Garmin nüvi 765/765T 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic

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Have you lost your sense of direction? Let Garmin nuvi 765t 4.3" GPS be your guiding system to take you hither and yonder. It opens United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico for visual exploration. You'll get the knowledge of a native where and when ever you choose to go.

It's the surefire tool for any traveler even for those with no sense of direction. The Garmin nuvi 765t is fully equipped to help you get where you're going. The nuvi 765T offers full coverage mapping for the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. The preloaded map data features nearly 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.

It features 3D buildings, lane assist and lifetime traffic alerts from NAVTEQ. Take advantage of Garmin's first premium traffic service without subscription fees. 3D navigation with lane assist provides drivers a clear picture of what lies ahead on their route, including road sign detail and arrows indicating the proper lane for navigation. Some areas even offer a 3D view of buildings. Steer clear of traffic with nuvi's integrated FM traffic receiver.

Receive alerts about traffic delays and road construction that lie ahead on your route. Feel comfortable and at home on the road with this Garmin nuvi 765t. It's essentially a must for any trip. Auto time zone will automatically adjust your time zone while navigating Garmin Connect Photos - associate your favorite images with saved locations DEM maps show you shaded terrain contours at various zoom levels High-sensitivity GPS receiver for improved performance and reception Turn-by-turn directions with voice guidance Easy-to-use, Touchscreen interface Trip computer records mileage, max speed, total time and more Simplified PC connectivity, using USB mass storage Configurable vehicle icons allows users to select a fun.

Garmin continues to build up its nüvi 7xx series portable GPS navigators with its nüvi 765T, which adds a number of handy routing and communication features to an already impressive list of specs, including a 4.3-inch widescreen display, text-to-speech capabilities, media player, and FM transmitter for transmitting audio--including directions and MP3 music and audiobooks--from the device to your car radio.

New to the nüvi 7x5 lineup is Garmin's HotFix satellite prediction (which locates your position quickly and precisely), Lane Assist (which provides lane guidance and junction views when possible), automatic time zone transitioning, and 3D Building views as well as Garmin Connect Photos to help you visually ascertain your position. Additionally, the nüvi 765T includes Bluetooth connectivity to your cell phone and free real-time traffic updates from Navteq (for the life of the device) via the included FM traffic receiver with vehicle power cable.

As with all nüvis, you get Garmin reliability, the fast satellite lock of an integrated high-sensitivity receiver, a slim, pocket-sized design with a gorgeous display, an easy, intuitive interface, and detailed NAVTEQ maps for North America (United States, Canada and Puerto Rico) with more than 6 million name-searchable points of interest. The Garmin nüvi 7x5 line features three other models--check out their spec highlights at the right and click here to see a quick, simple comparison of features for all Garmin nüvi GPS navigators.

The bright, 4.3-inch touchscreen display gives is anti-glare for ease of viewing during the day and automatically changes its color profile for easy viewing at night or in dim light. It offers 2d or 3D perspective views. The widescreen format gives you 70 percent more actual screen area than a 3.5-inch screen. Primarily this translates into a better view of the area through which you are driving. This is especially useful in showing you what parks, restaurants, ATM, gas stations, etc. are nearby, or in letting you know whether a detour is a good idea. Also, the device itself is larger, meaning controls on the screen are more widely spaced and somewhat easier to push.

The nüvi 765T comes preloaded with highly detailed City Navigator NT road maps from Navteq for the entire United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. This map database features nearly six million points of interest (POIs), including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs, and attractions. Garmin's interface is a key to their success and one of the things that makes their devices such a pleasure to use. Simple controls and sub-screens make it easy to enter or search for destinations and get data about your trip.

Garmin's patent pending theft prevention system that disables the unit from performing any functions until the user types in a specific 4-digit PIN or takes the unit to a predetermined secure location.

Important Product Information: This device features a "screen lock" feature. This is a standard feature on all nüvi 2x5 and 7x5 Garmin units. If you slide the "Power" key to the right, it will lock the screen and prevent any accidental touches. Once the screen lock feature is engaged, the screen will go black/gray after about 15 seconds to save power on the device. To unlock the screen, just slide the "Power" key to the center position. This feature is really targeted for "Pedestrian" mode so that a user can put the device in his or her pocket/purse and quickly unlock the screen instead of powering on/off continuously. For more information, see page 5 of the product manual.

