Baby Jogger City Mini Single, Black/Gray

CUSTOMER REVIEW



I have had this stroller for 3 years now and I just had to come and write a review since as a new parent, I remember how useful all of the reviews were for me in making our decisions about which of the bizillion baby products/gadgets/etc. would work best for us. In retrospect, this was one of the best purchases we made in preparation for being City parents. I'm a born & raised NYer and my mom STILL has the sturdy umbrella stroller she used for all 4 of her kids starting 42 years ago! Strollers have gotten SO huge...so heavy...so expensive, I honestly had NO idea. I couldn't believe the prices these things are going for these days! We toyed with the idea of a Britax with a 'reversible' seat because I really do believe on bonding with the child and giving the comfort of seeing the parent amidst being pushed around so many stimuli... and so we also looked at the Stokke, the Bugaboo series, etc. But then the blood flow came back to my head and I just couldn't justify paying more for a stroller than I paid for my first motorcycle! We saw someone with the City Mini on the subway, liked the look & asked them about it and they raved. So after much research & finding a deal we were fully happy to pay the $170 for it. I must say, it was completely worth it and we're looking forward to see good use out of it for the second ( & third & more...) children in the future. I don't know if these strollers will last 40 years, but the benefits now are numerous.



1) When our daughter was an infant until she was 13 months, we used the frame, without the fabric as the base & stroller for the car seat. She was facing us, it felt very sturdy & protective and I immediately noticed that the stroller was 'thinner' than the 'SUV brands' about because I could go down any tiny bodega shopping isle and the wheels allowed me to maneuver easily through small spaces. I carried her in am Ergo most of the 1st year anyway, but when we needed the stroller it was great. We live between Brooklyn and Rome, Italy and I couldn't have predicted how convenient those wheels would be on the cobblestobnes! ( I saw a 'fancy' stroller topple over w baby inside on the cobblestone streets! NOT with the stable Citi Mini!).



2) The stroller is perfect for local neighborhood shopping, errands, etc. with a very large and easy to load 'basket' on the bottom. the stroller has a good 'center' so can be loaded up quite a bit and still not fall back with your baby in it just because you let go of the handles.



3) even if it doesn't have an extendable foot rest my daughter always has and still can take a really good nap in this stroller. The fact that it reclines all the way back is great and when she was small & we were traveling a bit, with some blankets, she's even slept the night in the stroller.



4) Now that she's older, my daughter can climb in and out by herself and with the front bar, for neighborhood runs, doesn't need to be strapped in and she's still secure wioth the depth of the seat & the front bar.



Let's be real, its a lightweight stroller in comparison to what's out there, but it is NOT light. My mother refused to take my daughter on the subway with it so we did end up getting a jazzy umbrella stroller that we use for inter-borough traveling and now for international traveling, mainly because the cars are smaller in Europe and the Citi Mini is still too big for a standard EU trunk!



BUT, This is my Brooklyn Stroller and I am writing this review today after 2 months + of steady blizzards and rain and snow freezing rain over snow over layers of ice over snow.... and I must say I have been THOROUGHLY impressed by this stroller. When Its Icy, it had a grip and when its snowy-slushy, it cuts through it like hot water. Without this stroller I would have spent unnecessary money on cabs to school because its just a 15 min walk but the weather has been treacherous and it has truly been a life saver. There were school-runs where I would see moms struggling block after block to carry their child over and through the snow. I did not see ANY other strollers out in these weeks besides a few Citi Minis and one Phil & Teds jogger. ( no cute Bugaboos, No Stokkes...no strollers were out for DAYS). Not only is my daughter super protected and cozy even without the rain cover ( the canopy is amazing) but she just holds onto the front bar and loves the 'bumpy bumpy' ride over mounds of ice/snow/slush. The guys in my neighborhood have taken to say "Oh, here she comes! She knows how to drive that thing!" and I even received applause from stranded pedestrians after maneuvering through a tricky snow-blocked mound! And if you do need to lift it over a huge puddle for example, it is not that heavy that its a struggle...

Whether its unpaved streets, potholes, a walk through the muddy park or an actual run in the park, this stroller is GREAT. We have done absolutely no maintenance to it in 3 years and it could probably use some oil as the steering can be quite tight at times, but my daughter walks a lot and we really only use it for Brooklyn school runs & grocery shopping/ farmer's market trips so I consider it a great investment.



