Garmin nuevi 650 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator | 
| Brand: Garmin
List Price: $749.99
Buy New: $235.99
You Save: $514.00 (69%)
New (42) Used (1) Refurbished (10) from $209.99
Rating:  233 reviews
Sales Rank: 49
Platform: Not Machine Specific
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: Yes
Native Resolution: 480 x 272
Display Size: 4.3
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 4.9 x 0.9 x 2.9
nv:Type: Receiver
Inputs: USB
Touch Screen: Yes
Voice: Yes
Expansion Slots: SD Card
Battery Type: Rechargeable Lithium Ion Battery
Battery Life: 7 hours
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
MPN: Nuvi 650
Model: Nuvi 650
UPC: 753759070755
EAN: 0753759070755
ASIN: B000OH63MI
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Personal Travel Assistant comes preloaded with maps for U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico | | • | Super-bright, 4.3-inch widescreen display for improved viewing, day or night | | • | Includes automatic routing, 3D/2D map viewing, and turn-by-turn voice directions | | • | Built-in travel and entertainment tools include digital music player, JPEG viewer, currency converter, and more | | • | Measures 4.9 x 2.9 x 0.9 inches (WxHxD) and weighs 6.2 ounces |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Product Description
With a gorgeous widescreen display, the Garmin nuevi 650 GPS Personal Travel Assistant is your answer to the call of adventure. A sleek navigator and a keen travel assistant, the nuevi 650 is preloaded with highly detailed City Navigator NT road maps for the entire United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. This map database features nearly six million points of interest (POIs), including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs, and attractions, and the data is provided by NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping. Step up to the nuevi 660 if you want to take advantage of Bluetooth connectivity, an integrated traffic receiver, and an FM transmitter. 
The nuevi 650 features a colorful widescreen and is preloaded with highly detailed City Navigator NT road maps. | 
The device includes many entertainment and travel tools. | 
A 4.3-inch display with a touch screen interface makes it easy to select destinations, play MP3s, and more. | This preloaded navigator brings all this fantastic map data to your fingertips with a super-bright, 4.3-inch widescreen display for improved map viewing, day or night. Use the touch screen interface to select destinations, look up POIs, and play your favorite MP3s and audio books. The device comes ready to go with automatic routing, 3D or 2D map perspective viewing, and turn-by-turn voice directions that speak street names. It also supports configurable vehicle icons. These fun, customized car-shaped icons come in a variety of colors to add a personal touch to your vehicle's position on the map. With this GPS system on board you'll be prepared to steer clear of traffic with an optional FM TMC traffic receiver. If you choose this add-on feature, The nuevi 650 will receive alerts about traffic tie-ups and road construction that might lie ahead on your route. The nuevi 650 includes many "must-have" entertainment and travel tools, including digital music and audio book playback, a JPEG picture viewer, currency converters, and more. All these great features make the nuevi 650 a complete Personal Travel Assistant. Note: Optional software for language translation, detailed travel guides, and savings programs allow you to customize your nuevi to fit your travel needs.
What's in the Box
nuevi 650 GPS navigation system, preloaded City Navigator North America NT data, vehicle suction cup mount, vehicle power cable, dashboard disk, USB cable, and quick reference guide.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 228 more reviews...
 Nuvi 650 stripped down from the 660 packaging July 28, 2007
S. Lee (Tiverton, RI USA)
606 out of 620 found this review helpful
I have have a been a long time Garmin GPS customer including three generations of the Streetpilot. I am very pleased with the Nuvi 650 echoing some of the praises you've read here in the reviews.
However for those of who are on the fence about getting the 650 versus the 660 for the extra Bluetooth, FM transmitter and traffic receiver, I want to offer you some more reasons to consider the 660. The Nuvi 650 does not include the leather carrying case, AC adapter and printed manual which comes standard with the 660 packaging ($50 value).
As a an old time Garmin user, I am used to having these items come with my GPS. In addition, the Nuvis do not include CD/DVD map software nor the friction mount (must buy separately esp. for California and Minnesota). Considering how easy it is now for users to access the memory space of the Nuvi from their computers, it's much easier to corrupt the system unintentially. Thats when you'll need the original map software to recover.
