings it would be pretty quick to locate where we were. Overall very happy. Thinking of purchasing a second one for the wife, since she saw, and liked, how it works, she wants one.

A good system and gave it as a gift. Liked it so much I purchased one for myself.

A great little machine overall, but the maps are often out of date. This was supposed to be shipped with the most current maps but much is off. It thinks my address is located at my neighbor's house about a half block down the road, some public locations just aren't in the system. Despite this, I love the product. 4 Stars

This portable GPS Device is by far one of the best I have so far. Guess the trick lies in having a very good Mapping software to use with it. Overall I should say it is a very good buy for me. No more need to lug and flip through any street directories... steven Lim (RSTN)

This is my first GPS unit and so far it has met the high expectations I had based on several detailed product reviews I've read. It was very easy to set up and use. I spent a day navigating across Houston already and it's performance was flawless. The text to voice capability is a plus and the bluetooth was easy to set up and use. Screen size and brightness is excellent. The windshield mount is easy to use and positioning is very flexible.

In terms of the price change, I think Amazon's original price was an error. There aren't any other top-tier online prices under $850. The price at most of the local retailers in Houston is $1000 plus sales tax.

After months of researching portable GPS systems the Nuvi 660 was the choice, and I couldn't be more pleased with my decision.

Navigation check here in Houston showed unit to be accurate within 21 feet.
So far all navigation prompts have been accurate.
With the version 2.40 firmware update from Garmin many of the small quirks reported previously have been fixed.
The mp3 player is flawless.
The traffic service is a must, and works exactly as advertised.
The screen display can be seen just fine in direct sunlight.
The FM modulator to listen on the car radio works just fine.
Setup and operation are both very intuitive.
Overall this is the perfect mobile GPS (and much more) system.

And of course Amazon's price and service just can't be beat!

I've only had my Nuvi 660 a couple of days but I have say I'm extremely pleased with my "road tests" so far. The screen is big and bright, the audio is loud enough to use with the windows down, the touch-screen controls are very intuitive, and the screen update speed is more than adequate.

Although it's not advertised, there's a free 3-month trial of the real-time traffic feature, which has worked perfectly. I haven't actually had traffic incidents on my routes so I can't say how the re-route function works, but based on my own in-course route changes, it adjusts and recalculates almost instantly. Of course, it tries to get you back on your same route (I suppose, assuming you just made a wrong turn) but soon realizes you really want to go another route and sets it up for you.

The hands-off Bluetooth telephone function seemed to work well with my LG VX8100 although this phone doesn't transfer it's phone book to the 660 - not a fault of the 660. Dialing and hands-free talking worked fine.

Map functions worked amazingly well. There are some new streets in my neighborhood that were not in the maps, but that was expected. I'll get them on the next map update. I prefer the 3-D map mode.

I haven't done more than simply sample the Travel Guide functions but I can see that they will be very useful on trips in the future, especially the voice language translator and currency converter.

The Garmin NUIV 660 works great, quick to acquire satellites.
It comes with a DC adapter cord so don't buy one extra.
Great unit. Loading new maps on my old Garmin IQ3600 is always a pain.
This unit has the preloaded. Saves a lot of time.

The Garmin Nuvi 660 is a great GPS. The Amazon.com price was so much better than any other seller. I watched bidders on Ebay paying much much more for the Nuvi 660. (I actually felt sorry for these people wondering why they weren't buying from Amazon.com).

A few CONS for the Nuvi 660: It kept wanting me to make U turns (illegal) on the interstate when I decided to take a different route than it programmed. Also, established streets that have been around for years aren't listed yet!

I have no regrets at all for buying my Nuvi 660 from Amazon.com. It was the best Christmas gift I bought for myself.

I got this for my husband for christmas and really just have to get one for myself now. It is so intuitive and functional, we didn't read any instructions but just started playing around with it and it works great. The text to speech function is a must have, I haven't hooked up the traffic function yet, that will be next. My husband drives great distances so I thought this would be very helpful for him, I usually remain fairly local, staying within our own county. But I had it in my bag to play around and figure out how to work it and it came in handy for me on day one: it was after 5 pm but I needed to get a business letter sent for delivery the next day, I started in my car from my work to go to a fedex location I know of via a highway, heard on the radio that traffic was terrible but the only other way I knew was really out of the way and much much longer and I didn't know what time the place closed. I didn't know the address, I just knew it was somewhere along a certain street. Pulled out the GPS, used my finger to drag the map to where the street was, zoomed in to around where I needed to be and set that area as the "where to?" It was dark and raining pretty hard so it would have been hard to follow written directions but good old Garmin took me through some back roads I didn't even know about with ease and I got to the place in good time and got the letter out. Just marvelous, we are going away this weekend and can hardly wait to use it and test the traffic feature. This was not cheap but its well worth it to have something that works so great, you'll use it every day even if you think you don't really need it.

This is my 4th Garmin product. My first was a Garmin V, though it did a good job I found it slow to recalculate, the next ones were garmin 2610 and 2730, great products. I also have a Garmin c330 I use at work. This new Nuvi 660 has a ton of features, all of which work quite well. It would be nice to have the ability to avoid roads by tapping on written routes and a more powerful fm modulator. Other then that the unit is great. I got a great price from Amazon, quick delivery. Overall a great product for moving from car to car.

After way to much research and after returning a Magellan 3250 I can say without reservations this is the best GPS for the money. Ease of setup, is fantastic and now I know why the Nuvi's are the best. Don't waste anymore time I did all the research-just buy it!

We just moved from MN to Long Island and I didn't know how to get anywhere. I had a folder with map quest directions from home, but they were not always right! Now I have my Garmin GPS and I am in heaven!! I can go anywhere with confidence and not get frustrated. I use my phone through my GPS so I am driving with both hands on the wheel and I can find places to go. My husband got this for my birthday and it's the best present I have gotten in a long time! It is an AWESOME GPS!!

Great product. Worth every penny. No more printing out directions and hoping not to make the wrong turn. With the free traffic receiver it automatically plots a new route. Bought a second unit as a gift and now considering a third.

This product works great. Made getting around and finding our new destination a breeze, even after "re-calculating" many times. If you're sitting by the window of the plane and with the pilots permission,the Garmin 660 even works on the plane traveling at 523 mph.

