Garmin Nuvi 550 3.5" Sat Nav with UK and Full Europe Maps Product Description:
- Garmin Nuvi 550
- Rugged waterproof GPS system
- Suitable for driving, hiking, walking, boating
- 3.5 inch touchscreen
- Pre-loaded with European maps
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful.
By Ynotmi
I wanted a sa-nav unit that I could use for walking, cycling and my motorbike. Actually this does the job pretty well, but its not as good as it could be. I also bought the Discoverer OS maps for the UK (50k:1) with the hope that they would help me with off-road navigation when walking / cycling.I can definitely say that this unit is waterproof & can withstand being dropped on the ground. On my first cycling trip, it parted company with the bike, took two bounces on the canal path and fell into the canal - which was thankfully only about 4 feet deep. I managed to fish it out and it was still working when I got it to the surface. Full marks Garmin :-) I've now bought some better bike mounts, which are a lot more secure and I havent had a problem since.Things I like: its waterproof, the battery lasts a reasonable time, is rechargeable and you can carry spares. It works with the Garmin Ordinance Survey Discoverer maps. You can create and upload courses to it from your PC. You can get some reasonable bike mounts for it. It works well as an on-road navigation device.Things I dont like: there is no screen lock. Its easy to nudge the on/off switch, there is no lanyard / easy carry option. The display could have better definition. It can be difficult to see the footpaths / bridleways when reading the Ordinance Survey maps.If you havent pre-programmed your off-road route, I would say that this unit (with the Discoverer OS maps) is a good supplement to a walk guide / paper OS map - it definitely helps you to see where you are. It can help you decide if you've gone the right way and where to go to next, but as the resolution of the display isn't that clear, is not always easy to see the finer map details / route options.For occassional use on my motorbike, its fine. Ok, it doesnt have bluetooth / headset capability for spoken turn by turn instructions, but its easy to fit to the bike, doesnt need any power supply, is waterproof & good enough for me. I have also used it in my car and in many ways I prefer it to the car's built in sat nav (BMW). And, unlike the built-in sat nav, you can also take it with you when you've finished the car journey.It has taken me forever to work out how to create custom off-road routes on the PC and to transfer these to the Nuvi550. Dont expect step by step instructions from Garmin. In the end, you need to work it out for yourself. Now I've managed to do this, I find that the Nuvi550 works reasonably well with my custom off-road courses, but its not perfect. When you import the custom route, the Garmin 550 seems to try to add some of its own intelligence. Sometimes it adds in an unnecessary "detour" via another road - perhaps when it thinks the route you have opted for is not passable by foot. I find this very annoying.By contrast, I have a Garmin Forerunnner 310xt wrist watch. This has no maps, but it is possible to download courses from the PC. All you get is a line and a pointer to tell you you're going in the right direction - at least the Nuvi 550 gives you a map. But the Forerunner doesnt add any "detours" to the intended course, which is what I want. I guess, something between the forerunner and the Nuvi 550 would be good.In summary, this unit is great on-road, but not so good off-road. If "serious" off-road is your main priority, then there are better units available. If you want to use it for cycling, other Garmin units are also compatible with Garmin's cadence & heart-rate sensors (but I've got the Forereunner 310xt for that). Ultimately, it struggles to do both really well.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
By Senalizacion
Purchased as it allows navigation by UK Grid reference as well as postcodes.Screen ok but not as good as similar sized Tom Tom. Does not appear to be affected by sun glare. Colours gentle on eys at night.Free upgrade was only for one country despite unit being sold as full european mapping.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
By Ani-Jo
Very good little Sat-Nav, has reliably lead me round London (oh horror) and to other places I have never been to before, it alters the route when I make mistakes and puts me back on track. It is very easy to programme. Instructions at the top visual area of the screen, are so good that one can navigate without the sound. The battery life is exceptionally good.Great for off road adventures, in bike and walking mode, have successfully geo-cached with it.My only criticism of this model is that the voice is a little muffled, this may be because it is waterproof.
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