Don't get me wrong, I do like the Nuvi 650 over my Streetpilot 2720 for it's size, improve user interface and the SirF Star III receiver for much more reliable GPS reception. But I can only give this product 4 stars because of the lack of accessories that I find essential for my usage and yet comes standard for the Nuvi 660, 670 and 680.
 Garmin Nuvi has Glaring Omissions June 5, 2007
M. Clark (Fort Worth, TX)
460 out of 495 found this review helpful
I have been in the market for an automotive GPS for a year or so. I have an old Garmin handheld unit that has been fantastic with many useful features. I put off buying an automotive GPS because the manufacturers are so obsessed with the dainty little 3.5 inch displays. That's great if you want to put it in your pocket, or for pedestrian use, but it's woefully inadequate for automotive use. Unfortunately, there are no reasonable options out there with a large enough screen, except for the Garmin StreetPilot 7200, which has a 7" display. And that model is way overpriced, and doesn't even have a built in battery.
After waiting a long time, I decided to buy the best deal out there with a display larger than the 3.5". At first I waited for the release of the new Mio C520 with the 4.3" display. But after checking it out at Circuit City, was disappointed. The Mio has tiny faint control icons that are barely visible and spaced very close together. Plus the menu icons used tiny fonts that were barely legible. Same problem with the top banner that provided directions and cross street info. Also, the colors they chose for the controls buttons didn't have enough contrast between the button background and font; whereas the Garmin use high contrast colors on their buttons/icons and larger fonts. Even the 3.5" Garmins were more legible than the larger Mio. Amazing a manufacturer could come so close and then botch it on something so basic.
Here's the pro's and con's of the Garmin Nuvi 650.
Pro's:
1) Bright display and good contrasting colors on control buttons/icons.
2) Thin case that allows more versatility in mounting.
3) Great/quick satellite reception.
4) MP3 and JPG viewer features (which I have no need for).
5) Great hardware/software quality and stability.
6) Allegedly good customer support (although I haven't needed it yet, that was a serious factor).
7) Unit powers on/off automatically with vehicle when plugged into 12 volt receptacle.
Cons:
1) Overpriced. The larger display simply does not justify the price hike over the smaller Nuvis. Even at 25% off MSRP, I don't feel it was a value. If not for restocking fees, I would consider returning it.
2) Needs an even larger display. The reviews referring to the display as "large" and to the StreetPilot 7200 as "huge" are ridiculous. Auto manufacturers would never get away with putting anything less than a 7" or 8" Nav display in cars.
3) Needs some type of lanyard or wrist strap for hand carrying and securing to bicycle or motorcycle. I use this GPS on my motorcycle and would like a lanyard to securely fasten the device in case it pops out of the cradle while hitting a bump or at high speed. GPSs are simply too expensive to not provide this basic security feature.
4) At over $500, this thing should at least come with some basic padded case or preferrably a hard case with padding to protect the device and the display.
5) Doesn't leave a bread crumb trail showing where you've been.
6) The jpeg viewer doesn't automatically resize photos to fit the screen. To view photos requires much tedious button pushing.
7) No north pointer in the 3D map mode.
8) The map starts to rotate as you approach an intersection even though the vehicle hasn't started to turn. If you then stop, the map is not properly oriented and it is difficult to align what is straight ahead in the real world with what the map is trying to show.
9) The most glaring omission is the restriction to only one via point when planning a route. This is simply inexcusable, particularly when even the cheapest hand held units have more extensive route planning capabilities. If you are planning a trip across the US, it is impossible to plan a route incorporating more than one desired stop. I generally know exactly where I want to go and which roads I want to take to get there. I want the GPS to cue me as the turns approach and to calculate trip info. Unfortunately, Garmin is bent on playing the backseat driver and only permitting me to select the final destination and one via point. It does this well if that's all you want. I'm hoping future software updates will rectify this problem.
Some additional features I'd like to see in a GPS:
1) More extensive/manual route planning.
2) A built in electronic compass so the unit knows it's orientation as well as position when not in motion (GPS only provides position). By the way, some hand held units have this feature.
All that said, the Garmin Nuvi 650 is as advertised and performs the provided features well.
In summary, I recommend waiting 6 months or a year as GPS prices are dropping drastically and manufacturers are starting to offer larger displays. The Nuvi 650 has potential, and it could earn another star from me with some software updating to make it more of a value (route planning enhancements, north pointer, etc.).
