Garmin Nuvi 780: Advanced Navigation Plus MSN Direct

(Price: $500 - $650)

Pros:

• MSN Direct adds a suite of valuable services.
• Nuvi 780 has everything a road warrior needs.
• Solid navigation and route planning.

Con:

• Speaker should produce higher volume at max setting.

The Garmin Nuvi 780 is part of the five-model 700-series line, which ranges in price from $500 to $850. The Nuvi 780 is the only model in the 700 series that supports the MSN Direct service, reviewed in detail in an accompanying article.

The 700 series is designed for users who want a full range of advanced features, including a 4.3-inch (diagonal) widescreen, text-to-speech directions, advanced route planning, hands-free calling with a Bluetooth-compatible phone, and lots of extras.

The Nuvi 780 is a real road-warrior's tool. If the idea of rolling down the highway following a pre-set, multi-stop route, while making hands-free calls, and keeping an eye on traffic congestion along your route appeals to you, the 780 could be ideal.

Add on a suite of additional services from MSN Direct (gas prices, weather reports, movie times, stock quotes, news headlines, traffic reports, local events, and the ability to send destinations to the your GPS from your home computer), and you have a powerful and versatile travel companion in the Nuvi 780.

As you might expect, the Garmin Nuvi 780 has the basics down cold. Its 4.3-inch (diagonal) screen is bright and sharp, The menu system is well-thought-out and relatively easy to master, and the mapping database and routing features are state-of-the-art (although no GPS system is perfect).

After that, it comes down to details, and which features are important to you. To navigate with the 780, as with other Garmins, just touch "Where to?" on the opening screen. You can enter an address, "go home" (you pre-set your home address during setup), search points of interest (food, fuel, transit, lodging, shopping, etc.). Other navigate options include favorites, intersections, and cities.

Navigation features of note on the Nuvi 780 include navigation from destinations found via MSN Direct, navigation via routes you have pre-set, and favorites that you have pre-set.

If you have subscribed to MSN Direct (reviewed in detail here) and you search for the best gas price in your region, for example, when you identify the station with the best price, simply press on the station name and a route will automatically be created for you. Same for movies, local events, etc.

You may also navigate via a pre-set route (you may save up to 10 pre-set routes). Simply press "Where to?" then "Routes" and add new start and end points. The Nuvi will display a route overview, which you can save. You may also edit the pre-set routes, adding or removing points, manually reorder points, or instruct the Nuvi 780 to "optimally" reorder points.

In my road tests, the Nuvi 780 calculated direct and fast routes, and is among the best I've tried in this category. The ability to wirelessly "send to GPS" pre-selected destinations from your computer directly to your Nuvi via MSN direct is an excellent feature described in more detail here.

When you have selected your destination or route, the Nuvi 780 provides outstanding guidance to get you there. As you approach upcoming turns, the display zooms back to give you an overview of the upcoming turn (in 3D) and overlays a large white arrow showing you the turn. Better yet, if there are two turns in close succession, the display will pop two separate arrows. In addition, the Nuvi 780 has text-to-speech, so you will hear the street names or route numbers for upcoming turns.

The only downside to the navigation package is speaker volume. Speaker volume set at 100 percent should be louder so that it can be heard easily when there is a lot of road noise and/or music is playing in the vehicle. The Nuvi 780 has an FM transmitter to send sound to your car's FM radio, but I've found these to be less than useful due to limited free FM station numbers in most regions.

Also, unlike some other high-end navigators, the 780 does not have a feature that adjusts volume up or down automatically depending on the amount of ambient noise.

GPS makers use a wide variety of mounting systems, but the higher-end Garmins, including the 780, use a system that is among the very best. The 780 with MSN direct has just one cable that leads to the vehicle power port. The power port jack includes a built-in MSN Direct FM receiver. Very clean.

At the windshield, the 780 features a cradle that lets you pop the GPS in and out easily at the press of a button. No need to plug and unplug a cable. What's more, when you remove the 780 from its cradle, it "remembers" your precise location and saves it as "last position" in your favorites menu. If you take your 780 with you when you leave your car in a huge parking lot or in town, just walk back to your "last position" to find it.