I bought the Nuvi 770 for my wife for Christmas. I had been watching the GPS price/features evolution for some time, and almost went with the 660. Ultimately, the new, more polished interface of the 770 and a few of the more recent features won out. As a Mac user, one of the most important aspects of any electronics device is the willingness of the manufacturer to support the Mac platform. Garmin does a very nice job of this. I downloaded the Web Updater and updated the 770 software in less than 5 minutes. I also installed the POI uploader and tested it out; worked great.

While the 770 is no iPhone, it does what it does very well. The number of steps required to get to desired information is not significant, and the screen interface is quite nice. Very polished, less "cartoonish" than some interfaces I have seen. The 3-D view is very effective. Directions were flawless. No chance yet to test the Traffic.com functionality.

My wife loved how well the 770 pairs with her iPhone. Dialing POI phone numbers was simplicity itself, and the ability to use the 770 as a handsfree speakerphone, even when dialing with the iPhone is very nice. Sound quality is pretty good, too, for such a small speaker. Persons on the other end of the line report that sound quality is good and fully understandable.

The FM transmitter feature--for which I did not have high expectations--is at best so-so. The 770 seems to find open FM spots on the dial fairly well [here in the Bay Area of Northern California, that is not trivial], but the downside of leaving the radio turned on to an occasionally hissing, static-y spot did not seem worthwhile. I want to be able to listen to the radio, and be interrupted as need be. That's how the built-in GPS works on our Subaru Tribeca, interrupting as necessary. I have not yet tried to hardwire the 770. BTW, its GPS functions are vastly superior to the built-in navigation.

One reason we chose the 770 is because we are visiting Europe this spring, and renting a car. So, we are looking forward to using it there. My test of the POI capabilities in Europe was pretty impressive. So we are looking forward to taking it on our trip.

We bought the dashboard frictional base, and it is amazing. Through twisting curves, quick starts, and surprise stops, it never moved. I will never use a windshield or dash sticky mount again.

The GPS display is bright and clear and maps are well detailed for both the US and Europe. The unit even warns of the location of known "Safety" speed cameras and their corresponding trigger speeds. To minimize the need for fiddling with display scales while driving, the map display "Auto scales" to show you increased detail when you slow and turn for an exit leaving the highway and then scales back out again when you get back up to speed. Of course, you can override this if you want to.

The GPS performance of this product is exceptional. I have never had a GPS that has a receiver so sensitive that it can regularly lock onto satellites even when it's inside a house or in a restaurant. This one does it, and quickly too. When I first got it, I turned it on and prepared to walk out onto into my yard to let it "find itself", but before I even got out the door, it had found the satellites and was "ready to navigate".

I agree with one of the other reviewers, and rather than 5 stars, I would have liked to give this unit only 4.5 stars. My reasons are: The lack of a case, the lack of an included AC charger (though one is available at a very reasonable cost), and the lack of an onscreen map scale indication while driving. Other than that, I love it.

Operational hint: I have seen that some of the reviewers mention having no "return to main menu" button so they have had to keep hitting the "Back" button multiple times back, back, back, etc. There is a single instruction in the Preface of the Owner's manual under "nuvi Tips and Shortcuts" that is easy to miss. It says, "To quickly return to the Menu page, touch and hold Back". It works fine.

I have used Garmin GPS units for many years now, and have had no problems until the last month. My trusty iQue M4 did not like getting wet in the California rain (my fault I must admit) and promptly died in the middle of a trip.

As soon as I got home I looked at the Nuvis and decided that the 770 was the best fit for my needs. I had it overnighted from Amazon as I was leaving on another trip in 3 days. Everything worked well for the first couple of days, and then I switched it on one evening and it could not authorize the maps. A call to Garmin Tech Support (and a 40 min wait on the phone) got the problem solved by downloading the unlock code file to the unit... this was VERY slick with Garmin Tech using a remote desktop type application (though this only works for Windows OS). 2 days later the maps would not unlock again, Luckily I had copied the file and reinstalled it. This time added write protection to the file, it worked for at least 5 days like that.

Then the next problem. I tried to use the Bluetooth connection to my phone. I had switched it off when traveling to conserve battery life. It would not come back on. The screen would say it was initializing bluetooth, and hang. Only switching the unit off would unlock it (bluetooth was still disabled). I tried everything I could think of, and then everything Garmin could think of, with several changes of firmware(2.4, 2.8 3.0...), nothing would persuade the bluetooth to come back.

So, after just over a week the unit has gone back to Amazon (who very promptly refunded me). I have become so dependent on my GPS that it HAS to be reliable, and for me the 770 is not there yet. I am sure that once the bugs are sorted out this will be an excellent unit, but for now I have ponder what to get next.

I was excited reading about the Nuvi 770. I'm going to Europe this summer and wanted to take a gps with me and the Nuvi 770 comes with Europe pre-loaded a huge plus! I like the Nuvi 770 but was very disappointed with the misleading advertisement for it; in the ad on Amazon it states that the Nuvi 770 comes with an ac charger it does Not come with a charger. It comes with a car charger; you have to plug it into your car before using it. To acquire a satellite can take up to 10 minutes and I'm in an open area without buildings but once the satellite is acquired it works great. Another con is it's had to start on/off. Also for the high price I would also expect a carying case which it does Not come with. Overall all it appears to be a good product; I'll come back and re-review it after Europe.

We live in Europe but travel to the States regularly, so this seemed to fit the bill. My first disappointment came when I discovered a unit at this price point came without any sort of carrying case at all. Something so basic should be included on top end models.

On a recent trip to the US, I noticed more than one instance where it missed the correct highway exit. It recalculated as soon as it realized the mistake, but it shouldn't have happened in the first place.

One feature that helped convince me to buy this model was that it could be used as a photo viewer. That was ideal, until I discovered that you first have to connect the unit to a computer in order to copy the images from the memory card you inserted into the Nuvi to the internal memory of the Nuvi. Why is such an arcane step necessary? You can play MP3's directly from the card, why can't you display photos directly from the card? Please, Garmin, fix this!!

