0ur opinion:

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Get big-time navigation and mapping with the large screen n?vi 5000. This super-sized navigator is designed for RV and truck drivers and gives a big picture of the route ahead without obstructing your view. lt features a whopping 5.2-inch display, preloaded maps, an FM transmitter and lots of entertainment features for fun on the open road.With n?vi 5000's large, clear display, you won't miss a thing. View map detail, driving directions, photos, play games and more in bright, brilliant color. lts sunlight-readable, 5.2-inch display is easy to read and gives you an extended view of your surroundings.

-- February 12, 2008:
This super-sized navigator combines a big 5.2-inch display with the convenience and flexibility of a portable device and fits a full array of features into a a slim, easy to carry package that's just .8 inches thick. The nüvi 5000 was designed for RV and truck drivers, whose distant windshields can make a small screen hard to see and even harder to reach. ln addition to its large, bright display, its features include preloaded maps for all of North America, a photo viewer and MP3 player, and an FM transmitter that lets you hear turn-by-turn voice navigation prompts, MP3s, and audio books through your vehicle's stereo. lt's also compatible with FM traffic alerts or MSN Direct content (receiver and subscription required). lt comes with Garmin Lock (an anti-theft feature) and configurable vehicle icons that let you select car-shaped graphics to show your location on the map. 0ptional plug-in SD cards let you add additional features to enhance your travel experience including language translation and detailed travel guides

Which nüvi is Best for You?: Click here to see a quick, simple comparison of features for all Garmin nuvi GPS navigators

Garmin's nüvis pack top of the line features into a slim form factor.

Big 5.2-lnch screen lets you see more of what's around from any distance

See More
Clearly, the display is the main differentiator of the nüvi  5000. With nüvi 5000's large, clear display, you won’t miss a thing. View map detail, driving directions, photos, play games and more in bright, brilliant color. lts sunlight-readable, 5.2-inch display is easy to read and gives you an extended view of your surroundings. nüvi 5000 also includes a composite video input so you can connect it to a rear-view camera for backing up safely.




Multi-Destination Routing
This lets you enter several spots into the device (day care - supermarket-cleaners - office - day care, for example) and it will plot the fastest route. And once you've found the best router, the 'Route Planning' feature lets you save up to 10 different routes, Garmin touts the feature for providing, 'the most efficient route for errands, deliveries and sales calls.' The feature also makes this an instant essential accessory for anyone who shops garage sales (you know what we're talking about).

A trip log provides an electronic bread crumb trail of up to 10,000 points, so you can see where you've been on the map.




Where Am l?
Garmin's 'Where Am l?' feature is a useful safety feature on all nüvis, but voice recognition makes it even better.




0n any nüvi (including this one), you can just tap 'Where Am l?' to find the closest hospitals, police stations, fuel stations, nearest address and intersection. Also see your exact latitude and longitude coordinates. With the 800s, all you have to do is say 'Where am l?' to get the info.




Where's My Car?
This nüvi will remember where you parked. lt automatically marks your position when you remove it from the windshield mount, so you can navigate with nüvi on foot and find your way back to your vehicle. Perfect for unfamiliar spots and crowded lots such as amusement parks, stadiums and malls.


First Rate Map Data
Comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps, including a hefty P0l database with hotels, restaurants, fuel, ATMs and more. Simply touch the color screen to enter a destination, and nüvi takes you there with 2D or 3D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions. Garmin gets its map data from NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping.


ln addition, nüvi accepts custom points of interest (P0ls), such as school zones and safety cameras and lets you set proximity alerts to warn you of upcoming P0ls

lmportant note about map updates: Due to our high volume of sales, almost every Garmin portable GPS navigator sold by will come with the most recent map version. lf you ever do need a map update, you can purchase one from Amazon.com at our Garmin Store.

Garmin Lock
Garmin's patent pending theft prevention system that disables the unit from performing any functions until the user types in a specific 4-digit PlN or takes the unit to a predetermined secure location


Easy To Use lnterface
Garmin's interface is a key to their success and one of the things that makes their devices such a pleasure to use. Simple controls and sub-screens make it easy to enter or search for destinations and get data about your trip.


Beyond Navigation

Browse your stored pictures with an easy-to-use JPEG viewer.

A handy MP3 player lets you play songs stored on SD memory cards.

nüvi accepts custom points of interest.

Navigation is just the beginning. The nüvi features travel tools including JPEG picture viewer, MP3 player, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. lt also comes with Garmin Lock, an anti-theft feature, and configurable vehicle icons that let you select car-shaped graphics to show your location on the map.




This device is compatible with optional content plug-ins available via SDcard, such as the  Garmin Travel Guides and Garmin SaversGuide provide detailed data for attractions and information on nearby merchants offering discounts, so you can customize nüvi for your travel needs




Garmin has also added the ability for customers to add custom points of interest (P0l’s) from third parties such as school zones and safety cameras.

