5inch garmin versus 4.3

[maxtog]

Word.  I still tote my old Garmin in case of emergency,  but its NEVER used anymore.  Google maps are light years ahead.  Google maps are updated daily with detours and measure time off real time traffic and such.  Garmin is old technology worthy of the junk pile. Anyone wants to debate that try searching for anything on a Garmin then try it on the google search on a google map hehehehe. Then try and listen to pandora on the garmin as you travel

And ALL of that assumes you have an active data connection.  And the moment you don't, you might be screwed.  Roads simply don't change THAT MUCH that it is such a huge deal that it is not "live".  And I have no interest in listening to pandora... I have an SD card in my Garmin with countless thousands of songs it plays for me... completely uninterrupted, and at perfect fidelity.  About the only thing it doesn't do I could use would be live traffic.  And if I need to know that, I just check my Google Maps on my EVO LTE before I start the bike.

There are some advantages to using a phone... but that doesn't negate all the other previously mentioned advantages of a Zumo.  And it certainly doesn't make it worthy of the junk pile.

[ZG]

I love my Zumo, the only thing I wish I could do on it while riding that I currently cant is send texts... 

[martin_14]

And ALL of that assumes you have an active data connection.  And the moment you don't, you might be screwed.  Roads simply don't change THAT MUCH that it is such a huge deal that it is not "live".  And I have no interest in listening to pandora... I have an SD card in my Garmin with countless thousands of songs it plays for me... completely uninterrupted, and at perfect fidelity.  About the only thing it doesn't do I could use would be live traffic.  And if I need to know that, I just check my Google Maps on my EVO LTE before I start the bike.

There are some advantages to using a phone... but that doesn't negate all the other previously mentioned advantages of a Zumo.  And it certainly doesn't make it worthy of the junk pile.

+1

[h2smokin]

Funny how this thread changed directions:) Well I ended up with a Garmin 3590 with a 5 inch screen and lifetime maps and traffic. I could have gone with a cheaper model but I like the screen and it's glass so its clearer than the plastic ones and there's more Pixels? which makes the screen cleaner as well. I just don't want to use my phone for a gps. I have a note2 with an even bigger screen than this but I will just link it to the gps. Put some music on an sd card and I should be good to go. Heading to the Bay area from Tucson then into the Sierras and who knows where then in about 3 weeks. I think this should work fine for what I need. Thanks for all the input

[PlaynInPeoria]

Each has their strengths and weaknesses.  The phrase "Let those who ride decide" applies here, but not in the traditional sense.  When I was trying to blast through Dallas traffic in heavy traffic in rain, being able to use the 'old tech' Garmin with gloves in rain helped a lot.  And I can still do Pandora from my phone to my Sena.

If you're happy with the way you do it, that's good.  I lead a lot of rides (this year, it was 3k miles to Austin and back to see the MotoGP and ride Hill Country) and I make routes, then export and email to others who download to their GPS also, so everybody has the route and turns don't surprise people. I also did a ride from Peoria to Arkansas, 4 days, 1700 miles of twisty bits, same deal, lay out the routes in advance, export the files and send to everybody so they can load.  Works well.   

I will say that the software that came with my Zumo 220 (Mapsource) is clunky in some ways, but works well in others.  I set a bunch of waypoints at specific locations, then link them all with a route, so we go exactly where I want to go, down the good roads and not the more direct route Google maps does.  If there was a slicker way to use Google maps so make a file importable into my GPS, I might be up for that.  Although sometimes Google maps gets confused and I end up with purple route lines in wacky places. In the Garmin software, I just delete the waypoint and route info and go from there.  But the Mapsource has limitations, I'm sure its database is out of date but has been fine, never gotten a bum steer in 10k miles of touring with it. But I am open to slicker/easier/mo better ways of doing things.