I've owned other Garmin units, in particular Nuvi 350 which was awesome (and which I mistakenly "upgraded" to 770), but the 770 turned out to be a very disappointing device. I might have given it 4 stars had it been priced under $200, but it just doesn't justify Garmin's high price. Note that I updated the GPS to the latest available firmware and maps and all of the issues described below were persistent.
br /
br /1. Satellite location/fix can take a very long time (minutes sometimes) under the open sky (which was getting me lost right at the beginning of the trip- some auspicious start !).
br /2. Bluetooth and address book integration is very poorly designed. BT was one of the MAIN reasons for me to upgrade from 350. Personally I would not even consider using any GPS or external unit like that as a speakerphone while driving- way too much ambient noise. I just use a simple bluetooth headset for that. The reason I wanted to have BT was so I can upload my phone's address book into GPS and use addresses for destination information (it seemed like the most intuitive thing to do). Guess what ? The unit simply does NOT have this functionality- all it can store are the phone numbers and not the addresses ! Furthermore, even to get access to the phone book on the unit your phone has to have an active BT connection with it. When the connection isn't established, the address book app. does not even show up in the main menu. This is just poor design.
br /3. Traffic map application is separate and not fully integrated with the driving directions app, though it does provide alerts in the main driving directions screen. To launch the traffic app you have to go back to the top level menu first. Same thing to return to the driving app (several clicks in each direction- common I'm driving here after all !)
br /4. No voice commands- well, it's just not there. To me this would be the most important feature of any GPS unit (again- I'm driving here!)
br /5. Poorly designed interface in general- too many clicks to get to anything. At least they could make the driving app/maps to be a priority screen to always return to it with just a single click or after a specified time period.
br /6. Another annoying limitation- when entering destination addresses the unit does not recognize two-letter state abbreviations or 3 letter airport codes. Also, by default the on-screen keyboard layout is alphabetical and while it can be changed to QWERTY layout, I'd think the latter should be the default (do many people use alphabetical layout ?!)
br /7. Erroneous re-routing- the unit starts recalculating the route while I'm driving on the very route it's calculated in the first place. Somehow it must think I'm slightly off. This frequently happened on major bridge or highways with multi-lane type of configurations. Not good places to get lost ! I just had to ignore GPS's attempts to re-route until it finally got its bearings again.
br /8. Inaccurate traffic info- found it to be not particularly useful or accurate in New York city. I would often be sitting in bumper-to-bumper yet the traffic app showed my route as green. Maybe traffic updates are more useful and accurate for interstate routes and long-distance driving as opposed to cities.
br /9. The unit has many extras like MP3, photo viewer, which some mind find appealing but none of which are of any use to me. It's loaded with extras while missing some very essential GPS functions. I realize I may be in the minority on this one.
br /10. This is more of a wish- I'd like to be able to change my route simply by dragging the route on the screen over a different highway, etc just like you would do in Google maps. This would be a tremendous usability improvement- setting via points to "force" the GPS into a particular route is very cumbersome while driving.
br /
br /Truly, the only thing I like about this unit is that it seems reliable (no crashes) and has good maps and a wide screen.
br /

The Nuvi 770 is the most expensive and worst of the 6 GPS units I have owned. Aside from extremely annoying features like the on/off switch that turns itself on at inconvenient times and sometimes refuses to turn the unit off, the lack of a case or an ac adapter, lack of a printed instruction manual in a product of this price, the unit functions poorly, when it functions at all. Initial acquisition of satellites often takes 10-20 minutes, assuming one stands still for the entire period. Moving, even at a slow walking pace increases that to from 20 minutes to never. Recently the 770 located me as being 7.1 kilometers from Prague when at the time I was standing in the main square of the Old City. The 770 reset itself frequently, requiring me to input language preference, etc. almost every time I turned it on. Most recently it has refused to unlock the maps which makes the unit worthless. I have reverted to using my etrex hcx, since that unit actually works consistently, although in some respects is its performance is inferior to my forerunner 205. It seems that as one goes up the chain to increasingly recent and more expensive products in the Garmin line, quality decreases.

The Garmin Nuvi 770 does exactly what it says it does. I was excited to use it when I first got it, but found that the maps were not installed. I called Garmin who very easily set up my Nuvi with me over the phone. I only had a day before my trip and did not really get a chance to test it out.
br /Unfortunately that unit failed while I was on the trip. The unit would not charge and just shut off. I called Amazon from the road, identified myself, and they sent a new unit to a hotel where I would be staying, and allowed me to return the other unit two weeks later when I got home. The new unit arrived the day Amazon said it would, and this new unit has been working perfectly. It is fun and gives you confidence to try little roads and discover new places while on a trip, because the Nuvi can always get you back to where you need to be! Obviously, the first unit was just a defective unit which can happen to any electronic device. The replacement unit is the exact same model and it has been performing perfectly for 2 months now. Great unit from Garmin - great service from Amazon.

I agree that it takes forever to acquire a satellite, but can live with that.
What bothers me more is that the Nuvi 770 I got for Christmas has old information. My new eye doctor has been at his address for more that two years and the address is not even available. My neighborhood Walgreen's has been open for 4 years and is not available among the listing of pharmacies. I was late for a doctor's appointment the other day when the garmin took me to an exit off I-95 that has been closed for two years. I emailed Garmin and asked how to get more updated info and am told I have it. When I check Mapquest all this information is there accurately.
Sure the unit has a lot of bells and whistles but the main function of a GPS is to get you there and without current mapping information it fails.

My first delivery of Nuvi 770 was a faulty set. Amazon sent me another set and it has worked fine so far... 2 weeks now. They have yet to pick up the faulty one as promised on the telephone! And I am off to Singapore for 2 weeks!

