Sunday, March 18, 2012

Garmin nuvi 2595LMT

Garmin nuvi 2595LMT reviewThe Garmin nüvi 2595LMT is the top of the line model in Garmin’s 2012 nuvi Advanced series line. One of the more significant refreshes in recent years, the Advanced series adds several new customization options, improved search functionality and Exit Services. All models in the Advanced series come with preloaded maps of the US, Canada and Mexico. As the premier 5” model, the 2595LMT also offers voice command, Bluetooth for hands free calling, as well as lifetime maps and traffic.

I’ll delve into new and returning features shortly, but first, let’s look at some…

Related models

  • Drop down to the 2555LMT and you’ll lose Bluetooth and voice command
  • Or keep those features but drop down to a 4.3″ screen with the nuvi 2495LMT
  • To see how the nuvi 2595LMT stacks up against other models, check out my Garmin nuvi comparison chart

NOTE: Much of the following is based on my hands on reviews of the nuvi 2495LMT , which offers the same feature set, and the 5” 2555LT.

Garmin nuvi 2595LMT hardware notes

My biggest disappointment with the Advanced series is that these models do not have a powered mount. So you’ll have to plug the mini-USB connector into the back of the unit each time you use it. Nevertheless, the 2595LMT does sense when you remove it from the mount while powered on, and records that as your last parking spot. To be guided back to it, choose Apps > Last Spot. There is a magnet in the lower portion of the mount that allows it to accomplish this.

Powering on and off

The nuvi 2595LMT powers off and on automatically when connected to the charger in your car. When you press the power button to turn it off, it actually goes into sleep mode. According to the manual, “a battery charge lasts for weeks” in this mode. The advantage here is an almost instantaneous power on from sleep mode. To fully shut down the device, hold the power button down for three seconds.

NuFeatures

Much of this section was covered in my first looks post. One exception is at the end of the “Map changes” section, where I discuss browsing the map for POIs; the other is the final section, “Menu improvements.”

Dashboards

There are eight different dashboards available on the 2595LMT. Basically, these are data field layouts, and are accessed via Settings > Map & Vehicle > Dashboards. You can see one in the image below.

2595LMT-dashboard

Map changes – Buttons, layers, and more, oh my

The icons on the right side of the map screen are termed map buttons. You can have up to three of the following: Traffic, Mute, Stop, Phone, Detour, Exit services, Where am I?, Trip computer, Map layers, Brightness, Where to? and Audible. This is a nice feature. BTW, see the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the lower right portion of the nuvi screen above? You can tap that to bring up all twelve of the items available for the map buttons, so it’s easy to reach the other nine.

Map Layers also offers three choices. You can choose to display any or all of the following on the map: Traffic, Trip log and Places along the road. Enabling the latter will display points of interest (POIs). In the screenshot below, you can see that more information appears on the screen if you tap a POI icon. Oh, and which POIs feature corporate logos seems to be solely related to which ones are available to Garmin; it has nothing to do with zoom levels.

POI-more-info

While you cannot customize which POIs to display on the 3D moving map, it’s a different subject when you go into browse map mode. There you can drill down through many categories, as you can see below.

2555lt-browse-map

Selecting a destination

Tap Where To? and you’ll see the following screen…

2595LMT-where-to

There are a few things to note here:

  • You can add a shortcut to a favorite search (e.g., Starbucks), a category or subcategory, a saved place, etc.; this is one of the more helpful new features, IMHO
  • Note that you can remove any of the shortcuts shown above
  • And you can have up to six screens, for a total of 36 shortcuts
  • The Categories icon gives you access to the full range of POI choices, in addition to any shortcuts showing
  • You can do a universal search, entering an address or a POI name
  • Tap the Searching Near field in the upper right hand portion of the screen to access options such as My active route, My destination, etc.
  • To move items around, simply press and hold them for a second until they start to jiggle; then move them to a new position

Exit services

First seen on the dezl trucker series, and similar to Magellan’s Exit POIs, this is another new feature that I think people will find very helpful indeed. So much so that it will undoubtedly end up as one of the buttons on my map screen. It shows you POIs for upcoming exits…

2555lt-exit-services

Menu improvements

Recent nuvis had deep menu options that were painful to access. Improved nesting and better use of check boxes have reduced many steps. For example, on 2xx0 series units, you had the following sequence to set avoidances: Tools > Settings > Navigation > nuRoute > Avoidances. On the 2xx5 series, it’s Settings > Navigation > Avoidances.

