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5 inch with voice command and mp3/fm transmitter?

Cvincent 86 Points
in Garmin Auto Forum (Garmin Nuvi, Garmin Drive Forum)
have a feeling the answer will be no, but i am looking for a 5 or 7 inch nuvi that does voice command and has the mp3 player

if no 5 or 7 inch how about 4.3 inch?

thanks for any input

Comments

  • sussamb 813 Points
    AFAIK none of the current or indeed recent nuvis have mp3 players.
  • Boyd 1985 Points
    How about a smartphone or small tablet? :)
  • Cvincent 86 Points
    i don't care if they are a few years old, what about the 855? think that was the number
    is it a well reviewed gps?
    it is 4.3 but that may have to work...
  • willyboy 68 Points
    The 855 was the last unit that had voice command & MP3 player.
    Thr 765 was the last unit with MP3 player but NO voice command. Both had a 4.3 screen.
    I believe beginning with the 1XXX series and later, No units offered MP3 capability.

    Since the 855 is so old, I think your only chance of finding one is on Ebay or Craigllist.
  • Cvincent 86 Points
    ok, thanks so much for all this info

    will check out ebay
  • Cvincent 86 Points
    found a few 855 on ebay, they seem to be well reviewed
    cool that you can control the music player with voice

    watching for some good deals

    thanks for the info
  • willyboy 68 Points

    I'm not trying to discourage you from buying an 855 but currently I don't see any 855's on Ebay that I would consider buying from an economical view point.

    Keep in mind the 855 did NOT come with life time map updates and those I saw had no lifetime update subscriptions. That means the unit you receive will have a very outdated map. Buying a life time map subscription will considerably add to the price you are paying. Also make sure it comes with all cables and mounts, if missing these are additional add in costs.

    Do not hesitate to ask questions to the seller, this provides documented proof of what you will be receiving so there are no surprises. Although the features are nice on the 855, I personally would not buy an 855 just for the sake of having an MP3 player.
    You can buy newer units (I recommend Garmin Refurbished) with a 5" screen and voice command and lifetime maps that will end up being cheaper than a used 855 without life time maps and missing accessories.

    Why not just buy a reasonably priced MP3 player that you can plug into the auxiliary jack on your cars radio and a newer Nuvi with lifetime maps.

    Link for instructions to connect Ipod or MP3 player to car radio.
    http://www.wikihow.com/Plug-Your-iPod-Into-Your-Car-Stereo-With-an-Auxiliary-Cable

    Of course you can use FREE routable OSM maps but they are not as good as Garmin City Navigator maps in my opinion.
    http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/
  • Cvincent 86 Points
    thanks for the info, i understand what you are saying, this car does not have an iPod jack, the exact reason i needed the mp3
    i have 2 760 and love them, they have been great units and the mp3 works well and it is nice to have it mute when it is giving directions or traffic issues ahead

    i agree it may be cheaper to go with a different unit but my friend wants voice command and mp3 player so wants to go this route
  • alanb 541 Points
    edited October 2014
    I have a 855 and a 755T, both of which have MP3 players. They are backup units now and get very little use, but I used them extensively from 2008 through 2013, and often used them with the MP3 player playing through my car's audio system speakers using the mini stereo plug on the nuvi's.

    While I prefered the 855 over the 755T for navigation because it has a brighter screen, the 755T worked better with the MP3 player. On the 755T, when the nuvi gives a navigation prompt, it pauses the play of the MP3 player while the prompt is voiced, then automatically resumes play. On the 855, it mixes the prompt with the MP3 player by reducing the volume of the MP3. I used the MP3 player for playing MP3 audio books, and on the 855 would often miss a passage when a prompt was given. The other issue is that the 855 software wasn't as stable playing MP3 as the 755T, especially if you also had custom POI's with proximity alerts. Sometimes the 855 would lock up while playing MP3 when a POI alert occurred. That never happened with the 755T.
  • Cvincent 86 Points
    good info to have

    she won't be using audio books with it, just the music

    the 7 series is an older unit right? i really loved both of my 760 and was not at all happy when i tried to upgrade this year and got the most expensive one and found all kinds of things it would not do that the 760 would
    ended up returning the 3597 i think it was and getting 2595 and a different 7 inch that were closer to doing what i wanted

    ridiculous that i was totally willing to buy 2 new top of the line nuvis and because garmin is such a mess had to back track and buy older ones off ebay

    my friend is not really computer etc oriented and will be happy with the 855, it does the 2 things she wants it to do voice command and mp3
  • alanb 541 Points
    edited October 2014
    The 7x5 was released in August, 2008. The 8x5 was released in March 2009. The 7x5 does not have speech recognition. The 8xx nuvi's were kind of unique with Garmin because they were built on a Linux platform rather than Garmin's proprietary platform used in the other nuvi models of the time. I think Garmin never quite got the bugs ironed out in the 8xx. That said, I used my 855 as my primary GPS for several years ... just learned to put up with its software quirks.
  • alanb 541 Points
    edited October 2014
    One other consideration about the 8xx nuvi. It is the only nuvi model series that I know of that had a user replacable battery. While that sounds like a good thing, the battery is pretty flakey, and will go completely dead when the nuvi is not used regularly. It never shuts completely down and goes into a sleep mode when shut off. In this mode, the battery will drain in 3 or 4 days.. When the battery is completely dead, the nuvi will not come on even when plugged into the power cord. You have to let it charge for 15 minutes or more before it will turn on. It is difficult to find FRESH replacement batteries for the 8x5. I bought one a couple years ago from Amazon, and it never did hold a charge very well. I suspect it is even harder now to find a good replacement battery.
  • Cvincent 86 Points
    so for general use, not adding poi, base camp stuff or any of the other downloadable add on things - do you think the 855 will be pretty stable
    using it just stock and using voice command and mp3?

