Customer Reviews

Garmin StreetPilot 2620 3.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I have a 3 year old Navtech based CD GPS system in my Volvo and purchased this device to use in my older SUV that has no GPS system installed. I first tried using the new Streetpilot on a recent trip to Dubuque Iowa from Chicago; using it and the in car systems simultaneously to compare them. The Garmin SP 2620 outperfomed the Navtech installed system hands down. Although the in car system found satellites instantly the Garmin only took about 10 seconds to find them on start up. And it is MUCH faster on route calculations and more importatnly recalculations, about 3x faster. The in car sytem could not locate the exact street address in Dubuque even though I had the Iowa CD disk installed. The Garmin unit did. The details on local businesses was MUCH better with the Garmin. The map was clearer and was better illuminated. Only things I'd like to have in the Garmin would be a two map display option (for differing zooms of the the same route at the same time) and a display of the remianing miles on the main route display, you can get it but it's on another routing description page. The Garmin does display more immediately useful info such as time and distance to next turn so this is a very minor quibble. It is solid, extremely well built unit and mounts very nicely. It tilts and twists to optimize viewing. The "beanbag" friction mount works very well. The nice thing about the portable system is it's portabilty to other cars and rentals, for instance you can loan it to friends and family if you wish! Furthermore, upgrading is very easy via the Garmin web site whereas updates for my Volvo Navtech in car system have been rare and expensive. The hard drive in the Garmin is a memory card which I can see being enlarged if necessary but the current 512mb card has plenty of map details on it. A new CD disk set for my in car system costs over $200, the Garmin updates so far are free. Overall a stellar value and a device that exceeded my expectations in every way. If you travel by car (and who really likes flyng anyway?)in the US and/or Canada, get one, you'll love it.

I've used GPS based automotive navigation systems in Mercedes Benz and Acuras and have found them to be less than satisfactory but the Garmin 2620 is an awesome bit of kit. The unit is easy to use and with the beanbag base stays on my dashboard unless I'm doing something really stupid (high speed U-turns). With the external antenna I almost never lose the satellites, and the unit quickly acquires and reacquires the satellites as necessary. Navigation is excellent, I disagree with some of the Garmin's routing choices but only on routes that I know well and have driven on extensively. The system remote is easy to use one handed and if you disable the annoying safety feature that prevents you from programming on the move you can easily set destinations or change route settings by touch and by glancing at the screen. The screen is bright and clear in sunlight and the unit does not seem to have been bothered by sitting on my dashboard in the hot sun or by occasionally being knocked off the dash when I do something stupid (the aforementioned high speed turns). As far as the reviewer who says that he's leaving out bait for thieves by having this unit on his dash I'd recommend the optional carrying case, it's a matter of a few seconds to disconnect the unit from the power cord and external antenna, put it in the case and stow the case under the seat or somewhere else out of sight.
If I were purchasing a new car I would save my money and get a Garmin 2620 instead of purchasing a built in navigation system. Most built in systems cost more money and while some can give you better accuracy with dead reckoning sensors that read vehicle speed and direction the extra money you'll spend for the additional accuracy is offset by being locked into a proprietary solution.

Pros:
-- Near Perfect and MUCH better reception in cities than previous models.
-- Entire USA + some Canada preloaded - NO SETUP!
-- Very nice interface and touchscreen
-- great accuracy in determining distance

Cons:
-- None, really. Except it could be stolen.

I used to have the streetpilot III model (no touchscreen, limited memory requiring CD rom upload). I left it viewable on my dash for just a short while in Cambridge, MA. When I returned to my car, my window was smashed. Oh well. I went out and bought the 2620.

