Garmin GPS V Map 2.2-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

by Garmin

Product Details

Product Manual [905kb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005OBF2
• Item model number: 010-00226-00
• Batteries: 4 AA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,191 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Never get lost again with the versatile and powerful GPS V from Garmin. This compact Global Positioning System receiver can be both mounted in your vehicle and used as a handheld navigator. The GPS V coordinates signals from 12 satellites to pinpoint your position anywhere on the globe, and has WAAS capability.

The Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) is a system of satellites and ground stations that provides GPS signal corrections, giving you up to 5 times better position accuracy than just the GPS signal. A WAAS-capable receiver can give you a position accuracy of better than three meters, 95 percent of the time.

With 19 MB of built-in memory, the GPS V can store dozens of maps and routes in memory. Download data from your PC with the included serial cable. The GPS V stores 50 routes with 254 waypoints each, and 3,000 tracklog points.

The GPS V comes with autorouting for the shortest and fastest way to your destination, plus turn-by-turn directions throughout North America and major cities. The GPS V will show you how to get there and give you an estimated time of arrival, then alert you to upcoming turns with an audible beep.

The included MapSource City Select CD-ROM--designed specifically for the GPS V--gives you detailed street-level maps indicating points of interest. City Select includes highways, interstates, business and residential streets with attributes such as turn restrictions and speed categories, and other navigation features. The software automatically creates point-to-point routes in MapSource and on the GPS V. It also displays restaurants, hotels, attractions, entertainment, shopping, and location of emergency services along your route.

City Select contains detailed maps of major metropolitan areas in seven defined regions in the U.S. and Canada. You'll get access to one region of your choice, which must be unlocked after visiting the Garmin Web site or calling Garmin customer service.

View data on the 2.2-by-1.5-inch four-level grayscale LCD, with resolution of 256 x 160 pixels. A multilevel backlight allows you to see the screen clearly in a variety of lighting conditions.

The GPS V comes with detachable antenna, PC interface cable, dashboard mount, 12-volt adapter cable, wrist strap, and owner's manual.

Product Description

View detailed routes and traffic information in real-time on the Garmin GPS V Automotive GPS Receiver's 2.7-inch, TFT touchscreen display. WAAS-enabled advanced navigation features in this Garmin automotive GPS system keep you on track with detailed, precise instructions. Stay on course to your destination, navigating confusing lanes or streets through the city, or to the nearest ski resort with this Garmin handheld GPS navigation system. The Garmin GPS V Automotive GPS Receiver can also be connected to computer. Additionally, this Garmin handheld GPS navigation system's built-in City Navigation system charts realistic lane routes including the junctions and signs. This Garmin automotive GPS system can store up to 10 routes for future references.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most useful electronic gismo period, October 27, 2001

By 

Mark Chamberlain (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Garmin GPS V Map 2.2-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)

Garmin has really done a great job with this product. I have had my GPS V for about two months and found it to be very accurate, usually within 15 feet in my car and walking around the neighborhood. In the best conditions with WAAS enabled, I have seen the estimated error drop to only 8 feet. It's ideal for someone who wants to know where they are going or how to get there on the road or on the trail. I can quickly enter an address, select goto, and just follow the directions on screen to get me to my destination. Its just big enough to see its digital map from the dash board but still compact enough for hiking. The auto routing is very good and easy to use. It beeps just before the turn and shows a large arrow to point me in the right direction along with a count down in feet as you approach the turn. You can't get lost when this thing is on. I have used other, very expensive DVD based systems such as the one sold with the Acura TL, which is nice due to the large color screen and voice prompts, but this will do just about everything that system does for (...)less. The metro guide shows hundreds of restaurants (in Los Angeles), car repair, ATMs, post offices, you name it - it probably has it - including the brand new Subway Sandwich place a few blocks away from me. Another nice improvement over the Garmin III is the road lock feature. The V shows your position on the road even if GPS calculates your positions slighty off the road. I originally purchased a III plus and found that the unit sometimes showed my position slightly off the freeway which was annoying and I returned the unit. The V always shows me on the correct road. I can even tell which side of the freeway I'm on. The only small complaint I have is that I wish it did have more memory as I am limited to storing the Los Angeles & Orange County street level detail areas. Not a big deal, but if I go on a trip, I will have to download the areas I will be traveling to and delete, say, Orange County. Overall, I think this unit is very cool. There is'nt anything on the market in a compact size, that can do what it does. My recommendation: Buy the GPS V if you want the ultimate in compact GPS navigation for your car, the trail or lake, and then buy some Garmin stock.

