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| GARMIN 010-00567-00 Zumo 550 GPS Receiver | 
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| Brand: Garmin
Category: CE
List Price: $964.99
Buy New: $654.99
You Save: $310.00 (32%)
New (71) Used (1)
Avg. Customer Rating:  143 reviews
Sales Rank: 1264
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Native Resolution: 320x240
Display Size: 3.5
Includes MP3 Player: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 11
Dimensions (in): 4 x 9 x 6
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
MPN: 010-00567-00
Model: 010-00567-00
UPC: 053759061754
EAN: 0053759061754
ASIN: B000H2W4E6
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Better after the updates February 27, 2007
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
This unit was sent as a replacement for a stolen 2730 with GXM30 ant. At first I missed the 2730 but after using the Zumo for a month now, cant say I miss the 2730 at all. The ability to move the unit between car and bike is a huge plus, or the ability to use the unit with its internal battery is a huge plus. Jump into a friends car and just sit it in a console, it picks up the gps signal just fine. It even works in every room of my house unlike the older garmin units that required a clear view of the sky. The GXM30 ant is the only gripe, it plugs into the cradle and can be somewhat of a hassle to switch back and forth between vehicles.
While other GPS units might work better in different applications, the ZUMO hits the spot for dual use in a cage and on a bike. Plus the form factor allows one to put it in a jacket or back pack for use any and everywhere.
 Garmin Zumo 550 and Mapsource City Nav NT 8.0 February 21, 2007
21 out of 25 found this review helpful
Hardware:
This one is quite good, and I give it a 5 Star rating.
Easy to use, fairly intuitive, and WebUpdater software for updating the firmware inside the unit. Good brightness for motorcycle riders that have no shielding from direct sunlight (as car drives do).
Glove friendly is not just a selling point - it works quite well.
Software:
Routing is mainly subject to the included Garmin Mapsource City Navigator NT 8.0 which is included and pre-installed on the unit.
Once routes are transferred to the unit, they seem to work well.
Software is dismal. One star rating is kind.
I use MS Streets & Trips and it routes well, and has more granularity over the options and preferences in the routing tools.
It would seem that Garmin is a hardware company, and software us just a liability and not an asset. I have two previous versions and find no substantial differences between them.
The average is therefore 3 stars.
 New gps user learns on the zumo February 14, 2007
19 out of 19 found this review helpful
The zumo is awesome. I knew I would like having gps with me while I ride, but I never knew how much it would change the way I ride. I use it to find small twisty back roads, make a route on the fly, and spend more time on my idea of nice roads than ever in the past.
The controls are easy to use and intuitive. I have only had to look a couple of processes up in the owner's manual.
The mounting systems are spectacular. It is so nice to be able to swap the unit between my car and bike effortlessly.
I purchased a 1G card to put music on while I ride. It works very well when it pauses the music to give verbal directions.
Compared to the prices of other systems, if you ride a bike, this is the best.
Garmin Zumo 550 Great Positioning System February 7, 2007
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
In the case of this superb Garmin product, that's what GPS should stand for. I've owned multiple GPS systems in the past. This one is the best. Out of the box, I put it on my dashboard and conducted a nighttime tour of WASH, DC for my wife's family. With precision the ZUMO 550 took me from one monument to the next. If I missed a term, before it could say recalculating, it cut itselft off at "Recalc.." Turn Right... it would give new directions. That's FAST. Sure it has options I will never use, like XM radio and FM traffic but the Bluetooth comes in very handy with my cell phone and bluetooth enable headset. Price was great, delivery was quick. Highly recommend both Amazon and GARMIN GPS 550.
Zumo 550 - A Few Thoughts February 4, 2007
167 out of 168 found this review helpful
People complain about the Zumo not having a built in speaker. Well, you wouldn't be able to hear it while riding your bike it if it had one, so it's a bit of a moot point.
On a side note, I think there are some features the unit lacks that can be somewhat annoying. First, and definitely the most annoying for me, the elevation by which you view your position on a GPS determines the amount of detail you see, i.e. POI's, street names, distance of road to travel, etc. The units I have used previously (factory nav in a Honda, other Garmins and the Mio 310 to name a few) had the ability to select zoom/elevation from the main nav screen allowing you to choose your "view" of the road so to speak, at anytime. With the Zumo, you cannot change elevation/zoom from the main nav screen, you can only adjust it while in map mode searching for a destination. The second you go back to the main navigation screen you loose the elevation you chose and go back to a default level of zoom, which for me is real irritating.
Another annoying feature is the keyboard for text input does not offer a QWERTY layout. I have not had to type on an ABCDEF style keyboard since the invention on the PC. In fact, I have a Garmin IQue 3600 that's 4 years old and it has a QWERTY keyboard?
Also, the search function on the Zumo is relatively slow at times. I once waited 4+ minutes while searching for a popular restaurant. It found it eventually, but for a while I thought the unit just froze up. I happen to be sitting in my driveway so it was only a minor annoyance, but if you were parked on the roadside with cars buzzing by it would seem more like an eternity.
One other issue, the built in hard drive is pretty much full with maps right out of the box, which isn't that big of a deal with the open SD slot. The SD slot lets you slip in a SD card for expanded memory capability (MP3 storage etc.), but when loading routes from your PC (which is a great feature I'll touch on below) you must save the data directly to the units hard drive in order for the Zumo to be able to read it. Well, that's going to be an issue when the hard drive fills up from firmware updates, etc.
While I'm at it, I think the icon that marks your position on the map is annoyingly large. It makes your car or bike look the size of a lake, or some other large map detail.
On the plus side, I believe that all of the issues I mentioned are correctable via a firmware update and a few bugs are to be expected to some extent given this is the 1st generation of a new model. Although, you can also argue that with the price this thing sells for combined with the experience Garmin has building GPS devices there is really no excuse for the Zumo lacking anything.
A nice feature, which is common on Garmins top units, is that you can map out routes on your PC, load it to the Zumo (again, on the built in hard drive though not the SD card) and away you go. This comes in handy if you're in sales for example and need to hit a few clients on a particular day or if you're going to be cruising on your bike and have a bunch of places you want to stop at during the trip. Rather than having to wait and program destinations one at a time as you make your stops, you can knock them all out the night before on your PC so you're entire trip is planned before it's even begun.
Also, the Bluetooth feature is sweet and works flawlessly. Pairing the Zumo with my Blackberry was a breeze. The Zumo was able to read my address book and displayed the contacts on the phone screen so there was never a need to touch the Blackberry once paired. When in the car, the speaker worked well and people on the other end seemed to have no trouble hearing me. I disagree with the one reviewer that said the mount looked weak. I think the mount would successfully support a cinderblock on rough road.
Installing the Zumo on my ZZR1200 took me about 30 min. It takes some time to run the wires and connect to the battery. You will need to crimp connectors (that are not supplied) on the end of the wires that go to the battery. The Ram mount is real solid. The Zumo does not move once you're locked in and on the road.
Now for the justification of the 4 star rating given I beat the Zumo up quite a bit. The build quality of this thing it second to none. It is literally built like a tank. I'd bet it would outlast anyone who buys it. Again, firmware updates will likely take care of all its shortcomings over time. And last but not least, Garmin tech support is second to none. No matter who you speak to they are knowledgeable, professional and will provide answers to anything you can throw at them (and I come up with some good ones) all without making you feel like you're annoying or a technological moron.
Therefore, I don't think you can go wrong with any Garmin, if you can swallow the price of the unit.
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