All I can say is that it's almost a blessing that my prior one was stolen. I am truly an idiot with navigation. I couldn't get by without a GPS device in my car. The older model kept saying "lost satellite reception" in cities (NYC, Seattle, Boston are my main cities). This once seems to ALWAYS have a connection. It's incredible. Furthermore, it's far more accurate in telling me when to turn. The older models might have been off by 100 feet -- which makes a difference when there are two possible turns really close to each other (in a fork situation or similar). This model is fantastically accurate -- I always know when to turn, even when faced with multiple really close-to-each-other options. I know that the reception and accuracy has to do with the new WAAS technology. I'm not sure about the details of how that works, but boy, is there a difference.

I also absolutely love that I can stick this in my suitcase and take it on any US business trip without having to worry about preloading city information. It has the entire USA preloaded on it -- even tiny midwestern towns.

I love this model. If I had to pick my favorite purchases in the last 5 years, the Garmin 2620 would tie for first with my TiVo. If you are considering purchasing this, I can say with great confidence that you will not regret this one. It's truly a perfect system. I adore it. Just remember to stick it under one of the seats when you park in public places. It's such a wonderful device that it could cause you to get your window smashed (and your GPS stolen).

Buy this. Really. I've reviewed quite a few things on amazon, and I rarely come out this strongly in favor of something. Also, if you're considering the 2610, don't. My friend has that model -- it's not nearly as accurate, loses reception more often, and the hassles of loading your favorite locations before you can use it just make it not worth it.

I bought this unit over the weekend as my previous unit, the Garmin Street Pilot III (SP III) unexpectedly stopped working -- it would turn on for a couple of seconds, then shut off. The warranty for the SP III had already run out ( I had the unit for 17 months). I had to choose between getting the SP III fixed (from the Garmin website, as of this date, there is a $225 flat rate repair charge for out of warranty repairs for the SP III) or getting another GPS. Though I was quite satisfied with features of the SP III, like most everthing else in electronics, newer models come along with much more features in a rapid pace. So, I decided to opt for a newer model instead of repairing. Plus, I had made plans to go to a concert with friends in 2 days after the SP III broke. With my lack of directions, I'd be totally lost without a working GPS. I read up on the newer GPS units on Amazon and also the Garmin website. From what I read, I initially had thought about getting the Garmin Quest as this pretty much has the same features as my old SP III -- similar button layouts, memory size for loading maps. I went to a local Best Buy to purchase a new GPS unit. At the store, they had both the Quest and Street Pilot 2620 (SP 2620). Though the Quest looks like a marvel in technology -- such power in such a small unit -- I ended up getting the SP 2620 for the following reasons: 1) don't have to load maps, 2) touchscreen feature, 3) I'm used to a larger screen, 4) the responsiveness of the buttons felt much better than that on the smaller ones of the Quest.

After having used my new Street Pilot 2620 for a few days (yes, I did make it to the concert without a problem at all!), here are my impressions of the unit:

LIKES: 1) no need to load maps as the unit has a built-in hard drive that contains all the base and detailed maps. 2) touchscreen display (this makes data entry much easier than the SP III) 3) custom avoids features which allows one to select areas (parts of a road) or area of the map to avoid. I use this to block out the area around the Dan Ryan ("Dangerous Dan") expressway around Chicago as I don't like driving on there if I don't have to. Without the feature, the routes would often say to use that expressway. 4) unit runs at home with a small (aprox. 2" W x 1.5" H x 1" D inch) power adapter 5) comes with remote control for more precise panning and data entry if one gets tired from using the touchscreen 6) unit and cigarette lighter adapter is lighter and smaller than the SP III so now they easily fit in the optional carrying case

DISLIKES: 1) with the Auto Brightness setting for the LCD display, in my opinion, at night sometimes the display appears a bit dim. maybe it is better to use a manual setting instead of auto at night. 2) according to the instructions in the manual, the way to mount the GPS on the base is a bit cumbersome. The manual says to put the GPS face forward and the base with the lock switch facing forward and then to slide the unit towards the left. I found it easier to position the GPS unit with the back at a right angle to slide the unit in that way, then rotate the GPS unit to face forward. 3) using the Custom Avoids to block out an area works, but takes diligence while manuvering on the small size of the screen-- I keep wishing Garmin could have made the unit to interface with a regular-sized monitor and a mouse when trying to set up a custom avoid. 4) a big ouch on the budget. Hopefully this unit will last longer than 17 months!

