US GPS
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2017 7:49 pm
RIP my faithful Zumo 550... & Hail (moderately but not fulsomely) the Zumo 595LM.
A brief update after I retired my US-focused Zumo 550 after 38,000 miles and many years on four continents.
On the plus side; it was very reliable and very bike-oriented and definitely weather-proof (unscathed in serious rain in the US, Singapore, Thailand, Burma, England, you name it).
On the minus side, nothing bad until the Garmin software smurfs refused to update its maps and other non-OEM solutions were dysfunctional. Then, navigation started to suck.
The last few years I have annually updated with a Garmin map generic SD card but in the end analysis, the 550 was no longer up to it.
I still use a backup Zumo 550 in New Zealand with a NZ-based SD map. But right now I am on an extended assignment in the US and I plan to ride from LA to Daytona Bike Week in a month; so I bought a Zumo 595LM (with tire pressure monitor units).
Plus: fast start-up, finds satellites very quickly; visibly minutes faster than the 550. Reliable tire pressure monitoring. Waaaay much better screen than the 550 even in Arizona sunlight. A more responsive screen with gloves on. Traffic and map updates have proven their worth last weekend on a fast PHX-LA-PHX ride. As good fuel monitoring as the 550 but much better POIs. Finding gas stations is more reliable by far. Finding a hotel at the end of a riding day is much easier by far. Definitely better screen sensitivity with the same gloves.
Minus: the price. Jeez! USD990 with the tire monitors. And, still a screen that washes out in 'High Noon' sunlight. Limited screen real estate by comparison with automobile-centric Garmin units.
I do not use (do not like) en-route voice prompts so I cannot tell you how connecting to a smartphone works.
That said; overall: actually, a worthwhile upgrade. No regrets.
A brief update after I retired my US-focused Zumo 550 after 38,000 miles and many years on four continents.
On the plus side; it was very reliable and very bike-oriented and definitely weather-proof (unscathed in serious rain in the US, Singapore, Thailand, Burma, England, you name it).
On the minus side, nothing bad until the Garmin software smurfs refused to update its maps and other non-OEM solutions were dysfunctional. Then, navigation started to suck.
The last few years I have annually updated with a Garmin map generic SD card but in the end analysis, the 550 was no longer up to it.
I still use a backup Zumo 550 in New Zealand with a NZ-based SD map. But right now I am on an extended assignment in the US and I plan to ride from LA to Daytona Bike Week in a month; so I bought a Zumo 595LM (with tire pressure monitor units).
Plus: fast start-up, finds satellites very quickly; visibly minutes faster than the 550. Reliable tire pressure monitoring. Waaaay much better screen than the 550 even in Arizona sunlight. A more responsive screen with gloves on. Traffic and map updates have proven their worth last weekend on a fast PHX-LA-PHX ride. As good fuel monitoring as the 550 but much better POIs. Finding gas stations is more reliable by far. Finding a hotel at the end of a riding day is much easier by far. Definitely better screen sensitivity with the same gloves.
Minus: the price. Jeez! USD990 with the tire monitors. And, still a screen that washes out in 'High Noon' sunlight. Limited screen real estate by comparison with automobile-centric Garmin units.
I do not use (do not like) en-route voice prompts so I cannot tell you how connecting to a smartphone works.
That said; overall: actually, a worthwhile upgrade. No regrets.