Garmin nüvi 500 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Amazon.com
Manufacturer’s Review (July 22, 2008)
Perfect for crossing over the threshold from city to backcountry, the Garmin nüvi 500 provides a high-sensitivity GPS receiver with turn-by-turn navigation in a ruggedized, waterproof exterior that you can use while hiking, biking, or boating. With its high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver and HotFix satellite prediction, nüvi 500 locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover and deep canyons–whether in the city or out in the wilds. And it easily switches modes (driving, walking, biking and boating) to navigate through your active lifestyle depending on your activity. Other features include a 3.5-inch touchscreen, microSD memory expansion, geocaching GPX file capabilities for complete cache descriptions and hints, and Garmin Connect Photos–enabling you to associate your favorite images with saved locations.
The waterproof nüvi 500 guides you while you drive, hike, bike or boat. |
The nüvi 500 comes preloaded with the highly detailed City Navigator North America NT maps for the lower 48 states, which also includes topographic maps for a better perspective of your elevation. The map data, provided by NAVTEQ, features over six million points of interest, including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs and attractions.
The DEM basemap (above) provides shaded contours, and the nüvi also includes a digital compass. |
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Weighing 7.6 ounces and measuring less than an inch thin, the nüvi 500 fits easily in a purse, backpack, or jacket pocket. The 3.5-inch color touchscreen display (with 320 x 240-pixel resolution) is easy to read even in direct sunlight, and the nüvi’s easy-to-use interface means you’ll spend more time enjoying the outdoors and less time searching for information. Simple controls and sub-screens make it easy to enter or search for destinations and get data about your trip. Simply touch the color screen to enter a destination, and nüvi takes you there with turn-by-turn voice directions, 2-D or 3-D maps and smooth map updates as you navigate. Its digital elevation model (DEM) mapping shows you shaded contours at higher zoom levels, giving you a big picture of the surrounding terrain. In addition, the nüvi accepts custom points of interest (POIs), such as school zones and safety cameras and lets you set proximity alerts to warn you of upcoming POIs.
Garmin’s HotFix capability automatically calculates and stores satellite locations, greatly reducing satellite acquisition time so that you can turn the unit on and get going. With HotFix, your nüvi 500 remembers the position of all satellites it is tracking when you turn it off, and calculates their movements in order to predict where they should be the next time you turn it on. HotFix can predict satellite positions for up to 3 days after the device was last turned off.
Conveniently plug in optional preloaded microSD memory cards for all your outdoor activities on land or water. Just insert an optional Garmin MapSource card with detailed street maps (such as for locales outside the United States), and the nüvi 500 provides turn-by-turn directions to your destination. And with optional BlueChart g2 Vision maps, you’ll get everything you need for a great day on the water including depth contours, navaids and harbors.
A user-replaceable lithium-ion battery will give you up to eight hours of battery life (depending on use). In addition to an AC charger, the unit also ships with a 12-volt power adapter for vehicle charging, as well as a windshield suction cup mount.
Specifications
- User modes: Driving, Boating, Bicycling and Walking
- Expansion: microSD card slot for optional mapping and data storage
- Wherigo player
- Geocahing: Supports Geocahing.com GPX files for complete cache descriptions and hints
- Dimensions: 4.21 x 3.35 x 0.9 inches (WxHxD)
- Display size: 3.5-inch QVGA color antiglare TFT screen (320 x 240-pixel resolution) with white backlight touchscreen
- Weight: 7.6 ounces
- Battery type: user replaceable lithium-ion
- Battery life: up to 8 hours depending on use
- Waterproof standard: IEC 60529 IPX7
What’s in the Box
Garmin nüvi 500, preloaded City Navigator North America NT Lower 48 U.S. states, Hawaii and Puerto Rico plus topographic maps, lithium-ion battery, vehicle suction cup mount, vehicle power cable, dashboard disc, quick start manual
Navigate by Photo with Garmin Connect Photos
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Using Garmin’s Connect Photos Web site, you can choose from millions of geo-located photos provided by Google’s Panoramio photo sharing community and download them to the nüvi for a richer navigation experience using pictures as a guide.
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Play Wherigo Wherever You Go
This nüvi GPS device is compatible with Wherigo, the latest GPS-based activity from geocaching pioneers Groundspeak. Wherigo (pronounced “where I go”) is a toolset for creating and playing location-based multimedia experiences in the real world. Using the Wherigo platform, Wherigo authors can build exciting adventure games, historical tours or other innovative activities.
