GPS Devices Life

Overall excellent - Garmin StreetPilot® 2620 Car GPS Receiver I have had a StreetPilot 2620 for over four months and have used it to get around unfamiliar cities and to drive f...

Helpful, but not Flawless - Garmin StreetPilot® 2620 Car GPS Receiver Overall, I'm happy with my purchase of the Garmin StreetPilot 2620, but the unit isn't as flawless as Garmin would...

When I bought my new car, I passed on the GPS system from the factory. As the next year wore on, I was regretting it. One option was to purchase the factory system at about $1500 or get an aftermarket unit. With the aftermarket choice, you have to decide whether you want an external unit like the Garmin StreetPilot 2620 or an in dash unit from one of the many car stereo vendors. I chose the former realizing the versatility of being able to use it in any car I wanted.

Choosing the Garmin StreetPilot was not an easy task. After reading many reviews, it seemed that Garmin was the brand to go with. I chose the StreetPilot 2620 as it had detailed maps of North America preloaded. With some of the lesser models, you are provided a CD with which you can load detailed maps of the areas you need when you need them. In addition to this being an ease-of-use thing, I like the idea of not having to know exactly where I am going or where I will end up to be able to obtain directions. It has a boatload of points of interest (POIs) preloaded. This is nice if you are on vacation and looking for a restaurant in your vicinity or a Walmart to pick up some beach items, etc. It also allows you to set up your own on the unit or you can upload a list to it via your computer.

Other nice features are the voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions with a mileage countdown to the next turn.The unit allows you to pick routes based on speed, distance, etc. The feature I like is that it allows you to exclude certain areas, roads or road segments from your route. Say, for example, you know there is road construction on a highway by your house. You can plot the fastest course not using that road. Definitely saves headaches. Other features include the ability to track your speed, elevation, and trip data.

When I bought it, I was a bit worried that the mounting options might not work. It comes with 2 different types of adhesive mounts and a friction mount. One adhesive mount is “permanent” while the other is “reusable.” I was a bit wary of mounting any adhesive to my dash, so I chose the friction mount. This mount is actually a bean bag style mount with a non slip rubber surface on the bottom and a bracket on top to mount the unit to. I have used this both in my car with an enormous dash area and my wife’s which has a tiny dashboard. It worked great!

One thing to consider is the fact that is uses an internal hard drive to store the map info. While this is great for connecting it to your computer to install newer maps, it has the potential to break if the unit is dropped. I just have to be careful. For those that are hard on things, the Garmin StreetPilot 2720 might be a better option as it uses solid state memory in place of the hard drive for about $50 more.

The Garmin StreetPilot 2620 was ready to go out of the box. When I received it, I just plugged it into my cigarette lighter and within a half-minute or so, it acquired the needed satellites and off I went. The display is a 3.3″W x 1.7″H with 8-bit 256-color LCD touch screen. With GPS systems, I feel bigger screens are always better. I think this is a good balance for readability and portability. The touch screen is what you use to enter addresses. It is very intuitive and easy to use. The unit comes with a remote so it is easy to switch settings while driving. While this does offer a bit of convenience, I find that the touch screen is always quicker for entering addresses. It also has a built-in photo sensor to adjust for light conditions automatically as well as switching to night mode when it is night time to eliminate glare. Lastly, this unit comes with a car power adapter and a wall power adapter. There are no batteries. While some might not like this, I prefer it as I only use this in my car and don’t want to have to worry about charging batteries.

Garmin StreetPilot® 2620 Car GPS Receiver Product 010-00357-03 Key FeaturesDesignationAutomobileForm FactorFixedMap capabil...

Which Garmin to Choose - Garmin StreetPilot® 2620 Car GPS Receiver I purchased the 2620 to replace a stolen 2610 that I had come to rely on during long distance drives and business ...

Garmin 2620: GPS ready to use straight out of the box. - Garmin StreetPilot® 2620 Car GPS Receiver I wanted a GPS for a while. I had a few ideas of exactly what I wanted. I know I'll use it more in my truck than o...

Cool Device That’s A Hassle to Update - Garmin StreetPilot® 2620 Car GPS Receiver I bought this device for two reasons: (1) to experiment with GPS technology, to which I was new; and (2) because i...

Used it a week now, and it’s going great! - Garmin StreetPilot® 2620 Car GPS Receiver I'll only talk about some things here I've not seen mentioned or at least emphasized in some of the other reviews ...

Excellent unit, bought a refurbished unit - Garmin StreetPilot® 2620 Car GPS Receiver I bought this unit for my wife 6 months ago for Christmas. Never written a review so I hope this is helpful to th...

This device makes maps obsolete - Garmin StreetPilot® 2730 Car GPS Receiver

More than good looks - Garmin StreetPilot® ColorMap Car GPS Receiver