Very useful. Easy using bluetooth, can connect to car radio or phone to make your life very convenience. You also can save some your favorite songs or audio books on the GPS too. Have to have one if you drive a lot.

Great product at a great price. Garmin web site is top notch with free firmware upgrade.

Outstanding product. Great for those of us who are geographically challenged. Completely portable so it can be taken on trips to any city in the USA. Works for pedestrians too.

This is an excellent product, but it seems to have some errors in its data base. Some of our local streets which go straight through are shown to stop and continue further down. The GPS always gets us where we need to go, and can be a source of a lot of information, especially when travelling to new areas. It is small enough to fit in a pocket in carry on luggage, yet is powerful enough to provide information on restaurants, hotels, museums and other points of interest wherever you may travel in the USA.

This is my second Garmin navigation system. Love them both. This one has the wide screen which I find easier to see while driving. Features I found the most helpful: Hearing the name of the streets as the turns are announced. I didn't think that would be such a big deal but it is. It really helps you to stay focused on the road without having to look at the screen. Having my blue tooth phone answered by the Nuvi 660. Awesome! and very clear! My cell phone address book automatically downloaded to the Nuvi - how great is that! Check this out. When you look up a store, restaurant, etc. it not only gives you the address but the phone number too which you can call via your Blue Tooth connection!

Least impressive. Hearing your phone through your car radio fm receiver. Eh. It's clearer through the Nuvi so why bother. Also listening to stored tunes on the Nuvi through your FM station - a little staticy and maybe better through the Nuvi. Probably a nice feature if you're walking with your Nuvi and have head phones.

Most impressive. After three weeks the screen went on the fritz. It happens. I use my navigation system everyday for work. I don't use maps anymore and gave up on Mapquest type maps when I discovered navigation systems, so I'm lost without one. I reported the problem to Amazon.com yesterday afternoon. This morning there was a new system sitting at my door. Holy canoli! Way to go Amazon!Garmin nüvi 660 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator

The NUVI 660 has it all! The price that Amazon offers is incredible for such a full featured GPS unit. Turn by Turn, says street names to make navigating easier, different voices and customizable vehicle icons make it fun too... You simply can't go wrong with this product.

Garmin nüvi 660 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator

I waited a very long time before buying a GPS unit for my car, and I could not be happier. It is just amazing how many things this device can do. My only complaint is that the routing can sometimes be strange -- the device will always seem to choose the most heavily trafficked routes instead of the quickest...but that is a minor complaint.

The bluetooth speakerphone works amazingly well. It probably is the best bluetooth connected device I have ever used. Instantly picks up my phone when I get in the car, and ALWAYS connects on outgoing or incoming calls. Flawless.

It makes the nav system in my wife's $85k Porsche Cayenne looks like it is a throwback to the early '80s. Yeah, that's a bummer.

Highly recommended!

My Nuvi 660 arrived a couple of days ahead of schedule. Was up and running in just a few minutes. Am very pleased with everything about it. It is actually more user friendly than my built-in GPS in my other car. Much easier to move around and find features, and for about $2000 less than I paid for the in-the-dash model in my car. My only gripe would be that there is no user manual...have to go on line for it, but the unit is so easy to use, haven't really had to refer to the manual that often. Also enjoy the Bluetooth connection...much safer than hand held phone, and it imported my phone book in just a few seconds.Anyway, would highly reommend it.

I have used the Nuvi for a few months now and like it very much. The navigation seems to work well even though sometimes it appears to take a less direct route, I cannot fault it's choices. The FM traffic congestion system works relatively well even though it sometimes is not up to date. The system may try to route you around a problem that is no longer a problem. That is a function of the reporting company not Garmin, but it can be a little annoying. The connection to a bluetooth phone was quick and easy, I used a Blackberry and it was painless. Watch out for the MP3 player if you load lots of music on an SD card. I loded up a full 4GB on a card and the Garmin took 6 minutes to boot up because it has to scan through all the files every time. I have tried to find a way around it, but so far I have had to reduce the number of songs on the card as the work around. So use four 1 GB cards to put your music on and you will not have a problem.

This was my first GPS and I am overly pleased. It's nice on the freeway when driving alone and for finding a house in the dark. The MSN Direct is nice for winter storms here in Minn. for finding Alt routes. The Garmin is easy to understand and personalize. A+ for Garmin and the Nuvi 680.

I am very happy with my Garmin. It is simple and easy to use while at the same time being very accurate and effective - I don't think I will be able to drive without one again.
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br /I recently used it to look for a place to live in an area I had never been to before - in seconds it will find nearby towns and once you select one it gives you the quickest way there (the best part is you don't even need to know where you are or how you got there). Once I was done driving around I just went to my favorites where I had my hotel saved (so I didn't need to remember any of the details) and before I knew it I was back in my hotel room.
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br /The bluetooth function works perfectly - once I set it up (which was very easy) every time I get in the car it automatically connects to my phone. The sound quality is good and I have never been able to hear someone nor has anyone I was speaking speaking to not been able to hear me.
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br /I would recommend this product to anyone and everyone who has driven with me from my wife to family and friends have all been impressed with how well it works.

After reviewing several makes and models, I'm more than satisfied I chose the Garmin nuvi660. Accurate, easy to understand directions, and quick updates(which worried me from some of the other brands I checked out). Thank you!

I am a truck driver and I use this product for about 3000+ miles a week. It works with no problems it gets me where I want to go in a shortest amount of time. I would recommend this product to anyone looking for a GPS.

I bought this GPS for my husband's birthday. It has performed far better than we expected. It has met all of our needs. The bluetooth and music (MP3) options work great. We have found it to be accurate and provide the searches needed while traveling. Also, we are new to the area where we are currently living so looking up stores, services, etc. have proved invaluable to us.

