3 Comments

1. a girl

   July 19, 2011

   49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

   
   Works well in Cities! Great interface, December 5, 2004

   By 

   a girl (New York, NY United States) –
   
     

   This review is from: Garmin StreetPilot 2620 3.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)

   Pros:
   — Near Perfect and MUCH better reception in cities than previous models.
   — Entire USA + some Canada preloaded – NO SETUP!
   — Very nice interface and touchscreen
   — great accuracy in determining distance

   Cons:
   — None, really. Except it could be stolen.

   I used to have the streetpilot III model (no touchscreen, limited memory requiring CD rom upload). I left it viewable on my dash for just a short while in Cambridge, MA. When I returned to my car, my window was smashed. Oh well. I went out and bought the 2620.

   All I can say is that it’s almost a blessing that my prior one was stolen. I am truly an idiot with navigation. I couldn’t get by without a GPS device in my car. The older model kept saying “lost satellite reception” in cities (NYC, Seattle, Boston are my main cities). This once seems to ALWAYS have a connection. It’s incredible. Furthermore, it’s far more accurate in telling me when to turn. The older models might have been off by 100 feet — which makes a difference when there are two possible turns really close to each other (in a fork situation or similar). This model is fantastically accurate — I always know when to turn, even when faced with multiple really close-to-each-other options. I know that the reception and accuracy has to do with the new WAAS technology. I’m not sure about the details of how that works, but boy, is there a difference.

   I also absolutely love that I can stick this in my suitcase and take it on any US business trip without having to worry about preloading city information. It has the entire USA preloaded on it — even tiny midwestern towns.

   I love this model. If I had to pick my favorite purchases in the last 5 years, the Garmin 2620 would tie for first with my TiVo. If you are considering purchasing this, I can say with great confidence that you will not regret this one. It’s truly a perfect system. I adore it. Just remember to stick it under one of the seats when you park in public places. It’s such a wonderful device that it could cause you to get your window smashed (and your GPS stolen).

   Buy this. Really. I’ve reviewed quite a few things on amazon, and I rarely come out this strongly in favor of something. Also, if you’re considering the 2610, don’t. My friend has that model — it’s not nearly as accurate, loses reception more often, and the hassles of loading your favorite locations before you can use it just make it not worth it.

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2. W. H. Jamison, Jr.

   July 19, 2011

   209 of 218 people found the following review helpful:

   
   Great bit of kit, August 16, 2004

   By 

   W. H. Jamison, Jr. (Burien, Washington United States) –
   
     

   Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)

   This review is from: Garmin StreetPilot 2620 3.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)

   I’ve used GPS based automotive navigation systems in Mercedes Benz and Acuras and have found them to be less than satisfactory but the Garmin 2620 is an awesome bit of kit. The unit is easy to use and with the beanbag base stays on my dashboard unless I’m doing something really stupid (high speed U-turns). With the external antenna I almost never lose the satellites, and the unit quickly acquires and reacquires the satellites as necessary. Navigation is excellent, I disagree with some of the Garmin’s routing choices but only on routes that I know well and have driven on extensively. The system remote is easy to use one handed and if you disable the annoying safety feature that prevents you from programming on the move you can easily set destinations or change route settings by touch and by glancing at the screen. The screen is bright and clear in sunlight and the unit does not seem to have been bothered by sitting on my dashboard in the hot sun or by occasionally being knocked off the dash when I do something stupid (the aforementioned high speed turns). As far as the reviewer who says that he’s leaving out bait for thieves by having this unit on his dash I’d recommend the optional carrying case, it’s a matter of a few seconds to disconnect the unit from the power cord and external antenna, put it in the case and stow the case under the seat or somewhere else out of sight.
   If I were purchasing a new car I would save my money and get a Garmin 2620 instead of purchasing a built in navigation system. Most built in systems cost more money and while some can give you better accuracy with dead reckoning sensors that read vehicle speed and direction the extra money you’ll spend for the additional accuracy is offset by being locked into a proprietary solution.

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3. Michael D. Brown "MDBMD"

   July 19, 2011

   166 of 169 people found the following review helpful:

   
   Beat smy Navtech in car system…, April 22, 2004

   By 

   Michael D. Brown “MDBMD” (Oak Park, IL USA) –
   
     

   Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)

   This review is from: Garmin StreetPilot 2620 3.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)

   I have a 3 year old Navtech based CD GPS system in my Volvo and purchased this device to use in my older SUV that has no GPS system installed. I first tried using the new Streetpilot on a recent trip to Dubuque Iowa from Chicago; using it and the in car systems simultaneously to compare them. The Garmin SP 2620 outperfomed the Navtech installed system hands down. Although the in car system found satellites instantly the Garmin only took about 10 seconds to find them on start up. And it is MUCH faster on route calculations and more importatnly recalculations, about 3x faster. The in car sytem could not locate the exact street address in Dubuque even though I had the Iowa CD disk installed. The Garmin unit did. The details on local businesses was MUCH better with the Garmin. The map was clearer and was better illuminated. Only things I’d like to have in the Garmin would be a two map display option (for differing zooms of the the same route at the same time) and a display of the remianing miles on the main route display, you can get it but it’s on another routing description page. The Garmin does display more immediately useful info such as time and distance to next turn so this is a very minor quibble. It is solid, extremely well built unit and mounts very nicely. It tilts and twists to optimize viewing. The “beanbag” friction mount works very well. The nice thing about the portable system is it’s portabilty to other cars and rentals, for instance you can loan it to friends and family if you wish! Furthermore, upgrading is very easy via the Garmin web site whereas updates for my Volvo Navtech in car system have been rare and expensive. The hard drive in the Garmin is a memory card which I can see being enlarged if necessary but the current 512mb card has plenty of map details on it. A new CD disk set for my in car system costs over $200, the Garmin updates so far are free. Overall a stellar value and a device that exceeded my expectations in every way. If you travel by car (and who really likes flyng anyway?)in the US and/or Canada, get one, you’ll love it.

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