You may need to get a companion umbrella stroller if you travel internationally/ move between boroughs like we do ( we went w the Uppababy G-Luxe) but still, with sales, we spent $300 on BOTH strollers and couldn't be happier.

Quality doesn't always mean a high price and I'm happy to say that over time, the lesson, from a native NYer is stay practical, functional and high-functioning in your baby-gear choices... who cares how 'chic' and expensive the stroller looks? Save the money for outfitting your kid in cute and 'chic' clothes...they are the REAL accessory after all ... or better yet....for that private pre-school they're on the waiting list for! Enjoy!

Britax Back Seat Mirror

CUSTOMER REVIEW



This is the 3rd mirror we tried and this will be the last. As our rear facing car seat is placed in the middle of the back seat there is no headrest. The other mirrors (Brica) we tried were "apparently" supposed to be able to install without a headrest but they did not work out in the slightest. Both fell over within minutes. Fast forward through dozens of failed attempts later to get them to stay up and then we found this one on Amazon. It straps to the adjacent headrest (with two buckle straps) and pivots which ever way you need it to. You can also adjust the angle for which ever way you need as well. It has never fallen down or off but every two weeks or so I give the straps a quick pull to ensure they are secure. This mirror has worked in the following cars for us thus far:



- '06 Hyundai Sonata

- '07 Hyundai Santa Fe

- '08 Ford F150

- '11 Chevy Equinox



Hope this helps!

Graco RoomFor2 Stand and Ride Classic Connect Stroller, Metropolis

CUSTOMER REVIEW



**SEE BOTTOM for UPDATE (still POSITIVE) after owning this for 7 months**

-----------------

For the price, and the "pound for pound" value (no pun intended, since this is actually one of the lightest doubles out there too!), this is the **absolute best double out there** I have a son who's almost 32 months old, and a 6 month old daughter. It is easy to fold up, it is as light as you can get (easy for me as a guy, and reasonably easy for my wife and our nanny who is small). It's not small, but I was able to fit it yesterday in our mid-size sedan's trunk, when it already had a large duffel bag and some other stuff in the trunk. It's under-seat storage is easily accesible, and the cupholders are great also. My son loves standing on it, which we did not expect, because as he gets closer to 3 years old, he can be a little whiny :) But when he's tired, he likes sitting too. Further, my 6 mo old daugher is still obviously in her car seat (a Graco SnugRide 32), and that seat fits quickly and simply into this. I was worried from some reviews and the pictures that when the car seat was in, my son would find it more difficult to sit on the bench, because the car seat foot-end juts out a bit, and my son is in a phase where he finds his baby sister a bit annoying, so I was worried her feet might bother him, etc: the seat *does* jut out a bit much, but my son (who is about 38" tall) didn't even notice. And once my daughter is out of the SnugRide, and we're not carrying her car seat everywhere, the built-in seat is great for her: we've already used it with her, and it's fine. It's not all luxury cushy, but it is perfectly acceptable.



I spent a great deal of time looking at all the doubles out there, eliminating very quickly all the side-by-sides, which I find offensive to the sight, particularly when I see people navigating them through narrow aisles in stores, etc. Ugh. So we knew we wanted a front-to-back style that takes up no less horizontal space than a regular stroller. Then after reading all the review of the high-end models, it seemed clear that most of these strollers are: 1) quite heavy; 2) not easy to fold; 3) notwithstanding their $250-400+ pricetags, still with annoyances of their own. So then I went shopping at a lower pricepoint, and found the 2 Graco double strollers, the "Room for 2" (the one I am reviewing), and the "Ready2Grow" version that costs an extra $70. I strongly advise picking the Roomfor2 over the Ready2Grow, for the following reason(s): I went to a physical store and tried out the more expensive Ready2Grow - it is a behemoth. I did appreciate that it had 2 removable/interchangeable cushiony seats, and not just a bench, so I could see that in the short-term, when my son is still enough of a "baby" that he can go into the toddler seat, it would be a tad more comfy for him. But at what price (and I don't mean $$). The thing is GIANT and HEAVY, and it is absolutely DIFFICULT to fold down and unfold....I couldn't even figure out how to unfold it, once I had folded it up! **I'll save you some time, too: take a look at both product videos on Amazon. They both look great, right? BUT, notice that when the smiling Mom is using the Ready2Grow, and about to do the alleged "one hand-fold" of the product, the VIDEO CUTS AWAY. HAHAHA. That's because they wouldn't want you to see that when it folds down, it is HUGE, bulky, etc. I don't see how most people are fitting that in a trunk -- even many SUVs. Meanwhile, the video for the the Roomfor2 *does* show you the full 1-handed fold-down of the stroller, all the way to the ground, and it is *compact*, reasonably light to carry, and simple.