Nuvi 770 has a wider screen and quicker at receiving satellite signals compared to my Nuvi 360. For an expensive gadget, I expected a leather case and a power adapter, JUST like the Nuvi 360 - no chance! I bought the leather case and power adapter separately. The ON and OFF button.. badly designed. If you're not careful, you might accidently switch it ON without realizing it(especially while you're trying to put it in the leather case). Another thing about this NUVI 770, it has NO hard reset button like the Nuvi 360. Other than that, it worked great! I will try out Garmin's new Singapore map and see how good this one works over there. I am going to the UK in March.. and shall try it out over there as well!

I'll make this short and sweet:
br /
br /Pros
br /*Big screen
br /*Good display
br /*Decent menus
br /*Packed with options (FM tansmitter, bluetooth, MP3 player)
br /
br /Cons
br /*I'm not convinced it really knows the shortest route, it's taken me some longer routes (time-wise) than I would've expected
br /*Condenser mic for bluetooth usage is terrible
br /*Longer than expected start-up time
br /*Traffic service isn't all that accurate and does little other than tell you how much time to expect to waste in the traffic/construction zone
br /*Built in speaker not bad in quiet environment, but easily drowned out in even moderately noisy vehicle (I have a Wrangler, which can get loud at highway speed)
br /*Must use headphone jack in unit, there is none in the mounting base (this just makes hooking it up to your stereo in your car more of a pain every time you put it in/out of your car)
br /

Update (10/21/08)
br /I got my Nuvi 770 because Volvo was selling a similar unit (760) for dealer installation. But I have been less than satisfied, especially in comparison to a Magellan RoadMate 1412 at less than half the cost of the Nuvi 770.
br /
br /When I got the Nuvi, I ran the web update...MISTAKE
br /That upgraded me to software release v4.1. Here are the problems that I ran into:
br /#1 The voice lag was so bad that the unit would give turn instructions when I was in the middle of the intersection, too late to execute the turn. I understand that the software release v3.x did not have this problem.
br /
br /#2 In the "Where Am I" option, the "nearest intersection" is WRONG. I don't know how it selects the nearest intersection, but that intersection is NOT the nearest intersection.
br /
br /I upgraded to software release v4.2 to fix these problems. (as of 10/18 v4.2 is the current release)
br /#1 Voice Lag. For the most part, that fixed the voice lag problem. But from what it looks like, they paused the screen refresh when the voice comes on, so the screen jerks. An irritant, but acceptable to fix the voice lag.
br /
br /#2 Nearest intersection. This problem has not been fixed. In further testing, I found that it could be off from one block to dozens of blocks. Don't plan on using it for 911, it could be so far off as to be useless. BTW I called Garmin and they "don't know about this problem."
br /
br /My wifes Magellan Roadmate 1412 has none of these problems, and it was half the price of the 770.
br /
br /Other nits
br /#3 The Points of Interest categories is not as detailed as that in the Magellan Roadmate 1412. Specifically when looking for places to eat, the Magellan has more categories of different types of food.
br /
br /#4 The favorites are arranged in order of distance from where you are, not alphabetically. So the order of your favorites will change as you change location. This was initially confusing as to what is going on.
br /
br /#5 The favorites do not have an extra line where you can add your own comments about the place. Especially important when the address does not line up, and you save the GPS location rather than entering the address, you need some place to put the actual address of the location.
br /
br /#6 No way to make corrections to the POI, and sooner or later you will find errors. But neither does the Magellan RM 1412. But I think some of the Tom-Toms do.
br /
br /#7 Does not have split screen preview of upcoming turns. This makes dealing with intersections easier. I would not have thought of this except that the Magellan RM 1412 has this feature, and I found it useful.
br /
br /#8 Navigation, should include "Use Highway As Much as Possible" to prevent going off then back on when it would make better sense to just stay on the highway.
br /
br /#9 Simulation speed. Should have an option to run the simulation FASTER. When simulating long trips, there is a lot of boring time on the freeway that you just sit waiting for it to get to the next turn.
br /
br /#10 They do not take advantage of the wide screen. When driving, I want to know what is in FRONT of me, not what is on the side. A square screen would work fine. Only in 3D-heads up mode does the wide screen add value. Or a split screen feature like the Magellan RM 1412.
br /
br /What I like (its not all negative)
br /#1 The car cradle connects the electrical, so no separate wire to connect/disconnect. The Magellan Roadmate(RM) 1412 has a separate wire.
br /
br /#2 Battery life is much longer than the Magellan RM 1412. So I can preplan a trip in the house w/o being plugged into a 12v power source.
br /
br /#3 Ability to change Text to Speach (TTS) voice. My ear prefers the female Austrailian English. Its interesting to listen to running a simulated route in different languages.
br /
br /#4 Zooming. In 2D mode, depending on how fast you are going/the road or highway, the 770 will zoom in/out to compensate. This is a good idea, but can be confusing if you don't expect it. It takes some use to get used to this.
br /
br /#5 The 4.3" screen size is nice, easy to glance at and see what is coming up. While I would like it larger (middle-age eyes), that would not work on the dash. Any larger and it would block your vision too much.

Bought this before going to Vienna and London. Updated software through Garmin website before leaving. Initialed the unit for the first time in Vienna on my hotel balcony, after 20 minutes or so, finally acquired the satellites. Street level in central Vienna has very little exposure to the satellites but even in an open square, it would take 20 minutes to acquire satellites. Same thing on Oxford Street in London, with a clear view of southern sky, finally gave up. Did not have the chance to use it in a car while in Europe, but certainly impractical for walking.
br /Was going to return it, but it acquired the satellites almost immediately after returning to the US and works very well in the US.