What I love about my GPS:
br /- easy (very easy) to setup and use
br /- Hands free calling using Bluetooth capability
br /- FM transmitter: will push out voice prompts via FM to your car stereo. The traffic alert is also amazing! It prompts you about traffic jam ahead, any accident, weather condition, etc. Unbelievable the difference bet. before and after owning a GPS w/ traffic alert.
br /- I can download any good book and/or newspaper of the day from Audible.com and hear them in my way to work. By the way, other sounds are muted when voice directions are spoken.
br /- the NUVI 660 has a big screen and this is a real asset making the maps very readable with a choice of 3D or 2D (depending on occasion you can switch the screen with O-N-E touch!). The street names are legible and important information such as the next crossing street or the next turn is displayed clearly at the top of the screen. Light and elegant design with a classy silver color. It comes with their own case so I didn't even need to bother buying one.
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br /Summary: The NUVI 660 was 100% worth the price I paid for it. I had a choice of buying the latest model but after comparing the new features I realized that I don't need anything else but a reliable GPS that brings me from point A to B.
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br /Well, I have used for approx. 3 months and I'm very pleased with my new toy. I would recommend to anyone who needs the GPS for their main use as GPS :)) To the nerds looking for a GPS this might not be your choice. Try the Knight Rider GPS with original K.I.T.T voice. :))
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Beyond my wildest expectations.What an excellent product.I get to my destination every time without any hassles.Thanks Garmin.

have had gps units for a large number of years. the others always had a problem. bought the nuvi 660, and it is a fantastic performer. going on a trip at the end of the month, and the 660 is the unit we are taking.

It does work great - the screen is easy to see and the directions on target. It lived up to its hype

received for my husbands birthday, he tried it for a day- just practicing, then he noticed that the screen rolled when the Garmin logo came up- then the clarity disappeared- He made contact with Garmin and gave them the serial #- they stated it was a refurbished item- defective again!-- Well, I did not order a refurbished, just received one that was not promoted or listed as refurbished- I guess the item could be great- do not know- shipping back to the 3rd party for full credit and since have ordered the 760 -NEW of course.

Just upgraded from the streetpilot c550 to the nuvi 660 and it was a big mistake,besides the bigger screen,The c55o has it beat in every other way.first off,the sound and voice quality on the nuvi 660(esp on the highest setting)is downright awful.The voice quality on the c550 is clear and easy to understand.This nuvi 660 voice is muffled and sounds terrible.as far as using the fm transmitter for voice prompts,that u dont even want to hear about.I am sending my 660 back and getting another c550.If you never heard both,trust me,theres no comparison.

I am impressed with the abilities of the Garmin nuvi 660 am extremely disappointed that the device is not compatible is with my iMac computer. This fact should have been easily available before I made the purchase.

Pros: Bluetooth, easy to update, speaker on unit gets loud.
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br /Cons: Arrived with an incomplete car charger that fell apart when inserted in the 12v socket. Several emails later and I shipped it back to Garmin. They sent a replacement 2weeks after that.

It is easy to use and super helpful when traveling outside of familiar areas. Would highly recommend to new users and those who like gagets too.

This was my first GPS, hence i may not be able to compare it with any other. My experience so far has been pretty good.

Although it does seem to take long in searching for POI's and i have trouble sometimes finding the correct stores.

I purchased this to replace an old Garmin StreetPilot III unit I had for several years. It works as advertisted, updates very quickly and audio is very clear through the device or radio. Bluetooth works very well with my Razor phone, but has some trouble with Palm Treo phone..but that maybe the bluetooth circuity with the phones. This device is ideal for the business traveler or road warrior.

I live in the SF Bay Area, more specifically near San Jose, and I've found the traffic receiver to work quite well, it's definitely not perfect, but it does tell you the places that have heavy traffic during commuting hours. Having living here for a long time and knowing the traffic conditions, I would say the Nuvi 660 clear channel receiver is rather accurate. For example, during evening commute hours, going from 101 to 87 South, it tells you that there's traffic with 11 mins delay. If you click avoid, it reroutes you to 880 south (if you happen to be going towards the Cambrian area) Traffic info so far seems to be only from freeways.

The navigation sometimes is a little slow on city streets, a little late on telling me where/when to turn, but re-routing is pretty quick.

Bluetooth works pretty well, they need to update their list of compatible phones more often, most of the new Samsung phones work, but are not on the list.

I love it! The only drawback is that the bluetooth capatability is limited to only certain phones.

Bluetooth works great with cell phone, easy to use, the only problem is that it sometimes gives roundabout directions, but that happens with all GPS units. Other than that, very satisfied.

The Nuvi 660 provides all of what I need in a GPS and more! The hands free bluetooth phone is great and the ability to use an Ipod through the sound system in the car filled two gaps in the car's original setup. It can get annnoying, however, when you know a better way to go that it doesn't initially compute. It then it tries to turn you around until it figures out the new path. All-in-all a solid system!

Purchased Garmin nuvi 660 unit about a month ago while it was on sale after returning store bought Magellan 4250 model due to unit freezing up. This is a great unit with fantastic feature sets for it's price.

Pro:
* 12 volts DC connection is done through mounting attachment. You done need to connect power and FM signal connection every time you plug it in.
* Fast recalculation of route.
* Great customer service experience with Garmin when I had a question about the unit.

Con:
* FM transmitter built into the unit is very weak.
* I'm not sure about this, but the unit can only connect to single bluetooth unit at a time?

I am very pleased with the nuvi 660. It has met most of my expectation. My only complaint is some times its routing in cities is not always the most logical.