For me, it was a no-brainer -- and now that we've been using it for 3 or 4 weeks, we couldn't be happier. Good luck!

-----------------------------

***UPDATE*** 7 months later: So my son is now 3.5 years old (an almost 2 inches taller!), and my daughter is almost 15 months. A commenter asked me to update my review, and now is the perfect time: we just got back from a week in Orlando/Disney (right before the east coast blizzard, luckily!) We brought this as our only stroller for the 2 kids, and it performed like a champ. It remains VERY easy to fold and stick in the trunk (and for what it is, it's really relatively light), and also note that we had a rented a Nissan Altima, and there was plenty of room in the trunk for 2 big suitcases and this stroller. Further, after navigating Disney World, I can only reiterate that I would NEVER want one of those side-to-side strollers...no offense, but I find them obnoxious, taking up so much horizontal space, tough to walk around, etc., etc. On one day, I actually noticed someone with another front-to-back model, but it was one of those expensive $300-400+ jobs. I remember looking at it, and noticing that it looked pretty darn similar to ours - and then I remembered that not only did they pay an extra $200+ for it, just go read the reviews of all of these, and there were serious negative reviews of the more expensive ones --- far more than for the Stand and Ride! So I did an inappropriate mental whisper of "sucker!" and went on my way. :)



Some other observations/caveats: 1) sometimes we still had my daughter in her car seat (like when we went through the airport), and in those cases, if my son is sitting in the seat (facing the person pushing the stroller), he's now tall enough (almost 40") and she's now big enough that her legs/feet extend past the lip of the car seat, and if she feels like it (and she did a few times), she can give a good kick to the back of my son's head. Likewise, when he's standing up, and she's in the car seat, she's a sitting duck if he feels like giving her a smack/push, etc. But such is life with 2 children 2 years apart, I guess! My son is relatively mellow enough that he didn't mind the occasional kick (or at least, didn't respond with overwhelming retaliatory force!)



2) Also, there have been times where my son (he is 3.5, remember) finds it funny to use his feet to hit the brakes of the stroller, which is annoying. But kids can find various creative ways to hinder your forward progress no matter the stroller you use, and he soon learned if he did that, he would have to walk with us instead of ride (and if I was in a real hurry, I'm big/strong enough to actually lift the whole thing up and just push it only on its front wheels so that the back wheels w/ brakes don't even have to roll...but some people might not be able to do that). In any event, it still wouldn't cause me to blame the stroller, and every front-to-back stroller would have this identical problem.



3) You really should buckle up your bigger child when they're sitting in the seat facing you. We have had a few near-"incidents" where he just hopped on to the part of the stroller where he can stand or sit, and we were lazy and didn't buckle him in when he sat down. In one instance, we were rushing to catch the monorail at Disney, and my wife grabbed the back of the stroller to lift it into the train (creating a 30+ degree angle from the front of the stroller) -- he wasn't buckled in, and went tumbling under the handle, onto the ground. He was fine, but startled...and obviously that was our fault for being lazy. There were also one or two times while I was pushing the stroller at a fairly quick pace where he didn't realize he couldn't just step off the stroller onto the ground! Suffice to say, we're now much more diligent about always buckling him in when he's sitting, and he learned you can't step off a moving object without consequences.



Overall, I still highly recommend this stroller. Great price, great performance.

Garmin Vivofit Fitness Band - Black

CUSTOMER REVIEW



I've been using an activity monitor for a couple of years now, and have owned the following in addition to the Vivofit: Fitbit One, Fitbit Flex, Fitbit Force, and Polar Loop. Since the Fitbit devices are very popular and widely used, I'll orient this review around a comparison to those (and the Polar Loop for good measure).



