Review of the Garmin Nuvi 760 Hardware

There have been a bunch of changes to the new ‘premier’ 700 series units, and the Nuvi 760 (with exception to the 770 which also adds European and transatlantic data) is easily the most stacked and high end unit available as 2008 comes around the corner.

Design & Appearance of the Nuvi 760

An ultra sleek and sophisticated new design has been adopted for the nuvi 750, nuvi 760 and nuvi 770, with the ultra smooth and minimalistic ‘slim form factor’ of the recent 200 series being integrated with the larger and more vivid 4.3″ wide screen touchscreen display and some hot new color (gunmetal / metallic type of finish)

The Garmin Nuvi 760′s internal antenna / signal strength

Also changed from the previous top of the line nuvi 6XX series, is that now we have an integrated yet just as receptive and powerful internal antenna – something you will be quite happy with if you have owned a previous garmin gps, as the internal antenna adds to the aesthetic appeal while also making it easier to handle and mount without comprising the strength of reception.

Physical Interface on the Garmin 760

On the top of the new garmin 760 / 750 / 770 design you have a sliding power switch, with slide and hold function to turn on the device, and also the ability to lock it as to not make undesired slides while handling the unit or when its in your pocket etc…

You still have the SD memory card expansion slot along the left hand side of the unit for storage, upgrades, multimedia playing… along with a headphone jack for quiet listening and the usb and power connection are found along the bottom of the unit.

Garmin’s Nuvi 760 GPS mounting

The mounting of the garmin nuvi 760, nuvi 750, and nuvi 770 are just great and simple now – where GPS mounting has been a customer complaint many times over – the simple ball and socket joint mounting is sturdy and reliable (nothing more frustrating then seeing your new expensive toy going smash) and allows for simple small adjustments and fast unmounting / remounting on the fly.

The 700 series new 4.3″ touchscreen

If you have ever owned a GPS system before, one of the most noticeable and useful improvements you would probably notice right away with the garmin nuvi 770, nuvi 760 and nuvi 750 series PTA’s (personal travel assistants) is the incredible bright and easy to read 4.3 inch wide touchscreen display. It is by far the brightness and most vivid screen I have seen thus far, with no issues of being able to read small text or fuzzy symbols coming up like it has so frequently has for myself on older units. The larger touch screen has incredible sense, and ever a person like me with clumsy and fat fingers can easily type on the new keyboard system (finally both qwerty & normal keyboard modes both optional!)

Stay tuned for more comprehensive garmin nuvi 760 reviews covering the navigation experience and software / user interface aspects of this unit

I just spent a bunch of time doing a whole bunch of research into what’s new and changed on the garmin nuvi 760 gps, and having owned a nuvi 350 & 660 before this one, I am 100% confident that this will be the most popular selling system in the first half of 2008. They have updated the software as well as hardware, fixed a few of the minor issues of the 300/600 lines and finally added some much anticipated features. It seems they have cleaned up and more logically sorted out the interface and menus as well to help make it even more simplistic, data rich and capable for all sorts of activities and travels.

I haven’t personally used the garmin nuvi 760 GPS system yet so I don’t want to give an unbiased or inexperienced review of it… but if early indications and nuvi 750 reviews now flowing in, coupled with the near legendary Garmin GPS satisfaction rate are any indication – this is going to be one of the hottest gadgets and sellers for the holidays!

I’ll get my unit in a couple of days and will take a few drives and trips around town with it and report back with an in-depth analyzed and comparative review for those of you looking to compare the older 360 and 660 units to the more expensive but more feature rich “premiere” series Nuvi 760.

We just got the Garmin 760 and couldn’t be happier! We already have a factory GPS solution in our Lexus, but a quick side by side comparison from the store to our home was enough evidence that the Nuvi 760 GPS was a much more enjoyable and reliable experience, and will be a great add-on for our frequent travels around the States and Canada.