Returning features

Voice command

Voice command on the 2×95 series functioned very well in my testing, even in my noisy truck. I’m estimating that accuracy was at least 90%. In addition to the options shown below, there are also commands for Detour, Volume and Brightness.nuvi-2495lmt-voice-command

As with other recent models, you can use a customizable wakeup phrase (“voice command” is the default).

You can do one shot address or POI entry on the 2595LMT. Just say Find Address and then rattle off the entire address. Another improvement is that Find Place seems to work with nearly any POI in  the database now. The voice command on this latest nuvi is getting very good indeed.

Junction View and Lane Assist

There has been a huge increase in the number of exits showing Junction View imagery (pictured below on the right side of the screen). It seems to pop up at almost every exit in cities where I’ve never even seen it before. I’ll also note that this series includes what Garmin terms photoReal Junction View, where the background scenery should generally match reality.

jct-view-lane-assist

Lane Assist is displayed in the upper left portion of the screen above, letting you know which lane you need to be in for an upcoming turn. This feature shows up not only on freeways, but on some urban surface streets as well.

Lifetime traffic

Traffic is ad-supported, just like on previous T models. I’ve included some screenshots below.

2595LMT-traffic

2595LMT-traffic-detail

2595LMT-constructionUnfortunately, the coupon icons are starting to show up a bit more frequently, as you can see in the image below. In the past, it seems like I wouldn’t see these unless I was stopped or on the traffic screen, but note my speed in the screenshot below.

2595LMT-coupon

One new option is to purchase the GTM 60 traffic receiver, giving you access to Garmin’s new HD traffic service and eliminating the ads as well.

NOTE: As I was doing the final edit of my 2555LT review, I realized that my unit had a GTM 26 traffic receiver, and that apparently it should have come with a GTM 36. This could indicate that I have a pre-production unit and that traffic reception and ad behavior could differ in the final production models shipped with the GTM 36.

UPDATE: No, the Advanced series comes with the GTM 26 receiver.

Trip Planner

Trip Planner, used for planning multi-destination routes, is now found under Apps. It seems that Garmin is continuing to make improvements here. While I didn’t do extensive testing of this feature, I did note a couple of things. For one, Time to Via and final destination arrival times seem to be accurately reflected on the dashboard (although it still doesn’t take into account duration of stop, if you’ve entered that info). Also, I successfully transferred a multi-destination route from BaseCamp, using City Navigator POIs converted to waypoints.

2555lt-trip-planner

Despite the improvements to this feature, some users prefer the old system where you could add Via points without using the Trip Planner. With the Trip Planner, you need to interact with it briefly after each stop, selecting the next destination.

Your choice of routes

This feature was buried so deeply on the 2xx0 series that I missed it entirely. Now, when you enter a search and tap a result, you’ll see a drop down box labeled Routes. Tap it and you’ll get your choice of faster time, shorter distance and less fuel routes (according to the manual; they aren’t labeled, but you can see them below).

2555lt-routes

Other returning features

Some other important features introduced on previous generation nuvis, which are also found on the 2595LMT:

  • Orientation (portrait style shown below) can be set by by going to Settings > Display > Orientation, but this must be done manually; the 25×5 series does not appear to have an accelerometer built in
  • Custom avoidances – Allows you to exclude a road or area from routing
  • Advanced detours – Lets you exclude roads from the active route on the fly
  • Trip log – Now part of “Where I’ve Been,” you can clear it from within the app and enable/disable and clear it from Settings > Device

nuvi-2595LMT-portrait

Bluetooth

In testing the 2×95 series, the nuvi paired with my Motorola Droid on the first try. The next couple of times it tried to connect though, it would not stay connected. After a shutdown and restart of the nuvi, it worked fine, but I will admit to limited testing of this feature. When I called my wife, she said it was “damn good,” almost like talking to me directly on my phone.