I won't attempt to rewrite the already excellent reviews of the Garmin nuvi 660 that are posted here. I'm here to lend support to those who have been waiting for high end portable GPS units to drop in price. And even though this is a discontinued model, it was a $700.00 unit now selling for half and still considered a high quality unit.
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br /I love the 660. I first saw it when a friend pulled it out and showed it to me. He sells them and at the time, it was one of the top models available. But I couldn't afford something so expensive. Then my brother-in-law bought one and showed it to me. It was the same 660 and he let me play with it. I was sold.
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br /So being the huge internet "search for the best deal" buyer that I am, I found that the best price at the time was here at Amazon.com, at $350.00 during January of 2008. I didn't hesitate and bought the last one at that price, apparently a Christmas special. Three days later with their free shipping, I started using it and haven't stopped. My wife and I used it this summer on our vacation out west and it worked nearly flawlessly, only losing us once into a residential area when we were looking for a specific restaurant. I recently had to take a trip to Los Angeles and drive all around the city on their interstate system. This is the ONLY way to navigate LA! It tells you with plenty of time to spare, what lane to change to. I never got lost or stuck.
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br /Yes, there are some things I would like to see. You can't put into this model more than one "Via" point, so you can't be very specific on a route. I tend to only use it to find my final destination to a work location after having run the address through Google Maps. So I know pretty much how to get to the general area and then pop this on to bring me into final approach. It's not perfect every single time, but it does get you close even on those times where the address doesn't match the satellite coordinates.
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br /The Bluetooth handsfree did not work for my Nokia phone so I couldn't use that. The FM wireless link to my FM radio was noisy and poor quality. No big deal since I didn't buy this for that feature.
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br /Prepping the 660 for a trip inside can be frustrating when it does not connect to a satellite. But my biggest complaint is the poor rechargeable battery life if you want to take a short day trip without taking the cabling out of your primary car. The unit will not last several hours there and back. That's just not acceptable and Garmin should try to improve this if they haven't already.
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br /All in all, I am very pleased with the Garmin nuvi 660 and would recommend it to anyone looking for a high quality portable GPS that is now at decent prices due to being discontinued.
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br /Happy traveling!

There is a reason this gets such good reviews, it works very well. While on occasions is takes you on different routes that are not the fastest way, it will get you to your destination. The voice directions are very helpful and will tell you which side of the road your exit is on. It also comes with a wall charger, car charger, and dashboard mounting hardware(easily an 80 dollar value).

I like the product. A couple of drawbacks though. I don't think they can control this but it takes a while to get the satellite signal. Also the power plug for the car was broken when we opened the box which seems strange. I'd hate to think the product was a return to Amazon or Garmin and they just sent it back out to sell as new???

I bought this gps for my wife, and it seems to be working pretty well. We had a Magellan Maestro before this one, and this one is a little bit slower to load initially, which is probably the only notable con to it. I like it because you can point your finger at a map (when you don't have an address, but basically know the geographical location), and you're able to get directions from there (which you couldn't with the Magellan). You're also able to scroll the map up, down, left, right, kind of like google maps, which you couldn't with the Maestro. In fact, that's the only bit of information that was missing from posts while I was looking for a replacement. If I had known that this thing had those qualities, I would have bought it with no hesitation. Overall, I'm not sure what else you can buy for around $280, but this is pretty good.

I recently bought this gps for my wife, she loves it. The navigation options are simple, the traffic feature is useful in the NYC area, and also the bluetooth is a great feature that she uses often. This GPS aquires its bearings very quickly and maps out the routes super fast. There was a slight issue when the car charger broke, but Garmin resolved that by sending out replacement parts quickly.... I would buy this again!

I really like this product a lot but it just that the bluetooth does not work well. the hearing is very bad but overall, the direction is very much acurate.

It's a nice Navigation System with 4.3 inches screen with voice on streets and alerts. It has all the necessary features including Bluetooth, MP3 player and PIcture viewer and Traffic Status updates. I love this product. It's a right value for your money.

This is my first GPS and after doing research for about 2 months I decided on this great unit. It is by far the best on the market. It is so easy to use you don't need the manual. The screen is bright and easy to see even in direct sunlight (which is very uncommon with the market today). If you want a first class GPS get this one.
One negative I tried to use the FM transmitter to listen to MP3's and it had alot of static but I am sure if I play with the freq more it would be better but I bought this as a GPS not MP3 player.

Bought this for my son who began a new job in an unfamiliar area. He visits many establishments each day and appreciates how this Garmin 660 has simplified his work.

My wife gave me a 660 for my birthday this year and I love it so much I bought one for every one on my Christmas list.

Nice GPS. FM transmitter a bit noisy if you have rear antenna ( in rear windshield)car.

The job of a GPS is to get you from point A to point B, and the Nuvi does this handsomely! Extras like Bluetooth and MP3 are bonuses, the FM transmitter is not very powerful, but usable if you have a dedicated FM antenna in the front.
Overall, a very satisfying purchase! Amazon excels as usual.

I purchased this GPS Garmin Nuivi 660 for my husband after doing some extensive research. My husband drives cross country and used it the first time this month. He thinks that this is a wonderful user friendly unit. He is looking forward to exploring all the other features that it has. He would highly recommend this GPS to anyone looking for one.

Garmin nüvi 660 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator Easy to read - text to speech most helpful. Only disappointment must go to another screen to show current travel info (speed, direction, lapsed time, etc) when using a planned trip. Does show speed and direction when just viewing map

I love the Garmin nuvi 660 4.3 inch widescreen bluetooth portable GPS. I can see the map easily as I drive the voice directions are announced in a loud clear voice that is easily understood. Should I have to take a detour it quickly reroutes me. It is easy to operate. It fits right into my purse so I can take it with me.

I replaced my Streetpilot 330c. This was a great upgrade. Eaiser to see screen, Faster satelite reception, Has a cool browse map that lets your finger move about the screen. I like the FM transmitter feature along with the bluetooth.(makes the hands free feature easy to make and recieve calls.) Lighter in weight than the 330c, so with the use of the vent mount I bought separatly It sits and stays in position much better. It comes with a handy case and is small enough fit in your coat pocket. The lock feature is nice too, only thing is if some dumb idiot steals it, they won't be able to use it, but would probably take it any way because they'd be too stupid to see (or read) the anti theft sticker that comes with it. It comes with a free 3 month subscription to travel alert. If you live in a busy city, it would be worth it, but for me it's not useful. Overall, I would highly recommend the nuvi 660!

My wife had been talking about getting one for a while. I was reluctant thought I could do it alone. But you really are blessed when you get one. It has so many uses. Hands free phone option alone is great. Getting directions works so well. Looking for certain restaurants in the area is great. It even tells you the expected time of arrival and constantly adjusts to the traffic conditions.I'm sure there are more functions it can perform but I haven't discovered them as yet. There was a need to download some software upgrades, I called the 800 number explained the problem and the tech walked me through the job right over the phone and made it very simple. Very professional and easy to contact thank you Garmin.

Love this product. Easier to use and better than both Nissan's and GM's factory installed units.

