Garmin is currently number 1 among all GPS manufacturers among reviewers. The nüvi 885/885T is Garmin's new top-of-the-line automotive GPS and has been chosen Number 1 by the highly regarded Consumer Reports.
This state-of-the-art GPS device features a 4.3-inch, 480-by-272-pixel, WQVGA resolution screen. Its navigation is simplicity itself using am easy-to-navigate main menu with large icons for Where To and View Map. Two smaller icons at the bottom of the screen provide access to the volume controls, as well as the tools menu. If you've paired the device with a compatible Bluetooth phone, a phone icon also appears on the main screen.
There's built-in support for Microsoft's MSN Direct service. Available from the Tools menu or the Where To screen, MSN Direct provides access to a host of useful information, such as live traffic, weather, movie times, news, stock information, local events, and even gas prices at nearby service stations.
The nüvi 880 also has a number of useful built-in, travel tools, including currency and unit of measure converters, a four-zone world clock, a four-function calculator, and 11 games. You also get a music player, an Audible audiobook player, and a picture viewer. The Where Am I tool gives you your exact latitude, longitude, nearest street address, and current intersection. YOu get one-tap directions to nearby hospitals, police, and gas stations.
What makes this device special is it's sophisticated speech recognition. Garmin takes a different approach from other GPS manufacturers, however. the Magellan Maestro for example, activates its voice command mode when it hears the keyword Magellan. Unfortunately it often misinterprets passenger conversation triggering the its voice command mode. Garmin solves this problem by giving the 880 a small wireless remote designed to be strapped to the steering wheel. A large push-to-talk button on the remote puts the nüvi 880 into Listen mode, whereupon a green icon appears in the upper right-hand corner of the screen when it's your turn to speak. A red icon tells you that the device isn't accepting speech input at that moment, or didn't recognize what you've said. The smaller button on the remote takes the navigator out of Listen mode. Alternatively, after about 10 seconds of silence, the speech icon disappears and the device reverts back to normal touch-screen function.
The speech recognition abilities of the Garmin are uncanny. For those of you who use Dragon NaturallySpeaking software on your PC and have to dictate carefully in a noiseless room for any reasonable kind of accuracy probably wonder how a GPS with all of the street noise can figure out where your going. But all you need to do is activate push-to-talk button, speak your "Where to" in your usual conversational manner, and the Garmin will promote you for additional answers until it finds out what it needs. Its amazingly better as far as accuracy with picking up numbers as compared to the aforementioned NaturallySpeaking Software.
The Garmin nüvi 880 is a the best general travel GPS on the market. Features of this luxury device, including text-to-speech conversion, multisegment routing, Bluetooth plus media players and travel tools. The Garmin nüvi 880 uncannily good speech recognition blows away the competition and seals the deal.
This state-of-the-art GPS device features a 4.3-inch, 480-by-272-pixel, WQVGA resolution screen. Its navigation is simplicity itself using am easy-to-navigate main menu with large icons for Where To and View Map. Two smaller icons at the bottom of the screen provide access to the volume controls, as well as the tools menu. If you've paired the device with a compatible Bluetooth phone, a phone icon also appears on the main screen.
There's built-in support for Microsoft's MSN Direct service. Available from the Tools menu or the Where To screen, MSN Direct provides access to a host of useful information, such as live traffic, weather, movie times, news, stock information, local events, and even gas prices at nearby service stations.
The nüvi 880 also has a number of useful built-in, travel tools, including currency and unit of measure converters, a four-zone world clock, a four-function calculator, and 11 games. You also get a music player, an Audible audiobook player, and a picture viewer. The Where Am I tool gives you your exact latitude, longitude, nearest street address, and current intersection. YOu get one-tap directions to nearby hospitals, police, and gas stations.
What makes this device special is it's sophisticated speech recognition. Garmin takes a different approach from other GPS manufacturers, however. the Magellan Maestro for example, activates its voice command mode when it hears the keyword Magellan. Unfortunately it often misinterprets passenger conversation triggering the its voice command mode. Garmin solves this problem by giving the 880 a small wireless remote designed to be strapped to the steering wheel. A large push-to-talk button on the remote puts the nüvi 880 into Listen mode, whereupon a green icon appears in the upper right-hand corner of the screen when it's your turn to speak. A red icon tells you that the device isn't accepting speech input at that moment, or didn't recognize what you've said. The smaller button on the remote takes the navigator out of Listen mode. Alternatively, after about 10 seconds of silence, the speech icon disappears and the device reverts back to normal touch-screen function.
The speech recognition abilities of the Garmin are uncanny. For those of you who use Dragon NaturallySpeaking software on your PC and have to dictate carefully in a noiseless room for any reasonable kind of accuracy probably wonder how a GPS with all of the street noise can figure out where your going. But all you need to do is activate push-to-talk button, speak your "Where to" in your usual conversational manner, and the Garmin will promote you for additional answers until it finds out what it needs. Its amazingly better as far as accuracy with picking up numbers as compared to the aforementioned NaturallySpeaking Software.
The Garmin nüvi 880 is a the best general travel GPS on the market. Features of this luxury device, including text-to-speech conversion, multisegment routing, Bluetooth plus media players and travel tools. The Garmin nüvi 880 uncannily good speech recognition blows away the competition and seals the deal.
