This Garmin is the first GPS I ever had or used. I was hesitant to get involved in another technology that ends up using as much of your time as it may save.
But, this unit is surprisingly intuitive and easy to use. Out of a 90 page onwners manual, I read the first 5 and then took off on a road trip. But first, I installed the the City Navigator software (an upgrade from what comes pre-loaded). Unlocking the maps was not a big deal, but I did have to get Garmin customer service on the phone to get past glitched screen. It was easy to get them on the phone and the guy stayed with me all the way through installation even though my issue was resolved.
I was disappointed to learn about the City Navigator NT (stands for "new technology). I wish I would have bought that instead of standard City Navigator. Apparently the N.T. is a good deal more efficient with the unit’s memory. And, once you load and “unlock” the regular version, it is yours and they will not take it back.
As I said, the unit is very easy to use and does a whole lot more than I expected it to. I wanted something I could use in the car as well as on the water. My first uses of the unit have all been on the road. I got the “car navigation package” (or some such thing) that included a very nice and easy to use sand-bagged and grippy holder. I have been using it on my stearing column so that it basically reads just like another gauge on the dash. It is very easy to read in this position and stays put without issue.
One thing I’ll point out here, I got the MAP76 which has the screen in the bottom and the buttons on the top. The MAP60 style has the screen on the top and the buttons on the bottom. I am very glad my screen is on the bottom. If it were on the top, I would not be able to view the screen with the unit on the steering column; the steering wheel would block your sight of the higher screen. This to me would be a major bummer because the unit is very easy to both see and hear sitting on the steering column (works great that way in both my vehicles).
If you like maps, these things are teriffic. Rather than making you dumber about the world around you, they actually help you understand spatial relationships, the names of roads, creeks, villages, landmarks etc.
Anyway, I just wanted to point out to others who may be considering a purchase that the definately want the City Navigator NT and that the MAP76 series seems better suited to car use due to the location of the screen.
Gotta Go. I don’t get a Doug Day today (though I did try!)
NT Version
Interesting comment about that. I read the info on the Garmin page and concluded it only had to do with how the stuff was stored on the disk and possibly might affect how long it would take to load onto the unit itself. No claim was made that it took less memory on the unit, that I saw anyway.
I did go for the NT version, but the decision was mostly a toss-up. If what they told you is really true then I guess that ended up being a good decision.
Mike