Garmin nuvi 650 review

UPDATE: Though still available and supported, Garmin has discontinued the nuvi 650. For newer models, check out my Garmin nuvi comparison chart.

The Garmin nuvi 650 is Garmin’s entry level unit in the 4.3" wide-screen 600 series.  The touch-screen nuvi 650 comes with pre-loaded maps of the U.S. and Canada, an MP3 player, and the ability to call out upcoming street names. So you’ll get "turn left on North Main Street in 500 feet" rather than just "turn left in 500 feet." Live traffic coverage is available as an add-on.

Step up to the nuvi 660 to get an integrated traffic receiver, Bluetooth for hands-free cell phone use, along with an FM transmitter to stream music, directions and phone calls through your car stereo speakers. The nuvi 670 adds European maps to the 660′s feature set, while the nuvi 680 adds MSN Direct services to the 660′s features.

To compare other nuvi models, check out our Garmin nuvi comparison chart.

Compare prices on the Garmin nuvi 650

Before we hear from others, here’s a snippet of Amazon’s Garmin nuvi 650 review:

"With a gorgeous widescreen display, the Garmin nüvi 650 GPS Personal Travel Assistant is your answer to the call of adventure. A sleek navigator and a keen travel assistant, the nüvi 650 is preloaded with highly detailed City Navigator NT road maps for the entire United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. This map database features nearly six million points of interest (POIs), including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs, and attractions, and the data is provided by NAVTEQ, a
world leader in premium-quality mapping."

More Garmin nuvi 650 reviews

• The first consumer-written Garmin nuvi 650 review has been posted at GPSNow.
• Consumers are also posting Garmin nuvi 650 reviews at Amazon.
• Geek Gadget has posted a Garmin nuvi 650 review.
• And you can also find user reviews of the  Garmin nuvi 650 Portable Automotive GPS System
  at TigerGPS.
• Consumer-authored Garmin nuvi 650 reviews are being posted at CNet as well.
• Jeff Chin reviews the Garmin nuvi 650.
• Here’s a user review of the nuvi 650 at GpsPasSion.
• Props & Pans posts a brief Garmin nuvi 650 review.

I’ll be posting more hands on GPS reviews as they appear, but in the meantime, here are some other…

Garmin nuvi 650 resources

• A PDF version of the Garmin nuvi 650 owners manual.
• Confused about so many models of GPS receivers? Try the Garmin mobile GPS comparison tool or our own Garmin nuvi comparison chart.
• There is a dedicated Garmin nuvi message forum at GpsPasSion, along with a thread comparing the nuvi 650 to the nuvi 260.
• There is another nuvi forum at GPS Review
• And here is a comparison of the Garmin nuvi 650 and TomTom GO 720.
• Five tips for nuvi newbies
• Here’s a brief video demo of the Garmin nuvi 650:

Compare prices on the Garmin nuvi 650 at these merchants:

• Find the low price on a Garmin nuvi 650 at GPS Now, where shipping is free on orders over $399. Order by 5 p.m. Central Time for same day shipment.
• Check the current Garmin nuvi 650 price at Amazon.
• Buy the Garmin nuvi 650 Portable Automotive GPS System
  at TigerGPS, where you get free shipping on orders above $250.
• Get the Garmin nuvi 650 for an amazing price on eBay.

From the official Garmin nuvi 650 web page:

Get widescreen navigation at a price that won’t break your budget with nüvi 650. This affordable Personal Travel Assistant comes with many of the popular features found in the nüvi 660 minus Bluetooth® wireless technology, an integrated traffic receiver and FM transmitter — perfect for everyday navigation.

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nüvi 650 features a super-bright 4.3" widescreen display for improved map viewing, POI lookup and MP3/audio book playback. This landscape display has white backlight and a touchscreen for easy use.

Navigate With Ease

nüvi 650 comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator® NT street maps, including a hefty points of interest (POIs) database with hotels, restaurants, fuel, ATMs and more. Simply touch the sunlight-readable color screen to enter a destination, and nüvi takes you there with 2D or 3D 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 650 accepts custom points of interest, such as school zones and safety cameras and lets you set proximity alerts to warn you of upcoming POIs. The European version even includes a preloaded safety camera database containing locations of safety cameras for parts of Europe.

Go Beyond Navigation

Navigation is just the beginning. nüvi 650 includes many “must have” entertainment and travel tools including MP3 player, audio book player (subscription to Audible.com required), JPEG picture viewer, currency converters and more. It also comes with optional FM traffic alerts, Garmin Lock™ (an anti-theft feature) and configurable vehicle icons that let you select car-shaped graphics to show your location on the map. Optional software on plug-and-play SD cards for language  translation, detailed travel guide and savings program allows you to customize your nüvi for your travel needs.

nüvi 650: It’s a whole nü way to travel.

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