World Famous Comics: Garmin nüvi 680 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
Garmin nüvi 680 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
From: Garmin Average Rating: Binding: Electronics Display Size: 4.3 inches Includes Mp3 Player: 1 Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product. Model: 010-00540-25 Native Resolution: 480 x 272 Platform: Not Machine Specific Studio: Garmin 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.
Features:
Pre-loaded with complete Navteq Maps for North America
2D or 3D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions; Accepts custom points of interest (POIs)
Bluetooth wireless technology with a built-in microphone and speaker allows for hands-free calls
1 year free subscription to MSN Direct Traffic, Weather and Entertainment Service
Amazon.com Product Description: Travel throughout North America without loading any more maps with the Garmin nüvi 680 Personal Travel Assistant with MSN Direct. Plus, you can receive door-to-door directions while staying on top of local weather, traffic, and more with nüvi 680. The device features a colorful widescreen, hands-free calling, and an FM transmitter, then takes it up a notch by adding dynamic content from MSN Direct, as well as a convenient digital travel kit that includes an MP3 player with sample MP3s, audio books, a picture viewer, a world clock, currency and measurement converters, a calculator, and more.
This pocket sized personal travel assistant has a super bright, sunlight-readable color screen. See side view.
Easy control via the simple touch screen.
Weather reporting available with bright, colorful graphics.
Despite being loaded with features, the nüvi 680 still allows you to navigate with ease. This unit comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded NavTeq City Navigator NT street maps for North America, and includes a hefty points of interest (POIs) database with hotels, restaurants, fuel stops, ATMs and more. Simply touch the super-bright, sunlight-readable color screen to enter a destination, and the 680 takes you there with either 2D or 3D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions. This navigator voice even announces the name of exits and streets so you never have to take your eyes off the road, and can concentrate on your driving to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. In addition, the 680 accepts custom points of interest (POIs), such as school zones and safety cameras, and lets you set proximity alerts to warn you of upcoming POIs that require your special consideration such as speed zones and safety cameras.
Speaking of keeping you safe, the nüvi 680 lets you make hands-free calls so you can talk freely during your worry-free driving. By integrating Bluetooth wireless technology with a built-in microphone and speaker, you can pair your nüvi with any compatible Bluetooth phone and talk hands-free while staying focused on the road. You no longer have to fumble with your phone's handset to answer a call or dial a number, just tap the 680's screen and you're instantly connected. And with 1-touch dialing for your POIs, you can quickly and conveniently call ahead to make reservations or get needed information.
Simply insert a memory card to enjoy pictures, songs, and audiobooks.
You can also use the mini-USB port for tranferring files directly to the memory card.
The new nüvi 680 lets you get localized information with dynamic content from MSN Direct, making it one of the most resourceful navigators available. Using the included receiver and free trial service to MSN Direct, you can check your local weather, avoid traffic backups, compare local gas prices, and even check movie times and locations, all while you travel. Easy and virtually fool-proof to use, the MSN Direct receiver is plug-and-play portable so you can quickly connect to your navigator unit when you are out and about. All of which can be customized with configurable vehicle icons that let you choose individual car-shaped icons in a variety of colors that show your position on the map.
In additional to all this functionality, the nüvi 680 includes many must-have entertainment and travel tools such as an MP3 player, an audio book player (subscription to Audible.com required), and a JPEG picture viewer so you can take your favorite music and pictures with you wherever you go. This unit also features a world travel clock with time zones, a currency converter, a measurement converter, and a calculator so that wherever you travel it will be easy to know what you are getting and keep track of your costs. The MP3 player lets you browse music by artist, album, and/or song, while the optional audio books may be purchased from Audible.com which features over 70,000 hours of audio programs. What's more, the nüvi 680 allows further customization via optional software such as a travel guide, savings programs and language translation on plug-and-play SD cards for all your travel needs.
