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Garmin nüvi 550 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

  • High-Sensitivity GPS Receiver For Improved Performance And Reception
  • Built-In 3D Basemap
  • Built-In US Maps
  • 3.5-Inch Display, 320 X 240 Pixels
  • Easy Touch-Screen Interface

Product Description
The Garmin nuvi 550 will guide you while you drive, hike, bike or boat. Go sightseeing with geotagged images from Garmin Connect Photos or see your terrain with the digital elevation model basemap. The nuvi 550 comes preloaded with highly detailed City Navigator maps. The preloaded map data features millions of 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. Geocaching, including Wherigo Platform player Built-in DEM Basemap (Digital Elevation Model) 3.5 QVGA color antiglare TFT with white Backlight Touchscreen Display – 320 x 240 Pixels User replaceable lithium-ion battery – up to 8 hours depending on use Dimensions – Width 4.21 x Height 3.35 x Depth 0.9 (10.7×8.5×2.3cm) Weight – 7.6 ounces (215 grams)Amazon.com Product Description
Perfect for crossing over the threshold from city to backcountry, the Garmin nüvi 550 provides a high-sensitivity GPS receiver with turn-by-turn navigation in a ruggedized, waterproof exterior that you can use while hiking, biking, or boating. With its high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver and HotFix satellite prediction, nüvi 550 locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover and deep canyons–whether in the city or out in the wilds. And it easily switches modes (driving, walking, biking and boating) to navigate through your active lifestyle depending on your activity. Other features include a 3.5-inch touchscreen, microSD memory expansion, geocaching GPX file capabilities for complete cache descriptions and hints, and Garmin Connect Photos–enabling you to associate your favorite images with saved locations.

The waterproof nüvi 550 guides you while you drive, hike, bike or boat.

The nüvi 550 offers detailed City Navigator NT street maps for the United States and features digital elevation maps that show you shaded terrain contours at higher zoom levels. The map data, provided by NAVTEQ, features over six million points of interest, including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs and attractions.

The DEM basemap (above) provides shaded contours, and the nüvi also includes a digital compass.

Weighing 7.6 ounces and measuring less than an inch thin, the nüvi 550 fits easily in a purse, backpack, or jacket pocket. The 3.5-inch color touchscreen display (with 320 x 240-pixel resolution) is easy to read even in direct sunlight, and the nüvi’s easy-to-use interface means you’ll spend more time enjoying the outdoors and less time searching for information. Simple controls and sub-screens make it easy to enter or search for destinations and get data about your trip. Simply touch the color screen to enter a destination, and nüvi takes you there with turn-by-turn voice directions, 2-D or 3-D maps and smooth map updates as you navigate. Its digital elevation model (DEM) mapping shows you shaded contours at higher zoom levels, giving you a big picture of the surrounding terrain. In addition, the nüvi 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.

Garmin’s HotFix capability automatically calculates and stores satellite locations, greatly reducing satellite acquisition time so that you can turn the unit on and get going. With HotFix, your nüvi 550 remembers the position of all satellites it is tracking when you turn it off, and calculates their movements in order to predict where they should be the next time you turn it on. HotFix can predict satellite positions for up to 3 days after the device was last turned off.

Conveniently plug in optional preloaded microSD memory cards for all your outdoor activities on land or water. Just insert an optional Garmin MapSource card with detailed street maps (such as for locales outside the United States), and the nüvi 550 provides turn-by-turn directions to your destination. And with optional BlueChart g2 Vision maps, you’ll get everything you need for a great day on the water including depth contours, navaids and harbors.

A user-replaceable lithium-ion battery will give you up to eight hours of battery life (depending on use). In addition to an AC charger, the unit also ships with a 12-volt power adapter for vehicle charging, as well as a windshield suction cup mount.

Specifications

  • User modes: Driving, Boating, Bicycling and Walking
  • Expansion: microSD card slot for optional mapping and data storage
  • Wherigo player
  • Geocahing: Supports Geocahing.com GPX files for complete cache descriptions and hints
  • Dimensions: 4.21 x 3.35 x 0.9 inches (WxHxD)
  • Display size: 3.5-inch QVGA color antiglare TFT screen (320 x 240-pixel resolution) with white backlight touchscreen
  • Weight: 7.6 ounces
  • Battery type: user replaceable lithium-ion
  • Battery life: up to 8 hours depending on use
  • Waterproof standard: IEC 60529 IPX7

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.


Play Wherigo Wherever You Go
This nüvi GPS device is compatible with Wherigo, the latest GPS-based activity from geocaching pioneers Groundspeak. Wherigo (pronounced “where I go”) is a toolset for creating and playing location-based multimedia experiences in the real world. Using the Wherigo platform, Wherigo authors can build exciting adventure games, historical tours or other innovative activities.

3D Terrain Maps
If you add topographic maps to your device, then you can view them as shaded relief terrain so you know when to expect hills, mountains, forests and other natural features. Topographic terrain maps are viewable when using the 2D “birds-eye” view.

