New 590LM or keep/upgrade my 660 ?? Advice please

I bought a refurb 660 (NOH) early last year IIRC just before the 590 was released. I have used it once on a weeks tour of France and once to the Airheads Weekend at Sids in Devon. It doesn't have a lifetime map upgrade or a Touratech mount but is still like new.

With my 660 I had to load routes via mini USB cable and then activate them onto the 660 which took ages, plus I could only store a limited number of routes so had to delete some to free up space for the next part of the tour. This means dragging along a laptop on a long tour (luckily Wapping had his MacBook Air).

Having seen Wappings' BMW Nav V easily Bluetooth routes between compatible units, plus the improved screen I am tempted to upgrade to the (near identical) 590LM.

As an alternative, the LM upgrade card for my Zumo 660 will be about £55 plus another £131 for a sturdier mount from Touratech therefore about £186 in total OR I could sell my 660 for about £220 and buy a 590LM and its respective mount from Touratech to make it more sturdily mounted compared to the stock Garmin mount.

Any owners with experience of both units think the 590LM is worth the upgrade, or is it easy best staying with the 660 which 'does the job'? I haven't discounted buying a Nav V just yet either.

Thanks

Adam

I have just done this upgrade so far very impressed the screen on the 590 is far clear and it is quicker to recalculate compared to the old 660.

No doubt will learn more as I use it more, but one thing unlike the nav V this does have a full set of connection so can keep it wired to my autocom system.

I haven't even seen a 590 so in a way I'm not qualified to say.. However, I've had my Zumo660 since it came out (trading up from a Quest1)and have been all over Western Europe plus a good part of England/Wales using it and it has never let me down. You shouldn't have a problem regarding the number of stored routes if you use the micro SD card to store them. Everyone has their own methods/preferences but I prefer to split my routes by the day (so, a dedicated route for each day's travel) I just number them 01, 02, 03 etc and load as required. Also, if you keep them on the SD card, if you do have the misfortune that the Zumo locks up or you have to do some kind of reset whilst away, the routes are still available (uncorrupted) afterwards.

I went from 660 to Nav V earlier this year and in the round it was well worth it. The NV (590) screen really is an improvement. I'm not sure how identical the software is on the NV and 590, but the NV is quite different from the usual Zumo offering and it took a while to get used to it.

Bear in mind that with the NV and 590 you've got no external sockets (except micro sub for your PC) so everything is Bluetooth oriented if you want to listen to instructions/music, etc.

Andy B said:

Bear in mind that with the NV and 590 you've got no external sockets (except micro sub for your PC) so everything is Bluetooth oriented if you want to listen to instructions/music, etc.

Click to expand...

If you fit the cradle then the sockets are on the end of the leads so you can plug earphones in if you route the cable to a convenient spot.

Have no experience of the 660 but had a 550 before getting the 590LM. Have used it for 9 months and lots of miles in car and on bike. Overall I am very happy with it - it is a good bit of kit but it is a steeper learning curve to figure out the various configurations for bluetooth headsets etc.
It is expensive but you get a lot of functionality for your money. If you only want navigation and use other things for phone/music/etc (like linking a headset to your phone), then I would suggest you get a 390LM. If you want a do-it-all solution then get the 590LM.

The Lifetime maps is an under valued addition - you won't be glad you had it until 3 or 4 years down the line. With the old 550 it cost a further £150 over the life of the product getting updates.....LM alone would swing it for me

Andy B said:

Bear in mind that with the NV and 590 you've got no external sockets (except micro sub for your PC) so everything is Bluetooth oriented if you want to listen to instructions/music, etc.

Click to expand...

Obviously you didn't read my post nor own a 590, it has a full complement of leads as with the 660 plus the new mirco sub. Mine is happily plugged into my autocom with out the need for bluetooth. Unlike BMW garmin are not trying to sell over priced bluetooth helmets.

Thanks for the info guys, I don't need audio as I just use the screen only. If I did ever need audio I have Sena bluetooth comms.

I can't remember if I used the SD card last tour or the units memory, but thanks for the tip regarding number of routes. I'll have to load some routes then have a play with the 660, its not the most intuitive of units when you are used to a Totom.

The 590 is a lot more intuitive, the boss says she like's it when using it in the car far easier to use than the old 660