Lane Guidance
With the new Lane Guidance feature built into the nüvi 7x5 series, you'll never question which lane you should be driving in again. It provides you with a view of what lane you should be in for upcoming turns. And with the 3D Lane Assist Junction View, you'll be able to see a photo-realistic screen that shows you both the road detail as well as the signs as you will see them on the road. The signs that aren't needed for navigation are faded compared to the appropriate lane signage.
Integrated Traffic Receiver
Steer clear of traffic with an integrated FM traffic receiver with vehicle power cable designed to receive alerts about traffic tie-ups and road construction that might lie ahead on your route. No subscriptions or additional hardware needed. Just open the box, turn it on, and get instant access to traffic information--the traffic updates are free for the life of the device.
All you have to do is simply touch the screen to view traffic details and you'll be ready to detour around any problem area. And if you end up missing a turn, or you're forced into a detour that is not relayed through the traffic receiver, the nüvi's sophisticated automatic routing will get you back on track in no time. Watch informational video
In most areas, the traffic broadcasts are continuous--there's no waiting for scheduled traffic news updates or random alerts. Because traffic broadcasts are received via a "silent" FM data channel, you can still listen to music or news programming on your car radio without interference from incoming FM traffic data transmissions.

Hands-Free Calling
In more and more places, it is becoming illegal to use cell phones while driving without a hands-free kit. WIth Bluetooth capability, microphone and speaker, you can match your nüvi to any Bluetooth-capable phone to make hands-free mobile phone calls. Simply dial the phone number with the nüvi's touch screen keypad to make a call on a compatible phone. To answer an incoming call, just tap the screen and speak into the built-in microphone. Making and taking calls on the road has never been easier, or safer. In addition, Garmin makes it a breeze to look-up and dial numbers from your personalized phone book or even tap into your cell phone's call history log.

HotFix Satellite Prediciton
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 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.

Multi-Destination Routing
This lets you enter several spots into the device (day care - supermarket-cleaners - office - day care, for example) and it will plot the fastest route. And once you've found the best router, the "Route Planning" feature lets you save up to 10 different routes, Garmin touts the feature for providing, "the most efficient route for errands, deliveries and sales calls." The feature also makes this an instant essential accessory for anyone who shops garage sales (you know what we're talking about). A trip log provides an electronic bread crumb trail of up to 10,000 points, so you can see where you've been on the map.
Where Am I? Where's My Car?
The nüvi 7x5 series is the first to answer two common questions: "Where am I?" and "Where’s my car?" At any time, with a single tap of the screen, drivers can display their exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and gas stations. And to help drivers find their car in an unfamiliar spot or vast parking lot, all nüvi 7x5s automatically mark the position in which they were last removed from the mount.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Garmin
• Model: NUVI 765T
• Format: CD
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 3.00" h x .80" w x 4.80" l, .40 pounds
• Native resolution: 480 x 272
• Display size: 4.3

Features

• Bright, 4.3-inch diagonal color WQVGA TFT touchscreen with 480 x 272 pixels and white backlight
• Preloaded with City Navigator North America NT
• Bluetooth wireless technology for hands-free calling
• High-sensitivity GPS receiver for improved performance and reception
• NOTE: Model number on the box is 765T because the traffic receiver is included; however, the model number on the device itself is 765 as the "T" in 765T refers to the additional component

Other Features

• The 3D Buildings feature is able to reference the buildings displayed on the map as well. Some buildings will be grey images "extruded" from the map, other buildings will be life like representations of the actual property.
• With Automatic Time Zone Transition, you'll never have to remember to set the time as you travel. When the unit acquires a position fix, it automatically sets the unit to the correct time zone.
• MP3 player compatible with audiobook playback
• JPEG picture viewer
• FM transmitter plays voice prompts, MP3s, audio books, and more, directly through your vehicle's stereo system
• Compatible with optional content plug-ins available via SD card, such as the Garmin Travel Guides and Garmin SaversGuide, which provide detailed data for attractions and information on nearby merchants offering discounts.
• Add custom points of interest (POIs) from third parties such as school zones and safety cameras
• Travel tools: World travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more

What's in the Box
nüvi 765T preloaded with maps of North America (United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico), vehicle suction cup mount, FM traffic receiver with vehicle power cable, USB cable, Dashboard disc, Quick start manual
Notes:

• Optional software for language translation, detailed travel guides, and savings programs allow you to customize your nüvi to fit your travel needs
• The FM transmitter feature is only available in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand
• Like most USB mass storage devices, the nüvi is not compatible with Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me. 

