Car Navigation System's Blog

Garmin International’s nüvi 855 is a GPS navigator and personal travel assistant featuring voice-activated navigation and lane assist with junction view. Navigate with confidence while nüvi directs you to the preferred lane while driving. Also, see realistic images of upcoming junctions where available.

The nüvi 855 offers full coverage mapping for the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. The preloaded map data features nearly six million points of interest, including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs and attractions. The map data is provided by NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping.

Simply speaking, nüvi 855 is one advanced navigator. It features voice-activated navigation, a widescreen display, preloaded maps, an FM transmitter and more. Like the rest of the wide nüvi 800-series, just speak a menu option and nüvi obeys your command.

Speak Commands
nüvi 855 not only tells you where to turn but listens to your spoken commands. With nüvi’s innovative speech recognition, you safely control nüvi’s interface with your voice–allowing you to keep both hands on the wheel. Simply press the button on the remote (which attaches to the steering wheel) to activate speech recognition and begin speaking menu options. nüvi even recognizes shortcut phrases for popular functions. Tell nüvi “Find Address” and speak an address to start navigating.

See More
With nüvi 855’s widescreen display, you’ll always get the big picture. View map detail, driving directions, photos and more in bright, brilliant color. Its sunlight-readable, 4.3-inch display is easy to read–from any direction.

Know the Lane Before It’s Too Late
nüvi 855 takes navigation to the next level with lane assist. No more guessing which lane you need to be in to make an upcoming turn. Lane assist guides you to the correct lane for an approaching turn or exit, making unfamiliar intersections and exits easy to navigate. It realistically displays road signs and junctions on your route along with arrows that indicate the proper lane for navigation.

And with the 3D Lane Assist Junction View, you’ll be able to see a photo-realistic screen that shows you both the road detail as well as the signs as you will see them on the road. The signs that aren’t needed for navigation are faded compared to the appropriate lane signage.

Navigate With Ease
nüvi 855 comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps and millions of points of interest (POIs) such as hotels, restaurants, fuel stations, ATMs and more. Speak a menu option or touch the color screen to enter a destination, and nüvi takes you there with 2-D or 3-D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions. It even announces the name of exits and streets so you never have to take your eyes off the road. In addition, nüvi 855 accepts custom points of interest, such as school zones and safety cameras and lets you set proximity alerts to warn you of upcoming POIs.

Where am I?
Keep track of yourself and your car with nüvi 855. Just speak or tap “Where Am I?” to find the closest hospitals, police stations, fuel stations, nearest address and intersection. Also see your exact latitude and longitude coordinates. nüvi 855 even remembers where you parked. It 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.

With the POI loader program users can set up proximity alerts for school zones, safety cameras, create custom POIs and more. Click to enlarge

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

Enjoy a richer navigation experience using pictures as a guide with Garmin Connect Photos. Click to enlarge

Plan Ahead
nüvi 855 includes advanced navigational features to take the worry out of traveling. With route planning you can save 10 routes, specify via points and preview simulated turns on the 855’s wide screen. In addition, nüvi 855 automatically sorts multiple destinations to provide an efficient route for errands, deliveries or sales calls. It also displays speed limits for highways and Interstates. 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.

Take It With You
nüvi 855’s high-sensitivity internal (non flip-up) antenna gives it a sleeker, thinner design than the nüvi 600-series, making it easy to slip in your pocket or purse. Its rechargeable lithium-ion battery makes it convenient for navigation by car or on foot.

Go Beyond Navigation
Navigation is just the beginning. nüvi 855 includes many “must have” entertainment and travel tools including MP3 player, audio book player (subscription to Audible.com required), JPEG picture viewer, currency converters, Garmin Games, alarm clock and more. With the included wireless FM transmitter, you can hear audio, including voice prompts, MP3s and audio books, through your vehicle’s stereo. It’s also compatible with optional FM traffic alerts or optional MSN Direct content. With photo navigation, you can download Google Panoramio pictures via our Garmin Connect Photos website and navigate to them. The 855 features Garmin Lock, an anti-theft feature, and is compatible with our free Garmin Garage where you can download custom vehicles that show your location on the map. Enhance your travel experience with optional plug-in microSD cards such as Garmin Travel Guides for detailed data on attractions.

Search for locations on Google Maps or Mapquest, then transfer the addresses directly to your Garmin GPS navigator.

Navigate by Photo with Garmin Connect Photos
Using Garmin’s Connect Photos Web site, you can choose from millions of geo-located photos provided by Google’s Panoramio photo sharing community and download them to the nüvi for a richer navigation experience using pictures as a guide.

Choose from Panoramio’s collection of photos from around the world
Easy to use interface displays photos on Google Maps
Search for photos by location name or map area boundary
Transfer photos directly from Garmin Connect to device with the Garmin   Communicator
View photos in Google Earth
Supports Internet Explorer 6+, Firefox 2+, Safari 3+ on Windows and Mac

Send Addresses Directly from Google Maps or Mapquest
Itching to try out a new restaurant, or setting off on a road trip to locate the best toffee apples on the East Coast? Now, it’s easy to search for locations on Google Maps or Mapquest, then transfer the addresses directly to your Garmin GPS navigator.