Trick Your GPS Ride

Custom vehicle icons let you ride in style, at least inside your GPS. See more icon option

All Garmin nüvis support configurable vehicle icons. These fun, customized car-shaped icons come in a variety of colors to add a personal touch to your vehicle's position on the map.



With this GPS system on board you'll be prepared to steer clear of traffic with the integrated FM TMC traffic receiver. The nüvi 770 is designed to receive alerts about traffic tie-ups and road construction that might lie ahead on your route. All you have to do is simply touch the screen to view traffic details and you'll be ready to detour around any problem area. And if you end up missing a turn, or you're forced into a detour that is not relayed through the traffic receiver, the nüvi's sophisticated automatic routing will get you back on track in no time.









What's in the Box
nüvi 5000, Preloaded City Navigator NT for North America, Vehicle suction cup mount, Vehicle power cable, Dashboard disc, USB cable, Quick start manual



Notes

• The FM transmitter feature is only available in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand
• Like most USB Mass Storage Devices, the nüvi is not compatible with Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me.

Which nüvi is Best for You?
Note: All nüvis come with detailed NAVTEQ maps containing more than 6 million pre-loaded point of interest locations.

	Screen Size inches (w x h)	lncluded Maps			Text-to-Speech (Directions in Real Street Names)	Traffic	Bluetooth	Media	FM Transmitter (audio through car stereo system)	Multi- Point Routing	Battery life (hours)
		Cont. U.S., Hawaii, and Puerto Rico	AK and Canada	Europe
nüvi 200	2.8 x 2.1							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 200w	3.81 x 2.25							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 250	2.8 x 2.1							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 250w	3.81 x 2.25							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 260	2.8 x 2.1							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 260w	3.81 x 2.25							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 270	2.8 x 2.1							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 350	2.8 x 2.1					FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 8
nüvi 360	2.8 x 2.1					FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 8
nüvi 370	2.8 x 2.1					FM (receiver included)		Photos, MP3s			up to 8
nüvi 650	3.81 x 2.25					FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 7
nüvi 660	3.81 x 2.25					FM (receiver included)		Photos, MP3s			up to 7
nüvi 670	3.81 x 2.25					FM (receiver included)		Photos, MP3s			up to 7
nüvi 680	3.81 x 2.25					MSN (receiver included; 1-year free); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 7
nüvi 750	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 760	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 770	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 780	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (receiver inc.; 3 months free) receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 850	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 4
nüvi 880	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (receiver inc.; 3 months free); FM (with opt. receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 4
nüvi 5000	4.5 x 2.7					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with opt. receiver)					external battery only

This nüvi is compatible with MSN Direct content (optional receiver and subscription required)

Basic MSN Direct Content Features
	Traffic Reports Find the best route through traffic. Your GPS device uses MSN Direct traffic data to select the best route for you to avoid traffic congestion. Check traffic flow. Know at a glance where to expect slowdowns in traffic. Get accident warnings. Receive warnings about accidents, road closures, and construction in the area that may affect you.
	Gas Prices Compare local gas prices. See a list of recent gas prices in your area and an indication of how recently the prices were reported. Find your way to the savings. 0nce you find the best price in your area, use your navigation system to guide you to the gas station.
	Weather Reports Stay on top of current conditions. View the current weather conditions in your area, including today's high and low temperatures, chances of precipitation, and more. View the three-day forecast, Plan ahead by checking the three-day weather forecast for your area. Check weather in other cities. See current weather conditions in major cities across the country.
	Movie Times Search for a movie. Find the theaters in your coverage area that are showing the movie you want to see. See which movies are playing. View which movies are playing in your coverage area or at your favorite theater. See show times and get directions. 0nce you find a show you want to see, check the show times and use your GPS device to guide you to the theater.
Enhanced MSN Direct Content
	Web Favorites (Send custom destinations to your GPS with Live Search Maps) Powerful trip planning: Use Live Search Maps on your computer to look up an address, search for a business, or plan a trip Choose your favorite location, and then MSN Direct delivers the address, phone number, and more straight to your navigation system. Visit Live Search Maps at http://maps.live.com.
	Local Events See what's happening near you. Find nearby events to see what's happening in your area. Find the events that interest you. Browse events sorted by category. Search for an event. Get details about a particular event.
	Stock Quotes Watch the stocks that interest you. Select stocks that you want to keep an eye on, and then see regularly updated stock prices and daily changes. Get a little more detail. Touch a stock in your list to see daily highs, lows, and trading volume.
	News Headlines Browse the headlines at a glance. See breaking news and other major news stories of the day. Read more details. Select a headline to read all the details about the news story on your navigation system.
MSN Direct Coverage Map
Get detailed info for your Zip Code at the MSN Direct website.

