#TechTuesday Garmin DriveSmart 60 NA LMT GPS Navigator System with Lifetime Maps and Traffic

Online Review:

• DRIVER ALERTS - Receive alerts for upcoming sharp curves, speed changes, school zones, a fatigue warning, nearby red light and speed cameras and more
• This USB mass storage device is compatible with Windows XP or newer and Mac OS X 10.4 or later.EASY TO USE - Dedicated GPS navigators display current street, current speed, speed limit and arrival time
• GARMIN REAL DIRECTIONS - Guides like a friend, using recognizable landmarks, buildings and traffic lights. Battery life up to 1 hour
• SMARTPHONE NOTIFICATIONS - Customizable smart notifications let you display calls, texts and other app alerts on your navigation screen (select models)
• HANDS-FREE NAVIGATION - Bluetooth calling and voice-activated navigation allow your hands to remain safely on the wheel as you navigate and make or receive calls

Reviews:

This is a new version of the excellent Garmin nuvi 2689; however, consider getting the 2689 (or any 2X89 or 2X99) instead

With heavy use & experimentation of a DriveSmart unit during the first month of its release, I came away with mixed feelings about this new Garmin DriveSmart line, after an initially positive first impression. I ultimately found that the DriveSmart GPS is not quite as good as its immediate processors in a few key ways, while making some relatively modest improvements in some handy – but arguably less important – ways. To be clear, I bought the DriveSmart 60 with my own money, at full price, and the DriveSmart 50, 60, & 70 are all identical, aside from screen size (with 5”, 6”, and 7” inch screens, respectively).

The DriveSmart was a good unit, overall, and fairly impressive in some respects. But a programming glitch rendered it almost useless in my area, because it would seemed to choose routes that always avoided dirt roads here, even when that would clearly be the fastest route (even after I had toggled off unpaved roads as an avoidance). As a programming glitch, future software updates should presumably be able to fix that kind of flaw. However, more importantly, I found my 2014/2015 Garmin Nuvi 2699 to be a bit easier to work with and less frustrating, largely because it understands my vocal commands more readily. Despite a few new features I really appreciated in the DriveSmarts (especially the audio indicator of lower speed limits), I ended up returning mine. Instead, I plan to get a far less expensive certified refurbished 2689 from the 2014/2015 model line for our second car.

The bottom line is that the DriveSmart series provides solid GPS in most respect, and there is no question that it represents a vast improvement over any Garmin from prior to the 2014 automotive GPS line, as well as constituting an improvement over most of the Garmin 2014/2015 models (save for those models I mention below), as well as over all of the GPS units I have had the opportunity to try from other companies to date (very few of which have voice command functionality at all, which I consider to be essential in a GPS.)

But my recommendation is to at least look into the Garmin Nuvi 2X89 models from the 2014/15 line before buying your GPS (i.e., models 2589, 2689, 2789, with the second number indicating screen size). They are the immediate predecessors to this new line, and they are considerably less expensive than the DriveSmart models. Or, if you drive in a major cities frequently, you might want to consider a 2X99 model (i.e. a 2599, 2699, or 2799, which is the same as the 2X89 model, except that it adds HD traffic, which is the main advantage of the DriveLuxe model over the DriveSmart). It only adds value in a fairly narrow list of geographic areas though (see the “traffic options” section below for more on that) so the extra money it costs would probably not be worth it for many buyers.--- 

Read more here.


Purchase here.