I also travel frequently on business through lots of smaller cities and confusing large cities to seminars, and although many of the rental cars come equipped these days with GPS systems – I’m sure that bringing my Nuvi 760 will help save me a bunch of headaches, time, and money, as well as explore the places I visit with the rather impressive and extensive points of interest guides found on the Garmin Nuvi 760

I’m sure that as December and January approach this will drop a bit in price, so if you are a penny pincher I would wait a little while before purchasing, patience isn’t a personal virtue of mine however and I had to preorder it as soon as I was able – I’m definitely not sweating the extra 20-50 I could have saved if I had waited a couple months though, as all reviews and previews and the legendary Garmin brand make me 100% confident this little gizmo will be worth every penny!

My first decent sized drive with the Nuvi 760 GPS was a great one, and it’s looking like this is going to be one of the purchases that you are just 110% satisfied and in retrospect wouldn’t have changed anything! This thing is great, easy to use and looks so much better then all of the other GPS systems of 2005/2006… I’ve always wanted one but something held me off for some reason, and when a friend was talking about this over a game of cards I knew that I was finally going to crack and buy one.

There were but a few minor issues, first was the internal speaker which at some times can have somewhat of a tin can effect, and kind of has troubles with some funky pronounced street names. It is adequately loud however and the directions are clear, crisp and well timed as to have not have cause me any kind of anxiety about them coming too early or late.

Another thing that Garmin could use is an included manual, as I’m by no means the most technologically adept person and the fact that the manual is found online and not in the product box kind of had me worried… before I got a chance to use it and then it was completely evident that even an idiot could work around the well constructed and efficiently laid out interface and menus on the touch screen.

Aside from those two things I couldn’t really think about any cons to add to this garmin nuvi 760 reviews, and if I had enough time I could extend this testimonial to absurd lengths talking about the pros. I will give the garmin 760 GPS a 9 out of 10 rating, with the above issues and a large price tag, it’s simply awesome and with price drops will approach near perfection in my opinion!

We decided to buy the Garmin nuvi 760 for our family vehicle even though we already own a garmin nuvi 660 system… Can’t wait to take advantage of this newer unit, as the nuvi 660 is constantly in use and with more then 1 family vehicle we find ourselves arguing who will get to use it and which vehicle it will go in – so hopefully with the 760 there won’t be so much drama as we will both have one!

I’m really digging the new look of the Nuvi 760 and after doing some initial research on what has been changed for the garmin 760 over the previous generations I am truly excited to take it with us to Canada during the Christmas holidays.

Lots about the new garmin nuvi 760 is totally exciting and fresh to market so I will come back when I am able to give a more comprehensive hands on review of the unit as I get more experience and miles of using it!

The garmin nüvi 760, nüvi 750 and nüvi 770 still maintain all the bells and whistles of the old ‘grace de coup’ 650/660/670 models, with several notable additions:

Compare Garmin Nuvi 760 / 750 / 770 VS other series:

• Tracking waypoints for where the unit was last unmounted (where did i park that darn car… oh yah!??)
• Storing and easy to pull up route (bring up where you go most frequently)
• Added info such as speed limits on current road (oh man, i couldve bought something with that speeding fine!)
• All nuvi 700′s come standard with FM receiver to play the sounds through cars audio system (man my speakers are pimping!)
• The darn cool design and color… new antenna keeps it sleek and stylish, gun metal metallic colors are awesome too!

The differences when you compare the three are similar to how garmin’s modeling structure has always worked with X50 - X60 - X70 systems:

Compare Garmin Nuvi 760 vs 770 vs 750:

• The Garmin nüvi 750 is the base unit… recommend for those without need for bluetooth, traffic receiver, and planning on only traveling within USA
• The Garmin nüvi 760 adds bluetooth hands free calling, an FM traffic receiver for navigating around jam and a few other feature differences… recommended for those that can take advantage of bluetooth and travel frequently through volatile traffic conditions in North America
• The Garmin nüvi 770 adds bluetooth, the FM traffic receiver, and adds transatlantic preloaded maps and location databases which costs about $200-250 to update lesser units with same data… recommended for people that may or intend to travel cross continent

Stay tuned for a more in-depth analysis, compare charts and garmin nuvi 760 reviews!