Overall, the StreetPilot 2620 is a terrific GPS unit. The touchscreen feature comes in really handy. Plus, no more need to download detailed maps areas, which is a big timesaver and makes using the GPS more enjoyable. The features of this GPS is the way to go.

I've been using the 2620 for over two months now. For the most part I'm happy with it, BUT there are some very irritating flaws. I've found that the satellite tracking features are accurate and trustworthy. I've been impressed with the accuracy of Estimated Times of Arrival and Estimated Rate of Speed readings. Also major roads and street names are pretty on the mark. I've used this in the farm fields of Maryland and the concrete canyons of D.C. without any major problems with satellite tracking. The 2620 is also easy to use and intuitive. The color icons and fonts are clear and big enough to read easily. The 2620 is also small enough to carry with you in a jacket pocket or purse when parking in bad neighborhoods. I especially like the backlit remote control that comes with the 2620. Although my 2620 still thought it was in China(!) when I first turned it on, it eventually got up and running in no time, truly ready to use right out of the box.

Now for the bad stuff:
* The City North America Navigator v6 software that is installed has numerous out of date and inaccurate place names. There lots of business places in the map that no longer exist. OK, I understand that no one can keep up with all the small businesses in the U.S. But I also noticed that major FEDERAL government facilities were not listed or listed under out of date names. And these are facilities that are over 10 years old and found correctly listed on paper maps! This is Unexcusable!
* Sometimes the 2620 will NOT allow you to manually choose an interstate/street name if the search is isolated to one state. This is even though the particular highway/street obviously goes through your state!! You must widen the search to include all states. On time when I was trying to Find an Address, the 2620 refused to locate a street name for me that I knew was in Virginia. But when I looked for a hotel that was on the street I was looking for, the 2620 listed the street just fine!
* If you go off a planned route and approach your target from the opposite direction, the voice prompts will still think you are on the planned route even though your direction and movement are accurately tracked! For example if the planned route took you north and your target was on the right. If you go off route and approach from the south the 2620 will still announce "Destination on the right"!
* Naming manual waypoints are limited to only 10 characters.
* In very rare instances where separate roads are very close together, the 2620 might suddenly think that you have gone onto another road and scream "Off Route!" even though you never left the road to begin with! But the 2620 is able to correct itself when you continue on the planned route.
* No free updates from Garmin for the inaccurate place names and no way to fix the place names yourself.
* Useless customer service from Garmin and their website.

As long as you know the street names of where you're headed, the 2620 is reliable. But if you don't know your street names and only have a restaurant name to guide you, you may be in for a rude surprise. The satellite tracking, reception, and guidance gets 5 stars from me. The mapping software and OS gets 1 star. I still like my 2620, but for what I paid for it I expected much, much better software.

I considered:
Roadmate 500/700 and
StreetPilot 2610/2620

I read every review here, gpsinformation.net, eopinions, etc.

I decided on a Streetpilot based feedback that Roadmates had problems with memory loss, their mounts, and that the Streetpilots had more features.

And I have been extermely happy, the Streetpilot 2620 has the whole USA and parts of Canada preloaded onto its hard drive.

It is easy to use, routes quickly, and gives excellent directions.
I had previuosly used the Hertz/Never Lost, and this is even better, by a large margin.

A word of Advice for any GPS Shooper, Get an External Antenna e.g. GA 27C.

Having an Antenna Allows you the following Benefits:

1) Faster and Greater Qty. of Signal Locks
2) Freedom of your Co Pilot or you to Lap the 2620 with out loosing signal
3) Freedom to use indoors
4) A way around Metalized or weird Angle Front winshields. There are many windshields that have Metal for heating or other reasons that completly Block signal through windshield
5) Advantage of Garmin over others it has a Nice Window Sunction Mount that allows use of Front, Passenger or Rear Window (8Ft cord). It also has Magnetic but unless you have outside roof access with *OUT Cable crushing Doors and Windows, this is not an option with this or other Antennas. Plus you can just leave the Antenna in Car durring trips where Externally someone might mess with it.

