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| Garmin nüvi 680 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator | 
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| Brand: Garmin
Category: CE
List Price: $964.27
Buy Refurbished: $188.95
You Save: $775.32 (80%)
New (73) Used (4) Refurbished (10)
Avg. Customer Rating:  160 reviews
Sales Rank: 863
Platform: Not Machine Specific
Media: Electronics
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Native Resolution: 480 x 272
Display Size: 4.3
Includes MP3 Player: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 9 x 2.9 x 4.9
nv:Type: Receiver
Acquisition Time Cold: 38 Seconds
Acquisition Time Warm: 1 Second
Update Rate: 1/second, continuous
GPS Accuracy Position: 10 meters
GPS Accuracy Velocity: 0.05 meter/sec RMS
Inputs: USB
Inputs: Bluetooth
Display: TFT
Touch Screen: Yes
Voice: Yes
Expansion Slots: SD Card
Battery Type: Nonreplaceable Lithium-Ion Battery
Battery Life: 3 hours
Antenna: SIRF-GPS antenna
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
Warranty: The Official Ford Licemsed Garmin nüvi 680 product features a full 3-Year Warranty from Garmin. The Ford Licensed Garmin nuiv 680 comes with a 3 year warranty certificate from Garmin in the box. This is a FULL 2-Years longer than the Garmin warranty offered by other retailers.
MPN: 010-00540-25
Model: 010-00540-25
UPC: 053759067992
EAN: 0753759067991
ASIN: B000MF4N42
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
A Big Hit and a Little Miss September 19, 2007
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
Purchased in May, 2007, have used the Garmin Nuvi 680 for short and long trips, near home and across the country. It is an expensive, top-of-the-line GPS, but mostly justifies this cost with its slew of helpful features.
Production Quality:
The Screen is bright, colorful and crisp. It's large touch screen is easy to view when driving and even automatically switches to display differently for night and day. The touch screen is accurate, though users with big fingers may hit a couple wrong keys on the touch keyboard, especially when the car is moving. Menus are easy to navigate and most items appear in the logical, intuitive place. The included mount works well, but has fallen off a few times. There are many voices to select from and all sound clear and easy to understand. The leather case included is nice for stowing or carrying the GPS without worry of scratching. Overall, very polished product with little oversight.
Features:
The Nuvi 680 is loaded with features. Some features are common to most GPS - Points of Interest Database, travel related software tools, multiple stops en route, option to take a detour at any time, preview of route, zooming in/out & changing view of map. I cannot compare to other devices, but these features all work quite well. Though the POI database can be slow to find a particular place by spelling and occasionally a place is found in an incorrect sub-category. Anyway, the main feature that sets this GPS apart is the MSN Direct Service...
MSN Direct - Traffic:
Traffic reporting is the big draw here above other models. However, it can take 15 minutes or longer (around 20-25% of the time not working at all) for the traffic information to update when you plug in the GPS. If you keep in plugged into your car, often your wait time will be less, but you will still occassionally be left in the dark. When traffic reporting is functioning, you will get a semi-realistic estimate of the time delay and acess to brief details regarding all delays in the area. It's tough to say for sure, but I believe the rerouting usually saved me a good 10-30 minutes at least half a dozen times. Yet, it seems like there were as many times or more where I should have been rerouted and was not. Hopefully the firmware update I just received will fix these issues. One simple suggestion I'd have is to let the user know when they've been automatically rerouted and to show both routes and ETA's on the map screen.
To illustrate - On a normally 3 hour trip we hit 2 hours of traffic, while 30 minutes were predicted by MSN and only after an hour into the trip (but before the traffic jam). We were rerouted around some of the traffic (maybe 30 minutes time saved), but if the correct delay had been predicted, we probably would have been shown a detour shaving off even more time. So while certainly better than a regular GPS, left some room for improvement.
MSN Direct - Weather, Gas, Movies:
Unlike traffic reporting, Weather, Gas and Movies information is useful even if it is several hours or even a day or two old. Usually gas prices are correct or within a few cents. Movie showtimes I haven't used much, but seem correct. The weather, I've tried the most, and is probably 90% accurate, maybe more. These features can be pretty helpful, though I rarely drive out of the way for gas.
Ease of Use:
The startup time (to acquire satelites) is a fairly quick, almost always under 5 minutes, usually under 2 minutes. The route calculation is even faster, almost always under 1 minute, usually under 20 seconds. GPS is highly accurate, despite my regular driving through crowded criss-crossing streets. Once in a while, it may take a few seconds for the GPS to register a turn, but hasn't caused me any problems. Recalculating of route is very quick when you miss a turn, enough to make the next turn. Guidance through directions are easy to pay attention to, with well placed reminders and clear graphical presentation when there are many places to turn off or road splits. It certainly beats mapquest!
Overall:
I'm glad I bought this GPS. While I would highly recommend it, I believe for some, the much cheaper Nuvi 350 is a better buy. The traffic reporting is currently hit or miss and so you may find yourself listening to the radio for traffic anyway. However, if you can't stand traffic and are planning to use this for many years to come, you'll eventually get your money's worth. And hopefully some time in the future the firmware will be optimized and MSN Direct will have a comprehensive reporting system.
