New Garmin 590lm just arrived in the post.....

Will post a review once I have had a chance to play with it

Had to get a new sat nav after my 550 got nicked so will see if 5 years of development shows.

Still trying not to think about the price......

Wish I'd known about that one - just bought a 660.............

Might have been tempted.

Al

Bought the 350 last week looks good so far . Looking forward to your review ...

What sort of connection does it have? Are they similar or same as the 660 ? I.e power audio in & out ? Or is it all Bluetooth. Looking at this instead of nav 5 for the k when it arrives.

In the box


Garmin unit, battery (removable - no need for a screwdriver either - that's a plus)
Manuals - All you get is quick start guide, a bigger booklet of warnings and very basic mounting instructions (which literally say if you are an auto electrician, crack on you know what to do, if not, get someone else to do it) all in 15 different languages.
Bike gubbins: cradle, cradle cover, ram mount & bolts for bar, alternative ram mount bolts throttle/clutch body on handlebars (no good for a GS as far as I can see)
USB cable for PC
Car gubbins - suction mount, cradle, cigarette lighter cable

Note: no case which is pretty mean given the £540+ price tag - expect to pay an extra £23 or so if buying from Garmin

Yellow Peril said:

What sort of connection does it have? Are they similar or same as the 660 ? I.e power audio in & out ? Or is it all Bluetooth. Looking at this instead of nav 5 for the k when it arrives.

Click to expand...

Connections:

Rear of unit - note bottom left - micro sd card has to be fitted before you put the battery in. Also note bottom right - rubberised cover for usb port


Cradle - the unit itself does not have any jacks/sockets except for the usb. All outputs/inputs are part of the cables from the cradle which will end up under your seat once fitted. There is an Audio in, Audio out, Mic in & USB charging cable (which is long enough to reach your top box - in fact, having fitted the cradle last night, the cables are about 50cm too long so you either have to cut them or coil them.



Outputs/Input

A few pics of the fitting - The only lead I need is the audio out so this is tucked into the tank bad attachment for use when needed. The rest of the cables are coiled in the under seat tray. It's ok for a first fix, but there is an awful lot of cable to deal with so I will probably cut them down. The usb cable is ridiculous - it's long enough to go around the back of the top box!!. I don't need it as if I want to charge something, I have a powered tank bag or, better still, I do it before I leave!



You can see here how chunky the cable was - I have wrapped about 30cm in self amalgamating tape to make it easier to route the cable - it splits into 4 strands before you get to the seat area.

That's how much cable you have left after routing under the tank!!

Note the large coil of spare cable in the under seat tray - before you start picking nits about neatness, I hadn't finished yet.

and if you have a second bike, Garmin will scr*w you for a small fortune for a new bespoke mount and then another one for the power lead

Looks smart. I like new farkles Long cables are a PITA but I suppose they have to cater for all scenarios. The USB on the 660 cradle can be used for accessories such as a traffic receiver, not sure if the 590 is the same in that respect or what other stuff you can plug in there, maybe some information on that on the Garmin website?

Initial Impressions after one trip

1. I miss the buttons on my old 550 - simple and tactile - I hate sliders for things like volume and brightness as they are difficult to set accurately first time with gloves on. I can see what the NAV V uses them

2. iPhone app that connects to the unit is a bit gimmicky. It gives real time weather, traffic, parking info etc (you have to pay extra for these services). I have to question whether you need it -
to see the weather, look up,
traffic info - isn;t that why I ride a bike?
Real time safety cameras - as far as I can tell this relies on people telling garmin where the cameras are so you have to question if it is accurate.
parking - it's a bike FFS
this is a distraction and not worth paying extra for
links to traffic cameras - why? I have better things to do that watch traffic porn


3. bluetooth connect to the iPhone - works well - I can operate all my music through the unit in the same way as my phone - not as easy to do on the move as the 550 (miss those buttons). NOTE - if you turn the unit on without a headset connected, your phone starts playing over the loudspeaker in your pocket! Bit of a pain. The iPod integration was the chief attraction of the unit for me, but I may end up going down the mp3 on sd card route if I can't sort the phone playing music all the time!

4. I don't have a BT headset so can't comment on this

5. Mapping - does what it is meant to as far as I can see

6. I like that one tap of the power button puts the unit to sleep rather than turns it off. Start up is much much quicker as a result (you can press and hold to turn off completely)

7. I hate the fact that every time I turn the unit on off the bike, my phone starts playing music. or did I mention that!


I need to go through a learning curve to work out how customisable the menus are ('cos the initial ones are too clumsy - lots of taps to find what you want).
Other minor irritations that I am sure can be solved are:

the desire to keep plonking eateries in front of me on the screen - not good for the diet
The screen is good in sunlight but too dim compared to the 550 in low light - must be a setting somewhere.
No case - for £540 - you tight bastards!
Cover for the cradle marks easily if you have keys in your pocket

Looks like the same cradle as 660?

Al

Screenshots of main screen and sub menus

Main Screen


tap the Apps icon to get these next 3 screens - I will go through what each icon does shortly




tap the settings icon to get the next 3 screens

Map screen and menus screenshots

Smaller pics as the last ones were a bit big - sorry about that

Map screen looks like this - see earlier comment re: eateries!


Tap the icon bottom left to bring up the shortcuts menu

The order of these shortcuts can be moved in the same way as the icons on your phone menu - press and hold until they go wobbly and then drag to the desired location

Tap the speed square to bring up the trip data screen:


Tap the direction square to bring up the following sub-menu

This allows you to choose which bit of info is displayed bottom left of the map screen as indicated by the blue "+" sign
There is a further option of fuel range on the next screen (not pictured)

Map screen - how it works

Video showing the functionality of the icons on the map screen - no commentary as am at work!
Got rid of eateries ! Yay!
I like the shortcuts to find nearby places - note you can customise what shows in each of these shortcut lists
Once you select your desired POI, it is dead easy to set a course for it.

Nice info thanks... Im in the market for a new sat nav....deciding between this and a Nav V.

It seems very similar in function and operation to the Nav V, though the V does not have the 'sound out' function, being only Bluetooth.

Its simple cradle is the same as the basic 660 and Nav IV and Nav V versions, ie. only lacking the buttons. These are reasonably plentiful secondhand or via eBay, which should dampen the 'It's a rip off' cries.

The device (probably) won't interact fully with BMW's iWheel thing.

The Nav V does not have the app to interface with Garmin's own video camera; useful only if you have the camera of course.

Both devices run Garmin's 'Smart link' to iPhone.

Both devices have their merits, price will probably be the key decider.

If I were to upgrade the 3 year warranty on the Nav V would swing it.

Does it have the big speedo screen?

Thanks cafe for all the info very useful, means the Garmin cradle is far more useful with autocom than the Nav 5.

I assume you are using something like autocom as you don't have BT headset

Yellow Peril said:

Thanks cafe for all the info very useful

Click to expand...

+1, thanks for the write-up.

means the Garmin cradle is far more useful with autocom than the Nav 5.

I assume you are using something like autocom as you don't have BT headset

Click to expand...

Until recently I had my 660 plumbed into my Autocom via hard-wire isolated cable. I have just installed a BT02 Bluetooth module which works well and also allows the use of my phone through the Zumo. Whilst certainly not a 'must have' bieng able to pull over and call someone with out removing my lid, phone-book transfers to Zumo on pairing, is handy. Means that if someone calls whilst I'm riding I can see who it is. This would work with the Nav5 or 590.