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| Garmin nüvi 880 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator | 
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| Brand: Garmin
Category: CE
List Price: $999.99
Buy New: $704.99
You Save: $295.00 (30%)
New (28)
Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 596
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Native Resolution: 480 x 272
Display Size: 4.3
Includes MP3 Player: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 0.7 x 4.9 x 3.1
MPN: 010-00577-12
Model: 010-00577-12
UPC: 753759076870
EAN: 0753759076870
ASIN: B0012BI26K
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 15 | | NEXT » |
Nuvi 880 August 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Garmin nüvi 880 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
This is my first GPS and overall, am enjoying it and have found it to be a great tool, especially in metro areas. I enjoy the features of MSN Direct as well. I purchased this unit in mid-July directly from Amazon. I tend to like more fully featured units as I appreciate technology. I was willing to pay more for this unit (versus the 850 for example) to try out the extra features.
I used the unit locally (smaller city west of Grand Rapids, MI) for a week or so before I took it out of state to Virginia for a family trip so that I would gain a decent understanding of its abilities and features by seeing how it would route me to work and other known points before trying it in a larger, unknown metro area. The unit was a real help, even within the Norfolk Naval Base.
Some frustrations:
Unit needed to be "reset" twice already. Once it simply locked up and the other, although it recognized and added the remote, it would not allow it to function. I followed all the instructions, new remote battery - no help. Reseting (removed GPS battery) cleared both issues.
Internal speakers are difficult to hear and people on the receiving end mention the clarity of my voice is not all that great thru the bluetooth connection. This is true even with no radio, no fan motor, no passengers talking, etc) Like another reviewer, I am also hard of hearing and found that using the FM option does not help much for a variety of reasons. Have to really turn up the volume on the radio to even hear the nuvi and quality was not consistent. Thank you for the tip of plugging into the AUX jack, which I have on my 2008 CRV - I will definitely try that. One thing that has helped with the sound issue it that, after experimenting a bit, I am able to locate the unit on my windshield next to and at the same level as the rearview mirror. This gets the unit as close to me as possible and gives me a clear line of sight. One learning point - on some cars, the "dot patterns" on the windshield around the rearview mirror on some cars are printed on the inside surface which the suction mount will not stick to - so you have to position the unit lower and farther away. On my car, I eventually found out that the dots are within the glass which allowed me to better position the unit as mentioned above.
WebUpdater - I am a Mac user and had to spend quite a bit of time getting the software to recognize/find my unit. I tried using a Dell laptop as well but got the same result except that it kept telling me that I might have to change an interface setting (somewhere/somehow) to "Garmin" or "Host" which I was not anxious to experiment with. Garmin does tell you that you might have to update the software on older models (which I did not expect the brand new 880 to be !!!) before WebUpdater will work. Unfortunately, they don't tell you your options for doing such - you have to nose around. After several hours, I was able to find and get thru a back door by going thru the "Additional Software" section on the Garmin website and found a link specific to the 880 to update the software. Once I updated the software to version 3.00 (from 2.50 as received), I connected my nuvi back to my Mac and everything now works fine. Better instructions would have saved hours here.
I am also a little surprised on how long it takes for the unit to find a sat signal. Not sure of other brands performance in this area though.
Not sure if any make or model would do better but when in situations where one turn or instruction needs to be followed quickly with another instruction (to turn again in a short distance or stay left for example), I found that the unit would sometimes be giving the second instruction after I already had to execute the move. Other times, traveling the same route, it gave both instructions right up front so that you knew that you had to pay extra attention.
Note to Judy - I also experienced the same "unit already registered" problem. There are multiple codes in the battery compartment of the unit that are "8 or 9 characters long". I got the same message using one number and then was successful using the number directly under the barcode. You think that maybe they could be a little more specific in the instructions on where to find the right code ???!!!
Overall a very helpful unit and would recommend to anyone. The 850 might be the better and less expensive choice for most.
 Great GPS!!! ........unfortunately poor customer service August 16, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
After having used several GPS products Garmin has really outdone themselves on this
one. The voice recognition has preformed almost flawlessly. Any faults I
can attribute to myself by trying to give too much information when searching
for places. The less spoken the better. I have a tendancy to provide too
much detail for the query, which causes it to think too long. Again I count
this as user error. You learn very quickly the ease of use with Nuvi 880 is
a very natural progression. I wouold highly reccomend this to anyone
looking for the best.