After talking with friends who have owned various GPS systems and reading the online reviews I bought the Garmin nuvi 660 for a Christmas gift for my husband (who is really HARD to shop for). I got an excellent price and speedy delivery from Amazon. It's a keeper! He was amazed at how easy it was to sync with his cell phone, make calls and "guide" us on an outing yesterday! Can't wait to go on a trip!

At sixty years old, I'm not technically savy. I was worried I would not be able to figure this out. It was surprisingly simple. The only thing I would change is the instruction manual. It is on a disk and I needed to make a copy of it. I then cut it down to a manageable size to have with me. You can't look up directions when you are a 1,000 miles from home if they are on a disk.

Amazon had the best price anywhere. The product arrived as expected. Very satisfied with all the features.

Excellent product - easy to use - large enough screen to see while driving - definate recommendation to a moderately priced nav. system.

Purchased this after testing a colleague's Nuvi 660. Received it in one day but found the language translation audio did not work, although everything else worked fine. Amazon IMMEDIATELY shipped out a replacement which also arrived the next day. No hassles whatsoever (what a pleasure!). The replacement works just fine and I am very pleased with this product. Specs say it will locate you within 10 feet and I believe it. Having a GPS navigator is what having a CB radio was 30 years ago. Something you didn't really need, but once you have it, you cannot imagine how you got along with one. I highly recommend this product.

I have used GPS units for several years on board boats and appreciate what they do. The NUVI 660 goes beyond what I expected. The directions the unit gives are precise and very clear, the display is good even in direct sunlight and routing is spot on. Buy 2, one for you and another for your spouse/companion.

I just returned from a 3,000 mile road trip with my Nuvi 660 and it performed better than I expected. Even the smallest of streets were shown and the voice prompts were 99% accurate. My only criticism is that the Nuvi 660 would sometimes tell me to bear left while on the interstate highway when passing what was obviously an exit. No need to warn me of that. I haven't tried the bluetooth function so can't speak to that.

For this price, it is worth it. I am happy with this product, and I recommend it to anybody who wants to by a GPS Navigator.

Excellent GPS. It is easy to use and accurate. I love the Bluetooth and use it to call my children and friends handsfree while driving. I tested the music but have not purchased any yet.

The screen is easier to see than the 350 that I previously owned. Otherwise it is just as easy to use and I am very satisfied with it.

this product is the best among all the nuvis i owned... it has a wide screen, which is better than those who have a small screen... bluetooth technology is also helpful, you can accept incoming or you can call somebody while you using it... the only problem i encountered is the suction mount cos it always fell down...but still it is very cool & useful...so i recomend this product to those interested & planning to get gps... one more thing is it is very cheap, thats why i always buy to amazon.com...they have a great service.

Excellent product. I gave it to my parent's who are older and it's very easy for them to use.

Item exactly as discribed. Great price and very fast delivery. I would recomment this site to everyone.

Outstanding system. I love the MP3 player and the ability to play it on my radio system. I use the bluetooth phone everyday, works great. The navigation system is excellent as well. The only issue I can find is the mounting kit is only OK. We can't mount it on windows in CA and the adhesive wasn't strong enough to hold it. Other than that, great system, well worth the extra money for the MP3 and Bluetooth if you are wondering...

Excellent product. Only downfall is the non-qwerty keyboard, but a small inconvenience. I purchased the product three weeks ago and have used it 6-8 times already. Much easier than printing out maps, maps, and more maps.

I ordered this on a Sunday and it arrived at 9:30 Monday morning! (way to go Amazon!) I used it 20 minutes after I got it to go to Tucson. Worked perfectly, got us exactly where we were going and home again.
This is very easy to use and to understand.
I will never travel without it again!
This is the first GPS I've ever owned and I bought it after seeing a friend's garmin and being so very impressed with hers. I cannot believe I've been driving without it for all these years!

WHAT A TRULY GREAT GPS. I HAD ONE OF THE OLD GARMIN MODELS AND THE DIFFERENCE IS LIKE NIGHT AND DAY. THIS NEW MODEL IS A JOY TO USE AND EASYYYYYYYYY TO PROGRAM AND THE FEMALE VOICE IS BOTH INFORMATIVE AND PLEASANT TO LISTEN TO. I AM STILL ASTONISHED THAT SO MUCH INFORMATION CAN BE PACKED IN SUCH A SMALL PACKAGE. WOULD I HIGHLY RECOMMED ITS PURCHASE? YOU BET!!

I love this thing! It makes it so easy to travel alone now since my son has gone away to school and he was always my navigator on trips. Like the cell phone...how did we ever live without them?

br / I find the Garmin nuvi very easy to use. Such a pleasure to be able to drive and not worry about getting lost. Being a bad map reader this GPS navigator has been a blessing. Could not be happier.

I bought this unit, but was a little skeptical of its quality because it was refurbished. It arrived in new packaging, with all the accessories and paperwork. I registered it with Garmin for the one-year warranty. I also registered it with MSN Direct for a free one-year subscription. This feature is pretty good with up-to-the-minute highway traffic conditions. I use the unit regularly with my cell phone, through the Bluetooth connection. I have a lot of songs on an SD card in the GPS, that play through the stereo over whatever frequency I set it at. There are many other features, too many to write about, but I highly recommend this unit. It works great and has all the maps pre-loaded.

I bought the Garmin 660 and my son liked it so much.That I bought a second one for him, for Christmas.As I am 70 years old and found it very easy to use I think any one can use it.There is not a steep learning curve or a large book to read.And if you get tired of the lady giving directions you can pull the plug.

We experienced prompt delivery and excellent service. The Garmin is working great and we are enjoying it as we travel.
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Easy to use, speaks street names and generally gets you where you want to go in the fastest way. I've used on my motorcycle in and my delivery truck and it has proven itself to be a great gas saver by plotting the most efficient ways to get somewhere and then on how to get back. The bluetooth interface for my cell phone (makes the phone hands free) is great. I have factory GPS in both my cars, but will just use this Garmin in my next car because it's better.

This is my third GPS that I have purchased. You can't help but love the features, and the accuracy. However, I only wish that the traffic alert (which works EXCELLENT) came with free lifetime access. I have been seeing that with other Mfgrs. But since I have no desire to look at any other than my 660, I guess I will live with it.

