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, 1 year of free MSN Direct service, 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.
Customer Reviews:
Great GPS! Well worth the price........2008-01-01
Accurate and easy to use. It also had more functions than advertized. You won't be disapointed.
Best GPS out there.......2008-01-01
This Garmin is probably the best GPS out there money can buy. Easy to use, the buttons on the touch screen are large enough that even big fingers like my own can accurately enter information. My second Garmin Nuvi, I would buy it again if my new car didn't have GPS built in- but still great to take with you on vacation.
Helpful but not without its quirks.......2008-01-01
I bought the Garmin 680 because to save time -- time lost when finding a location and time lost when rotting in traffic. The other features are more like a bonus to me. The 680 is excellent at navigation and its screen is super bright and readable even in the Arizona sun. The screen also responds well to my touch, to my surprise. The voice prompts are nice as well as are many of the configurable navigation options.
Now for the bad. I am most frustrated with the MSN Direct part. It's more of an after thought than a smoothly integrated feature. The problems with the MSN Direct feature are well documented:
- Requires the FM Adapter so you can only use it in the car
- Data updates (especially traffic) can take up to 10 minutes or more. Keep in mind when you start the car that you have no traffic data, so by time you hit the freeway, you may not have the data.
- The MSN Direct overlay icons are small and unclear.
- The MSN Direct info only overlays on the lame map instead of the primary map.
- The Garmin routing algorithm does not factor in traffic when routing an optimal route. (Note it does factor in road closures.)
I really need that traffic data since there are multiple routes in Phoenix area. When the traffic data is there, it has been pretty accurate thankfully. The good news is that about 90% of the time that I need traffic data, it is there.
As for the gas data, some people argued that this data pays for the MSN Direct subscription so it is worth it. Bah! My observations is that the cheapest gasolines stations consistently remain as the cheapest gas stations. And when you can find a cheaper one, it is out of the way not worth the time to get to it. If you can afford the price for this unit, then you are probably more interested in saving time and not saving $0.04 a gallon by driving 10 minutes out of the way.
I'd really like to see Garmin pipe the traffic, gas, etc. data over satellite or cellular instead of FM. Anyway, I doubt I'll renew my MSN Direct unless they give me a nice deal.
A few other complaints... If you load up a fast memory card (2Gigs) with MP3s, this unit takes a super long time to show you the initial map. Why wouldn't Garmin give priority to the navigation and then worry about MP3s afterwards? The points of interest as also missing a lot of established businesses. I'd also like to see a better pedestrian mode such as showing a trail that you walked (great for returning from a hike).
In the end, for automobile navigation, the Garmin is a great product. They need to think through some of their little features and also figure out how to better integrate real-time data like traffic however. With rumors of Apple thinking of adding navigation to the iPhone, Garmin needs to step it up and offer Apple-like usability in all areas or they are going to get smoked.
High hopes, mediocre results..........2008-01-01
I've been using gps since 2003 when I purchased my first Garmin unit, the GPS V. It was limited in memory and the serial cable was tedious for downloads. Then I wait listed for the Streetpilot 2610. It was expensive but wow what a great GPS. It was big and bulky but had loads of features, more then I could ever use. Some of my favorite features included preference choices, you could rank Major Highways, Secondary road and local roads to avoid the types of roads you didn't want to travel. I travel frequently and travel long distances for play, I race motorcycles and the local track is 300 miles away, second closest is 500 miles and I travel as many as 1100 miles each way. I liked that when spelling out a name of a hotel or restaurant the unit would search for the closest location first and then continue to find further away places. I liked the ability to create a route and loved the ability to map out routes on the computer and make changes and download the routes to the unit.
The size of the Nuvi and MSN direct were enough to get me moved over to the 680 unit and I was very excited, I contacted MSN direct to ensure my area was covered by their service. I assumed based on the price I would be gaining all these great features and not be giving up the features I had come to love.(I received one of the first units well before any reviews had been written)
Upon receiving the unit I quickly realized many of the features I came to love were GONE and many of the new features did not work or work well and the worst thing was most of the mapping preferences had been removed and last there wasn't any computer routing capabilities, well there wasn't any routing ability at all.
MSN Direct- even though I'm in a covered area in Northern New Jersey, it does not get coverage most of the time. I drive to NYC every day and I do get coverage when I get a mile of two from the city, WAY WAY too late to help me. DOESN'T WORK
Bluetooth - No friends or workers will allow me to talk to them on the speaker phone because the quality is so bad. USELESS
FM Modulator - I use a Sat radio so this feature does not work.
So now most of the new features either don't work or don't work due to my setup. That is OK because as long as the unit works better at generating directions, I'm fine with MSN being a work in progress.
Interface is extremely easy to use, I'll say that but it has been dummy'ed down so much that many of the great features I had grown to love on my 2610 are not present on the 680.
Shortest time works OK on short distance travel but on long distance travel the mapping is a joke. The unit is constantly trying to take you off major highways for secondary roads and local roads. Most of the secondary roads are infested with traffic lights or take you through the heart of a city where traffic and stop signs are found all over the place. I rarely if ever make my destination anywhere close to the ETA shown in the begining of the trip, even when speeding and not hitting traffic.
Road preferences that were present on the 2610 are GONE
Routing- GONE
Computer program for designing directions - GONE
These critical key features missing on the 680 are a huge disappointment. Garmin service has been fantastic and have agreed to take back the unit. I'm upgrading to a Magellan Maestro 3250 unit. This unit has the ability to choose multi mapping settings, routing, tap on a road to avoid the road and is smaller then the Nuvi. Hoping this will be the unit for me.
Thank You Santa!!.......2007-12-30
I just received the nuvi this christmas, and I LOVE it! [The first 2 reviews are very detailed and described everything well.]
The bluetooth connection allows for a clear connection when talking on the phone. MSN direct is a great plus! I activated the first free year immediately. The nuvi 680 is a very very easy GPS, user friendly, bright, light and slim too. I appreciate the slimnest and the leather case that came with it, so that you take it out of the car. This is my first GPS and I did not have to use the manual other than to change the voice (could have find it without it but was eager to put a male voice instead of the standard female voice). I set up everything w/ the touch screen buttons - marvelous. Buy it and enjoy!
Product Description
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