2495LMT-Bluetooth

Garmin nuvi 2595LMT performance

These notes are from my hands on tests of the nuvi 2495LMT and 2555LT:

POI searches seem significantly faster than on other recent models. And routing speed is somewhat faster than on my 2360LT with the trafficTrends historical road speed database enabled on both units. While I’ll admit it’s a bit subjective, routing does seem to be a little smarter on these second generation trafficTrends units. I definitely see differences and they generally seem to be better choices.

Names of nearby roads appear on the map – sometimes there are more of them and sometimes less than on the 2360. Occasionally I’ve noticed a slight lag in menu responsiveness of the 25×5 series. It’s not always there, and it’s short enough when it does occur (less than a second) that many users wouldn’t even notice it.

Garmin nuvi 2595LMT pros

  • 5” screen
  • Strong customization options
  • Exit services
  • Lifetime map updates included
  • Lifetime traffic
  • Excellent Bluetooth sound quality
  • POIs can be displayed on the map
  • Offers several choices of routes
  • Extensive junction view and lane assist coverage
  • Excellent voice command functionality
  • Advanced detours allow you to exclude roads from active route
  • Custom avoidances allow you to exclude roads or areas from all routes

Garmin nuvi 2595LMT cons

  • Traffic is ad-supported and is beginning to get more intrusive with coupon icons appearing on the map screen when moving
  • No powered mount

Conclusion and recommendation

Highly recommended. Even with my love of powered mounts (missing here), the nuvi Advanced series rocks. New (and very useful) customization options, exit services and other strong features will tempt many nuvi owners to upgrade. It looks like Garmin has another winner.

More Garmin nuvi 2595LMT reviews

I’ll be posting more links to hands on GPS reviewsas they appear, but in the meantime, here are some…

Other Garmin nuvi 2595LMT resources

Compare prices on the Garmin nuvi 2595LMT at these merchants:

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About Rich Owings

Rich is the owner, editor and chief bottle-washer for GPS Tracklog. Connect with him on Twitter, Facebook or Google Plus.

Comments

  1. Wavshrdr says:

    I love your site. I am torn between the 2460 and the 2595. Is the routing engine the same? You talk about some minor customization improvements on the 2595, what are they? I don’t really care about the live services as I plan to use this on my motorcycle. Does the 2460 support junction view?

    Any other major changes? I assume the 2460 doesn’t have the Garmin Guidance 2.0. Is this a major upgrade from what is on the 2460? So the 2460 has a powered mount and the 2595 doesn’t. I find that to be a pretty handy feature. Are the screens’ visibility similar in direct sunlight? Is the home screen on the 2460 as customizable as the 2595?

    I have a 3760 now and love the high res screen. The downside is when used on a motorcycle, I can’t wear gloves and still operate it thanks to the capacitive screen. If it wasn’t for that, I’d consider the 35xx series. So as it was I am considering the 2595 and the 2460.

    • BillW says:

      I am not a motorcyclist so can’t say much about it’s use. I have seen a number of complaintson the GPSPreview NUVI forum. There is a lot of experienced people so you might getsome good help there. You should search the Garmin site for specific use models. I can’t see the 2595 or any automotive model being a good choice.

      • Wavshrdr says:

        Bill- thanks for the quick reply. Are you saying a lot of complaints for the 2460? I’ve used the dedicated motorcycle ones (Garmin Zumo and TT Rider) and neither of them impressed me much. So I slap up my auto one, use a BT headset, put it in shielded enclosure and away I go. So far it has worked well in about 30,000 miles of riding. In really heavy rain I put in my special bag to protect my camera when diving.