I did find pricing a little less on other web sites but chose
Amazon.com thinking if If I had any issues they would correct them.
Unfortunately, they did not stock the unit as is the case
on many items and when I had some minor issues with the purchase
regarding shipping charges, open box etc. Electronica Direct the seller
used by Amazon did not respond to my concerns and were somewhat arrogant
whithout even addressing my issues. That being said, I would not let
this get in the way of a truly GREAT GPS. Shop around for pricing though.
 Do not buy! August 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Having been pleased with my Garmin Street Pilot 2720, I looked forward to the Garmin nuvi 880, with hands-free telephone, FM connection, and more. 1)It responds inconsistently to my loud voice commands, 2)the person I call can hear my voice, but their voice is too soft for me to hear, 3)if I switch to having sound transmitted through my radio, I can hear their voice but this replaces my radio transmission, and 4)I could go on with how unsatisfactory it is in all of the "advances" in this new instrument. Talking to Garmin was a total waste of time and zero help. I am seriously thinking of returning it to the dealer, but just haven't gotten around to it.
Awesome! August 12, 2008
The Garmin nuvi 880 is excellent. The portability of this item makes it nicer than one built into a vehicle. One of our vehicles has a built in model; this is a better, more up to date unit and can travel with us when we are walking and touring around town. Amazon offered speedy delivery and a fair price. Other suppliers said they could sell it cheaper; the only problem was they didn't have it in stock. I had delivery of the item in 2 days and it was traveling across country in another two. The detour feature saved me many hours of sitting, stopped in traffic and had me traveling a beautiful, scenic route across Ohio. To add to the scenery, I lost no travel time. The blu-tooth feature worked, but the clarity of voice on the other end was not good. I would highly recommend the Garmin nuvi 880 unit to anyone looking for a top of the line unit.
 Don't buy this for the voice recognition August 9, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I recently bought a Nuvi 850 for the only one of our three cars that doesn't have a factory nav system and for rental cars. I am pretty well spoiled by factory system integration but I figured that the aftermarket portable crowd may have figured out how to make a decent product at this point. And they have. Decent, not great.
First, the primary value of a nav system comes from the basics. Maps, routing engine, receiver, a well designed user interface, and a great screen. Garmin does a great job with these basics. And you get all this basic goodness in even their lower end widescreen Nuvi models like the 260W or 760.
But, when it comes to some other stuff well, they have some work left to do.
Volume - the Nuvi 850 is barely audible at max volume with moderate road noise. I was hoping the front mounted speakers on the Nuvi 800's would be an improvement. They're not! The FM transmitter meanwhile is a pain in the butt if you're moving (why else would you need a nav unit). As you move, a previously clear FM channel may become occupied resulting in constant fiddling with the radio and Nuvi.
Voice Recognition - it's a great concept and the 850 does pretty well but you need a very quiet environment. Doesn't sound like a moving car does it? Even in the house, with a TV at low volume 15 feet away, the unit becomes confused about what it's "hearing". Mute the TV, and tell the kids to shut up and it really does a pretty good job. Entering addresses via voice is just so much better than tedious typing. My opinion of the professional reviewers who rave about the Nuvi 800's voice recognition has slipped quite a few notches. It ain't that great.
Garmin Features - the "Where Am I" and "Where's My Car" features are great ideas and well implemented. But again, both of these are available on the much cheaper 700 series of Nuvi's.
Battery - the 800 series has the first user replaceable battery on a Nuvi. For about $30 you can carry a spare. Nice.
So, is limited voice recognition and a replaceable battery worth the $300 premium over a 700 series Nuvi? Only you can answer that. Although very disappointed with the voice recognition accuracy and low volume, I'm keeping my Nuvi 850. The voice recognition still saves me from typing and a spare battery means I don't have to carry a power cord for most trips. I'll just enter my destination using voice comands in the office, hotel, restaurant, or at home before I head out. The VR remote can live in my briefcase. Less clutter for the cabin.
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