Garmin nüvi 680 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator (Factory Refurbished)
Amazon.com
This is a refurbished GPS. Refurbished generally means that the unit has been returned to the manufacturer, who brings the navigator back to like new conditions. Some GPS may contain cosmetic blemishes.
Travel throughout North America without loading any more maps with the Garmin nüvi 680 Personal Travel Assistant with MSN Direct. Plus, you can receive door-to-door directions while staying on top of local weather, traffic, and more with nüvi 680. The device features a colorful widescreen, hands-free calling, and an FM transmitter, then takes it up a notch by adding dynamic content from MSN Direct, as well as a convenient digital travel kit that includes an MP3 player with sample MP3s, audio books, a picture viewer, a world clock, currency and measurement converters, a calculator, and more.
This pocket sized personal travel assistant has a super bright, sunlight-readable color screen. See side view. |
Easy control via the simple touch screen. |
Weather reporting available with bright, colorful graphics. |
Despite being loaded with features, the nüvi 680 still allows you to navigate with ease. This unit comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded NavTeq City Navigator NT street maps for North America, and includes a hefty points of interest (POIs) database with hotels, restaurants, fuel stops, ATMs and more. Simply touch the super-bright, sunlight-readable color screen to enter a destination, and the 680 takes you there with either 2D or 3D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions. This navigator voice even announces the name of exits and streets so you never have to take your eyes off the road, and can concentrate on your driving to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. In addition, the 680 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 that require your special consideration such as speed zones and safety cameras.
Speaking of keeping you safe, the nüvi 680 lets you make hands-free calls so you can talk freely during your worry-free driving. By integrating Bluetooth wireless technology with a built-in microphone and speaker, you can pair your nüvi with any compatible Bluetooth phone and talk hands-free while staying focused on the road. You no longer have to fumble with your phone’s handset to answer a call or dial a number, just tap the 680’s screen and you’re instantly connected. And with 1-touch dialing for your POIs, you can quickly and conveniently call ahead to make reservations or get needed information.
Simply insert a memory card to enjoy pictures, songs, and audiobooks. |
You can also use the mini-USB port for tranferring files directly to the memory card. |
The new nüvi 680 lets you get localized information with dynamic content from MSN Direct, making it one of the most resourceful navigators available. Using the included receiver and free trial service to MSN Direct, you can check your local weather, avoid traffic backups, compare local gas prices, and even check movie times and locations, all while you travel. Easy and virtually fool-proof to use, the MSN Direct receiver is plug-and-play portable so you can quickly connect to your navigator unit when you are out and about. All of which can be customized with configurable vehicle icons that let you choose individual car-shaped icons in a variety of colors that show your position on the map.
In additional to all this functionality, the nüvi 680 includes many must-have entertainment and travel tools such as an MP3 player, an audio book player (subscription to Audible.com required), and a JPEG picture viewer so you can take your favorite music and pictures with you wherever you go. This unit also features a world travel clock with time zones, a currency converter, a measurement converter, and a calculator so that wherever you travel it will be easy to know what you are getting and keep track of your costs. The MP3 player lets you browse music by artist, album, and/or song, while the optional audio books may be purchased from Audible.com which features over 70,000 hours of audio programs. What’s more, the nüvi 680 allows further customization via optional software such as a travel guide, savings programs and language translation on plug-and-play SD cards for all your travel needs.
The Garmin nüvi 680 comes with a built-in, high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver, and lets you view and operate it via its bright, LCD TFT touch-screen, wide-screen display that measures 4.3 inches (diagonal) and has a resolution of 480 x 272 pixels with 64,000 colors and a white backlight. As a whole, the nüvi 680 measures 4.9 x 2.9 x 0.9 inches (W x H x D), and weighs only 6.2 ounces for easy portability. This unit provides you with from three to seven hours of battery life (depending on use) via its rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and comes with Garmin Lock, which is an anti-theft feature to protect your investment. While you can add software via the SD card slot, the Garmin nüvi 680 also lets you interface via high-speed USB for loading data, though users should note that, like most USB mass storage devices, this unit is not compatible with Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me.
The nüvi 680 comes ready to go right out of the box with preloaded City Navigator NT street maps, including a hefty points of interest (POIs) database with hotels, restaurants, fuel stops, ATMs, and more. |
What’s in the Box
Garmin nüvi 680 with MSN Direct, City Navigator NT maps for North America (preloaded, full coverage), MSN Direct receiver with integrated vehicle power cable, 1 year of free MSN Direct service, vehicle suction cup mount, an AC charger, vehicle power cable, dashboard disk, a USB cable, leather carrying case, quick reference guide, and owner’s manual.
Product Description
Garmin Nuvi 680 travel assistant with a super-bright 4.3-Inch diagonal color display and flip-up antenna.
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August 30th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
4.0 out of 5 stars
Love my Nuvi 680!!!
This is my second GPS and very pleased with the unit, with the exception that some addresses will not come up in the unit, including my home.