If you are like me and came to this page attracted by Amazon's "50% off Garmin 2620" advertisement, here are a few things to know before you buy. I'm glad I went to check out the 2620 in my local Best Buy before ordering.

1. This model is being discontinued by Taiwan-based Garmin. They have a new model called 2720 which has better features, including the ability to add points-of-interest (POI).

2. The 2620 does NOT have the popular 3D maps like on the 2720, the Garmin c330 (which is $100 cheaper, BTW), or the TomTom GO models. A lot of people who've ever used GPS units, including yours truly, just love the 3D maps. 2D just seems too stale, too crowded, too confusing.

3. The 2620's screen is 3.7" diagonal (Garmin claims 3.8") and has only 256 colors. Most modern GPS units can display thousands of colors. The cheaper Garmin c330 is 3.5" diagonal, and a better value. The small color palette on the 2620 means some of the map details can look a bit crude. Not a fatal flaw by any measure, but I thought you'd like to know.

4. The 2620 is a bit heavy at close to 1 pound without the mounts. It's not portable in the sense that you can't carry it without you since it requires vehicle 12V power.

To be clear: I'm not saying the 2620 is a bad product. I decided not to buy it because it's a 2-year-old model, being discontinued, and does not have 3D maps. The guy at Best Buy was trying to sell me the more expensive 2720 but he also said the 2620 was pretty good for the money. I decided to do more homework on the c330 and see if that might be what I end up getting.

One thing I do like about the 2620 (and 2720) is it includes a beanbag friction mount. I don't own a car, and only drive rentals (Avis), so I must get a GPS that has a portable mount.

The first time that I experienced the car navigation system was when I rented a car from Hertz. Their Never Lost uses the Magellan brand. This Magellan unit literally bailed me out many times from the complicated Los Angles streets and highways. I was so impressed with this Unit and decided to buy one myself.

As every savvy shopper, I came to this site and read every review about Magellan Roadmap 700 as well as Garmin StreetPilot 2620. There are quite a few negative comments about Roadmap while every feedback about StreetPilot is positive. One review even compared the StreetPilot favorably with Hertz Never Lost. Other people's opinions overwhelmed my direct experience and shattered my confidence on RoadMap 700. I purchased StreetPilot 2620 instead. I took this unit with me for a recent trip to Chicago from Michigan. My experience so far on StreetPilot is not pleasant.

1. The menu options in StreetPilot are not nearly as intuitive as in RoadMap. I read the full manual of StreetPilot. I am still often confused with the options. In contrast, I took full control of Roadmap just by playing with it without reading the manual and it was my first time to play with Navigation system.
2. It takes about 2 minutes for StreetPilot to find the GPS signal whenever car is started up. The signal gets lost way too often even on I-94 and in Chicago. I have never experienced with the signal loss in RoadMap while I was in California. It may be related to external antenna that came with the rental car.
3. StreetPilot gave wrong information. It showed a rest area on I-94 that does not exist at all. I was looking for a Speedway gas station off I-94 in Indiana. It led me a wrong gas station.
4. The instruction from StreetPilot is not nearly as clear as RoadMap. After it led me to a wrong gas station off I-94. I was totally lost. However, instead of giving me direction on making left or right turn, it asked me to drive east. If I am good at directions and I know which direction to drive, I would not spend more than $1000 on this gadget at all. In contrast, RoadMap tells me exactly where and how to make turns, right or left instead of east or west. It even gives you a pleasant "ding-dong" sound right at where you should make turns,

The good thing about StreetPilot:
1. With a Sandbag mount, this unit can sit on your dashboard pretty sturdily. You can easily take this unit in and out of your car.
2. The 120 V converter allows you to set up a complicated route in house before your trip.