First, my main activity is road biking: I average about 2,000 miles a year, mostly from March to November. In winter I try to regularly ride a trainer or a recumbent gym bike. I wear a heart monitor when riding or training because I like to see how I'm doing as a late middle-aged male. As you'll see, one of the advantages of the Vivofit is its ability to pair with a HR strap, something the Fitbit products lack. So here we go:



The Vivofit is a bit reminiscent of the Fitbit Force as far as the form factor. They have similar bracelet styling, though the body part of the Vivofit is slightly thicker. The clasp design is similar to the Force, but locks more positively. The actual Vivofit unit is removable from the bracelet unlike the Force (more like the Flex), so you can replace the band (it comes with both large and small bands) and change to different colored ones.



The biggest differences from the Force are these: 1) the Vivofit uses two small watch batteries that are purportedly good for at least a year versus the rechargeable battery used by the Force, and; 2) the Vivofit display doesn't light up like the Force (which has both positive and negative attributes; read on).



I liked my Force - even though I think Fitbit's customer service is abysmal, perhaps rivaled only by Comcast among companies I've dealt with - but the Vivofit is ultimately what I wish the Force had been. Here's why.



I didn't particularly mind having to recharge my Force periodically (about once a week), but the battery always seemed to go dead at the most inopportune times, i.e., when I didn't have my charger available (and remember it only charges with USB via a computer). So there were times where my activity tracking would be interrupted until I could get to a charging source, and then of course you can't use the device while it's charging. Not so with the Vivofit. I like the idea of using watch batteries: they add just a smidgen of bulk, but you don't have to worry about recharging. The batteries are the common 1632s, so they're easy to find if even if you don't keep spares on hand, and with a year of life, continuous operation is a given.



As to the display, I actually prefer the Vivofit's overall even though it isn't lighted. With the Force you have to press the button when you want to read it, although you can then read it even in pitch darkness. The Vivofit displays continuously; you cycle through the different readings by pressing a button, just like on the Force. It's readable in all but near darkness (reminds of a Kindle), so the lack of lighting is a non-factor for me. It's also VERY sharp, with gold characters on a black background. I'll sacrifice a lighted display for the year-long battery life and continuous display of the Vivofit.



The other nice thing about the Vivofit vs. the Force is that it pairs with a HR monitor strap. So if you like to keep track of your heart rate when doing vigorous exercise - like I do - then the Vivofit is the hands-down winner. In fact, I think it slightly beats the Force even without that feature, based on the better battery configuration, continuous display, interchangeable bracelet and more secure clasp.



A word about the clasp. It's basically the same design as used on the Force and the Flex, but for some reason is more secure. The Fitbit bands have a tendency to uncouple, especially the Force, but the Vivofit is rock solid. I think the reason is that the Vivofit's material is slightly less neoprene-like than the Force's: it's a tad less springy, so when the clasp pins penetrate the holes they're held firmly.



I'll finish the Fitibit comparison by mentioning the Flex and the One. The Force tried to integrate the best features of both of these: in effect it's a One incorporated into a Flex-like bracelet design (albeit a larger one). With the One you have a display that lights when the button is pushed (like the Force) and gives you a readout of various measures by cycling through with repeated button pushes. With the Flex the display only shows a series of dots that track your progress on a measure of your choosing (steps, calories burned, etc.). You can check your stats at any time by pairing the Flex with your smartphone (you can also pair the One and the Force to a smartphone) or by syncing it to your computer with a USB wireless dongle (also supplied for the One and the Force). I found the One too easy to lose, since it's not a bracelet, and found the battery life of the Flex to be a bit on the short side, probably because of its small size (which is why I upgraded to the Force).



One of the best features of using a Fitibit is the excellent website. I haven't found a competitor's website that even comes close. Polar's site is in beta and tracks almost nothing. Garmin's site is good, but is mainly for tracking just activity from their various GPS devices for biking, running, etc., albeit in exhaustive detail. Fitbit's site is a full-featured health tracking and monitoring tool. It displays all activity measured by your tracker, allows you to log your food intake (huge food database), regularly record your heart rate, blood pressure, weight, and even custom measures of your own design. It's too comprehensive to describe here, but suffice to say it's reason enough to favor a Fitbit device over others. This is where the Vivofit has a leg up on other non-Fitbit devices: it will automatically sync to the Fitbit site using Garmin Connect software via an arrangement between Fitbit and Garmin.