August 30th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
This device offers voice directions, mp3 player, fm transmitter to your car radio and bluetooth connectivity to your cell phone for (practically)hands free operation. My phone book automatically loads into the Garmin for easy search and selection. There are many shops of all kinds listed in its vast memory. A slot for SD cards fill with MP3 music is easily accessed.
The gps does have a battery life but an enterprising individual could use a mini usb connector to a 5V source (4 AA alkaline batteries with a silicon diode in series) to run it as long as those batteries lasted. I do not see any drawbacks except paying a yearly fee of 19 dollars to msn for the weather, gas prices and traffic data. Did I mention the current movies are listed and it maps where to go to see them?
All in all, I am happy with this product. My wife has confiscated it from me for the most part, however. I might have to buy another at $[...] since I paid $[...] at [...] last December (2007) for the one I have now.
August 30th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
From the many reviews that I have personally read, this nuvi 680 unit’s feature set is pretty much exactly the same as the current high end 7xx series units. So don’t fret that it’s a discontinued model.
My refurbished unit came updated with the 2009 map already, so no need to update there (we don’t get that luxury as refurbished unit owners anyways). It looked like it was brand new out of the box!
As a GPS unit, the unit functions very well. Doesn’t take too long to sync with the satellite. Typical voiced directions. Plenty points of interests (I feel like I have Google Maps in my car!)
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There are many little features that make this a great unit.
Bluetooth compatability:
-Easy enough to connect to my Samsung phone.
-Downloads all of the phone information onto the unit!
-You get recent calls, missed calls…all that good stuff, even battery life, signal. It’s as good as any built-in GPS you’d find in a luxury car these days.
FM Transmitter:
-This was one of the features I was really excited about because I wanted to be able to listen to my own music over FM as well as have conversations over FM. Unfortunately the signal is weak and sound is staticky. It is bearable for a conversation.
SD slot:
-Can upload music onto the unit although you won’t be able to really enjoy the playback unless you have an auxiliary input on your car!
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The value of this unit at it’s discounted refurbished price is unbeatable given the feature set. The one thing I haven’t tried is the MSN Direct service, but I believe as refurbished owners we DO still get 1 year of free service since an activation tag was attached to my FM receiver/power charger.
August 31st, 2009 at 12:23 am
Just got one from Amazon (refurb) and much to my delight it came with the latest 2009 maps. Good because Garmin does not do the 60 day free update with refurb models as they do with new units.
As for a review, it’s a very good gps with a great display. Build quality/feel is not as nice as Tom Tom, but good enough. Same ease of use as Garmin has had forever. Fold out antenna is a little annoying and the suction cup bracket gets in the way a bit. The suction cup mount seems a bit over complicated and fragile. Magellan does it muh better.
A bean bag mount as was standard with the 2720 is available and I’ll be getting that.
Very nice unit, overall.
- Geo
August 31st, 2009 at 1:42 am
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good with some limitations
Using this product for about a month now.
The Good:
Nice screen
refurbished are as good as new
very good speaker, bluetooth works very well…
August 31st, 2009 at 6:07 am
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good GPS – Bad Customer Support
GOOD:
Its a great GPS Unit.. Although refurb, I could not find anything that would make it something lesser than a new unit.
August 31st, 2009 at 7:53 am
5.0 out of 5 stars
ANOTHER GARMIN WINNER
JUST LIKE ALL THE RECENT NUVI GARMIN PRODUCTS THIS ONE THINKS JUST LIKE YOU DO. EASY TO USE, WORKS LIKE A CHARM, PRICED RIGHT
August 31st, 2009 at 11:03 am
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better Chipset than new Nuvi 700 series……
I was prepared to spend over twice as much on a Nuvi 760 till I did a bunch of research online. I have found out that the best opinions are not necessarily from professional…
August 31st, 2009 at 11:29 am
5.0 out of 5 stars
Garmin 680 Great!
I really enjoy this GPS. The first time I used it was around my home area to see how it worked in an area I am familiar in before I used it away from home.
August 31st, 2009 at 12:46 pm
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great value for money!
i bought this Nuvi 680 before doing a trip to California (I live in Argentina). It came with a 1 year suscription to MSN, this was really helpful to avoid traffic jams in LA.
August 31st, 2009 at 2:49 pm
5.0 out of 5 stars
Garmin Nuvi 680
Garmin Nuvi 680 is excellent one. It has latest map of 2009. All the functionality works fine. Especially I like the bluetooth technology of it. The clarity is really good.
August 31st, 2009 at 7:37 pm
1.0 out of 5 stars
bad Garmin 680
when i received this garmin 680 it worked for 3 days then it would no longer link up with satalites, I had to return it to garmin and got another one but had to wait 8 days…
August 31st, 2009 at 9:55 pm
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very nice garmin pruduct
Just difference betwen 780 series pruduct is antena and slim body. 680 series has an antena 780 series has antena but inside the bady.