3D Terrain Maps
Shaded relief terrain maps show you when to expect hills, mountains, forests and other natural features. Topographic terrain maps are viewable when using the 2D “birds-eye” view.
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Product Description
GARMIN NUVI 500 3.5 inch GPS Navigator. Garmin International is pleased to announce the nuvi 500 and nuvi 550, the newest members of the popular nuvi line. This new multi mode nuvi series will guide you while you drive, hike, bike or boat. Both models switch modes to navigate through your active lifestyle. Go sightseeing with geotagged images from Garmin Connect Photos or see your terrain with the digital elevation model basemap. Nuvi 500 and 550 are ready for your active lifestyle. The nuvi 500 comes preloaded with highly detailed City Navigator North America NT Lower 48 States plus topographic maps for the U.S. The preloaded map data features over six million points of interest, including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs and attractions. The map data is provided by NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium quality mapping.
Buy Garmin nüvi 500 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator at Amazon
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July 17th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Let me start by saying that I currently own and use several different GPS units: Garmins Nuvi 750, Colorado 400t, Rino 130 (a pair), Magellan 1470 and a Dash Express (I’ve also owned Garmins 2720, 2820, Nuvi 350, and a 60CSx in the recent past). I have so many of them because I use them for different purposes:
* Automobile navigation: I travel all over the country and always take a GPS with me for use in my rental cars.
* Walking in urban areas: I love to stroll around great cities and a good GPS not only keeps me from getting lost, it helps me to find areas of interest.
* Hiking in rural areas: As a birdwatcher I find a hand-held GPS receiver essential. Getting lost in the desert or the woods is no fun at all.
* Bicycling: I love to just bike and then try to figure out how to get home later. A GPS makes it easy to find my way back.
* Geocaching: A wonderful hobby that involves finding things that others have hidden using coordinates posted on the web. A GPS is an absolute necessity if you want to do this.
So, why did I buy yet another Garmin, the Nuvi 500? It is a part of my eternal search for one GPS receiver that is appropriate for all of these endeavors. It is important to understand that no GPS is perfect, nor is any one model ideal for everything. However, some accomplish some tasks well but are useless for others. The Nuvi 500 (and it’s brother the 550) are useful for all of my needs.
Instead of comparing it to other models that are more specialized, let me grade the Nuvi 500 in how well in works ,right out-of-the-box, for each task that I wanted it for:
* Automobile navigation: B-
There are much better units for this purpose if that is all you are going to use it for. Still, it gets you there. One major feature that I missed at first in the Nuvi 500 was Text-To-Speech (or TTS). This is where the unit pronounces the names of streets and roads. With it a GPS will say “Turn right on Broadway Street”. Without TTS is will say “Turn right at the next street”. However, in March of ‘09 Garmin released a firmware update that gives the nuvi 500 this feature! I have downloaded it to mine and it works just like my nuvi 750 (make sure that you download some TTS voices as well). I assume that new units will have this already installed. Still, the display is somewhat small for an automotive GPS, especially if the dash is deep and far from the driver. Although you can buy an optional FM traffic receiver, some units, like the Dash Express, have this feature built-in, plus it can connect via the internet and get real-time traffic info. My Garmin 2820 has built in satellite radio, however it is pretty big and needs to be plugged in.
* Walking in urban areas: A
Here is where the Nuvi 500 shines. First, it is small enough to fit in a pocket (although I do wish that it was thinner) yet it’s big enough to see the display without squinting. However, my favorite feature is the user-switchable batteries. Most GPS receivers use built-in rechargeable batteries; nice but when they run down you either have to find a place to plug it in and recharge it or you are stuck without a usable GPS. The Garmin Nuvi 500’s back opens up and the expended battery can be swapped out with a fresh one. This is a HUGE benefit for anyone using a GPS in any place other than a car. Another nice feature for the urban tourist is that you can download photos from a special web-site and not only see them on the Nuvi it will give directions to where the photo was taken. Cool.
* Hiking in rural areas: B
The Nuvi is not as ergonomic as those units designed to be hand held. It is a flat, rectangular device without a textured surface, still it is very usable outdoors. What I like about the 500 is that it comes loaded with both City Navigator and Garmin’s Topo Map (the 550 does has more North American coverage but does not have topographical coverage). Both units feature “digital elevation model” (DEM) mapping which shows you shaded contours at higher zoom levels, however, the Topo maps will show much, much more. Details like elevations, streams, small bodies of water, trails, landmarks and many other features that can really be useful when you are out in the boonies.
