garmin nuvi routing

All this gps talk makes me want to get a nuvi. Whether 350/360/660, I haven't decided yet. I have one question though.. Last year I had a garmin 2720 and I loved its ability to detour by routes on my path - so e.g. I could ask to avoid I-95. Is this possible with the Nuvis? I saw somewhere that it is a bit dumbed down, i.e. there is simply a detour button but no detour optionindividual legsof the itinerary. How effective is that?

I have the NUVI 350. It does not allow you to "avoid I-95". However, you can put in a destination and subsequently request another location, for example, Starbucks, and it will detour you to the Starbucks and then continue on to your original destination. I just completed a 2500 mile trip and the NUVI 350 was great. We found hotels, Starbucks, eating establishments, etc. It'll give the address, phone # and directions to the location. It's a great tool. Check out pcnation.com as they have the best price with no sales tax and no shipping fees.

While you cannot avoid a specific road, you CAN program the Nuvi 350 to avoid freeways, tollways, etc.

I stopped worrying about it and got one. Have had the nuvi 360 for a week now and it's great!

How do you like the bluetooth feature? Can you hear the caller while driving at freeway speed?

It's not a super important feature for me but saves some hassle and is legal! I have had mostly good/fine conversations, one or two have been garbled. Generally the person on the other side cannot hear that I'm on a speakerphone (except my gf who recognizes the engine note).

I also have the 360. Added a mini speaker, now i can hear the calls even when the revs are high.

I have the 660 which has bluetooth built-in. I pipe the sound across my stereo because the 660 has an fm transmitter built in. It works great and most people can't seem to hear that they are on speakerphone. If you are concerned about the volume at all, the 660 with the fm transmitter is well worthwhile. Sometimes I will run both my xm radio and the nuvi on the same frequency so that I get both worlds on one fm station. There is a little bit of crosstalk, but it isn't bad. Plus, I can hear the nuvi announce directions. By the way, many functions on the nuvi concerning bluetooth are dependent upon your phone. For instance, on a Razr, it will list a name several times with each phone number they have (work, home, mobile) which makes the list very long. Searching is limited to the first initial. With my Sony Ericsson w810, it groups people by name, then you drill down and choose which number. In addition, it will search by the letter in the beginning of the first or last name.

Have you tried the traffic network on the 660 yet? If I remember correctly it has a limited number of cities it works in.

I use it almost every day. It doesn't automatically route me around traffic, but it does tell me when it is in my way. It does a great job in Memphis! I can't speak to where you live. The traffic feature is very valuable. I can answer any specific questions that you have.

Q&a I am looking at gettign this unit as I am fixing to take a 6 month long cross country trip. Questions: How does the phone work? Have you tried playing MP3? If so how are they? I am disspointed the Cayman doest have aux, so want to use my DELL mp3 player with the car... I was thinking of looking at after market but this device may fill that postion too? I am worried about quality.

I'd recommend looking at the Nuvi 660 instead of the orginal Nuvi just because of the screen size. Traffic only works in a few big cities but who needs it in small towns? Phones seem to work fine but the jury is still out on the MP3. See http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=172 for more up-to-date reviews.

The phone works well, but not great. It is much easier for me to hear them then for them to hear me. That mostly has to do with the acoustics and the engine noise. If I do the same thing in my expedition, it sounds much clearer. As for the mp3s ..... It works well, but not great. I have an iPod video and an iPod Nano that I use most of the time. Recently, I ordered a 2 GB sd card for the nuvi and I'll use that on occasion for mp3s. As I mentioned, it works, and I use it, but don't expect miracles. I would only go with the 660 at this point.

Several responding to this thread indicate that the commo or MP3 features of the Nuvi are not very important to them. If so, try the Garmin Street Pilot series which have the same navigation data and program, for several hundred dollars less. I use a SP330 ($400) and have found it very useful - at times essential when trying to find an odd address in an odd town in the middle of the night!

Marty, what are you doing in odd towns looking for odd addresses in the middle of the night? Does Breita know?