After I started using my Nuvi 770 I kept noticing that I was about 200 feet ahead of where the unit thought I was. It can be confusing when places to turn are close to each other or when on the freeway. I checked for product updates at [...] and found mine was up to date.
br /
br /So I emailed garmin customer services about this and this is a direct quote from them. "Thank you for contacting Garmin International. We are aware of a software issue on the Nuvi 700 series, that is causing this to happen and our engineers are working on a fix. Hope this helps"
br /
br /It would help if they provided a target date for the fix!
br /
br /Other than this the unit works well including the FM transmitter and the bluetooth. I just had more faith in Garmin before I received this response.
br /

After using this for about a month, overall I am pleased with my purchase. I use it much more often than I thought. I love how it shows you the estimated arrival time, which is great when you know there are several different routes to take to a place, but you are not sure which is fastest. It has also shown me better routes to places near my house that I had never thought of. User interface features are great, I have no complaints about the device itself. The built-in MP3 player and bluetooth functionality is great. I love being able to see who is calling, and answer my phone without having to take the phone out of my pocket.
br /
br /I am disappointed about the maps - the main thing you buy this for. It has incorrect locations for my house, and my office. When you encounter that, it makes you wonder how many other places are wrong. There are also some new roads around my house that opened around April 2008, and they are not included in the maps on the device (I have checked for updates, and mine came with the latest 2009 maps). I would like to get another one of these for my wife, but not with the current inaccurate and incomplete maps.

Good product. I bought it in October but when I registered it with Garmin the website indicated that the unit had been activated previously in December 2007!?
br /
br /Because of this Garmin will not provide the free update to the maps. I purchased this from Amazon as "New". I still haven't gotten a response from either Amazon or Garmin as to how that could happen.
br /
br /Other than that the unit works great...

Nuvi 770 works great, the traffic updates and rerouting is good to have, and it is very easy to use once the technical issues are resolved. Within the first week of ownership, I had to call technical support 3 times.
br /
br /The first call was due to the software update not working correctly and causing the device to say "System Software Missing" and rendering it inoperable. After over twenty minutes on hold, tech support was able to correct the issue by installing a few files onto the device remotely.
br /
br /The second call was due to trying to update the USA maps from the 2008 version to the 2009 version. The device did not update the license keys correctly so the device said something like maps not authorized or loaded. After twenty minutes on hold with tech support, they were able to fix the issue by installing the keys on the device.
br /
br /The third call was due to it working for a day and then saying "System Software Missing" again. After twenty minutes on hold with tech support, they were able to fix the issue by installing some software remotely.
br /
br /Since the first week, I have not had additional tech issues. It quickly plans routes and it is able to find all of the points of interest that I have tried.

I switched from an incar unit to the 770. The 770 is much better than the incar unit. I love it but there is 2 problems. 1st is that I have to disconnect and hide it whenever I get out of the car. 2nd is that the power sw is not easy to use. This is a real pain.

I purchased the nuvi 770 as an upgrade from tomtom. The nuvi never i mean never wanted to direct me using the fastest route which all the time included highway. I email and call garmin international with no success at all. Garmin international never got me around the problem. I ended up returning the product and upgraded to another tomtom 930T. The garmin has excellent display and many useful features. It just didn't work for me. It just didn't work for me.

I would highly recommend this product. My father is the pickiest driver I know. There are two things he absolutely hates: being lost (he won't admit it!) and traffic. So when I saw this awesome GPS for an amazing price I knew what I had to get him. Not only does it announce the directions out loud, you can also have them tuned into your FM radio; meaning you won't ever miss a turn! In addition it came with traffic support, which redirects you right around the traffic, which is genius!
br / Aside from it's great features, I also set it up for my dad. Set up took about 30 seconds, the satellite found the location straight away. When we purposely passed the exit the nuvi wanted us to take, it took all of 15 seconds to reroute us to the correct exit. Very intuitive and very easy to use. Wish it came with a case and an A/C power cord but this is so minor comparatively. I would highly recommend the Garmin Nuvi 770 and will be looking to get garmin products once I have a car.

The wide screen on the nuvi 770 gps is easy to follow and the Search mode is very effective when you are in range of your destination. The only complaint I have is the FM system. The instructions say "Tune into a vacant frequency." (such as 88.1) This works well here in Miami, but as I travel North to Disney World, the frequencies are in use in other areas. I have to keep searching for a new vacant frequency to hear the travel directions or to hear my Audio book. Otherwise, I recommend this unit.

I love this GPS. It is so easy to use. The only problem I have is the suction mount, it only sticks to glass, but I bought the beanbag mount so all is okay. I would recommend to anyone.

It is amazing how this technology has evolved. This unit is compact, extremely sensitive, and packed with features. Even if you don't think you need a GPS, this little guy (or girl) would soon become your constant companion. Hey, it remembers where you left your car! Garmin packs the GPS technology into a bunch of packages with different capabilities, but their website helps you to focus in on the features that you want. For me, the NUVI 770 had it all, but if you don't want bluetooth and international maps, look at the NUVI 750 !

Bought the item for a trip to LA and Seattle. Navigation, picture viewer, music media, and the other gadgets were perfect. Especially liked the multiple languages available for navigation instructions. One thing I did not like was the FM transmitter. Tried it on 3 different cars, and there was more static than music. Could not get it to work like I expected. Do not know if it is the overall technology, or if it was limited to this Garmin unit (or all Garmin units). This is the first time I am using FM Transmission to play music over the onboard radio so I do not have a basis of comparison. Overall, an excellent buy on Amazon.com. Worth the money I paid.

I like this Garmin. The feature rich Nuvi 770 is very impresssive. I have found myself using my Nuvi to find new restaurants routes to try! It is great being able to find the nearest ATM/Bank/store etc. when you are out of town. I had one issue when showing a friend how great this product is. The Nuvi directed me to turn right when we new left was correct. My friend is buying a Nuvi anyway! Nothing man made is perfect but the Nuvi is well worth having. Can't wait for our trip to Europe where our 770's built in European maps will be tested! We will be aware directions are fallible! Enjoy.