* Bicycling: A
I had my Garmin Colorado mounted on my Trek 7300 bike and although it looked funny (I have photos of it on Amazon’s Colorado 400t page) it worked O-K. Still, it did not come with the same type of street maps that the Nuvi does (I could have purchased it for about $100 and downloaded it onto the Colorado if I wanted to) and it was not as intuitive to use as the Nuvis are. Also, the Nuvi 500 really looks nice on my handlebars. Since it is waterproof (as is the Colorado) you don’t have to worry about a rainstorm.
* Geocaching: B+
If you haven’t geocached and don’t ever plan on doing it then you might want to skip this part of my review. However, if you are on of the many thousands that enjoy this growing hobby (over 800,000 geocaches have been placed worldwide) this is a GPS that can take you from your driveway to the cache and back effortlessly. Like the Colorado (and similar models such as the Oregon) you can download cache information directly to the GPS. Other Garmins can download the coordinates but the Nuvi 500 (and the 550) will display the cache information, hints, logs and just about everything that you need to successfully find what you are looking for. You can also record the results of your search (found, did not find, needs repair, etc.) for later transfer to the geocaching website. I’ve used the Nuvi 500 to find caches and it took me right to it. I’ll still use my Colorado but if I only want to take one GPS with me, it’ll be the 500.
Additional things that I like:
The Nuvi 500 lets you change your mode of travel (car, bike or on-foot) from the main page. It will then customize you directions based on your mode of transport icon (for instance, you can navigate one-way streets much differently on bike or on foot vs. by car). Another nice touch is when you choose a destination a little tab slides out from the “Go!” icon on the screen which shows your Usage Mode (car, bike, etc.) the Distance and the Time based on your chosen mode of travel. My 750 does not have this feature. Another thing that I like is that you can easily program the Nuvi 500 for on-road or off-road use. If you are traveling on foot you are not restricted to directions that require you to stick to the streets.
Somethings that I am not crazy about:
The specs list the battery life as “up to” 8 hours. I set the backlight to 50% and got 5 hours of use. Still very usable and with a second battery (which I bought with the unit and highly recommend) you can get 10 hours of continuous use without needing to recharge it or turn off the backlight completely. I also wish that the housing had a textured finish on the outside edge, giving you something to help you to keep your grip.
One final gripe: I can understand why Garmin does not include the AC charger with other Nuvi models but this one should really come with one. After all, it’s billed as a multifunctional GPS, not an automotive GPS.
I am very happy with my new Garmin. I will be recommending this unit to all of my geocaching, birdwatching and bicycling friends. If you’re are looking for a GPS that does it all, so far this one is the best.
UPDATE 12/03/08: The price has dropped quite a bit since I purchased it only a month ago. Now the value is even better! Grab it while you can. TR
July 17th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
I bought the Nuvi 500 to replace my tried-and-true Garmin StreetPilot i3.
One of my primary considerations is WATERPROOFness… my i3 has worked great on my MOTORCYCLE touring adventures, but when the rains came, it was either in the tank bag, or in a clear sandwich bag, held in place with a rubber band – not ideal.
There are motorcycle-specific GPS receivers, but they are all significantly more expensive. Frankly, I was attracted to the multi-purpose nature of this model. I’ve used it for motorcycle rides (just trial runs so far), bicycling, hiking/walking, and driving. I’m confident there are better solutions for each individual use – if you can afford a CAR GPS, and a HIKING GPS, and a MOTORCYCLING GPS, and a BOATING GPS, knock yourself out. The Nuvi 500 seems to do a very adequate job at all of that stuff.
Another feature I was looking for – and the Nuvi 500 has it – is the ability to enter a very specific ROUTE into it, and expect accurate directions. (When I’m motorcycle touring, it’s all about the JOURNEY, not the DESTINATION. I want to plan the journey, rather than leaving it to GPS-receiver silicon. I could plan my routes using the i3, but it was a matter of entering up to 50 waypoints, and then selecting each one in sequence. Now I can just tell it to “follow route Day 2,” and off we go.)