Customer Reviews

An Excellent GPS device.
This Nuvi does several things very well, and I've yet to discover any serious shortcomings. My thoughts:

Navigation: Excellent, as is typical with Garmin units. On a couple of occasions the voice (right now I'm using Australian Karen) told me my destination was on the wrong side of the street.

Map: The map is clear, the refresh rate is fast, and all of the right information is provided on-screen, including details for upcoming turns and junctions, speed limit, and traffic alerts. It's annoying that I can't choose to switch the display of my current speed to some other piece of info. I already have a speedometer. The 3D buildings feature seems pretty gimmicky, and is implemented sporadically, even in downtown Boston. When there is coverage, most buildings are monochromatic blocks, and not the photo-realistic buildings seen in screenshots.

Lane Assist: This feature has been spot-on so far. It's nice driving in a new area and not getting flustered about being in the wrong lane. I have yet to see the full-screen 3D Lane Assist Junction View shown in the many 765t screenshots -- however, I've done very little highway driving, and I believe this screen requires that the user press the top-left (upcoming turn icon).

>>>>>UPDATE: After some highway driving, it turns out that the full-screen 3D Lane Assist Junction View shows up automatically before potentially tricky highway junctions. Very nice.

Traffic: As far as I know, I have not been re-routed because of traffic. However, it's very easy to bring up a list of major roads and their current traffic conditions, and to avoid them at will. The pop-up advertising associated with the "free" traffic is pretty subtle, and never distracting.

Bluetooth: I'm impressed with this feature so far. It mated with my phone (old Motorola RAZR V3) easily, importing all of my contacts in the process. The ability to instantly dial any point of interest (e.g., to check on store hours) is brilliant. The volume from the speaker is reasonably loud. I also tried sending the audio to my car stereo using an audio cable, and the output seemed a bit low (I had to turn my car stereo way up). I have not yet tried sending the audio to my car stereo using the FM transmitter. I called my voicemail, and the built-in microphone picks up my voice reasonably well with the engine running. I'm not sure how well it would work with highway speeds. I'm told that the cheap Garmin microphone (which plugs into the cradle, not the unit) improves voice quality.

>>>>>UPDATE: This is true -- the microphone is an improvement, though it adds yet another long cord to your long cord collection. Also, I've tried the FM transmitter. It works, albeit with a certain amount of static. I imagine this feature would intolerable if you are driving a long way.

Other features: I haven't used the SD card slot for anything. I haven't tried the photo viewer or the mp3 player, and I probably won't.

Build Quality: Seems solid. The unit has a certain heft to it, and it's covered in a soft, rubbery coating. I've also dropped it already (because I'm an idiot) -- still working beautifully.

Suggested improvements: Garmin doesn't make it easy to look up the actual coordinates (latitude and longitude) for favorites or points of interest. This information should be available at the press of a button.

Needless to say, I'm pleased with my purchase. The 756t is not cheap right now, and if you can live without the new features, you might be better off with an older unit. That said, if you're looking for a gps device with all of the latest features and compatibility, this seems to be a solid pick.
Buy a 265 instead
I'll try to make this a unique review by comparing the pros and cons of FOUR different Garmin units I've tried: c330, 265t, 765t, and the 885t. There are few reviews that offer face-off comparisons between models which can assist in making a purchasing choice. I'll share some highlights for each model, beginning with the one I've owned for over three years. Bottom line: If you want to go cheap, the c330 still works fine with new maps loaded - I literally drove all over the country and rarely had any problems. If you are looking for a new model, get the 265t and you won't be disappointed. Don't buy the 765t. Consider the 885t but be ready to return if the volume output is too low.