        It looks like the 2595 might be a slightly better option for me because it looks like the 2460 won’t do portrait mode. The 2595 will do it but it is a manual process unlike the 37xx series which does it automatically. I find the portrait mode to be very handy at times. The powered mount though is really handy on a motorcycle because I can just grab it and go.

        • BillW says:

          The complaints are NUVI in general. I can only comment on 2595 as I have no experience with the others. The lack of power mount was about the only disapointment going from the 765 to the 2595 but I did it for the voice control.

    • Rich Owings says:

      Wavshrdr,

      The routing engine should be similar although I believe that trafficTrends is disabled by default in the new models liken the 2595. The 2460 does supports junction view. The 2595′s home screen is much more customizable and it has exit services, which isn’t found on the 2460. The 2595 looks brighter to me than the 2460. One big problem though… I don’t think either model will work with a Bluetooth headset: link.

  2. Fred Glatter says:

    My nuvi 2595 started freezing up when the traffic/charging cord was plugged in during a recent trip. The touch screen became unresponsive requiring a restart with the power switch. It seemed to work fine on battery mode. Any ideas? Thanks.

  3. Brucito says:

    Garmin 2595LMT freeze: I issued a voice command to “Find City”. In a subsequent menu, the 2595 offers the ability to change country. I requested Canada and the unit disiplayed an option button indicating ‘Use Keyboard’ which didn’t make any sense to me since there is no keyboard. However, I found the the unit froze and would not accept voice or touch inputs. I was forced to press the on/off button on the 2595 to force a reboot. This happened twice. Since I was not actually traveling to Canada, I decided to leave the issue alone and simply use it without requesting Canada. Other than this issue, the 2595LMT is a really great device. We also have a 1490LMT and are very pleased. The 2595LMT seems to have a faster processor and provides more lead time on turns when citing directions during travel. Overall, the 2595 is a good requisition. I would not trade it for a different model.

    • Rich Owings says:

      It seemed to lock up my 2495LMT when I tried it, but it became responsive again in 30 seconds or so. Definitely seems like a bug.

      • Brucito says:

        I sent the relevant discussion related to the freeze to Garmin. There response is to update the software and maps and then do a master reset to factory defaults. The software and maps were recently updated on 3/30/2012, only a few weeks ago. I don’t intend on resetting the Garmin to factory defaults. This sounds like a boilerplate response to the problem. Garmin didn’t acknowledge that there may be a bug.

        • Brucito says:

          Garmin states there was a release of new software updates for this device (2595LMT) since March 30th. So, I’ll rerun the updates and see if it cures this issue with the freeze.

  4. BillW says:

    It behaves the same on mine. Change country to canada and it hangs at use keyboard for a minute then asks for a city in Canada, Wait for 75 seconds and it comes back with ‘What city in Canada. You have to use both city and state to get the right answer, both canada and US. Also if you leave the country as Canada and request find city it hangs for about the same on find city. Looks like it is in a big search loop. Probably pose it to Garmin support.

  5. Wavshrdr says:

    I bought both the 2460 and 2595. One issue that might be important for some people is the power connector. On the 2595 it is mini USB. On the 2460, it is a micro USB. A lot of times I want to recharge my GPS by a portable USB charger as I carry it or have it on a bicycle and not always have it in the car. Many modern phones use a micro USB except for the Apple lineup. I have 3 phones , 2 tablets and they take micro USB so that is what I normally carry with me.

    It likely is because Garmin thinks the mini USB port will be more robust than the micro. Obviously a consideration since they aren’t using a power mount.

    One thing on the 2595 I miss from the 2460 is the quick tap of the power button to bring up the brightness menu. I think it is because the 2595 just goes into a sleep mode instead of total power off when you push on the power button. This is like what my 3760 does (sleep). Also it doesn’t look like you can really customize the home screen on the 2595 like you can on the 2460. It the GPS Tracklog review it as in the “nu Feature: Customizable main menu”. Is feature really removed in the 2595?