Great product, meet's expectations. Only problem was that the bluetooth was not compatible with my blackberry 8320. The connection kept dropping.

We tried a similar Garmin in a rental car while going from Phoenix to Yuma, Ariz. We both agreed that it made the trip much easier and so we decided to purchase a GPS. This model is all that we need or want. It has recently taken us from Seatac airport to Port Townsend without any problems and then on a tour of that area. The bluetooth capability is necessary and useful. We recommend this item.

Even though its a little dated, I purchased this GPS because I didn't need the MSN traffic services or any of the new features on the latest GPS.
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br /This is one awesome GPS. I updated the maps (free) and the OS. I had previously owned a HK 510 GPS and this system just blows it away with its accuracy, ease of use and effectiveness. I'm very pleased with the system. I have yet to encounter any issues with the system or its accuracy (I live in the West Coast).
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br /So my advice is:
br /If you don't need all the new bells and whistles (which most people don't), this GPS is a hell of deal (it was priced at 700+ when released).

This is my first GPS. I really like it for its functionality, ease of use.
br /it showing maps and directions correctly. it anouncing street names too.
br /Though it has many other functions, I didnt use them.
br /I would recomend this product.

I have had several GPS models and the Nuvi 660 is one that I have no concerns about getting me to my destination. It is reliable, efficient and so easy to operate. My directionally challenged wife no longer has any fear of getting lost and will take off to see our children and grandchildren at a moments notice in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex if I am unable to go with her. We do not leave town without it.

I definitely recommend this little embedded device. I have not reviewed any other devices (Tom Tom's, Navigon's, etc), however, I can say that this little guy has gotten me out of trouble many times. As many people before me, I purchased this item mainly for a trip outside of the US mainland. A wise decision. The re-calculate feature is quick enough so that if I miss an exit or a road there's always a way to try to get back to where I was going to. The Map highlights the road where you should go and you can clearly see this. The sound is loud and clear. Etc, etc.
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br /Initially I was going to give this item 4 stars because the product advertised an FM transmitter which has a lot of "static", and I do not see the use of having such a noisy sound coming out of your stereo when you can be listening to your own music directly with high fidelity. However, I did not really buy this product for that, so therefore the 5 start rating.
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br /I definitely recommend getting a Navigator so that you can enjoy your travels a lot better. The NUVI 660 is certainly a good choice. It has everything you need.

I am leaving in Seattle area, so it has problems when I drive highways in downtown it just produce some unrelated recommendations. For example it can decide that I drive along highway and it start to recommend me take some turn on nearest intersection. In general it is my first navigator and I am impressed how easy it is driving at night in unknown area. It is cool.

Absolutely the best GPS system! We reviewed so many, questioned friend with others as well as Garmin's, and we made the right choice!

We recently used it on a trip and it was great!
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br /My only complaint is that it takes you on odd routes: when traveling through small towns, it took me off the highway (which went straight through town) and put me on residential street with stop signs - the other thing in that the two-hour trip from city A to city B (which I take about once a month)takes me on the most unusual route - when I have it set for Fastest or Shortest Route (I went on MapQuest to see what their directions are and they agree with me).
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br /So basically, use this as a "guide", but still travel the old-fashioned way - use a map and your common sense.

I HAD THE NUVI 660 IN MY CART TO BUY FOR $749.00 AND AMAZON TURNED AROUND AND RAISED THE PRICE TO $849.00. YOU CAN BUY IT FROM GPSNOW FOR $749.00.
GREEDY GREEDY GREEDY AMAZON!

Overall I like the unit, The FM traffic info is great around Baltimore, MD, alerts me to delays or accidents on my route and suggests a new route if it will save time. I always get a strong sat signal outside and in most buildings. Bluetooth works well in the car and gives me a great hands free option. Recalculates in seconds when it needs to

I wish it had a QWERTY keypad option. For most of us who live in the PC age the ABC keypad layout is not as easy to use as Qwerty. The FM transmitter is a nice feature to be able to play MP3, Audio Books and Directions through your FM radio, but I drive a VW Jetta and the antenna is on the roof and in the rear. The FM transmitter needs to be a little stronger for me. For the FM you also need to find a channel that has no signal... In a large metro area is hard to find a dead silent, static only frequency :-) The only one I could find was 87.7 and the 660 will not go that low.
But overall I give it a 8/10 and hoping Garmin will at least make the QWERTY an option on a future software upgrade.

Works fine, unfortuately either I missed that it included a mount or it was not noted in the advertising, causing an un-needed additional purchase of a mount. Came with broken part, (charger) The manufacturer replaced it although I am sure it was not the manufacturers problem. Gave me concern that it was a returned unit.

I bought this product NUVI660 thinking that it has one fancy feature come with it called "BlueTooth". I am sure it's THE feature I really like.

The only annoying part about this particular option is, When my phone looses battery power, The Phone has been disconnected(OK) Prompt keep showing on the screen, It was really annoying.

Other than that I like the text to speach feature clearly(Excellant).

Tune the Audio into FM is really poor quality, I don't know if it's a problem with my Nissan Altima Radio or NUVI.

But I can't make it to work successfully.
Traffic update is not usefull at all. It just says "Slow Traffic in 3 miles".But don't say about the reason for the Slow Traffic.

We've had a Garmin 2720 for 2 years now and love it... so we decided to buy the NUVI 660 for our other car and stop transferring the original from car to car.

The NUVI 660 is wonderful.... it is even better than the older Garmin and has Bluetooth, MP3 capability and the traffic avoidance feature as well. We used it in 5:20 PM rush hour traffic in Los Angeles and it turned a 90 minute drive into a 33 minute drive. It took us off the freeway and on streets I've never seen before, but they were moving at 50 MPH. Outstanding !

There's no doubt that Garmin is the "class" of the industry.

I am extremely pleased with this Garmin.I had a Myo, but I took it back...it was impossible to use. But this one, is the BEST. I strongly recommand it !