Nuvi 680 Great - but MSN Direct Stinks September 16, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I love my Nuvi 680, but I think I would have liked the 660 better. My only dissatisfaction with the 680 is with MSN Direct not really with Garmin. Although Garmin did accept my premium dollars for the MSN Direct features. Garmin should offer to swap the MSN Direct receiver/power cord with the TMC FM receiver power cord so those of us that purchased the 680 for the real-time traffic features can actually receive them. The problem is with MSN Direct.
MSN Direct reception in the Chicago-land area is pitiful. MSN Direct tells you that when you call them with difficulties registering and downloading. Isn't it odd that no one tells you about this known issue BEFORE you purchase this item for delivery to a known reception trouble area? So even though you are not receiving a reliable MSN Direct signal, your "free" subscription (which is really included in the premium price you pay for this unit) continues to expire. Until MSN Direct can give me green bar signals on a reasonably regular basis, my subscription should not be decremented on a daily basis.
From what I have read since, the TMC traffic reception is in fact better. But now I would have to purchase, at more additional cost to me, the TMC power cord / receiver just to get the same functions provided in the 660 out of the box. OK, I would not have movie times, gas prices, and weather, but since MSN Direct can't seem to transmit those to me anyway, at least I would have updated traffic. Had I bought the 660 in the forst place, I would even have some spare $$$ in my pocket.
If you look at the Garmin site, it seems they are also unhappy with MSN Direct, as the new units coming out this fall will use TMC.
The Garmin 680 unit itself is excellent. I love the main GPS features, the Bluetooth mobile phone connection, but all of these are available in lesser priced units. I paid a premium for the MSN Direct features that CAN NOT BE RECEIVED, at least in my area. MSN Direct could not possibly be more arrogant on the phone. Garmin assistance personnel on the other hand, could not be nicer, although they can not be expected to fix the MSN Direct issues.
Just as a note, the audio output to an FM channel "works", however in my area there is no decent FM station to utilize for this function, so we are stuck with unit audio.
Call MSN Direct BEFORE you buy the 680 or any other unit with MSN Direct to get some assurance that there is adequate reception in your area to make use of the features you are paying a premium for. Otherwise, buy the 660, or wait for the newer models coming out this fall that will offer a nice mark my parking spot feature, helping you find your way back to your car in large parking areas.
 Another great Garmin product September 14, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is another upgrade for me as far a GPS's. This is replacing my 60GSx and I have owned all of the (plus) products, and have never been dissapointed with Garmin. I was on the fence between the 660 and the 680, but this price at amazon is too good to pass up and I am glad I went with the 680, the MSN service seems to be working out well so far after a week, where all of my GPS units would have been staying home I use this one every day for the traffic, it changes the road color to traffic flow, red for very slow, yellow and green for normal speeds as well as construction and accidents, so it's a very cool toy, cough cough I mean device that I need haha. Anyway if you are thinking about a TomTom? I don't know if they have changed something in the past year, but I am thinking that the only people who like them are people who have never owned a garmin because TomTom's are simply not accurate in the US, I had one for a week, the reason I bring this up is because the 680 is kind of like a tomtom with all the bells and whistles, but it will actually get you to your destination. If you are on the fence between the 660 and 680 and have the extra $90.00 I would say go for it, but the 660 I think is the same unit without the MSN, oh and I used the gas price option yesterday and it worked, saved 10cents a gallon, so this thing will pay for itself in 180 fill ups, thats about 5 years lol.
Happy Camper September 9, 2007
I just received my Nuvi 680 last week. So far so good. I've only made one 45 minute trip to an area I was unfamilar with and worked as advertised. The MSN direct services seems to be working well also (after update). I'm approx 20 miles from St Louis and seems to connect within 3-5 minutes with updates. I am taking a 13 hour trip next weekend so will update my review after the "honeymoon" is over if any issues arise.
Don't leave home without it September 7, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
2,500 miles into a summer driving trip, our new 680 has transformed our route planning, swept away the challenges of navigating unfamiliar territory and unexpected detours, and has made exploring side roads enjoyable. The user interface is very well executed, with lots of convenience at your fingertips. It relegetes the book of maps to secondary importance.
Tapping in a bunch of favorites for a trip, directly into the GPS can be a bit tedious. So I entered all our key stops (Points of Interest) for the entire trip into "My Places" on poi-factory, and downloaded them as one file, first onto the PC, then onto the GPS. The Bluetooth interface with your cell phone is slick, making the GPS a hands-free speakerphone, with your entire cell phone directory displayed on the GPS screen, and voice dialing intact.
While driving along, if someone needs to make a pit stop, just search for fast food restaurants or a gas station, and it'll list them in order of distance from you, and indicate whether you're approaching or have passed them. Choose one, touch the "Go" button, and it'll guide you directly to it, then put you back on the road to your destination.
The MSN Direct service functions only in major metro areas and is imperfect, but can be a time saver. One time, because of a construction zone traffic tie-up, it routed us off an Interstate for about 4 miles, then back on. It's not perfect, but it's amazing. Every once in awhile, it gets confused, but then, so do I. If you don't need the MSN Direct service, get the 660 for less money, but otherwise the same features.
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