    This is such typical Garmin, add a few new things and take some really good things away or am I missing something here? The GPSTracklog reviews are definitely some of the best on the ‘Net.

    I have to say the voice recognition on both GPSs are good. I was very impressed with some of the more complex addresses they both recognized.

    Personally I am torn. I love the micro USB and powered mount of the 2460. The customizable home screen is a great feature too, less taps to get where you want. I hope I am just missing this on the 2595 and that is there somewhere but I doubt it. I also like the quick tap of tapping the power button for quick access to the brightness. Very similar to my original Nuvi 360 but it also had both volume AND brightness. A perfect example of Garmin going backwards.

    OTOH the Live features seem to work well so far on the 2595. The weather is pretty slick. Not much use of the traffic yet in a really congested city like Atlanta or LA. The voice recognition on the 2595 is slight better and one significant difference for me is when you ask for a city, the 2595 allows you to specify city and state whereas the 2460 seems to just default to the state you are in. This might be a significant issue for some. Say for example you live on the border of 2 states (like I do). I could only be 10 miles away from a city across the border and the 2460 doesn’t seem to easily allow me to use the voice rec to find it. I also found the 2560 will pick up my voice a wee bit better when talking softly.

    I also compared the brightness back to back. They are very close as to almost be negligible but the difference is more in the color of the icons the 2595 uses that makes it seem slightly brighter. One difference though where there is more of difference is the volume. In back to back testing, the 2595 is definitely louder than the 2460. OTOH that is slightly more distortion on max volume with the 2595 but no so much as to make it unusable. Both though are very good and better than my 3760 when on its powered mount. I also like the customizable map buttons but 3 seems too limiting.

    I’ll play with the 2595 more and see if I decide to keep it. The2460 was about $75 cheaper at the moment at retail prices in my area. For the 2595 I wish they had the higher res screen in the non-capacitive touch screen so I could use it with gloves. Also a powered mount would be a big plus and the use of a micro USB. A customizable home screen like the 2460. A quick tap on the power button like the old Nuvi 350/360/370 series to customize volume and power as well. At least the 2460 gives brightness but you can waste a customize button on the 2595. Neither of them seem to offer Garmin lock but maybe I missed that as well. The powered mount seems to hold the 2460 more securely than the 2595’s mount does it. I am still waiting for a chance to view them both side by side in direct sunlight. The 2460 does pretty well in direct sunlight. I could read it pretty easily on a bright, sunny, 80 degree today while riding the bike.

    Based on how well the voice command worked for me on both of them, I’ll only consider one that offers voice command from now on. The last Nuvi I had a 8xx series, this feature was pretty weak. I thought this info might be helpful for anyone shopping them both.

  6. Wavshrdr says:

    I am on the latest software and no issues so far. It has been very stable unlike some of my other Garmins.

    • Wavshrdr says:

      Just a few more follow-up thoughts They both (2460 and 2595) worked great with my phone. It does take a while to learn the interface of the 2595. In some ways it is easier to get to some things. The shortcut menu is nice. OTOH I think it takes more clicks to add favorites. Why can’t I just go into the saved menu and have a + button to give me the option to add recently found items or add an address directly? I do like how the favorites sync up with the app on my phone. Now what can’t I add other addresses there as well?

      Garmin has this incredible ability to get it not quite right. Instead of hitting a home run, the turn a great hit somehow into a single or double. The 2595 is an example of this yet again. Always a few steps forward and then one back, sometimes even 2.

      I’ll probably keep both of them for a while to decide. Then I’ll probably give one to my mom. In general they both have worked very well on my motorcycles. The large screens are easy to see. I do wish they still incorporated a MP3 player and a headphone jack. Bluetooth is NOT the answer to everything. I’ve found a very heavy duty ziplock back can see the units from all but the most torrential rain. A Zumo isn’t worth the extra cost for me.