Note - with all models I had the latest firmware updates and maps at time of writing the review.

>> Streetpilot C330. Owned it over 3 years. It is an older model, and not flat like all new models today. Instead of flat, it has something of a triangular shape, and the mount has takes up more space. It is harder to pack in bag or suitcase because of this, and is the primary reason I decided to upgrade. To its credit, it is built more sturdily than any of the new models. I'm sure it could survive multiple falls. The screen is smaller, but plenty bright and easy enough to read when the sunlight falls on it. The touchscreen is sensitive and I never had much complaint with it. It is has an important feature missing from all new models - a wheel volume control on the side. All new models make you hit an icon on the screen to adjust the volume, and then you must touch again to change the volume in increments, and touch one more time to return to the map. The volume is plenty loud on the c330, which is not always the case with newer models. The icons on the map are simpler. For instance, the vehicle is a blue triangle rather than a car. The maps are not as detailed, but sufficiently so. There are no spoken street names, but the prompts are good enough to get you where you want. You can still purchase map updates that will load on the unit, although the onboard memory can only support a region of the US at a time. The GPS receiver is fine most of the time, but failed me in Chicago with all the tall buildings, and I sometimes had to wait for service when leaving a rental car garage. Overall, it is a very good unit and Garmin would do well with future models to bring back the side volume control, and the tank-like build quality.

>> 265t. Owned it about two weeks so far. This is the most recent model I've purchased, and I am impressed. I will lead with a weakness, however. I bought a refurbished model on Amazon. It saved me about $40 over a new model, but I had to contact Garmin multiple times to get the free map update. It had been previously registered and the free map update was not available. Garmin had to reset the registration. I wrote them and sent a copy of my purchase receipt, and they reset the registration. Other than this, I would not have realized it is refurbished just by looking at it. The operation is also fine.

I want to emphasize something - you really don't need a widescreen model (e.g, 265wt). Trust me on this. The only thing afforded by widescreen is the QUERTY-style keyboard. A few people might miss it, but I don't even though I'm a daily user of keyboards. The widescreen gives you more visible map coverage on the left and right, but it is not needed for navigating. Everything you need to see is in plain view on the squarish screen of the 265t. To best of my knowledge, all of the other functions are the same. The 265t is also smaller and easier to stow away. Save yourself the extra dough and get the 265t over the 265wt.

The 265 shares the most important features as the more expensive 700 and 800 series. In fact, I only miss a couple of things from these other models. For instance, the 800 series can be controlled by speaking commands - very nice. The 700 series can display time remaining to destination, or distance to destination. Handy! I understand there are more flexible routing options with the 700 and 800, but I never use those so can't comment. Gpsmagazine.com claims the 700 and 800 have stronger GPS receivers, but I noticed I can get a signal from inside of my home with the 265, so I am hoping that it works just as well as the 700/800 in cities with big building all around. The 265 lacks 3D buildings, lane assist, and junction view. Lane assist is helpful, but the other two only show up once in a while depending on your location. It lacks a built-in MP3 player, but I don't think I miss that either (more on my experience with this below). The 265 has smooth scrolling of the map like the 765, which the 885 lacks. It also has free traffic service, but so far I haven't benefitted from this (more below). One thing better about the 265 is the volume. It is just as loud as the c330, louder than the 765t, and MUCH louder than the 885. Using the bluetooth, I can make a phone call and hear and be heard without any problems. Overall, I think the 265 would be a far better bargain for most people - saving $100-$250 over the high end models but sill including great features.

>> 765t. Used it for a couple of months then returned. I won't repeat what I said above. Actually, I was really disappointed with this model for a couple of reasons. The traffic feature did not work at all for me. I drove over 500 miles to DC, and then back, and it never helped me once. I hit construction. No warning. I hit accident backups. No warnings. I got stuck in horrible downtown DC traffic, and was told I would be delayed 3 minutes, which stretched into 2 hours! Here is what I found unforgiveable, though. It sometimes told me to turn in one direction, then correct itself after I made the turn to get me going the other way. At first I thought it was me, but no, the darn thing actually got the turn direction wrong about 5% of the time! This is totally inexcusable, especially when you are entering or leaving a highway. If you are told to go onto an onramp, and then it changes its mind, you could spend another 5-10 minutes getting turned around again. I don't know why this unit had this problem. It was the one reason I had to return it. I recommend purchases from Sam's Club or Costco, which allow you to return items months later (hold onto that receipt!).