So now with my Vivofit, I get a device that to me that has all the advantages of the Fitbit Force with none of the disadvantages, allows for HR monitoring, AND syncs to the Fitbit website. It's the best of both worlds.



On to the Polar Loop. It's a well made device that's roughly the same size as the Force and Vivofit, but has the most secure clasp of the bunch. It's a deployment buckle like you'd find on an upscale watch (think Breitling or Omega). Like the Vivofit, it allows for HR monitoring via a Polar HR strap (and its worth noting that Polar HR monitor straps auto sync to a lot of gym exercise equipment that is "Polar ready"). It has a brilliantly lit red display, activated by pushing a button that you then push repeatedly to cycle through different measures. However, unlike the button on the Vivofit or Force, the one on the Polar is very imprecise: you frequently have to push it two or three times before it does anything. That's because it's recessed so as to be almost flush with the strap and is very small, such that when you push most of your fingertip is pushing on the surrounding area. And as noted, the Polar website (beta) is pretty much useless at this point. If the Polar had a better button, and if the website were the equal of Fitbit's or could sync to it, then it would be slightly ahead of the Force (because of the HR feature) but still behind the Vivofit (because of the need to charge it periodically, and because when syncing to a computer it has to be connected to a dual-use charging/syncing cable rather than using a wireless dongle like the Force and Vivofit, though it will sync wirelessly to a smartphone using Polar's app).



In summary:



Form factor: basically a tie among the Vivofit, Force and Loop (Flex has a smaller form factor, which some may prefer; the One is basically a fob made to be clipped to a belt or carried in a pocket).



Display: the Vivofit for its continuous (and very sharp) display and positive button feedback for cycling through data, although you may disagree if you plan to check your unit regularly in the dark.



Accuracy: the Vivofit and all of the Fitbit units seemed to be very accurate (they yielded nearly identical measures when compared); the Loop seemed to overstate my steps, and - like the Vivofit - it doesn't measure flights of stairs climbed (all Fitbits do).



Clasp: the Polar is most secure, very closely followed by the Vivofit. The Force and Flex tend to uncouple, and the One is a fob rather than a bracelet.



HR monitoring: It's between the Vivofit and the Loop since Fitibit doesn't offer it. If you already use a Garmin HR strap with a Garmin bike or running computer, then you might prefer the Vivofit for that reason. If you want to auto connect your HR strap at the gym, then that might argue for a Polar strap, and the Loop (both the Loop and the gym bike or elliptical, etc. will simultaneously record HR activity).



Smartphone software: all three offer good smartphone apps, but they specialize in different areas. The Fitbit app mimics its website, so most of what you'd upload, enter, sync or track at the website can also be done on its smartphone app. The Garmin app is set up to focus on bike rides, runs, etc. in conjunction with a GPS unit to record routes, route segments, etc. The Loop app is focused on heart rate activity.



Website: Fitbit by a mile, though as noted you can sync all your Vivofit data to the Fitbit site automatically. Thus you can essentially treat the Vivofit as if it was a Fitbit device. Garmin's website has the same focus as it's smartphone app; it's not a full-fledged fitness site. Polar's site is useless, though it's only in beta...perhaps it will eventually be more competitive.



I vote for the Vivofit. Note that the Force has been recalled and is no longer being sold.

Dreambaby Stroller Fan, White/Blue

CUSTOMER REVIEW



This fan is great! We bought two for our May trip to Walt Disney World. My baby is 9 months old and she played with this fan all week. It never hurt her and never broke, even though she was pretty rough with it. The blades are foam but the fan produces a better breeze than most other portable fans I have had. It is very easy to position the fan to any angle you need and we clipped it to the canopy on the stroller. We were at Disney/Universal Studios for 5 days and used the fans everyday constantly. We only had to replace the batteries in each fan once, which I thought was great! This fan was great to keep my baby cool, especially during naps. I can't tell you how many times we were stopped by other parents to ask where we got the fans. We even saw other parents who had other stroller fans that are sold here on Amazon and they wished they had bought this one. The battery compartment does have a little screw you need to take out to change the batteries, but we realized you can leave the screw out and the battery compartment still clicks in place. We are very pleased with this purchase and we felt it was priced very reasonable!