      Some other things are annoying about the word suggestion option in the 2595. It is a great idea but it took them too long to implement. One issue with it is let’s suppose you want to search in a different area. You click on the search box and type in the word, there is no auto-complete nor does it remember what you recently typed. It only relies on the suggested words. So lets suppose you want to search in Minnesota. As luck would have it, there is a city somewhere that apparently starts with Minnesota. I had to type out Minnesota in its entirety as it kept offering all the cities that started with Minnesota. Then when I wanted to search again, it didn’t remember what I had typed before.

      Another issue with Garmin in general, why can’t I just have the option of putting in a zip code like TomTom has done since day one? That would already tell the unit city AND state. It shouldn’t be an issue to implement this for them. What is odd is years ago I could use the zip code to search on European addresses.

      So even though Rich possibly missed the customization the main screen, he still has some of the best reviews around. I ALWAYS start here when shopping for a new GPS. Still looking at the 3590 as I liked my 3760 a lot but I don’t know if I need yet another GPS. If it would have worked with gloves on, it would have been my first choice and I wouldn’t have considered either the 2460 or 2595 for the bike. I must say though in general I’ve been impressed with them. The more I use the 2595 there is absolutely no way I’d consider the less 25xx models. Better off to buy the 2460 and save a lot of money.

      The BT, live services integration and voice command is a big plus over the less models. The only thing you really give up with the 2460 is the live services. Unfortunately that is very important to me. Which is probably the factor that will ensure I keep the 2595 over the 2460. That powered mount though and very customizable home screen a very big pluses to me especially when using it on a motorcycle.

      Keep up the good work Rich!

  7. Chad says:

    Here is Garmin’s reply to my question about their Topo map background detail (color) being very intermittent; appears for a few minutes, then drops-out – and repeats a few minutes later.

    “Thank you for contacting Garmin International. Unfortunately, the nuvi 2595lmt is not compatible with TOPO mapping and this is why some of the map-detail disappears. There are several street navigating devices that can support TOPO Mapping but have limitations.”

    It would seem to this layman that as long as the background detail/color DOES show some of the time, a modification to Garmin’s Firmware could solve the issue. IF (of course) Garmin wished to do-so.

    • Rich Owings says:

      Sounds like a lame response by a low level tech. I don’t really think that is the issue.

      • Chad says:

        I did another firm-wear update before my last off-road outing, and the color background and detail stayed displayed for about 60% of the trip – an improvement from about 15% – however the display still periodically and intermittently dropped-back to a white background with terrian contour-lines and vehcile position shown. I would really like to resolve this; may contact Garmin again thou my experience is they demonstrate a “one reply to a customer” policy. Background detail is arguably “astetics” as the nav functions seem to continue to work. None-the-less …….

  8. Doug says:

    Just took our 2595LMT from central Mass to Cape Cod for 3 days with no problems, got us every where we wanted to go. On the way home we encountered a massive 6 mile long back up at a snails pace from the Sagamore Bridge, the gps automatically rerouted us around the traffic down a side street and saved us a good 10 to 15 minutes. All the detour options were disabled on the device too. The devie is brilliant!

  9. Wavshrdr says:

    I’ve had a lot more time to play with the 2595. I am definitely keeping it. I still can’t find any way of customizing the home screen but the Smartphone Link for me is a killer app. I love that I can just click on an address in my smartphone (Android) and have the 2595 show up as one of the options to route me there (in addition to Google Navigation and TeleNav).

    This is so handy for me as often the POIs I want don’t show up in the the Nuvi. Previously I looked them up on my phone and then had to manually input on my Nuvi. Now it is just a quick click and it is ready to go. I also like the fact that it syncs the favorites to the phone as well.

    OTOH the POIs still are terrible in a lot of a ways. I recently went to the capital of a large state and a Mexican restaurant that has been open for at least 2 years that I know of still doesn’t show up. This is just crazy. At least now I have a way around it.