This is the third GPS I purchase from Garmin. I am very impressed with all of them. Easy to operate without reading the manual. The screen is visible under any light condition. I searched quite a long time for the right GPS for myself,you cannot go wrong with this unit. As usual Amazon is quick in delivering

Where expectations were not met:
br /* Expected better user interface
br /* Ease of use -- could have been sleeker
br /* Expected maps to be up to date or a provision to update maps easily
br /* Included car charger was the wrong one!
br /* Frequent mistakes by the GPS
br /
br /I was working with google maps on a Blackberry alongside, and that performed much better.

I was traveling for almost two months. My nuvi would often would try to take me on forest service roads. Fortunately, only one time when I actually followed the GPS's directions, was potentially life threatening (no cell service, on a forest service road out in the middle of nowhere).
br /
br /Also, it told me to turn the wrong way (left instead of right, for instance) several times - crazy! In short, this product is dangerous,
br /and not worth buying, because of the possibility that it can get people
br /lost or stranded in remote areas. Also, it is a gas waster, when one is trying to get back on track.
br /
br /I soon figured out that I had to check the map and/or ask directions.
br /
br /Garmin asks people to note the exact time place when the GPS commits errors. Who will really do that? Who is even aware that this is a requirement. Not practical. Garmin probably doesn't really want to know about the products' faults.
br /
br /
br /

I bought this GPS 3 weeks ago and only used no more than 5 times. It got stuck or frozen often during recalculation. I have to reboot it to let it run again.

I ordered the Nuvi 660 two weeks ago, and have been using it for the last week. It is very intuitive, and well thought out...I love it, and was about to order another one for a family member, when I see that Amazon has jumped the price $100, from $749 to $849. Although this unit is likely to be in high demand, it seems a bit underhanded for Amazon to soak customers this way. I would recommend a bit of web searching, as the Nuvi is available for less at other sites!

I bought it for my husband as a Christmas gift. He loves it. Great product.

So far it works really well.

I got this for my wife and she has absolutely loved it. I have tried using it and have had very few problems. Most of my use has been local, which it does not necessarily agree with the way i like to go but since it is not really designed for short trips to the store this is ok. When i have used it to go much farther it has worked like a champ. It gets you there close to the time it predicts (unless you try to go during rush hour). It ha shad a few problems with certian roads (i do not think i have the most up to date maps) but i am sure this can be remedied. I would reccoment it to anyone. It does great with street names (as most of the weird ones such as Zlotkin) it can pronounce how you would expect people who lived near them to pronounce them.

Pros:

1. Speaking street names is very helpful.
2. Accurate with time and continuously updates it while sitting in traffic (i have used other that the claimed time was an hour longer then the 45 minute trip actually took )
3. can us eit through the ar radio which is real nic ein a jeep that can get loud


cons:

1. can take some time to warm up and acquire sat.
2. seems to be better at acquire sat. while stationary (when i turn it one while driving it takes longer)


Definately Buy

I don't know why I didn't buy this sooner. I love driving with it knowing I will no longer get lost or try to read nonexistent street signs. The one peculiarity is when streets are North, south etc. don't put that in when entering the name because it will not be able to find the street. I am probably a much safer driver now that I am not trying to read maps when driving. I think it is worth the price.

I have another car with the manufacturers GPS which was a $2000.00 option, and was very much against purchasing an add on unit because I thought that they did not have the same features as the units that were installed by the automobile manufacturers. A friend of mine bought a Nivi 660, and it convinced me to consider purchasing one. I have had the Nuvi 660 for two months and am very happy with the purchase as it does just about everything that the one that came with my other car does. I like being able to connect my phone to the device via bluetooth for hands free phone use. The unit is packed with features, and since I travel a lot for business, I can bring it along for my business trips.

its a great device. finally i dont have to look at the signs while driving, it tells me everything.

it happens when you drive too fast it freezes, i was doin 85 on and it stopped telling me directions, after i took an exit and slow dawn it continued with farther directions. it also freezes if you put a large capicity SD card into it, i tried 2gb and was playing mp3 and the screen was doing so slow. but it was worth it , its great

ps : theres a lot of stuff on the internet to put on it, games,programs,other maps...

Used the Garmin for the first time and did an excellent job alerting us early for turns, street names, and detours.

The maps hve issues with left and right in some instances it tells me ariving on right but the location is on the left.

also the trafic alert system is 30min to an hour off here in atlanta also it only alerts to traffic on the freeways. so if you are buying it for the traffic alert dont waste your money.

This garmin gps is great. Many awesome features. Easy to work. I'm really happy with it. But nothin is perfect. I wish it remembered previous addresses you put in. And it brought me to the wrong place once which probably other gps devices would've as well.

I have only had this unit for a week, been using it all the time around town.

My only complaint is the Dash mount disc will not stick to my dash (i live in CA, so not supposed to stick to windshield)

The unit works perfectly when setting on the counsol beside me, but i wish the dash disc would stick. The suction cup for the windshield is very sturdy and works great.

Had problems with this unit. During a trip it froze up on me twice. It did not recognize the highway I was on for about two miles in W VA and showed me in a field. Unit kept telling me to turn on roads that were not there during this period of being lost. Note I had been traveling the same highway for many miles prior to unit not knowing this section of the highway was there. All in all I expected a lot more from Garmin as they are supposed to be experts in this type of technology. Maps were outdated even though it was the most recent map downloaded from Garmin. POIs were outdated also unit took me to a restaraunt that was not there. I sent the unit back for a refund and will wait awhile before purchasing another brand.

I purchased a lower grade Garmin for my daughter at Christmas and have used it on a trip; it was great. Unfortunately, the one I purchased doesn't always take us on the best route. I wish it had an option to take us on highway, etc... We went on a trip and it took us on the most hilly, curvey roads possible. It wasn't a great option on a snowy, wintery day. We tried using the other option but it was the same route. It also totally miss directed us on the way home that day and we were actually 1 mile from where we wanted to go first but it took us totally the opposite direction and we drove 15 mins. before we realized we were going the wrong way. Not sure what happened.

Awesome product! GPS for me, simply awesome, I get lost every where I go. Thanks to my future hubby, I now can get to appointments, garage sales and meetings w/out getting lost everytime.

