Walk, Drive, or Ride, Nuvi 550 has it covered

Author's Rating:

Pros: Waterproof!
User-replaceable, rechargable battery
Easy to program
numerous mounting options
works well on motorcycle

Cons: Not "glove-friendly"
Battery life
Low volume

The Bottom Line: 
Well worth the money. Walking, Driving, Boating, Cycling modes. Available Traffic Service, waterproof, replaceable battery,  and very easy to use. Packed with features!

Author's Review
I purchased my Nuvi 550 in September of 2009 to replace a Mio (another review for another time. Suffice to say, I was NOT happy with it) which refused to power-up. Using some lessons learned from the old GPS, there was certain criteria I was hoping to fulfill with the new unit:
Major manufacturer (ease in finding accessories and mounting options)
Waterproof, for use on my motorcycle
user replaceable battery
Priced below $250.00


After trying out a display unit, I ordered a unit through TigerDirect.com. Upon its arrival, I dug in. The box contains the GPS unit, vehicle power cord, suction-cup mounting bracket, and an adhesive-backed disc, used for textured surfaces to enable suction cup to, well...suck. Also included is a pre-loaded map of North America (or, if you're on the other side of the ocean, Europe), and instructions. If one wants additional maps, or wishes to display pictures, there is a micro-sd slot underneath the battery cover.


The 550 has several unique features (at least, in its price class) that won me over, the first being a user-replaceable battery. I could go on a multi-paragraph rant on companies (Garmin included) feeling the need to make "disposable electronics". Not only is the battery replaceable, but its price is reasonable...about 37 dollars for a Garmin piece, half that for an ebay knockoff. When fully charged, the battery is rated at a generous 8 hours of use.


The second, and probably most important to me, is the Nuvi 550 (and its sibling, the 500) is waterproof . Not just water-resistant, waterproof to IPX-7 standards, which specifies that the unit can be SUBMERGED in water up to 1 meter. As a cycle rider and occasional hiker, I can't express my happiness over finding a unit that will face the same weather I do. Yes, there is a motorcycle-specific Garmin series, but prices start at $600.00 for the Zumo 220, and climbs rapidly to the four digit mark for the Zumo 665. And those units lack the walking mode that the 550 includes in its repertoire.


On power-up, the unit acquired satellites in under a minute. In cases where I turned it back on in same place I powered it off at, acquisition was a scant 20 seconds. When powered up, the user is faced with two options, "Where To?" or "View Map". Click on "Where To", and a number of options exist, including recently found addresses, an extensive POI database, custom routes (with the ability to create a route with several stops), and a "tracback" feature. There is also a Geo-caching program, but I haven't tried it out. With an address selected, the route is quickly calculated. With its Text-To-Speech feature, you will know to "make a right turn at Elm Street" without having to take your eyes off the road. If you do miss your turn, recalculations are quick and pretty accurate.


While traveling towards your destination, the Nuvi has a well laid out navigation screen showing:distance to, direction, and street name of your next turn; current travel speed (and in many cases a sign showing the roadways speed limit); and the estimated time of your arrival. One fun extra is the ability to change icon of the vehicle indicator, from feet to motorcycles to cars (and several more downloadable from the Garmin site...during Halloween, I got a kick out of a skeleton hand pointing towards my destination). In addition to the detailed main screen, several interesting, and in one case, potentially lifesaving features are accessable by a quick touch to certain portions of the screen. A touch to the "next turn indicator" brings up a detailed screen showing where your next turn will be. Touch the text portion and the screen will show a list of upcoming actions. The most interesting (at least to statistic geeks like me) is the trip computer, accessed by a touch to the speed indicator in the lower corner. There is a compass, a speedometer, distance traveled and remaining, overall average speed, a moving average, and a max speed. If that isn't enough, there is a total traveling time, time in motion, and even time stopped!


And the most useful screen in an emergency is called "Where Am I?" and is accessed by touching the vehicle indicator. On that screen is the current GPS coordinates, the nearest address, nearest intersection as well as a list of Hospitals, Police Departments, and Fuel stations. This actually did come in handy on night while traveling in another state. I had come upon a bad single vehicle accident. While calling 911 I was able to tell them not only the street I was on, but also the house number I was near.


So, after this long-winded praise, do I have any complaints? Very few. First would be the volume of the announcer, it could be louder. But that also seems to be a common complaint with all GPS units. Second complaint is with the touch screen. It is very receptive to touch, and its zones are sized well and fairly easy to find, but I wish it was more "glove friendly"...this isn't just a motorcycle related complaint, as I have used it during hikes and hunts in the woods wearing winter gear. Third complaint is battery life. According to manufacturer the 550's battery should last 8 hours. The best I have eeked out of it is 5.5 hours with the unit constantly on, and tracking...but individual units may vary more or less.  And last is just an oddity. When accessing "Where Am I" around my area, literally ½ mile from our Townships Police Department, it does not show up on the list. It does show the neighboring Borough of the same name, which may be the reason for the issue. I would like to comment on other complaints of "too bulky". The unit is still small enough and light enough to fit in a shirt pocket, and when the added benefits of the replaceable battery and the waterproofing of the unit, it is a good tradeoff.


Overall, I wouldn't hesitate recommending it to others. Easy to program, Different mounting systems are easily found and installed, customizable with features and maps from Garmin's site, available Real-time Traffic info, modes for Walking Bicycling, Driving or Boating leaves no terrain uncovered. Did I mention user-replaceable battery and WATERPROOF?