Product Description

The Garmin nuvi 500 will guide you while you drive, hike, bike or boat. Go sightseeing with geotagged images from Garmin Connect Photos or see your terrain with the digital elevation model basemap. 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 millions of 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. Geocaching, including Wherigo Platform player Built-in DEM Basemap (Digital Elevation Model) 3.5 QVGA color antiglare TFT with white Backlight Touchscreen Display - 320 x 240 Pixels User replaceable lithium-ion battery - up to 8 hours depending on use Dimensions - Width 4.21 x Height 3.35 x Depth 0.9 (10.7x8.5x2.3cm) Weight - 7.6 ounces (215 grams)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1303 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Garmin
• Model: NUVI 500
• Dimensions: 4.21" h x 3.30" w x .90" l, .50 pounds
• Native resolution: 320 x 240
• Display size: 3.5

Features

• High-Sensitivity GPS Receiver For Improved Performance And Reception
• Built-In 3D Basemap
• Includes Built-In Lower 48 Us States Topographic Maps
• 3.5-Inch Display, 320 X 240 Pixels
• Easy Touch-Screen Interface

Amazon.com

	SelectaGPS.com | About SelectaGPS | Tracking Package   Bookmark it Print it
GPS Tutorials GPS News GPS Jobs GPS Products GPS Books GPS Resources
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. 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 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. Choose from Panoramio's collection of photos from around the world. Easy to use interface displays photos on Google Maps. Search for photos by location name or map area boundary. Transfer photos directly from Garmin Connect to device with the Garmin Communicator. View photos in Google Earth. Supports Internet Explorer 6+, Firefox 2+, Safari 3+ on Windows and Mac. 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.
| Guarantee Protection | Privacy | Credit Card & Payment | Refund | Returns Policy | Shipping in the United State | International Shipping | Your Account | Contact Us | copyright ©2008 All rights reserved. selectaGPS.com

Customer Reviews

Portable GPS
I bought this GPS system for a friend who travels on business. He brought it with him when we went skiing. We found it to be easy to use, with a very clear screen. It's completely portable which is very handy if you have more than one vehicle. The audio comments can be turned on or off. We would highly recommend this GPS system.

Great choice in an all-around GPS receiver
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.)

Works great for geocaching
The unit works almost flawlessly for geocaching. I found one gpx file that causes the unit to power off when you try to navigate to the cache. Garmin is aware of the problem and is working on a fix. However, this happened only once so far...but I can't give it 5 stars until garmin resolves it.

The paperless geocaching is a nice feature. You can use other nuvis for geocaching, but this one makes it easy to view caches. Using garmin's communicator, you can d/l caches to your unit. You then can view the cache info, such as difficulty, terrain, hints and such. The geocaches show up on your map while driving, so you can observe caches nearby.

Definitely upgrade your firmware -- it fixes some bugs. Accuracy seems pretty good (depends on # of satellites available). Several times, the compass told us we were 1 ft away -- and we were! Usually it gets us within 10 ft.

Works great in the car too! The 3.5" screen seem fine. Just wish it spoke street names (and a strap to make it easy to carry when geocaching).

All in all, we're happy with the unit.