Good: this is a good system but a few quirks:

1. The cigarette lighter charger stopped charging te nuvi after ONE day. The traffic reciever worked but not the charging. Gramin sent me a new one quickyl BUT sent me the wrong the one - only sent me a charger and not a traffic reciever.
2. I recently moved to LA and the apt building has been up for about 1.5 years and it has not been updated on the map
3. Bring your charger along b/c after 2 hrs of use the nuvi will say low battery.

I was really impressed with the GPS when I got it out of the box. It came with a 30 day trial traffic light camera and speed zone database. But when I went to authorize the databases, I found Garmin only had European speed and camera databases. I found and purchased a camera database, but have not been able to locate a speed database, When I took the unit out for a test drive, I found the database was so old it even lacked some freeways. The unit is well designed, and the Bluetooth works well with my cell phone. I am disappointed in the poor database, and the lack of the promised camera and speed databases. I wish I could change my rating to 3 stars!

The nuvi 660 GPS is the best!! The unit is so user friendly with a ton of features. They have really inproved on the GPS's since the orignal ones 5 years ago. So many more listing for stores and anything else you are looking for. I am always amazed at how much information is available with it. I started using the uinternet to look up things, but the GPS can find it better with point to point directions. I just moved to a new area and this is a invaluable resource to have.

GPS is Good, but over priced.

1. FM transmitter worthless given the price of product. iRiver 100 transmitter for $30 is 100 times better.
2. It wont hold charge. Amazon told me its a wide spread issue. So stay away from this for how until they figure this thing out.
3. Blue-tooth was no great, but quite OK.

Hope this helps.

I agree with most other reviews on this GPS. It is easy to use and works perfectly. Even my wife wants to use it.

I think the most likely explanation for the price increase is related to the pricing of the Garmin Nuvi 360. I think the prices were too close and Amazon realized that they were going to be stuck with an inventory of 360's. Since the 660's were selling like hotcakes, it wasn't hard to figure that they could bump up the price of those units and some people would opt for the less expensive 360.

There are still plenty of online vendors selling the 660 in the $750-$775 price range, but not with Amazon's excellent return policy and low shipping costs.

GARMIN NUVI? 660 TRAVEL ASSISTANT
After days of tedious research, in which I pretty much believed the information provided by the manufacturers, I decided to purchase a Garmin Nuvi 660 for my wife because she travels a lot by car in the eastern U.S.

From the very first usage (a casual trip to Vermont) where we knew the route we wanted to take and where there were few alternative routes, the Nuvi 660 started off in the wrong direction. In a few seconds it caught up with our location and "recalculated" our route to coincide with our usual route.

Next, we tried to use it on our annual trip to Charlotte, NC from our home in Saratoga Springs, NY. For this trip it insisted on routing us down I-87 (the NYS Thruway) to New Jersey and on to I-95 (the New Jersey Turnpike). This was completely unacceptable, so I just started driving with the thing turned on and when we headed west on the NYS Thruway it began its "recalculating" routine again. But, it missed the 'short route' from Albany, NY to Binghamton, NY via I-88 and instead wanted us to drive to Syracuse and take I-81 south to Binghamton! For the rest of the trip the Nuvi 660 directed us along the expected route.

I would have expected, that for a device of this expense, there would have been a way to enter several 'way points', so that the desired route could have been achieved without all the "recalculating"

In addition, while traveling in areas where we had no previous experience, we were directed to drive in directions that were totally counterintuitive. I was an Army Ranger and I know how to read a compass and a map. What I got in the way of directions from this device was, at times, completely stupid.

The blue-tooth feature, audible.com, and the Travel Kit add-ons worked perfectly and are probably the 'saving grace' that have kept us from returning the device!

If you want to get routed into subdivisions, areas with low bridges, or want to run thru the "ghettos" of every major city we as over the road truckers have to run, then this is the GPS unit for you!! This Garmin660 is lucky to still be riding in my truck and not laying out on the side of the highway somewhere!! The FM transmitter is a joke also. You spend more time changing channels trying to find a station that does not bleed thru than u do listening to the mp3 music. Heaven forbid u get a phone call on the bluetooth option. The complaints from the people on the other end of the call are unanimous!! "Call me back when u turn that pc o sh@$ off!"

This review compares the Nuvi 650 to the other, more expensive Nuvi 6XX models.

I looked at all the Nuvi models. Unless you love gadgets and can deal with complicated add-ons there is no reason to buy anything more expensive than the Nuvi 650. No blue tooth, no crappy MSN and no FM radio (how stupid).

The 650's processor, GPS receiver, screen, case & battery are IDENTICALL to all of the more expensive Nuvi 6XX series.

Hey I love gadgets folks but we are not helping the people who read these reviews for some common sense answers to basic questions if we do not point out which models are the best vaules for basic functionality.

Originally I even questioned the larger 4.2" screen - Why?: because you should not be looking at the damn thing when your're driving. Set your destination before you start and just listen to the excellent voice instructions.

For those who just want a very good GPS navigator spend no more than what the 650 costs.

PS: I thought everyone already had a bluetooth headset for the cell phone?

Garmin nüvi 650 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

I can't believe this otherwise great GPS (with 3D? Really?) does not provide elevation (altitude)! Is the Garmin Nuvi series just for you big guys and girls with big 4x4s that never leave the suburbs? I think I'll look elsewhere!

Not worth the $500. I would return it but I made the mistake of buyng it from a place where they charge 15% RMA.

1) GPS TOTALY worng. It put me on the wrong street.
2) GPS tells me to drive out of my way while all I had to do is a left turn.
3) Quality of bluetooth is horible.
4) FM is not clear on the car radio. I tried diferent frequencies but nothing is working.

After reading such great reviews, I expected it to be great. For the most part it is, but what I have found on several trips that it does not direct you in the fastest most logical direction. It took me more then once in around about routes, which added extra miles and extended travel time. It would be great if it provided the most direct route.

I was going to buy this from Amazon and it was listed at $749 but then they increased the price by $100 to $849. Please be careful of Amazon price policy. It is ment to increase thier profits.

Based on the reviews I read and the price that Amazon was advertising it for I probably would have rated this a 5. Last night the price was $749.00. I just sat down to order it this evening and the price increased to $849.00. I was shocked by this increase. Now I need to find a vendor that is more consistant with their pricing.