Routeplanners: SatNav & GPS News

The nüvi 660 takes all of the qualities that earned its predecessors accolades and adds a few new features�€”to make this nüvi Garmin’s most compelling ever.

The biggest new feature of the nüvi 660 is its larger screen. Measuring 0.9 by 4.9 by 2.9 inches and weighing 6.2 ounces, the device sports a large, 4.3-inch display that has an impressive resolution of 480 by 272 pixels (QVGA). Even with the large screen, Garmin rates the battery life of the nüvi between 3 and 7 hours, depending on how you use Bluetooth, MP3 playback, and other variables.

The nüvi 660 has the same Bluetooth phone interface found on the nüvi 360. Pairing a Bluetooth phone is a simple process that takes less than a minute. There is a listing of compatible phones and capabilities on Garmin’s Web site. However it will pair with phones not listed on the website

When a handset is paired with the nüvi 660, a phone icon appears on the main menu. A tap of the phone icon brings up options to dial from a dial pad, POIs, your phone’s contact list, or even your calling history. If you are navigating during a phone call, voice prompts are muted until you disconnect your call. During your call, a phone pops up on the screen. A tap of that icon lets you disconnect. You can also dial POIs from the Find POI menu, a nice feature.

Garmin has also integrated real-time traffic info into the nüvi 660. In a feature first introduced with the Garmin StreetPilot C550, the nüvi 660 gets its traffic data from a receiver that’s integrated into the 12-volt power adapter. A single cable delivers both power and traffic data to the suction-cup mounting bracket, which then passes it all along to the mounted nüvi 660.

Three months of traffic data (provided by Total Traffic Network) are included with the US Version. Thereafter, a subscription is required. When traffic data is received, an alert appears on the menu screen. If you hit the traffic icon, you’ll see a list of traffic incidents, arranged in ascending distance from your current location. Similarly, if there’s a traffic problem on your planned route, you can have the nüvi 660 reroute you around it.

Previous nüvis have multimedia capabilities. They can play MP3 tracks and audible book files. They also let you view images in a slide show. The nüvi 660 includes all of these features, but throws in an FM transmitter as well, so you can play music and receive navigation voice prompts through your car stereo. Like the traffic receiver, an FM interface isn’t really new technology. Garmin first introduced this ability on the StreetPilot 2730. If your vehicle’s stereo has an audio input jack, you’ll get much better results by connecting it to the nüvi’s audio output jack.

The Garmin nüvi 660 uses the same user interface found on virtually all other Garmin products. The main menu has an entry for “Where to” and “View Map.” And like the other nüvis, there’s a menu choice for the Travel Kit that gives you access to the Language Guide, Travel Guide, SaversGuide, MP3 Player, Audible Book Player, Picture Viewer, World Clock, currency and measurement converters, and calculator.

My road tests of the nüvi 660 yielded no surprises. Like all Garmin products, the nüvi 660 is based on NAVTEQ mapping data. The test routes generated on it were identical to those from other Garmin products and very accurate. The device’s vehicle-routing profiles include Car/Motorcycle, Pedestrian, Bicycle, Truck, Bus, Emergency, and Taxi. Voice prompts were given at appropriate intervals. Garmin’s text-to-speech converter announced street names accurately.