 How can anyone possibly be happy with this??? October 18, 2007
Andre Schwartz (NYC)
134 out of 153 found this review helpful
First of all I'd like to start this review by saying that I got this as a replacement for my TomTom One XL. I was very happy with my TomTom, the reason I needed the Nuvi was for the Mount with integrated cables and the mount design itself. This is the only system that worked in my car in the space I wanted it in. Yes, Garmin has by far the best and the most convenient mount. You don't have to dislodge the suction cup, but rather just snap the unit off and the suction cup stays in place. This was extremely important in my application. Also it has a very long battery life compared to TomTom XL. Now to the review of the device itself. How silly is it that you can not input a zip code? Garmin can't do that. It is hard to believe but every time you input an address where you want to go you have to go through the whole find city/state routine instead of just putting in a zip code. The second disadvantage is the Keyboard layout. It is alphabetic. And you have no option to change that. An alphabetic keyboard is extremely slow. TomTom has a choice between three different keyboard layouts including QWERTY like on the computer. in the NUVI When you search for address you have to go through the whole city state routine every time instead of just having an option of searching for an address in the city you are in currently. It is extremely slow to input address as well. What would take a few seconds in TomTom takes a minute or two in Garmin. The interface is very narrow minded, no customization and very few options. There is no way to plan a trip beforehand and have multiple stops. There is no way to avoid certain roads. There is no way to use certain roads. The nuvi is just point A to Point B or point A to Point B with Point C in the Middle. That's It!? TomTom has an itinerary planning option that allows you to plan the whole trip with multiple stops. Or even numerous trips. Where TomTom comes with software to update your device and to load different, map colors, voices..., Garmin gives you just one map color. TomTom gives you so much more. it is just a much more fully featured device. The Nuvi is just so basic and slow. Now on to the worst part. Accuracy is very poor sometimes. It constantly confuses service roads and highways, direction of travel and current location. In NYC it is a disaster. The routes it chooses are also idiotic. TomTom does not nearly make so many mistakes. Another really annoying thing is the road input. You have to know exactly how it is spelled in the NUVI. I had to go once to 125 Route 59 East. Half hour after getting behind the wheel and I was still in the garage. The only way I found it is through the POI search. It turns out that you had to spell it Hwy 59 West. And that's the only way Garmin knew the road. I tried RT 59, Route 59, Just 59, Highway 59, RT 59 E, Route 59 East and many many more combinations and it still didn't see it. Combined with inability to input the Zip Code, I couldn't even find it by browsing the map. In TomTom it took less then two seconds. I just inputted 59 and immediately there were options on the screen while I was still typing. The options were Rt 59 East, Rt 59 West. So easy! This is how it should be. Garmin didn't even have east, only had west. One thing I will fault TomTom on is POIs. Let's say you are looking for Costco in your vicinity. TomTom shows the name and that's it No address. If there are numerous locations, the only way to know which location you are gong to is actually go there. Now there is an update that fixes that but TomTom still does not give you phone numbers for POIs. Garmin is much better in the way POI's are organized also. ie. Restaurants are organized by cuisine; Italian, French, German etc. In the end the Negatives greatly outweigh the positives in the Nuvi. So it is back to TomTom for me. I will have to fabricate something to get it mounted in the spot I want but I can not live with the NUVI!
Nice GPS, just a little overpriced September 8, 2007
W. Anger (Austin, TX)
119 out of 125 found this review helpful
We purchased this unit, our second Garmin Nuvi for moving to Texas on about 4/1/07. We have a 350 and now this 650. I'm not sure of the maps version we got and it has the matte screen. Overall, we're very satisfied but it's not perfect. We had to send the first sample we purchased back due to a dead pixel and a faulty touch screen. Ironically we had to send our first Nuvi back also. The second model arrived flawless. Since then we've made the following observations.
Pros
- Talks to you with the street names, saving having to look at the screen as often. How much is your safety worth?
- Attractive form factor, small enough but yet large enough
- Good battery life
- Saves gas and time, and reduces getting lost, even around your own town.
- Display, nice wide form factor. we are pleased with the daylight and nightime performance.
- Startup time seems MUCH faster than the 350.