It has “modes” for automobile, bicycle, boating, and walking. (With a myriad of avatar options… when you’re hiking, you can use some little blue trudging feet to indicate your current location. Cute!) Also, with a firmware upgrade (readily available at the Garmin website) you can add “Scooter” mode. (I’m guessing they don’t have a “Motorcycle” mode for it, because they hope motorcycle riders will opt instead for the significantly-more-pricey Zumo models. But how different could “motorcycle” and “scooter” be, other than the gay factor? That’s just a joke… scooters are great!)
This model doesn’t have some of the other features found on a lot of high-end models. If you want a unit that speaks street names, or plays your MP3 tunes, or doubles as a cell phone or bluetooth… this may not be the one for you.
My only suggestion for Garmin would be – add a place to attach a lanyard/safety-tether! It would be nice, particularly when hiking, to be able to hang this around the neck, or attach it to a backpack with a carabiner. (Or to safety-strap it to the bicycle or motorcycle!)
Based on my experience, Garmin is VERY oriented toward customer service and satisfaction. They have bent over backwards to keep THIS customer happy. (That’s a nice bonus to the fact that they make an excellent product.)
July 17th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
3.0 out of 5 stars
Overall a good unit but has foibles
This is my third garmin GPS unit. Bought the Nuvi 500 as a crossover unit for the topographical maps.
I had previously owned garmin Quests and REALLY liked them!
July 17th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good buy for the $$
Replacing an earlier version of a Garmin that died after 5 or 6 years. This is easy to use, intuitive prompts and screens.
July 17th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great GPS and Features
Works great right out of the box.
I use mine on a motorcycle, so the waterproof feature was what I needed but did want to spend the money for a Zumo.
July 17th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Alright, so it could’ve had save-able tracks and it is NOT an Oregon for off-road but it is an amazing crossover system. I have uploaded 500 geocaches using the premium member feature from Geocaching.com: Pocket Queries. I set a point in a field behind my house using Google earth and then sent the coordinates via USB cable to the Nuvi 500. It got me within 20 feet. Not too bad, I would say. Even tiny family owned local stores show up on the Nuvi 500 maps. Its super easy to switch between road maps and the topo map feature, just click off of the road map to switch to touch navigated topo maps. The more you zoom in, the more POI’s show up. As far as i can tell Garmin loaded every POI my hometown has to offer and if it isn’t on the map, chances are you can search for it on the Nuvi 500 and find it. It’s perfect for me, a young driver, going off to college with big interests in being out of doors and also wanting turn-by-turn directions to get where im going. I’m a new Geocahcer and the dedicated Geocaching feature seems flawless. At time the Nuvi 500 seems a little bogged down with processing information but settings of detail levels can help speed up the process. The compass feature seems to work decently, however i rarely us it, relying instead, on zooming in on the topo map as i get closer to a geocache to find my way. The Nuvi 500 hooks up to my Mac, is quickly recognized and then opens as a removable mass-storage device with just under 1GB of free space. (500 .GPX files takes up only 5-600Kb). There is a picture viewer, you can send addresses and coordinates from google maps straight to the device and the street level mapping even in large cities seems flawless. No new maps or major firmware updates are available yet. Overall, it is an amazing system and worth every 385$ i spent on it. (much cheaper than 500$ at best buy).
July 17th, 2009 at 11:53 pm
4.0 out of 5 stars
garmin GPS
Pretty good unit. A little hard to hang on to if used by hand. Added price of lake maps is out of line. Goecaching…
July 18th, 2009 at 6:13 am
4.0 out of 5 stars
ADDICTED!
I love my new Garmin. It is the first GPS I have ever purchased. I bought it mainly to geocache and it has been pretty good to me.
July 18th, 2009 at 7:15 am
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good but not what I expected
Good GPS but not what I expected. Screen is small and moving to different sections of the map is difficult. As I said good but I expected more.
July 18th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad, but not all good either.
This unit is fairly nice, but its more of an on-the-road GPS. It has a terrific 3D view and works well at guiding you down the road.
July 18th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent unit.. but know something about map updates
The Nuvi 500 (vs. the 550) has TOPO maps of the US. Great, but this creates an issue when Garmin releases new maps for their GPSes.
July 18th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
4.0 out of 5 stars
cool machine
my first gps . easy to use – survived well my first heavy off-raod trip – lots of mud and water around and it run beautiful – after it, i cleaned it and looks as new – i live in…
July 18th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great All Around GPS
I bought this to replace an aging and Dying Quest 2 GPS. I was glad that Garmin came out with an all around GPS in the NUVI line.