Item Details

Garmin nüvi 780 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with MSN Direct Service

(416 Customer Reviews)

Price: $169.00
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Technical Details

• GPS navigator preloaded with City Navigator North America NT
• 4.3-inch diagonal touchscreen display with 2D/3D mapping perspective
• Turn-by-turn directions with Voice Guidance/Text-to-Speech feature
• Includes MSN Direct receiver with Version 2
• Weighs just 1.8 pounds and measure 0.8 x 4.8 x 2.8 inches (W x L x H)

 

Product Details

Product Weight: 2.76 pounds

Shipping Weight: 1.20 pounds

Model: Nuvi 780

Manufacturer: Garmin

Sales Rank: 43

 

Accessories

Customer Reviews

Nice Features, Easy to use, Hard to update maps, No MSN coverage,
by Sankster, 2010-03-08

I bought this for my wife, who is Russian. She was very impressed that there is a Russian voice and text built in (among dozens of other languages). The system is very easy to use and the graphics are great. It has just about any POI that you could possibly want. Routes and directions are very clear, but you have to make sure you set your route preferences (as with any GPS), or you'll be driving down winding farm roads in the name of "shortest route".
When you get the system, you can do a one time free map update download, which just wasn't working. By reading some blogs, I found out that it won't work with Internet Explorer (most of the time), so I downloaded Mozilla Firefox and was finally able to download the map update (took about 2 hours). I had to restart my laptop to get the update to run, but it seems to have installed correctly. I don't know if it made a difference, but I plugged in a 4GB SD card before installing the update; I read about people having problems with running out of memory in the middle of an update.
It took a couple of tries to get our cell phones to find the bluetooth, but after the initial setup, they find each other quite well.
I tried to activate the MSN Direct 3 month Free trial, but was told that there is no coverage in my area (Killeen, Texas). Fortunately, we are moving to San Antonio, which has coverage. Doesn't matter much; MSN Direct is going away in 2012, so I guess I'll get an FM traffic update reciever.
We're happy with it overall; no real problems so far.

 

roosternuvireview,
by D. Geyer, 2010-03-08

I have used other GPS tracking systems, but this is the first one I have purchased. I chose the Garmin nuvi 780 purchased through Amazon because of the Bluetooth, MSN direct, and cost factor. With my current limited use I have found that this GPS meets my needs for ease of access, accurate description of street addresses, and wide viewing screen. It describes upcoming turns and exits well in advance of getting to them and repeats the information, should you become distracted. I would recommend this GPS for the novice to slightly advanced dirver.

 

It's good...but...,
by CJ, 2010-03-04

THE BAD: The FM transmitter is horrible. I don't care if it is FCC regulations or not, it simply does not work well. People also tell me I sound horrible via bluetooth when I connect it to my phone.

THE GOOD: Solid GPS will get you where you want to go.

THE OTHER: There is no reason to pass over a cheaper Garmin Nuvi for this. WOW could it be a great product if it were done right! Sadly, overall, it is just a good Garmin Nuvi GPS in essence.

 

Bluetooth Incompatibility,
by Church Rocker, 2010-03-02

I like the features of this unit as far as the routing to multiple points. My biggest disappointment is with the bluetooth. Why not make it clear that only certain phones are compatible? I bought this unit for my wife and her phone would not link up to the unit. So, I look on the Garmin website and, sure enough, her phone is not supported ... why? I was able to get her a separate hands-free bluetooth kit for another $30 but I was under the impression that bluetooth devices would all be compatible with each other. Lesson learned, I guess, but it would be nice to have a link to supported devices right from the page concerning this unit.

 

I returned my Garmin Nuvi 780 for a RoadMate,
by retired, 2010-02-26

I asked for the nearest post office ... it didn't find it. I asked for an address and it popped up the West address and wouldn't let me enter the East address I needed. We didn't need the MP3 or the Bluetooth features. Then when we learned the model was discontinued and that the navigation tools would be discontinued in 2012, it didn't seem like a good purchase for $176.

We picked up our RoadMate 1475T for $50 less and so far it has been wonderful. Amazon was great about taking the Garmin back.

 

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GPS & Navigation -> Vehicle GPS -> Portable Vehicle GPS