Garmin nu"vi 1300 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

Product Description

, MAP 60CSx Handheld , erunner 405 Wireless -Enabled Sport ,MOTOACTV 8 GB Fitness Tracker , nu"vi 1390LMT 4.3-Inch Portable , Approach S1 Waterproof Golf Edition: 1300 Product Description The thin nüvi® 1300 has a widescreen display, yet it’s slim and light enough to take along on all your travels. This affordable GPS comes with regional mapping, announces streets by name, offers pedestrian navigation options and calculates a more fuel-efficient route with ecoRoute™. Navigate City Transit With its enhanced pedestrian navigation capabilities, nüvi 1300 is the perfect travel companion for getting around town. Download optional cityXplorer™ content to help you navigate city public transit. Know where to walk, where to catch the bus, subway, tram or other transportation and how long it will take to get there. It easily fits in your pocket or purse. cityXplorer maps are available for select cities throughout North America and Europe. And with prices as low as $9.99, you'll have money left over to spend in the big city.

Just over a half-inch thick with a 4.3-inch widescreen display. Click to enlarge.

The device announces the name of exits and streets so you never have to take your eyes off the road. Click to enlarge.

Garmin greets you with two simple questions: "Where to?" and "View Map." Simply plug and play. Click to enlarge.

An ultra-thin GPS navigator with great Garmin features like CityXplorer and ecoRoute. Click here for an interactive demo

See MoreWith nüvi 1300's widescreen display, you'll always get the big picture. View map detail, driving directions, photos and more in bright, brilliant color. Its sunlight-readable, 4.3" (10.92 cm) display is easy to read — from any direction. Get Turn-by-Turn Directionsnüvi 1300's intuitive interface greets you with two simple questions: "Where To?" and "View Map." Touch the color screen to easily look up addresses and services and get voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions that speak street names to your destination. It comes preloaded with City Navigator® NT street maps for the continental U.S., Hawaii and Puerto Rico or one European region or country (click versions tab to view all), millions of points of interest (POIs), and 2-D or 3-D maps. Its digital elevation maps show you shaded contours at higher zoom levels, giving you a big picture of the surrounding terrain. With the 1300's enhanced user interface, you can slide your finger to conveniently scroll between screens. You also can upload custom points of interest (POIs). And with HotFix® satellite prediction, nüvi calculates your position faster to get you there quicker. Go Beyond Navigation Navigation is just the beginning. nüvi 1300 saves you gas and money with ecoRoute — a green feature that calculates the most fuel-efficient route, tracks fuel usage and more. The 1300 includes many travel tools, including JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. With photo navigation, you can download pictures from Garmin Connect™ Photos and navigate to them. It's also compatible with lifetime traffic alerts (receiver purchase required). With its "Where Am I?" emergency locator, you always know your location. Simply tap the screen to get your exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and fuel stations. The 1300 features Garmin Lock™, an anti-theft feature, and is compatible with our free Garmin Garage™ where you can download custom custom voices and vehicles. Enhance your travel experience with optional plug-in microSD™ cards. What's in the Box nüvi 1300, Preloaded City Navigator® NT data for the lower 48 states, Hawaii and Puerto Rico (no Alaska or Canada detail), Vehicle suction cup mount, Vehicle power cable, and Quick start manual Compare all Garmin nüvisClick the button below to compare by series, user type, and features. Visit Garmin at https://www8.garmin /support/download.jsp to get the latest firmware updates for your nüvi to keep it current and performing at its best.
This review is from: Garmin nu"vi 1350 Series 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
I've used this GPS for several weeks now and when it is fully charged it is absolutely great. The voice is loud and clear, the maps are accurate and detailed. It acquires satellites quickly, even in less than optimal circumstances with trees overhead or tall buildings nearby. It is easy to program and the onscreen menus are convenient. It is thin and reasonably light and portable and the screen is big. But it has one major problem: the cigarette-lighter charging system does not supply enough current to charge the GPS while it is turned on. It is unbelievable that Garmin would allow their unit to be sold under these conditions.

When I received the unit I completely charged the battery (by connecting it to my computer using a USB cable which Garmin does not supply, but I happened to have one anyway). Then I used it in my car, always plugged into the cigarette lighter. It turns on automatically whenever you start the car, and it turns off automatically when the ignition switch is turned off. However, over this two week period the battery slowly discharged (without my knowledge) until it reached a point where the unit would no longer turn on, even when plugged in to the car charger. Assuming the unit was defective, I called Garmin and (after 20 minutes on hold) learned that the car charger is not up to the task, and that the GPS will slowly lose its charge when it is turned on, even if you have it connected to the cigarette lighter adapter. I believe this means that if you have a long drive, perhaps 8 hours or more, then the unit may not even remain operational throughout the full trip. Other people have made similar complaints about some of the other Garmin GPS units.

The tech support people explained how to recover from the low battery situation: you do a "soft reset" which simply involves holding down the on/off button for 10 seconds. Then the unit will turn on, but the battery will need recharging. I was told to do this by connecting it to my computer using a USB cable, which Garmin does not supply with the GPS (fortunately I already had one), but I assume you could do the same by connecting it to the car charger and making certain that the unit is turned off while it is charging.

What a shame that Garmin has produced a superior product with a fatal defect. I will keep mine for now, but I'm going to investigate other charging solutions. Perhaps after reading this review, the wizards at Garmin will redesign the charging system for this GPS.

Update (Aug 1/09): I discovered the reason for these charging issues: In the User's Manual, under "Troubleshooting", Garmin states that the Nuvi will not charge if it is in direct sunlight or if the temperature is more than 113 degrees F (45 deg C). Since I had my unit attached to the windshield, and since I only drive during midday, it is always in sunlight. This charging rule applies to many other models as well; for any given model you can download the manual from Garmin, turn to the Troubleshooting section, and see whether or not they describe a similar charging rule. (The rule is meant to avoid overheating the battery: lithium batteries can occasionally catch fire if they are severely overcharged or overheated.) I think this explains why some people have encountered charging problems and others have not: it depends on whether or not the unit is always in direct sunlight while you are driving. Some people use the friction mount and their Garmin sits on the console. Others drive later in the day or at night.