Is it worth it!

[woodman]

I have a 7 year old zumo 550 with the original European maps loaded.

Apart from a few problems at the start, it has been a great GPS and has taken me around Europe many times.

Birthday looming and "what do you want questions are being asked".

My question is "are the new zumo's worth upgrading to"

If so, Which one would you go for?

Any help,, Thanks.

 

[Sleepy]

I had a 550 for a number of years, Garmin replaced it with a 660 (for £112) when the 550 packed up..

Though the 660 is a 'better' unit in some ways, I would have been quite happy Keeping the 550, knowing what I know now.

However, if I were offered a 660 as a gift, I'd go with that..

 

[paul08]

I had a Nav IV, which I think is the re-badged version of the 550. Now got a Nav V and I think it is definately worth the upgrade. Read the Nav V reviews here too

 

[Wapping]

660 (Nav IV) better than the 550

Nav V much better than the 660 (Nav IV)


The 550 is still a very good device, even so.

 

[paul08]

660 (Nav IV) better than the 550

Nav V much better than the 660 (Nav IV)


The 550 is still a very good device, even so.

Wapping, the reason that I said that the Nav IV is the equivalent of a 550 is that, when BMW replaced my original Nav IV, the replacemnt came with a sheet explaining how to register the new device. And on the top of that sheet it said "BMW Navigator IV (Zumo 550)". Until then, I had always believed that the Nav IV was a rebadged 660

 

[Blackal]

If you have the "buying urge" - then go ahead................

Personally - I manage fine with my trusty 550, which I have bought several mounts, cables and a new battery...............

I reckon it is better-built than the 660, but recognise that I will upgrade eventually............................

Just no yet.

Al

 

[Bumpkin]

The 550, with an SD card for expanded memory, is still a very capable unit. If you have money to burn for the added bells and whistles of a 660 or Nav V then by all means. However, for core GPS capability the 550 is fine, the extras are just 'fluff' that is tacked onto the outer edges of the ability of the 550 to get to places and follow pre-defined routes.

You could say the same for the StreetPilot 2820 and 2720 that came before the 550 except that they now have limited memory capacity for the ever expanding mapping data.

 

[woodman]

Thanks

Thanks for all the responses.

I have been happy with the 550

My 2010 1200rt does not have the fancy switchgear on the left handlebar to control the BMW sat navs.

According to BMW it is not possible to retro fit this to my bike so I can't see the point of buying a much more expensive BMW sat nav.

New battery and upgrade the maps may be the way to go I think.

 

[Aidan1150]

New battery and upgrade the maps may be the way to go I think.

There's your answer right there.

 

[Bendy toy]

A decent phone in waterproof anti shock case/mount does the same job.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[hutchy]

Prefer to keep my phone on me for those moments when you and the bike part without notice

550 for me is a great tool, I would love to have all the best of the best gear etc but

A. I'm too tight
B. It's all tried and tested gear so why bother, spend the quids on a decent rear shock
C. I'm a tight bastard


H

 

[Sleepy]

A decent phone in waterproof anti shock case/mount does the same job.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Doesn't even come close...

 

[Bendy toy]

I have a Garmin 550. Good in its day no doubt but surely a modern smartphone running a proper sat nav app (Garmin even) with inboard maps is a better option.
I find the Garmin is clunky to use and it's re-route feature often ignored because it takes the long way around.
It "can" be used with gloves but that's never safe on the move so stopping & taking a glove off is no big deal.
The last 2 times I used it the street turn points were poor precision.

 

[Ash]

A decent phone in waterproof anti shock case/mount does the same job.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Doesn't even come close...

+1
I got a Samsung S4 with various sat nav options and no way would just want to faff about putting it in a waterproof case, not to mention trying to use it whilst on the move, trying to find a point of interest, fuel/food/accommodation etc. When it's very easy with a waterproof Garmin / Tom Tom unit.

 

[Bumpkin]

I concur. I've been, purely out of interests sake, trying out CoPilot on an Samsung Galaxy S4. The all weather practicality and a few minor yet desirable features, of the 660 trumps it IMHO.

That's not belittling CoPilot mind you, full Europe for £35 is blinding value if you already have the hardware (runs on iPhone and Win Mobile as well I believe) and works very well. You can plot routes in ITN Converter and export these directly to the phone in the correct format. It does a few things differently and insists that you do visit intermediate points on a route like a TomTom. Similarly you can go into the menu and cancel a point if you miss it and want to carry on the route from your current location.

A decent water resistant case (Ultimate Addons) can be had for about £25, £32.50 with a RAM ball.

For those considering getting a Zumo, or TomTom, but without the free funds to stretch to one would, if you have a compatible phone, do well to check out the CoPilot option. The downside is that it will be more fiddly to operate

 

[Bendy toy]

My point exactly. My 550 does the job but I'm glad I didn't buy it new.


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[STUBBS]

if it still does the job you want it to do then stick with it my spIII is still going strong and getting me where I want to go