    I also found a mini USB cable that allows me to recharge without a special adapter for the 12v cigarette lighter. I had a few spare USB cables and tried a few of them. Some mounted it as a drive to the computer for data transfer and updates, 2 of them just powered it up. This is really useful for me as I can either use my PC or a USB power port to recharge it when using it as a handheld device off the bike our out of the car.

    So far I’d say it is one of the better Garmin’s I’ve owned. I do wish Garmin would stop de-contenting their PNDs. In some ways my favorite ever was the earlier models 360/370 series with all the quick little shortcut to volume, external antenna, and so on. The price is pretty reasonable for what you get however on the 2595. Haven’t had much chance though to check out the new traffic connection with the smartphone link but hopefully that will be good. I took a flight this weekend and found that it did take much longer to acquire a lock in its new location than either my 3760 or 2460.

    When it came back to where I first bought it, it was about as fast as the other 2. All 3 lagged behind my smartphone which was slower than my HTC tablet. Go figure, the PNDs are much slower than my smartphones at sat acquisition and that is their sole purpose. Shows the power of assisted GPS though on the newer smartphones and tables. I have both my phone and tablet setup to download the A-GPS data ever few hours.

    • Rich Owings says:

      Thanks, good info! Hey, can you elaborate on “I also like the fact that it syncs the favorites to the phone as well?” Is it adding nuvi favorites to your contacts or what?

      • Wavshrdr says:

        Sure, it is how it syncs up the favorites in the Garmin Smartphone Link. I’ll call it GSL for now. It looks like GSL will in effect allow me to sync between multiple Garmins that have this feature. I am buying a 3590LMT soon so will test this out.

        I had to hard reset my 2595 since for some reason it wouldn’t seem to recognized the updated TOUs for the Tracker software. GSL had them all saved and put them back on my 2595 after all the user data was wiped out and I connected it back to my phone. It looks like the GSL isn’t device specific (I hope but haven’t tested). So perhaps I can keep all my favorites in GSL.

        One other possibly life saving use of GSL is the Tracker function. Since I ride my motorcycle a lot, it could possible come in very handy in a life threatening situation. Maybe not as good as SPOT but still pretty useful.

        Suppose you are going on a trip somewhere on your motorcycle but it could be any vehicle for that matter. I’ll set up the Tracker for my friends and family to follow my course. In the unlikely event I don’t reach my destination, my family will know at least where my last reported position was. Makes it easier to know where to look for me in the event I was in an accident or the vehicle broke down. Of course it helps if there was cell coverage where I was at but at least there would be some point at least not too far away from where I lost coverage.

        I ride a lot in the mountains and I don’t always have cell coverage but at least it would likely reduce the search radius required thus improving my odds of survival if I had a crash. I’ll still probably but a SPOT but this will be good for about 95% of the riding I do. I’ll think of it sort like have a flight plan but for my motorcycle. I typically tell my friends and family where I will be riding and what my destination is. If I fall off the map somewhere and they know my destination, they can follow the possible routes from the last point of contact and to my destination. Definitely useful on a bicycle too. Might be some pretty cheap insurance in the long run.

        I am still sort of irritated though why it wouldn’t update some files from either webupdater or the My Dashboard.

  10. Doug says:

    I live in Massachusetts and I can’t get the 2595LMT to calculate routes to the west coast (LA and Malibu) it says the route is too long.

    • Rich Owings says:

      My 2495LMT does the same thing, when I set the location to Boston and try routing to Malibu. But it looks like it actually is calculating the route in the background. Try leaving the “route is too long” window up for a couple of minutes, then dismissing it and see if it the has the route. Either way, it sounds like a bug and you may want to call Garmin. You might also want to see if you have the latest firmware.

  11. Andy Murphrey says:

    I recently purchased a Garrmin 2595LMT and having problems finding blue tooth cell phones that are compatible.