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing product, March 20, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Garmin GPS V Map 2.2-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)

I chose the GPS V over the eTrex Vista and Magellan's new Meridian Gold. Ultimately, for me, the decision came down to flexibility. In my research, it appeared to me that choosing between GPS units for the most part involved making "tradeoffs" between features you really need versus those that you don't absolutely need but would be really nice to have. I found that the GPS V offered the most features in my price range without having to make as many of those dreaded tradeoffs. For me, I wanted a GPS unit that felt equally at ease in a boat as in a car, and a unit that was portable enough to occasionally hit the hiking trails. Although all three of the models I mentioned above met my basic criteria, only the GPS V offers automatic turn-by-turn routing, and since car use would likely be its primary function for me, the decision became relatively easy.

After using the unit for several days now, I can happily report that this unit is as good as advertised. Quality construction. Feels solid. Very readable screen despite its diminutive size thanks to its relatively high resolution. Excellent backlighting for use at night. The included cigarette lighter adapter, PC data cable, and City Select CD-ROM are really nice extras (the other models I was considering would have required a separate purchase of downloadable detailed maps).

The automatic routing works great and has been able to reliably steer me to every single location I've punched in, without a hitch, including a few addresses that were "off the beaten path" a bit.

A few minor complaints. First, the lack of expandable memory (for downloading more detailed maps) is a real negative. Although the 19MB internal memory is adequate for most general use, you are forced to limit your downloaded maps to just those that you absolutely need. But 19MB should be adequate for most users. For instance, I have downloaded City Select maps to my GPS V covering an area stretching from as far west as Tuscaloosa, Alabama to as far east as Charleston, South Carolina with all areas in between, including Atlanta, Macon, Augusta, Charlotte, and Columbia. But these maps stretch the memory capacity just about to its limits (note that the Atlanta area alone, however, takes up roughly a third of the memory due to its relatively large geographic area and large number of streets and POI's).

Second, the lack of a USB interface to the PC. The included serial interface is painfully slow. It took about 40 minutes to download the above mentioned maps to the GPS V from my PC.

All in all, if you're looking for flexibility, then in my opinion you need look no further. I would have given this product 5 stars if it had not been for the lack of an expandable memory card. But unless you're a "power user," the internal memory should be adequate for most users.

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great GPS, Check Your Software!, November 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Garmin GPS V Map 2.2-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)

The Garmin GPS V is a great unit, the operating system is very easy to use and master. High quality feel and construction make it seem worth the money; also, the included accessories (cigarette lighter adapter, and both temporary & permanent dash mount options--the latter being an awesome tilt/swivel unit) are first rate and leave nothing to be desired. However, if you live outside a major metropolitan area there are some distinct limitations to the street mapping software.

Be sure you understand that BOTH the GPS unit you are buying AND the Garmin CD-Rom software have to be "auto routing" capable in order to use this feature. Also, each different CD-Rom can only be asked to search for and "FIND" certain things, whether you are using it on the PC or on the GPS V. Here's the breakdown as I understand it now:

CitySelect: Comes with unit, is "auto routing" capable, great for metro areas--but almost no detail away from major roads/interstates. FINDS Points of Interest, Adressess, Intersections, Waypoints, Cities and Exits (all being near major city/road/highway).

Roads & Recreation: NOT "auto routing" capable. Tons of small town/county road detail, and lots of things show up on the map like boat ramps, camp sites, parks, schools etc., but the only feature it can search for and FIND are cities. This doesn't make any sense to me, and seems like a major letdown.

MetroGuide USA: Appears to be the best parts of both worlds, can FIND most all things mentioned above, and has good detail down to county road level. Also "auto routes" from point to point. I have ordered it, but haven't really used it yet.

Lastly, each CD Rom can be installed to your PC, and selected areas from each CD mentioned above can be downloaded to the GPS V; once there you can select/deselect which one(s) you want to utilize. THEY DON'T "OVERLAY" each other and add increasing detail, they are based on a hierarchy and exclude each other: 1) CitySelect, 2)MetroGuide, 3)Roads&Recreation in that order.

Overall it is an awesome piece of equipment, and for me worth the price. The mapping software needs some more improvement to really take full advantage of the GPS V capability.