I am from the Philippines and I bought the Garmin 2620 from Amazon to help me navigate around as we toured the West Coast of the US.

Previously in 2002, I had used Mapquest, paper maps from AAA and a notebook based electronic map of the US to find my way around while touring California. But I found this procedure slow and cumbersome, taking up a lot of time that we could otherwise have devoted to other task. It was also inflexible, making it difficult for us to change our route and or our destination at a moment's change.

The Garmin 2620 changed all that. In less than 15 minutes, I learned the basic functions of the Garmin 2620, and was able to simulate driving the route an learn all the basic functions while indoor.

But the real gem came when I connected the Garmin 2620 to the car and made use of the speaker connected to the lighter power cord. The speaker provided very detailed instructions without need to look at the display screen.

To make a long story short ... I can now go practically anywhere in the US (and Canada) without fear of getting lost. The Garmin 2620 made it easy for me to go to places where even the locals may need to consult a map on. I now have the flexbility of changing my route, destination and schedule practically on the fly while on the road without need to consult any maps.

On our first day of use, we were able to use the Garmin 2620 to find the nearest gas station, the nearest mall, and choose from among the many restaurants located near our route. The Garmin 2620 made our land travel very pleasant and removed all anxieties related with being lost in an unfamiliar place.

The Garmin 2620 is very easy to transfer from one vehicle to another. On our 3rd day of use, I was able to compare the Garmin 2620 against a DVD-based GPS navigation installed on a friend's Honda Odyssey mini-van. I installed the Garmin 2620 and punched in the same destination. The Garmin 2620 provided a better and more usable direction guidance. I also purposely went off the routes prescribed and noticed that the Garmin 2620 cycled and recomputed a new route faster than the unit installed on the Honda Odyssey.

The 2620 US Version only has the US map but it remains useful to me even while outside the US as I can use it to plan our next road trip to the US next year. I can use it in simulation mode to determine the distance and length of time it would require to travel from one place to another. While this can also be done using mapquest, the ability to do this without going online is a big help.

I highly recommend the Garmin 2620 (US Version) who want to a very detailed guide while travelling anywhere in the US. =)

I got this as a birthday present from my beau in May and during that time, I was moving to be with him from Houston to The Bay Area, California. We drove for 3 days with the Streetpilot from state-to-state... we had no problems with it. It was helpful as it found our hotel/motel rooms, places to eat 50 miles away, rest areas and more!

It's very very easy to use and with it being a touch screen, it's a no-brainer...

However.. the reason I gave it 4 stars out of 5 is because now since I live in The Bay Area and want to explore new restaurants (instead of frequenting at the same ones), the GPS had given me 3-4 restaurants that are no longer there. It gets frustrating when you see a busted building... TWICE when HUNGRY. We settled for Red Lobster (the joy.). Since learning this, I now have a tendency to call them from my cell phone (the GPS will give you street address and phone number).

ALSO, as I took my family to San Francisco, the GPS lost it's satellite quite a few times. I think it was because of the tall buildings.

Also, when we tried to go to Golden Gate Park from Sausalito, the GPS kept telling me to "go OFF ROAD". I wasn't too sure if she was right, but I kept driving and found the exit a mile later.

The good outweighs the few bad -- plus it's a WHOLE lot better than using printed out mapquest directions.

Since the beau and I relied so much on Hertz Neverlost (compact cars start off @ $39.99/day for A COMPACT plus $7.99/day for the Neverlost), we could go with a cheaper rental car company and bring our own GPS. Plus, we plan on taking more in-state trips with this baby.

Anyway, if this is worth anything, my sister was so impressed with my birthday toy that she bought one too because she vacations alot to different cities.

This is worth the money if you:
1) Love traveling
2) Travel Frequently
3) Moved to a new city
4) Plan to do more short local weekend vacations
5) Are a road tripper!

I see this 2620 lasting many many years...