I did a great deal of research before picking the nuvi770 as my first GPS. It had all the "must have" features I was looking for with a few added (but not TOO many!) I tried it out and there were a few glitches that obviously cannot be avoided. I live in a fast growing area of Houston and streets are being connected all of the time, growing longer, and "suddenly" appearing.
br /
br /I read the negative reviews here and I think that most could be fixed by studying the downloadable manual. I studied the manual as part of the purchase process and it really, really helped.
br /
br /I shopped in the local stores and NO ONE could touch the price from Amazon, I ordered on Monday and they promised the GPS with free regular shipping by Tuesday of the next week...it was here Thursday afternoon! WOW!

I purchased this Garmin nüvi 770 GPS Navigator and Personal Travel Assistant a month before my trip to Europe and tried it in Ohio after going to the Garmin site and installing all the upgrades - it worked really well and seemed to be easy to use. However, when I went to Italy - it was close to useless! It took forever to start up, would get us within 300 - 600 feet of an address but often the wrong road! It led us to a highway "entry point" that had been closed for 7 years - but the final straw was when at 4am on a cold, rainy dark morning it led us onto a highway going the wrong way!! I would suggest that you not buy this particular model if going to Italy!

I just received it and used it five times. Three out of five directions had major errors. The first sent me down a one-way street the wrong way, even though the street was changed to a one-way street in 2004; the second directed me to a highway via a dead-end street that was blocked off in 2001; the third told me to "keep left and turn on Glendale Road." Glendale Road was on the right, not on the left, and the misinformation could have had deadly results in heavier traffic. Beware that Garmin often gives out of date and faulty information.
br /A second complaint deals with the primitive speech technology. Most speech synthesizers today do a much better job. Examples: "Route 2 East" comes out Route Tweest". It also does not give you an option to repeat instructions; if you miss it the first time, forget it.
br /Finally, the product description on Amazon does not include either a mount or a power cord as coming with the product, but does show both items as desirable options to buy. The Garmin nuvi 770 does come with both a mount and a power cord.
br /

We purchase this Nuvi 770 for a gift. The people we gave it to love it. They used it in Toronto, Canada, and were able to get where they wanted and even find a restaurant they wanted to go too. Well worth the purchase. SUPER FAST delivery as well! THANKS!

Got it on time. It works good so far. Takes me where I need to go.
br /I was not completely sure if the product was new. Even though some of the packing was looking good.

Just received my new 770 a few days ago. Everything seems to work well so far except...
br /
br /The touchpad point locations are way off when I try to input street numbers/names. Have followed instructions in Owners Manual Troubleshooting which states to turn unit off, then on, push switch to right to lock, then touch screen for 30 seconds, and wait to get recalibration screen with instructions to follow.
br /
br /However, I only get box stating that unit is locked and need to slide power switch to middle to unlock. Recalibratiion screen never appears. Has anyone had this problem and been able to correct it?
br /
br /Have emailed Garmin and am waiting for reply. Will report results when contacted.

I but 3 devices last 2 months for me and my friends in Saudi Arabia .
br /1 of them has no reception for the sat and I contact amazon.com and the replace it for my
br /I used most of Garmin nuvi models like 200,200W.250W,660.670.680,750,760.
br /the have nice 4.3 wide touch screen and good 3d drew
br /The thing I didn't like in it is the speakers , I make some noise if you make the vice in hi level and have bad connection to the FM
br /And I don't see this problem with the 660 670
br /Also the devices as all carmine devices who have a Bluetooth connection doesn't support all the mobile phones
br /
br /Thing I don't like in Garmin nuvi is you when you use POI in Saudi Arabia
br /He make your trip longer than what should I take unlike the Garmin program for Nokia mobile phone
br /I recommended because the maps good price
br /
br /Saleh alhaimoud
br /

Having owned the 670 version of this product before, I wondered what changes had been made to the 770. It turns out that this was a minor evolutionary step. They did away with the flip-up antenna (I was worried that this might affect sensitivity but it did not). Otherwise, the changes are mostly on the software side - really, a lot of little improvements that just make it more convenient to use. For example, there is a more obvious way to determine the coordinates of your current location - instead of having to search for the coordinates icon under the "Where To" menu. Inputting information is more convenient too - less flipping between screens to get to the right characters' "keyboard". The unit seems to work "faster" as well - e.g. when calculating routes. I had initially considered going to the very latest generation but for my needs it turns out that this model suits me just fine.

I bought this for a trip to Europe. It was incredibly accurate...locations, towns, gas stations, everything was accurate.

The device works great and makes driving new areas much less stressful--you always know where you are and when to turn to get where you want to go. The interface is not as intuitive as it could be; it helps to take some time and read through the instructions and practice before taking it on the road for a serious trip. One change would make it much easier for some of us: use the qwerty keyboard. The alphabetical order keyboard is, embarassingly perhaps, confusing. However, after a while, you'll have most of the places you want to go in "favorites" and may use the keyboard less. It would also be nice to have an ongoing "miles to destination" You get updated estimated time of arrival, but the alternative of miles would be nice. (They may be there and I haven't figured out how to find them yet.) I am certainly glad I bought it and I'm sure it will be a great stress reliever this summer when we drive from Paris and through the south of France.

Great product overall.
br /+: Very fast in route recalculation, easy to use, very bright LCD screen, good maps
br /-: maps are preloaded only, no CD with maps included in the box

Garmin, as usual, is tops in GPS market. The 770 does everything as advertised. I use GPS in the car, on the trail, and in the air as a pilot. Hands down, Garmin's are the best. I switched to the nuvi after retiring a streetpilot and my only complaints apply to all of the Nuvi's, not only the 770, and essentially: I miss the remote when driving, the streetpilot had more shortcuts, but also had 4 buttons/softkeys on the face. I think the gps market is just geared toward new users with less experience. All in all, read features carefully and choose NUVI that has the ones you want for the price you want. YOU CANT GO WRONG!!!!!!

a better line of the Garmin GPS, well thought out, easy to use. screen is nice with lot of features. Good battery life. A bit off in terms of finding address especially in Metro NY area. It was not the satellite but can't even find a street address, fine tune is needed manually.