1. Hook up your Garmin to the computer via its USB port
2. Search for the location you want
3. Click the Send link in the info window for the address. That will bring up a popup “Send to” form
4. Pick GPS, then pick Garmin and hit the “Send” button

The address will instantly transfer to your Garmin device, The point will be saved as one of your favorites, and you can navigate to it or view it on a map just like with any other favorite.

The process does require a small plugin, which you can get at Garmin’s website. You can send business addresses to your Garmin device from these countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.

Other Features

• Auto time zone–nüvi will automatically adjust your time zone while navigating
• DEM maps–show you shaded terrain contours at various zoom levels
• Trip computer records mileage, max speed, total time and more
• Built-in travel kit includes features such as picture viewer, world clock, currency and measurement converters and calculator
• High-speed PC connectivity using USB 2.0 mass storage
• Configurable vehicle icons–select fun, customized icons from www.garmingarage.com
• Standard headphone and microphone jacks
• microSD card slot for optional mapping and data storage

What’s in the Box
nüvi 885, preloaded City Navigator North America NT, remote for voice activation with battery, vehicle suction cup mount, vehicle power cable, lithium-ion battery, USB cable, dashboard disc, and quick start manual

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.

Device	Screen Size inches (W x H)	Included 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 205	2.8 x 2.1					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver)		Photos			up to 4
nüvi 205w	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver)		Photos			up to 4
nüvi 255	2.8 x 2.1					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver)		Photos			up to 4
nüvi 255w	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver)		Photos			up to 4
nüvi 260w	3.81 x 2.25							Photos			up to 5
nüvi 265T	2.8 x 2.1					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic)		Photos			up to 4
nüvi 265WT	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic)		Photos			up to 4
nüvi 275T	2.8 x 2.1					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic)		Photos			up to 4
nüvi 285WT	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 9 months free);		Photos			up to 4
nüvi 465T	3.81 x 2.25					FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic)		Photos			up to 4
nüvi 755T	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic)		Photos, MP3s			up to 4
nüvi 760	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 765T	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic)		Photos, MP3s			up to 4
nüvi 775T	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic)		Photos, MP3s			up to 4
nüvi 780	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 9 months free); FM (with optional receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 5
nüvi 785T	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 9 months free); FM (with optional receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 4
nüvi 850	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 4
nüvi 855	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 4
nüvi 885T	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 9 months free); FM (with optional receiver)		Photos, MP3s			up to 4
nüvi 1200	2.8 x 2.1					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver)		Photos			up to 4
nüvi 1250	2.8 x 2.1					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver)		Photos			up to 4
nüvi 1260T	2.8 x 2.1					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic)		Photos			up to 4
nüvi 1300	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver)		Photos			up to 4
nüvi 1350	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver)		Photos			up to 4
nüvi 1350T	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic)		Photos			up to 4
nüvi 1370T	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic)		Photos			up to 4
nüvi 1390T	3.81 x 2.25					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic)		Photos			up to 4
nüvi 1490T	4.4 x 2.5					MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (receiver included; Lifetime Traffic)		Photos			up to 4
nüvi 1690	3.81 x 2.25					NAVTEQ Traffic, 2 years free (Garmin nüLink! service)		Photos			up to 3

As I write this, the Nuvi 855 is the only portable GPS with voice recognition, but it is not yet much competition for a factory unit, despite being 5x to 10x cheaper. The cabin must be very quiet in order to get the voice recognition to work; the radio must be turned-down, and the windows up. It will then work pretty well, within its limits.

Mine has frozen-up once in the several times I’ve used it thus far, and requires removal of power plus turning it off then on to reset. So far, it’s a minor annoyance, but it could get to be very aggravating if it happens very often.

As with several other units I’ve used, the fully charged battery only lasts a day or two when the unit is turned off. This makes it virtually useless for out-of-car use. Apparently, the unit attempts to stay locked-on to the satellites even when turned off. This results in fast boot-up, but needs less power consumption to be useful. One could always remove the battery (unlike many other systems) to avoid having it go flat.

Most of the other features are as good as other units I’ve used, so I have no major complaints there. The audio out jack is nice, since I can connect to my car radio when I need some volume. If there were a mic input, that might solve the noise vs. recognition issue.

Now, if either Garmin or Magellan were to combine the features (voice recognition, removable battery, better interface) of the Nuvi 855 with the large (7″) screen and customizable one-touch menu of the Roadmate 1700, that would be a must-have GPS receiver!

Related Products

• Garmin Nuvi 855 Standard Red LED Wall / AC / Home Charger!
• AC Adapter USB Wall Charger w/Extended 6′ FT Power Cable by ChargerCity for Garmin Nuvi 750 755 755t 760 765 765t 770 775 775T 780 785 785T 850 855 855t 860 880 885 885t GPS (ChargerCity Manufacture Replacement Warranty)
• Garmin Portable Friction Mount
• Garmin 4.3-Inch Carrying Case
• Garmin Portable Friction Dashboard Mount

Where to buy cheap prices? -Garmin nüvi 855 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator with Speech Recognition $178.95



*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Mar 07, 2010 21:59:13

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