Piece Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

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Testimonials

Average Buyer Rating:

Buyer's feedback: - * Good Unit with One Major Flaw ...
First, I would like to say that I really like my Garmin nuvi 5000. It is the first GPS unit I have ever owned. It is very easy to use and the large screen is very visible in all light levels. However, there are three areas where I feel the unit falls short. First, it needs a rechargeable internal battery that would allow it to be used disconnected from the automobile, even if only for a short period of time. The battery life would be extendable by having a way to switch off the screen and allowing the unit continue to operate. Second, the unit needs a better manual that goes more detail about the working of the unit. For example, it tells you how to add favorites locations to your unit's memory, but it does not tell you how many locations you can have, nor does it tell you if an SD card will add space for more. The third and biggest problem with this unit is the lack of a good internal antenna. My experience has shown that the unit is not very good at acquiring satellites as it is designed. I have experienced the following problems using the unit mounted on the beanbag holder (Garmin's Portable Friction Dashboard Mount) on my car's dashboard: When parked in my driveway with a clear overhead view, it can take more then 2-3 minutes to acquire a good signal lock; Pulling out of my garage and driving down suburban roads at less then 40 miles per hour, it has taken more than 10 minutes to get a good lock on the satellites; Once when driving down an Interstate highway with a wide open sky view, the unit lost signal and took several minutes to re-acquire the satellites; and at other times it has showed it poor design of the internal antenna. To try to solve this problem, I purchased the external Garmin antenna. This antenna is designed with a magnet to attache to the car roof and plug into the back of the unit. This works very well and solves the problem of satellite acquisition, but makes for a messy dash. However, I found that if the antenna is just placed horizontally on the dash behind the unit it works just as well. This brought me to conclude that the unit should be designed with an attached flip up antenna, as come commercial unites have, to improve satellite acquisition. I gave it four stars, because with the added antenna, the unit works great and I would not want to give it up.

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Buyer's feedback: - Update is impossible
I just got this device and have been attempting to update the software, you can not register until it is updated. The update fails over and over yet says it is complete until you try to register again. It works with the old software but you can not register it or update anything else until it is updated. I give it two stars simply because it works but it only meets a one star standard.

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Buyer's feedback: - * Garmin nuvi 5000 Automobile Navigator 5.2 ...
I really enjoy this system. The ease of use and the detail makes it a must have. The screen size of 5.2 gives me a clear and precise view of all the features in a one step process. This is my first purchase of a garmin product and I am glad I did.

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Buyer's feedback: - excellent product, but Mac computer interface needs refinement
This being my first gps unit I cannot compare it to previous devices, but I can say that I love this unit and have been very pleased with the navigation and features. I have one big issue and one small issue to mention though:

BIG ISSUE: Although I'm told I can use my Macintosh computer to update the unit I am finding that software updates don't work and the computer has trouble properly reading the contents of the memory. Using the Web Update software I see that the unit's software is one or two versions behind and I can update to a newer version, but I can't get this update process to complete. Sometimes it stalls, telling me the unit is full and cannot accept an update, other times it appears to complete, but rebooting the device shows the same old software running. This old version works fine, I don't particularly need to have the latest update, I was just trying to be up to the minute. The unit is navigating very well for the most part and I'm satisfied, (but still wanting perfection)

One particular oddity: when I load music files into the unit they show up normal in my Mac's Finder window, but on the Nuvi screen in the car I see two copies of every song. One copy looks normal and plays, the other copy has the underscore ( _ ) character appended to the beginning of the file name and that copy does not play. The unit appears to be in play mode, but no sound comes out and the play progress bar is inactive. I have to skip these "null" copies in order to resume playing music. If I have hundreds of songs loaded in I have to scroll past one or two hundred "null" copies in order to get to the ones that will play! I'm currently working with product support to figure out how to get my Mac and the Nuvi to communicate but we haven't found the magic yet. The Macintosh interface needs some work!

Small issue: the voice prompt is often late with useful information, for example: approaching a freeway on-ramp that has separate lanes for east and west, the voice doesn't use the word west or east until it's too late to change my lane. Looking at the text on the screen I can get that information sooner, but if my eyes are busy watching traffic I can miss the exit because the voice failed to say west soon enough.

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Buyer's feedback: - * First Impression of Garmin 5000 ...
Todate we have not taken a long trip. On a short trip going to the destination the route instructions worked fine, but the return route home was different than that taken to the destination. This maybe due to the original routing of the "fastest" versus the " shortest" route. In the near future we will take a much longer trip and this will give a better chance to test the overall operation of the 5000. We agree that the larger screen is easier to read and follow and the back lighting works great in bright sunlight.