I have only had my Garmin Nuvi 770 for one month but I couldn't be happier with it. The operation of this gps is very simple. It locks on to satelites very quickly, it has found every street that I program in even a couple of streets that have been in existence for a little over a year. It recalculates a new route very quickly. It does everything I want and expected from a gps. The only drawback is the bluetooth connection. I have an LD cell phone model VX8350 which is bluetooth capable but the Garmin 770 does not recognize it.

This is the true personal assistant, great for US and Europe use in car and on foot!

After just moving into a new area I figured it was best to buy a GPS unit for my wife since she is directionally challenged. After researching the different units and reading reviews we settled on the 770 and have found it to be extremely helpful and easy to use. My wife has no problems figuring out how to use it and keeps it with her all the time. I no longer get the phone call "I'm lost. How do I get home?" The only annoying feature is sometimes it takes an extremely long time acquiring satellites but once it connects, all is well.

I purchased this GPS system for my husband's birthday and he loves it. He would, however, like for the unit to be voice-activated even though our kids love the English accent.
br /
br /We would recommend this unit to anyone interested in purchasing a GPS system.

Recently traveled to France and drove from Paris to Mont St Michel then to Calais. We arrived after dark and would not have found our Hotel without the Garmin 770. This device gave two senior women the courage to rent a car and go for it. It was great for looking up musuems and points of interest, saved us the hassle of carrying guide books. Sandra Barber

I am new to GPS world.
br /
br /Wife needs it as a realtor and bought one for brother as a gift who is in Europe at the moment (Will get the scoop from him on how easy it is to use in Europe). I did an extensive research on the net before settling on GARMIN. Other review are right on! This unit is GREAT!
br /
br /This unit is easy to use out of the box; all interface screens are Self explainatory. Do get a car charger and a wall charger, the unit does not come with any chargers. In GPS mode, it drains juice fast.
br /
br /This a fantastic little tool that is packed with features; I am still finding new wonderful things about it as we type out this review.
br /
br /If you don't need European maps, Nuvi 760 is a cheaper alternative with all of feature of Nuvi 770.
br /
br /Strongly recommended.
br /
br /
br /
br /

I wasn't a believer in products like this but now I am telling everyone to buy one. If anyone does any motor traveling at all this product is a must. It not only takes you in the most efficient and direct direction to your destination but it tell you so much more.

I bought this GPS because I am moving to a new city and did not want to print maps during the first few months I am there. I was reluctant at first because of many negative reviews here that touch on most key features of the 770 as not working properly, or at all.
br /
br /I am glad I gave nuvi 770 a try. I have been testing this unit for about a week now both in-town and on highways and everything is working better than expected.
br /
br /I did upgrade the firmware to the version 4.20 using Garmin's WebUpdater software without problems. Although, I have not seen problems prior to the update, many nuvi user forums discuss issues that firmware 4.20 allegedly addressed.
br /
br /My units starts up and is ready to go in about 20 seconds. Although, it takes another 10 seconds if one loads European maps also (I have this disabled). The satelite signal strength is displayed in upper left corner of the screen using familiar "cell phone" bar graph. More details on satelite signal (including current accuracy in feet) can be obtained by pressing and holding the signal bar graph for a few seconds. The accuracy of my unit with 4 out of 5 bars is typically around 20-30 feet.
br /
br /Once the unit is up, the user is greeted with a "Where to" and "View Map" buttons. The "Where to" button will take you to another screen where you can select address, point of interest (shopping, etc), set of coordinates, intersections, recently found, favorites, etc. User can also browse the map (and pick destinations with an arrow pointer). The interface was very intuitive to me even though I have never used GPS before. The address is entered by specifying the city first, then house number (can be skipped), and street name. The unit automatically selects a state in which you are in, but that can also be changed by selecting "another location" instead of city first. After that a Go button appears and you are on your way.
br /
br /Once in the navigation mode you can touch the car icon to bring up "where am i" feature which allows you to find a list of closest police stations, hospitals, or gas stations, or save your current location to favorites. Touch the speed indicator/ETA at the lower left corner to get compass, current speed, and other trip details like moving average, etc. To get an overview of the route touch the green bar across the top of the screen. To get turn by turn overview touch the lower right corner.
br /
br /The additional nice feature of the 770 is the speed limit display which worked for me in most city streets and all highways. This appears as a speed limit sign on the left side of the display. In areas where the FM traffic signal is available and your route includes a delay, the 770 will display the yellow warning sign on the right of the screen with the time delay in the middle. Touching on this sign activates another screen with detour options. I was "lucky" to test the FM traffic during Sacramento rush hour and it worked well, the unit displayed the warning sign indicating estimated delay ahead.
br /
br /Another nice feature is routes. One can select multiple way points on the way to the destination and order them however appropriate. Some people mention inconvenient automatic sorting, but on my unit I decide the order of way points by moving them up or down in a list. One can also create routes between points that do not include a current location. This is nice since it allows a user to preprogram and save routes in anticipation of traveling to some location.
br /
br /The units speaks the street names and has a decent speaker. I have no problem hearing it in my fairly loud compact car. The audio out jack is available for use with headsets. The unit also has a FM transmitter for use with a car radio. This worked very well for me, ONLY when I was able to find an FM station in the low frequency range that was pure static. This is consistent with what the manual describes. The unit also has an mp3 and ogg vorbis player and a audio book player. The audio quality is significantly better when using a headset or the FM transmitter with car radio than with the built-in speaker.
br /
br /Some of the fluff includes a jpeg viewer, calculator, currency converter, unit converter (e.g. mph to kph), dictionary (only a sample included), world clock.
br /
br /I have not tested the bluethooth feature yet.
br /
br /I have not had any trouble that others are talking about with respect to locking maps, etc. Everything just works and is very intuitive (to me).
br /

So far so good. Have not gone to Europe yet to check that out. Only problem on my Magellen you had a button to repeat the voice instruction. I don't see how you can do that with this unit.