Cons:
- Seems pricy for what you get
- Dozens of roads in the internal map software were not accurate causing much confusion when driving. This is a software map issue, not a hardware issue. Maps were not accurate.
Outdated technology in a pretty package. June 9, 2007
J. Kincade
109 out of 120 found this review helpful
Let me preface this by saying I'm not new to GPS, and have used an old reliable Garmin GPS-V on long road trips for several years with excellent results. Being "early" technology from Garmin, my good 'ol GPS-V suffered from some drawbacks such as slow RS-232 data transfer (no USB), small monochrome display, limited and non-expandable internal map memory (only 19 MB), and a tedious method of data entry. All that notwithstanding, it was reliable and efficient as a rock and worked great, and had many excellent and useful "extra" features. My favorite of it's many features was the efficient way it made use of routes and waypoints. Not only can it download and store many routes and many waypoints within each route from your PC, but it will constantly show me in real time the distance, time, and ETA to the next way point and/or the next turn, in addition to the distance, time, and ETA to final destination. The old GPS-V also had a ton of the usual features such as current elevation with graphics and elevation gains, trip info (distance, stopped time, cumulative mileage, current speed, average speed, etc. etc., ad infinitum.
Fast forward to last week when my wife gave me a spanking new Nuvi 650 for Father's Day. Wow, what a display difference. Eye candy heaven! I loved the touch screen "buttons", the relatively large (compared to my old GPS-V) brilliant and sharp color display, the clever easy-release ball mount, and the huge POI database. I tried it out around town and it worked wonderfully. I figured that five years of rapid technical advancement in the GPS field would be mine with my new Nuvi 650. Well, guess what. A lot of my enthusiasm for my new toy came to a screeching halt when I decided to plug in a route with a bunch of waypoints for an upcoming 800 mile road trip, and realized I could only have ONE (count 'em, one!) "via" point (waypoint) between the start and end of the entire trip. Are you kidding me? That is a HUGE step backwards in GPS technology, and makes no sense at all to me unless the idea was to just quickly sell a pretty but grossly dumbed-down, idiot-proof device that was best suited to finding grandma's house across town. Considering the price of this thing, this is in my opinion totally unsatisfactory. It means on an 800 mile trip via long cross country highways like interstate 40 it will tell you the "next" turn is maybe 6 hours from now. Gimme a break. With my old GPS-V I could plug in dozens of small towns or spots I might want to see along the way, and it would keep a running display of not only how far and how long to the end of my trip but how far and how long to each of the waypoints along the way, thus breaking up (at least psychologically) a long and boring drive into something more interesting and palatable. Heck, this thing won't even store routes, period! The route you are on when you punch "GO" is the only route you get. Want another route? Want to repeat a trip, or do an "inverse" trip using the same path on return? With the GPS-V just scroll down the list of your previously downloaded routes and pick one, and you're off and running. With the Nuvi, you need to create another brand new route every time, and you are allowed only a single waypoint in that route.
It is absolutely stunning to me that Garmin chose to actually build LESS technology and usefulness into this new Nuvi GPS than my 5 or 6 year old GPS-V has. What kind of technology advancement is THAT? They appear to have decided to build and sell these based on simplicity and flashiness, and on that they have succeeded, because it is super simple to use, the display is certainly very flashy and pretty, and data entry can be done by a third grader. But sadly, when you look behind all of this glitter, this is a deliberately crippled version of Garmin's own 5-year old GPS technology. What a waste. The Nuvi 650 is a '96 Ford sedan with a flashy metalflake paint job and loud pipes. In other words, it's all show and no go.
My new Nuvi 650 is not totally useless, because I'll use if for around town and short trips, where I pretty much don't care about waypoints or elevation anyway. But beyond that it IS almost useless, and on my long road trips I'll continue to squint at the postage stamp display on my old GPS-V. Heck, for $600 the Nuvi doesn't even tell you elevations. Shame on you, Garmin. You got me this time, but I'll be more careful next time I buy. For serious road trip use, the Nuvi 650 doesn't cut it. As far as I'm concerned Garmin can continue to sell Nuvi's to the Ipod market, or to the folks who spend all day watching Paris Hilton footage on CNN and whose technological capabilities don't extend past using the TV remote. For serious long distance road use, it's a no go for me.
I gave it three stars instead of two only because of the super-nice display and very slick touch-screen operation.
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