    • Wavshrdr says:

      I have tried 3 different HTC (Android) phones with my 2595 and no issue. I have found though there is sometimes a flaky connection process for the Garmin live services but I’ve developed a workaround. For basic phone connection it always has been great at connecting once paired. The Garmin HD traffic is MUCH better in my area than the basic bundled one.

  12. Wavshrdr says:

    I am officially sold on the Garmin Live Services. I will not buy another Garmin without it. We had some major storms yesterday and tornado warnings. I got a warning more quickly on the Nuvi than I would have ever thought. The live traffic works very well where I was using it. Much more info about things like road being narrow or other construction info.

    I am on the latest version of all software and the 2595 has been very stable with one minor glitch. I had an incoming call will accessing the weather menu and it froze. I had to perform a soft reboot to get it going again. No directions, voice or anything else. It worked fine after the reboot.

  13. Jason says:

    Do I have a defective 2595?

    When utilizing bluetooth to make a call, I have to turn the volume up to 100% and roll up the windows just to barely be able to hear.

    Bluetooth works great, but the speaker is so weak….thoughts?

    • Wavshrdr says:

      Try another 2595 with your phone. I can’t say mine is really loud but it is usable. Sometimes there is an issue with the phone as well and not the GPS. Is your phone Android or Apple? Just for reference I have an Android phone (HTC). Did you use your volume control on the phone to max it out as well? IF I do that on my phone, I can get by with 80-90% volume on the Nuvi most of the time. If I am running over 75 mph on the interstate then I need 100%

  14. Doug says:

    New map available (2013.10) on Garmin’s Lifetime Updater.

  15. Jason says:

    Much better…thanks guys!

  16. Wavshrdr says:

    Anyone know if the 2595 has the ability like the 2460 to input new speed limits on a road by just tapping the MPH sign? I thought mine originally allowed me to do it but I can’t seem to do it with the latest firmware update. Anyone else try it? It still works on my 2460 ok. The 2595 has the speed wrong on a major highway (I-75) outside of Atlanta. No excuse for that.

    • Rich Owings says:

      I’ll check my 2495LMT when I go out this afternoon.

      • Rich Owings says:

        Mine is on the current firmware, but no, that option isn’t showing. I don’t recall it being missing but I can’t find any screenshots or anything to verify that it was there before.

        • Wavshrdr says:

          Thanks Rich. So this might be another feature the 2460 has the 2595 doesn’t. Maybe I was mistaken on my 2595 but I just checked my 2460 and it still has it. It sure is nice to have the option to easily adjust the speeds listed for the road.

  17. Pete Sindo says:

    Rich ..I sold my Oregon 450 the other day…great unit but it was hard for me to use and to view…..I need a unit that I can use on my ATV when I ride..I need a larger screen and something to load micro Topo 24K maps into…I’m not sure what unit I should purchase…would like to keep the cost down under $200…I just need a unit that keeps me from getting lost on the trails..just a basic in and out unit would be fine. If you could mention some good units I would be greatful..thanks

    • Rich Owings says:

      You won’t get a larger screen than the Oregon on a handheld for under $200. Did you have it connected to a 12V/DC charger? It should have been plenty bright if you did.

  18. Rich Owings says:

    @Wavshrdr – It looks like that is a “Guidance 3.0″ feature now, and is only found on the 34xx and 35xx in the newer models.

    • Wavshrdr says:

      Thanks Rich, that is very helpful. Garmin giveth and then taketh away. :-) There used to be a way to edit the files to adjust the speed but I don’t remember the link to it again. Now I guess my best hope is that Garmin will update the maps more frequently with the speed info.

  19. Rex says:

    Hi, I am thinking on buying a garmin 2595, and would like to know if they have audible alerts for exceeding the posted speed limit?

    thanks in advance

    Rex

    • Rich Owings says:

      No, but some TomTom models do.

      • Jeff Holicky says:

        An older TomTom app on my Dell WM5 PPC, has the option to set the speed limit with an audible alarm. So if you say over 5mph, it will sound a “bing-bong” in my case. The catch though is having an updated map since the speed limits can change.

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