After 1 month, its been pretty reliable at getting me around Pittsburgh and the far flung towns where kids soccer games take me. Its pretty easy to use, seems to pick up satellite signals quickly. It has frozen twice however so some software bugs remain to be fixed, and occasionally is late telling me about turns so I guess its not sure enough of my position. Plenty of features to like. Not yet used in Europe but I have a trip coming up.

The first one I purchased had a bad bluetooth sound. I purchased another one and returned the original, the second one worked great.

Was using a 200W previously, so am familiar with the Garmin interface. The 770 offers the same great user friendly interface for upgraders like me. Same GPS functions but with added features like bluetooth, improved mounting, FM transmitter and MP3 player, etc. Great unit! :)

I would give this a 4.5 if I could, just because I agree with other reviews citing the lack of a case. This unit is supposed to be mobile to take with you on the road! There's no case included and good luck finding one online for the 700s. The current recommendation is to use the 600-series case, but that unit is thicker and it's reported that the 700s easily slip out. After searching online and hitting a couple of local stores, I finally found an acceptable 3rd-party solution at Best Buy, though it's much bulkier than I was looking for.

But enough whining. Garmin is the best out there and that's why I'm a repeat customer. This 770 unit's the best you can get.

I have very bad luck with my 770. I had to return the first one. Travel feature would not work. Now I had to return the second one. The maps locked suddenly (big problem).Then the blue tooth feature would not work. Finally the entire unit stopped working. They are sending me a third unit. Something is wrong with this model, This is getting Very tiresome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a wonderful GPS. I haven't used the
br /Europe maps yet but will be doing so in the near future. The maps are accurate- even in areas that are off the beaten track. Wonderful buy. Would recommend it to anyone. Thank you Amazon.

This worked great out of the box. I did need to call garmin to see how to change the voice and got very good and very fast info.This item is well worth the money.

This Garmin nuvi 770 is GREAT! this is my first GPS and I am loving it.
br /
br /Thanks Garmin.

I have a nuvi 650 and I bought the 770 for my brother. It is simple to use and I like the bluetooth and the where do I park feature the most.

First off I will say that Garmin does make a great product the software is user friendly. Although I have not used the Bluetooth application yet it is nice to know it is available. I have not had it long so I cannot go through all of the features yet. But I have be able to put in multiple addresses and it has taken me to all my destinations. I have noticed that some newer shopping area and roads were not listed so you will periodically have to update the maps to get the current listings (but you have to expect that). The only real complaint I have with mine (and its not that big of a deal) is that it does take a little bit to load the maps when you first turn it on. It takes about a couple of minutes at most but again that is a very minor issue. Once the maps are loaded it pretty well keeps up. Last thing for now, I do have to say is that there is a very small delay in your position when you are traveling. That is to be expected and this is statement is for those who are just learning about GPS systems, but it is very good at giving you adequate time to tell you when your next turn is.

The Garmin Nuvi 770 is my fourth Garmin GPS. It is easy to use and intuitive. The only negatives are that it seems to take a while to "load maps" and 3 times it lost its voice. I had to remove it from the dock and power it down and back up. I have not had the problem since.
br /
br /The display is bright and clear even in sunlight. The sound is loud enough.
br /
br /I contacted Garmin by email to inquire about the 2009 maps. The next day I had a personalized email reply from a real person with the information I needed to download the 2009 maps. A CD could be ordered for $10, but the 2+ GB download took less than an hour. Garmin should teach other companies like Dell what customer support is.
br /
br /Amazon has always been good, but as of September 1 apparently no longer offers a 30 day price match. Its is too bad that this information was not shared sufficiently with its customers. Can't really blame Amazon too much since they are in it for the money. However I did purchase primarily from Amazon because they were great with their customers. I will start doing a lot more comparison shopping rather than just buying from Amazon.
br /
br /

My chief complaint is the outdated US map software - it's dated April 2007 so several exits and roads are not listed or named correctly. To get the latest map, you have to pay $70!! You'd think you'd be able to download it for free in the first 30 days but that doesn't appear to be the case.
br /
br /Other complaints...
br /It lead me to a wrong location on the first trip.
br /It doesn't have the same neat features that my TomTom had (the TomTom shows 2 lanes for divided highways and also shows median turn-around locations).
br /The Nuvi 770 has a very "computerized" voice. With the TomTom, you could download Burt Reynolds' voice among others. Kind of cool.
br /The on/off sliding switch is hard to work - sometimes you have to hold it for at least a couple seconds to turn it off....why not just a button??
br /The Nuvi takes WAY LONGER to connect to satellites and calculate routes (than the TomTom).
br /My computer doesn't recognize the Garmin when connected...I'm not even going to try figuring it out - I'll just return it for a refund.
br /
br /
br /

Very user friendly! No need to be tech savey. Just turn on and go. I use it everyday in the delivery field. I'm still learning how to use all the features, so far it's been pretty simple to figure out. I highly recommend this Nuvi for road trips too. Learn a new language, listen to a story, or answer your phone hand free.

I previously owned an older version of Magellan Road Mate. I couldn't get parts any longer so I looked around for a newer model. Found this nuvi and bought it because it was preloaded with US and European maps. I really like this particular product. Would recommend to anyone!

If you would like to meet someone at a location stored on the Nuvi 770, then this GPS system is not for you. Note, that this may be a problem on other Nuvis, but I only tried the Nuvi 770. You can't just tell someone you are going to meet them at location X when there is no address. You need the coordinates for the location. The following steps (about 30) are required to find the coordinates for any location stored on the Nuvi 770:

Select Tools, Select Settings, Select System, Select GPS Simulator, Select On, OK, Back, Back, Back, Select Where to, Select Favorites, Select Favorite from list (Down Arrow...), Select Show Map, Select Set Loc, Back, Back, Back, Down Arrow, Select Coordinates, Back, Back, Select Tools, Select Settings, Select System, Select GPS Simulator, Select Off, OK, Back, Back, Back.