GoPro Handlebar Seatpost Mount

CUSTOMER REVIEW



I bought one of these to mount my GoPro camera to my bicycle handlebars. I bike almost exclusively on the streets of New York City for recreation and commuting. For a few weeks it worked, but often came loose. I had to keep tightening it to keep it in the same position. I eventually wrapped some electrical tape around the handlebar to give the mount more to grab on to. That improved things a great deal, but not perfectly.



Then one day the mount broke. The plastic piece that allows the camera to be mounted 90 degrees rotated from the mount itself just snapped. The camera just popped off my bike. Luckily I noticed and picked the camera up off the ground. It was safe in the shell, but the mount was toasted. I filed a ticket with GoPro, and they replaced the broken piece free of charge.



Just days after getting the new piece the camera broke again. I didn't even realize it at the time. I actually had to backtrack five blocks and was lucky to find my camera at all. Of course, the camera was destroyed. I guess it had been run over by a truck, because it definitely sustained more damage than just falling off my bike. GoPro would not give me a replacement camera, but they gave me %50 off a new camera and also one free mounting accessory of my choice.



I opted to get a wrist mount and order a third party mount made of metal for my bicycle. There is a reason these third party mounts made of metal exist. It is because the official GoPro plastic mounts are awful. The camera is terrific, but do not get this thing. It can't even survive non-competetive city bicycling let along the more extreme sports GoPro is known for filming.



Also, make sure no matter what mount you use that you have some sort of additional tether. That way if the mount breaks, you will not lose your camera.

Garmin nüvi 2555LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Maps and Traffic

Product Description

Edition: Lifetime Maps & Traffic

Let nüvi 2555LMT lead the way with its big 5" (12.7 cm) touchscreen display and powerful navigation features. It includes FREE lifetime traffic¹ and map² updates, advanced lane guidance and more.

Get Turn-by-turn Directions

Garmin Guidance 2.0’s intuitive interface greets you with 2 simple choices: “Where To?” and “View Map.” Touch the screen to easily look up addresses and services and to be guided to your destination with voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions that speak street names. It comes preloaded with maps for North America. It also comes preloaded with more than 8 million points of interest and offers the ability to add your own.

Avoid Traffic Tie-ups

With FREE lifetime traffic updates from 3D Traffic, our most extensive traffic avoidance system, nüvi 2555LMT can help you avoid delays. We check traffic conditions more than 2 billion times each month, so you can easily reroute around congestion and arrive on time.

Enjoy FREE Lifetime Map Updates

With FREE lifetime map updates, you always have the most up-to-date maps, points of interest and navigation information available at your fingertips. Map updates are available for download up to 4 times a year with no subscription or update fees and no expiration dates.

Know the Lane Before It’s Too Late

Now there’s no more guessing which lane you need to be in to make an upcoming turn. Available in select metropolitan areas, photoReal junction view makes unfamiliar intersections and exits easy to navigate. When you approach an exit or interchange, nüvi 2555LMT will enter split screen mode and show you a realistic depiction of junctions on your route, complete with road signs and arrows that indicate the proper lane for navigation.

Go Beyond Navigation

Point-to-point navigation is just the beginning. nüvi 2555LMT features a microSD™ card slot so you can store and use detailed cityXplorer™ maps or download custom voices and vehicles for free from the Garmin Garage™. Dual-orientation functionality lets you hold the nüvi vertically or horizontally for added convenience driving or walking. The “Where Am I?” emergency locator provides your exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and more. And Enhanced Exit Services tells you what services you’re approaching on the highway.

What's in the Box:

• nüvi 2555LMT (Model is labeled 2555LM, the T refers to the 3D traffic cable also included in the box)
  


• Lifetime maps¹ and traffic² (indicated by "LMT" after model number on the box)


• 3D traffic receiver with vehicle power cable (vehicle power cable is traffic receiver)


• Vehicle suction cup mount³


• USB cable


• Quick start manual

¹FREE lifetime traffic updates may not be transferred to another person or another Garmin product. Lifetime traffic extends for the useful life of your Garmin traffic receiver (as long as you own a compatible Garmin GPS) or as long as Garmin receives traffic data from its traffic supplier, whichever is shorter. A traffic receiver’s “useful life” means the period during which the receiver (a) has the required technical capabilities to utilize current traffic data service and (b) is capable of operating as intended without major repairs. Traffic content not available for all areas. See traffic coverage areas.