    it seems to have good user reviews...

    thank you for all this input
  • Cvincent 86 Points
    so places like batteries plus do not have replacements for it?
  • alanb 541 Points
    edited October 2014
    My local batteries plus never had them and didn't seem able or willing to special order them. But it would be worth a call to them to see if they can accommodate you. Yes, I would still be comfortable using my 855 for navigation, especially without POI alerts which often seemed to be the cause of a lockup or spontaneous reboot. With MP3 music, I don't think the mixing with navigation prompts will be a problem. And if the 855 is used on the charger regularly, the battery drain shouldn't be an issue. In fact, you can just remove the battery and the unit will operate on the charger cord.
  • Cvincent 86 Points
    i never take my nuvis out of any of my cars, never need the batt for anything- unless it is needed for updates etc....

    and i don't think they will move theirs out of the car either

    great info on all this
  • alanb 541 Points
    Hopefully you can find a good used one that has had a lifetime map update subscription put on it. I have the lifetime maps on my 855 and still update them every time a new map comes out. Note that if you update the maps, you will need to download the full coverage JCV file as a separate step. On the 8x5, Garmin gives you a very limited coverage JCV file with the map download, but they provide the full coverage file if you are willing to install it separately. The full NA map with full coverage JCV file will no longer fit on the 8x5, so you will need a SD card. I can give you more details about how to do the map update if you get to that point.
  • alanb 541 Points
    One other piece of advice as you are shopping for a used 8x5. Make sure it includes the 8x5 specific accessories including battery, remote for voice activation, powered cradle, cig. lighter power cord with the 18 pin (not USB) connector. Note that the 8x5 nuvi can not operate with full screen brightness if you power it with a USB cable. You will want the original powered cradle and charger.
  • Cvincent 86 Points
    ok, i will definitely do that

    found one about an hour away and plan to go see it in a few days
  • popej 57 Points
    FYI standard firmware for nuvi 34x0 and 35x0 contains mp3 player and video player, which are enabled in some countries. But no FM transmitter, which limits usefulness of mp3 player. Maybe for audiobooks it would be usable.
  • Cvincent 86 Points
    interesting, i agree mp3 without fm transmitter is useless
    garmin really needs an overhaul of their company
    their product line is very convoluted and every year they drop options people are mad about

    hopefully someone will take over that company and streamline it and make it as awesome as it could be
  • sussamb 813 Points
    I suspect that's the point ... not enough people are 'mad about' having a mp3 player, most folks these days tend to play music through their car audio system, probably via a Bluetooth link from their phone. So garmin have no incentive to offer a mp3 player as demand is so small.
  • Cvincent 86 Points
    i think that is probably true, but there are lots of options garmin has taken away that people did and do want

    i bought 2 garmin 760 when they first came out and i loved them
    then decided to upgrade a while back only to return 2 brand new top of the line garmin nuvis because i was disappointed in the options i lost coming from the older units
    i ended up doing a lot of research and going to ebay to buy older units, that is crazy

    this is foolish and unacceptable in this day and age
    garmin really needs to get it act together, it could be an awesome company with great products but that is not what i see at all
  • Boyd 1985 Points
    edited October 2014
    There were a lot of complaints when Garmin dropped these features initially, but this is the first thread I've seen on the subject in quite awhile. I suspect there are not many people who miss the FM transmitter. Guess it depends on where you live, but I used to commute over 50 miles each way, and there was nowhere on the FM spectrum that could be used for the full trip, I would have to constantly switch channels as I came into the range of local stations.

    This was the same with an ipod FM transmitter and a Nuvi. The FCC places strict limits on the power of these little transmitters. My car had the FM antenna at the rear, over the hatchback. Maybe a car with the antenna closer to the windshield isn't as bad.
  • Cvincent 86 Points
    i am not interested in the fm transmitter for myself, but for a friend that never drives out of the city, she has a car that does not have a plug for an iPod, and i know a lot of people who don't have cars with iPod plugs

    one of my trucks that i don't use much anymore but used to use a lot does not have a plug, i have used an fm transmitter in it for years, even traveling and been very happy
    sometimes i have to change a station but not often

    the mp3 player is not as big a deal as some of the other features they have dropped

    the point is garmins line up is a mess, when i buy the most expensive nuvi they make i want every option available
    way too many thing they could have left in the options they took out because they are out of touch on what people want

    i wanted to get a new top of the line gps and be thrilled with it, the fact i had to return them and look for older models is ridiculous

    don't have any more time to spend on this, but i ordered an 855 off ebay for my friend and think it will work well for her
    am ordering a newer model nuvi for her car that has an iPod plug

    i will write back here in a few weeks on how the 855 is working for her

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