Pretty pathetic! The user interface could be improved by adding the coordinates to the location display, a home button or toggle values to reduce the number of button presses, a distance scale on the map, and a faster method to zoom. Garmin can easily fix these problems and the software is downloadable from their web site, but their tech support didn't seem to understand how important these issues were and how difficult it was to use. I would have gave it a poorer rating, but the problems could be easily fixed. You might want to buy a different system or you can wait for the problems to be fixed.

I ordered from Amazon on Wednesday and received product on Saturday. Excellent service from Amazon. Please with the price (about $60 cheaper than Wal-mart and no sales tax). Very pleased with the speedy service.

I must admit that I have never owned nor used any type of GPS unit so I have nothing to compare it to. But it was so simple and easy to use. I was able to use it right out of the box without reading any directions. We have used it for 2 days now and everything is great. The driving directions (that we have used so far) and been perfect and right on target. Even my non-techie husband was able to use it and play with it easily!

It was a great buy and I don't think you will be sorry you purchased it!!

I have experienced slow satellite acquisition times with this unit. Really sad for something that costs this much. I had a Garmin nuvi 350 before this and it took forever sometimes to acquire the satellite. This 770 is slow as molasses too. My wife's TomTom 920 locks on immediately and even tracks in tunnels and downtown with enhanced positioning technology that senses gravity and motion. The TomTom downloads QuickFix GPS location data whenever you dock it to your computer which aids it to lock on immediately, even when indoors. Nice !

I find the lack of a home button annoying, making me push back over and over to get where I need to be. Why can't they learn from the iPhone and put one button on the front for Home. That would be so nice.

Battery life has been about three hours. Why don't they use a lithium-polymer battery instead of lithium-ion in a unit that costs so much. The TomTom 920 uses a state-of-the-art lithium polymer battery.

No on-the-fly POI sharing or POI management on the Garmin like the TomTom units cool MapShare feature. Sad....

No case is included. When you pay this much for something why can't they give you a $15 case ! Come on Garmin.

No speech recognition. My TomTom 920 has it. Great for hands-free operation.

No remote control. My TomTom 920 came with a tiny bluetooth remote control. Nice & handy.

No desktop cradle. My TomTom 920 came with a nice desktop cradle. Nice & handy.

The Garmin Website does not reveal the type and speed of processor ( CPU ) or the amount of internal memory in this unit. Very sneaky Garmin. TomTom tells you all of these specs.

Back this unit goes as it offers nothing really new or innovative for its high price. I see a new TomTom 920 joining my wife's unit in our household. Garmin either needs to cut its prices and/or come out with some new, more innovative technology. This unit looks and performs very tired.

Nuvi 770 is an overpriced unit that is not much different from its much cheaper sisters. Long satellite acquisition time. Bluetooth is not reliably usable. No software to plan your trip on home computer. Does not accept an address from search engines like TomTom and Google. The interface needs work. For example, there is no simple menu button to take you to the menu during certain applications and you have to keep pushing back 5 or 6 times which becomes bothersome after a while. No dead reckoning. Very slow when searching for points of interest beyond 5-10 miles which tells me something about their processor speed for such an expensive unit. What about accessories? Shouldn't they at least include a carrying case for this top of the line unit? My brother in laws older Nuvi does some of the same things with slightly faster speed! Save your money and buy a cheaper Nuvi or a TomTom.

Like it very much. My first GPS device. Got it as a gift. Its Great. like the built in bluetooth feature. Havent used all the features yet but looking forward to it.

This company gave me fantastic service. In a busy season I received the order in 2 days. The GPS was a great price and is a teriffic product.
Thank you.
L.

Can't rate this item yet. I received it 2 days after placing my order. I used the 770 for two days then the voice function failed so I returned the device to Garmin. About 10 days later, a re-manufactured unit was returned to me, but it also failed, but for a different reason. This time, the data files (points of interest) wouldn't mount. I spoke to Garmin and they asked that the re-man unit be returned to them, and that they would send another. So, at this point, I can't really review the unit, having only logged 2 days time with it. Hopefully the third time will be the charm. TKristy

I ordered this product based on what my needs were and was VERY excited to receive it. Actually, I just received it about one hour ago. When I picked up the UPS box, i felt something was loose inside. I opened it up and took out the Garmin box. I opened up THAT box and I found the unit laying LOOSE (!) inside the box (who knows how many times it was bounced around) and no owners manuals. I called Amazon and the gave me the cliche answer that I would have to return it and have them send me another one. I am too busy to go through that charade plus I needed the unit ASAP. Then, I plug in the unit so I can register it and it is telling me that I am out of memory!!!! I am just totally frustrated, I feel the money that I saved (over what I would have paid at a real store) is not worth it because I am getting a lesser product and customer service. So, after 45+ minutes of wasting my time with "Customer Service" I got frustrated and I am sending the unit back and will NEVER buy anything electronic from this place. And Garmin should be ashamed to not include a wall charger with their units, not even a soft case. I returned a TomTom 730 because I thought the Garmin would have been a better deal, but no way. Going back to TomTom and buying from a store where I can talk to a human being.

This is my first and last Garmin product. Received it 2 days ago and added address in Europe as I am getting ready to leave in 2 days. This morning it was all gone. I tried to register the 770 and when the serial # is entered it says that the unit is already registered. I sent an email to support and I get the cookie cutter response and the idiot on the other end telling me I may be not finding the right number. After 4 emails (almost the same response every time) I will be sending this back and will never purchase from Garmin again. Very poor support and terrible unit. Glad I have my iPhone for my trip.

I have had Garmin ever since road navigation started and had nothing but good experiences with their products. To be honest, it would be nice if they were more easily reachable on the phone and replied to emailed questions much more promptly, but the quality of their machines is undoubtful. Highly recommended!!