What’s in the Box
Garmin nüvi 550, preloaded City Navigator North America NT1, lithium-ion battery, vehicle suction cup mount, vehicle power cable, dashboard disc, 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 550 2.8 x 2.1
MSN-enhanced (with optional receiver); FM (with optional receiver)
Photos
up to 8
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; 3 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; 3 months free); FM (with optional receiver)
Photos, MP3s
up to 5
nüvi 785T 3.81 x 2.25
MSN-enhanced (receiver included; 3 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; 3 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 4

Garmin nüvi 550 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator



 

5 Users Response In " Garmin nüvi 550 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator "

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J. Heuer says in February 25th 2010 at 11:45 am    

This is a wonderful product! So easy to use and we’ve purchased our maps to use on the boat!
Rating: 5 / 5

Mark I. Stein says in February 25th 2010 at 1:52 pm    

I purchased the Garmin Nuvi 550 because I was moving to a new state, and wanted something small an compact that I could take with me walking through the city, on hikes and while biking. My girlfriend had an automotive model from Garmin. She had said that, while it was very helpful, it was not 100% reliable. Foolishly, I ignored that important warning and blew close to three hundred bucks on this model, which is advertised as being specifically designed for walking, biking and driving. I had read a review from an electronics website, and wish I could recall which one it was, because I would be writing the reviewer as well. It is obvious that the review was based solely on the manufacturer’s claims, and not on putting the device through its paces to see how it actually performs in the field. I did put it through its paces for a solid month, and never intend to turn it on again.

First of all, this device has a really hard time acquiring satellites. It usually takes a good, solid ten minutes to acquire satellites, so I had to get into the habit of turning the device on fifteen minutes before I intended to use it, and setting it outside to locate the satellites. Not ideal. Worse still, several times it completely failed to acquire satellites at all, and I was on my own.

Another huge problem is that it is missing a very basic feature: There is no way to leave the device on, but lock or turn off the screen. This seems absurdly basic for a device specifically designed for walkers and specifically made small enough to pocket. Any time you put it in your pocket, doing so activates the touch sensitive screen, and changes your view or, worse yet, your navigation settings. This inability to black out the screen is also a huge drain on battery life. This isn’t a problem for a car model which will be plugged into the car, but for a device meant for walking and biking, it is a critical flaw. The company claims that the battery life is “up to five hours.” I am guessing that to get five hours of life out of the battery they supply, you would have to turn off the GPS and allow it to sit doing absolutely nothing for five hours. I found the battery life in the field to be under four hours, far less time than my average hike or bike ride.

I also bought the bike mount for this device, and it is equally terrible. The ball-and socket joint is very loose, so as the bike vibrates (even on smooth roads) the monitor gradually sags, which requires you to constantly reposition the screen. Worse yet, on little bumps, the device goes flying out of the mount. I’m not talking about huge jumps on a mountain bike, either. I ride a hybrid, and this device leaps out of the mount on the kind of minor bumps that are a constant fact of city biking.

I would not be so put off by the fact that the touch screen sensitivity is very clunky and slow, and that the user interface is also rather poorly designed if the other features of the device were better. Fortunately, I will never actually use the thing again, so these flaws won’t impact my life.

Overall, this device was a HUGE waste of money.

Rating: 1 / 5

Cathy M. Denny says in February 25th 2010 at 2:20 pm    

I purchased a Garmin Nuvi 550 for my son for Christmas in Dec 2008. In February, when I began travelling for my work, I purchased the same unit from Amazon for myself. I have carried it in my briefcase and use it in a rental car to assist with locating my client site. However, I pulled it out one day in June, some 4 months after purchase and found that it just turns on, and then shuts itself off. I emailed the tech support at Garmin and am still looking for assistance to resolve this. The unit has not been damaged, I have charged the battery in the car and through my computer, with no resolution. I have sent my Amazon receipt to Garmin so that they know this unit was purchased legitimately. However, still waiting (some 3 weeks now) for instructions on how to get this unit repaired or exchanged for one that works.
Rating: 1 / 5

D. Miller says in February 25th 2010 at 4:46 pm    

This GPS rocks! Does walking, biking, scooter, automobile functions. Waterproof. 4 hour battery. The only thing missing is spoken street names, and I don’t need those on my ATV!!!
Rating: 5 / 5

C. Zessin says in February 25th 2010 at 6:20 pm    

We used this on vacation (close to 5000 miles all total). It does great. But make sure you take a map with you too.

DRIVING: At times it won’t select the best route. We used it a month ago to go about an hour and a half from here. I told it to take us the fastest route (and didnt’ have a paper map w/me). It took us on some unbelievably poor back, back roads. We’re talking ONE lane gravel. When I got my Blackberry out to double check things w/Google maps, I discovered we could have taken interstate to within 10 miles of our destination, then 9.5 miles on a two lane blacktop road, then just a half mile on the back roads to our destination. Otherwise it does great.

WALKING: I chose this model b/c it had hiking, biking, driving, etc. modes. It should do great retracing my tracks if I get lost while hiking. I was hoping I could take it walking too …. so I could track how far I went and how fast I walked. That didn’t work so well. While walking the speed would fluctuate between 0 and various other speeds (1 mph, 3 mph, 4… etc.) even though I had not changed my pace. (this is why I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars)

Overall — it’s works really well and I’m glad I got it.
Rating: 4 / 5

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