The Garmin nüvi 680 comes with a built-in, high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver, and lets you view and operate it via its bright, LCD TFT touch-screen, wide-screen display that measures 4.3 inches (diagonal) and has a resolution of 480 x 272 pixels with 64,000 colors and a white backlight. As a whole, the nüvi 680 measures 4.9 x 2.9 x 0.9 inches (W x H x D), and weighs only 6.2 ounces for easy portability. This unit provides you with from three to seven hours of battery life (depending on use) via its rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and comes with Garmin Lock, which is an anti-theft feature to protect your investment. While you can add software via the SD card slot, the Garmin nüvi 680 also lets you interface via high-speed USB for loading data, though users should note that, like most USB mass storage devices, this unit is not compatible with Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me.
The nüvi 680 comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps, including a hefty points of interest (POIs) database with hotels, restaurants, fuel stops, ATMs, and more.
What's in the Box Garmin nüvi 680 with MSN Direct, City Navigator NT maps for North America (preloaded, full coverage), MSN Direct receiver with integrated vehicle power cable, vehicle suction cup mount, an AC charger, vehicle power cable, dashboard disk, a USB cable, leather carrying case, quick reference guide, and owner's manual.
Notice: MSN Direct service will be available only until January 1, 2012.
Love this GPS ^ This review is actually for 660 nuvi.I waited for a while to do a review because I wanted to test it on a bunch of long trips as well as local trips. I have had it for almost 3 years and have to say it does everything it is suppose to do. We have used it to travel from LA to Texas and back then this past year we used it to travel from LA to South Dakota then on the Montana then back home. We used it to find rest stops, gas stations and motels along the way. I had to upgrade the traffic after the first year but it's now lifetime I don't have to pay another penny. I also upgraded the maps last year and now all my future upgrades are paid for life. Sometimes she seems to want to take us on a longer route locally, but when we follow her directions she actually knew what she was talking about. Because we live in California and can't attach her to our windshield we got the bean bag mount and it is perfect. It's very sturdy and doesn't slip and it's easy to move her to the floor when we go in to eat a bite or visit the rest stop. We can't imagine not having our nuvi when I try to locate new place. The bluetooth worked beautifully when we had motorola phones, but now we have LG Shine and the calls come thru perfect but it doesn't recognize our phone books so unless we recognize the # we don't know who's calling. Not a big deal. We hate our LG's so we will be changing back to motorola or some other phone once our contract is up. All in all we love just about everything about the 660. A lot less expensive models have come out but this one has never given us a minute of trouble.
Don't get this unit if you live in Los Angeles! ^ I'm not one to write reviews of things, but this unit has pissed me off so many times in the years that I have had it that I felt like I needed to vent. First off the MSN free year was useless, it worked about once or twice. The other major issue I have is that it picks the absolute worst routes throughout the city of LA. Since when was zigzagging through hollywood, making multiple left turns faster than going straight down a road and making one left turn? I have it set on the fastest route possible, but honestly, it picks the slowest route more often than not. Also the freeway interchanges are often confusing, saying stuff like stay on the 110 North and then at the last minute it'll say take the 110 South, causing you to get into a near accident. The unit does eventually get you to your final destination, but don't count on it being a logical route.
like the 660 with msn ^ I had a garmin nuvi 660 and it was stolen. I had used it for my motorcycle and car so had invested $ in mounts and such so I needed same size and shape. I couldn't find a new-old 660 so bought a 680. Basically in features a 660 with an MSN subscription for one year. The 680 has everything in features that made the 660 one of the best featured gps ever. MSN is connected through a special power supply cord used only in the car.Once you activate the subscription online or by phone then in a few days the features like local weather and localtraffic begin to show up.
Downside,Microsoft will cancel the MSN Direct for gps in 2011. No great lose, it doesn't work half the time you need it anyway.Great concept, bad execution.
Touch Screen Totally Out In 1 yrs ^ The unit worked like a charm. But after just one year, the touch screen totally not responding. Found many on the internet having the same problem.
Garmin Nuvi 680 ^ Although an older model, this Garmin product is more versatile than the new ones. The only problem is that the new cell phones do not mate with it. I'm not aware of a software patch, but keep looking. All in all, a great product.
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