²If you purchase a nüMaps Lifetime subscription (sold separately or bundled together with certain GPS models), you will receive up to 4 map data updates per year, when and as such updates are made available on Garmin’s website, for 1 compatible Garmin product until your product’s useful life expires or Garmin no longer receives map data from its third party supplier, whichever is shorter. A product’s “useful life” means the period during which the product (a) has sufficient memory capacity and other required technical capabilities to utilize current map data and (b) is capable of operating as intended without major repairs. A product will be deemed to be out of service and its useful life to be ended if no updates have been downloaded for such product for a period of 24 months or more. Unless otherwise stated, the updates you receive under the subscription will be updates to the same geographic map data originally included with your Garmin product when originally purchased. In some instances, your Garmin product might not have sufficient memory remaining for you to load an update to the map data, in which case you will need to either (a) select reduced map data coverage for your updates, or (b) purchase separately a microSD™/SD™ card (if and as applicable to your Garmin product) and load all or a portion of the map data coverage for your updates to the card and insert the card into the microSD/SD card slot contained in your Garmin product. If neither of the measures in (a) or (b) can be used to address your product’s lack of sufficient remaining memory, then Garmin may conclude that the “useful life” of your product has expired. Garmin may terminate your nüMaps Lifetime subscription at any time if you violate any of the terms of this agreement or your subscription. Your nüMaps Lifetime subscription may not be transferred to another Garmin product.

CUSTOMER REVIEW



This is my 3rd Garmin GPS. I have become accustomed to their user interface and performance, so I can't compare to other makes. I wanted to talk about the new features that attracted me to this unit and how I evaluated their usefulness on my first 3 hour road trip to a location I know by heart.



Feature 1 - 5 inch screen. I am older and am having to use reading glasses to see the GPS mounted to the dash. My earlier unit was a 4 inch. I considered a 7 inch Magellan, but when I found out you couldn't install custom POIs on the Magellan, it ruled that one out for me. We go camping frequently and I have all the state parks as custom POIs. I also have truck stops I like to use. The 5 inch display was definately an improvement for me.



Feature 2 - Automated voice recognition. I definately don't like being distracted by touching the screen to see how far the next roadside rest is (see custom POIs above). So I thought telling the GPS what I wanted made a lot of sense. When it comes to "commands" this feature works OK, but I have discovered I have to turn the radio volume down or talk VERY LOUDLY. The latter disturbs my wife :-) However, when you want to provide an address to locate, the unit performed badly. I couldn't get it to correctly locate any of 3 addresses correctly... i.e. "4810 Whitewood Court" ended up with something very strange.



Feature 3 - Turn lanes. Knowing which lane you need to be in to correctly exit the highway and be ready for the next turn. There are two distinctly different features on this unit for knowing the turn lanes. One is "Viewing Junctions" which displays a picture of the upcoming junction, complete with signage. This takes up about the right half of the screen. The other turn lane feature is a small area in the upper left corner that shows , by using arrows, the number of lanes. The lane(s) you are to be in are bright white, while the others are grey. I found the arrows to be VERY useful and quick to absorb at a glance. I found the "Viewing Junctions" not very useful, as you had to look over a much larger area of the screen to absorb the information in a glance. I found I had to glance at the "Viewing Junctions" image several times before I understood which lane it wanted me to be in. For me at least, the "Viewing Junction" feature was of no use to me.



Feature 4 - Traffic. On my trip there were no traffic problems, so I didn't get to experience any rerouting due to traffic conditions. This feature appears to only work when you are in or around larger cities. Between cities, pressing the traffic button indicated that there was no or weak signal.



Feature 5 - Posted speed limits - As you are navigating a small sign appears on the display showing the posted limit and your actual speed. If your actual speed exceeds the posted limit, it turns red. Nice little feature to keep honest people honest.



Other Notes:

I found the estimated time of arrival to be more accurate than my previous GPSs. Perhaps because it knows the posted limits as they change along the route??? The menu system is different from my prior GPSs.



There is an icon composed of 3 horizontal white bars that, when pressed, bring up other options. Sometimes this icon is in the lower right of the display, sometimes it is located elsewhere depending on where you are in the menus. Since this was a little different than prior units, I am having to get adjusted to this.