The bluetooth worked for my phone, and the volume was good enough to make calls, although callers told me I was hard to hear sometimes. I did not try the MP3 player to see whether the volume was sufficient. The FM transmitter is a joke - the signal is super weak and unuseable. Some reviews say to get an external FM transmitter to compensate, but that means spending more money and seems silly.

On the plus side, I used the 3D building view to help me find the Lincoln Memorial on foot in DC, but that was only the one time it helped me. The junction assist (photo realism for highway interchanges) is nice, but you will only see it in some cities.

>> 885t. Used it for 3 weeks then returned. I'll lead with the one problem I had with my unit that caused me to return it. The volume was too low. I could hear the turn prompts well enough. But it was not nearly loud enough when driving at highway speeds for phone calls or the MP3 playback. When making calls, I could not hear the caller very well, and could not be heard clearly. When using the MP3 player, I really strained to hear an audiobook, and using earbuds did not help any. It could have been a problem with my particular unit. I can't say. I may purchase another unit to see if the volume is better. Like the 765, the FM transmitter is unuseable.

However, I really liked controlling the unit through speech commands. It works very well, and is safer to do than taking your hands off the wheel to use the touch screen. You may to strap a button onto your steering wheel that is used to engage the speach recognition. It takes getting used to having it there when turning the wheel and feeling it under your grip sometimes. Even so, if they put this feature on all of their other units it would be AWESOME. Please, Garmin, keep this feature for the future! I also liked the MSN Direct service. The traffic service actually worked for me, much better than on the 765t. You can see weather forcasts and even look at a local weather radar. This can be helpful if you are driving a long ways and concerned about heading into a storm. You also can monitor stock prices, get fuel prices for nearby gas stations, and movie times. I found however movie times were not displayed for second run (discount) theaters in our area.

Lane assist and junction view worked as well as the 765t. I did not have problems with the unit telling me to go the wrong way, like I did with the 765t. As I said above, I might buy another 885t to see if the volume issue was specific to the first unit and not the model.
Great so far
I received my 765T a few days ago and love it so far. After reading some up and down reviews, I wasn't certain what to expect. I am pleasantly surprised.

To start, the unit's volume is plenty loud, even at highway speeds. The screen is readable at all times, and automatically changes to a darkened "night mode" at night - very easy on the eyes. You can force it to day or night mode, if desired.

The map's movement and fluidity is tremendous. It has a very natural looking motion at all times. Garmin claims the unit updates at 10fps, and it seems to be about that. I am still deciding if I prefer 3D or 2D mode yet, but both are great. I tested routing on a few trips and the navigation worked perfectly. Directions were given in plenty of time, and repeated at appropriate intervals. When just driving (not navigating) the green bar at the top displays your current road, and even displays the next exit when driving (not navigating) on major highways. This was unexpected for me and really cool! The voice on the unit is clear.

The overall feel of the software is great. The menus move quickly and seem logically laid out. You can add categories to your favorites to better organize them. This helped a lot, since favorites are sorted by default via distance from your current location. Creating folders for your favorites works very well. You can even add a picture (and phone #) to your favorites. Very nice!

As for Bluetooth: I paired the 765 with my Blackberry Storm easily, and everything works flawlessly. My phone's contacts transferred immediately, and I can call Points of Interest and people from my contacts easily, with 1 touch. I do not have any of the bluetooth issues described in other places. No issues at all. So I'm either lucky or maybe there is some inconsistency in the hardware. More likely, different combinations of cell phones and GPS units lead to varying results. IMPORTANT: I did update the unit to it's latest firmware, which many say have helped their bluetooth connections.

I haven't been to an area with a traffic reception signal yet, so I can't comment on the traffic function.

All the other niceties work well for me also: The picture viewer, MP3 player, etc all work as advertised. I even put 1 of my pics as the startup image.

In conclusion, I am very pleased with the product so far. This is a great product that I would highly recommend.