[honzacaf]

I am using the Galaxy S4, With the Waze app, I will be ordering the Lifeproof waterproof case for my phone. I wouldn't change the phone for a GPS unit.  I have everything I need,  GPS,  music,  phone, emails, SMS and everything controlled over Assistant application, so everything can be controlled over voice (bluetooth headset)

Love it

[Canada-Dan]

I'm not old but pushing 50 and I don't think I'm alone when I confess that I can't see the damn screen on anything less than a 7 inch GPS. Now I haven't mounted a GPS on my  bike yet but I can't imagine being able to use anything but my 7 inch. 
I can't be alone.  My eyes are 20/15 but I cant see close up for crap. I dont need glasses to drive and i just use cheap dollar store throw aways for reading ....and typing this.   
C'mon guys what's the secret ??  How do you read your GPS ? Bifocals ??
And,,,do you think I can fit a 7 inch GPS between the bars ?
Dan

[B.D.F.]

You are suffering from 'long arm' disease- that is where you need longer arms to get the restaurant menu farther and farther away or you cannot read it. One day your arms just are not long enough anymore.

As we age, the lens in our eyes thickens and hardens (easy boys!). The muscles that stretch that lens cannot get it as thin as they could when were young and our lenses pliable. So the short focus, which is when a thin lens is required, gets more and more out of focus. Watch little kids- they can look at stuff almost touching their noses.

There is no fix other than additional lenses (glasses, contact lenses, welding mask inserts, whatever) or a new lens. When you are old enough to have to have the cataracts removed, have the doctor put in a 'close' lens in one eye and marvel at how much better you can focus on things close to your eyes.

A welding insert may work in your helmet visor, fastened to the bottom. You would have to cut one up but they are inexpensive enough. Other than that or eyeglasses, there is no way out of it that I know of.

I am currently using a Zumo 550 and walking the fine line between 'it is too far away to see' and 'it is too close to focus'. And yes, I am wearing a pair of cheap drug store glasses as I type this. From what I hear, it don't get better as we get older either.... :-(

Brian

I'm not old but pushing 50 and I don't think I'm alone when I confess that I can't see the damn screen on anything less than a 7 inch GPS. Now I haven't mounted a GPS on my  bike yet but I can't imagine being able to use anything but my 7 inch. 
I can't be alone.  My eyes are 20/15 but I cant see close up for crap. I dont need glasses to drive and i just use cheap dollar store throw aways for reading ....and typing this.   
C'mon guys what's the secret ??  How do you read your GPS ? Bifocals ??
And,,,do you think I can fit a 7 inch GPS between the bars ?
Dan

[maxtog]

I'm not old but pushing 50 and I don't think I'm alone when I confess that I can't see the damn screen on anything less than a 7 inch GPS. Now I haven't mounted a GPS on my  bike yet but I can't imagine being able to use anything but my 7 inch. 
I can't be alone.  My eyes are 20/15 but I cant see close up for crap.

Unfortunately it happens to all of us.  I am 44 and over the last two years starting to go through this and just got bifocals.  I don't wear glasses while driving but, like you, I am having increasing difficulty with small text.  I am OK with my Zumo 450, but barely.  I can tell it is going to be a problem eventually.

[Canada-Dan]

I've tried wearing a single contact lense in my right eye alone while I run. That way I can read my running GPS. Believe it or not I don't run in circles with a single lense in. It seems my right eye becomes dominant when I look at my wrist GPS and it relaxes and my left eye is dominant throughout the run and nothing appears out of focus as if looking up wearing reading glasses.
However, I do find that if I'm gone for a long run,,,in the 2 to 3 hour range, my eyes are a bit sore afterwards.  Probably the strain of not knowing which way to focus, or my eyes performing Chameleon like duties haha
I don't think this would be an option on a multi week trip.
I wonder if there are lenses that can be attached to the visor near an outer corner.  Or is that what you mean by a welding helmet lense. I don't know what you mean.

[CrashGordon]

A couple things I'll add to the original topic. I've had a Garmin 550 since I first got the bike in '09 and it's worked great. I've used it in torrential rain and it's never given me a hiccup. Being able to download routes it nice, though I wish Garmin would develop simpler, more intuitive software for doing this. Anyone else think Basecamp is much harder to use than it needs to be? Someone said they downloaded routes directly from Google; how does that work (and does it with the 550)?

I do have my phone paired to my Sena for radio streaming and last trip I decided to put my phone in the clear map pocket of my tankbag so I could see the caller ID and decide if I wanted to answer an incoming call. When I stopped for lunch and took out my phone, the face was so hot (from sitting in the sun) that I almost couldn't touch it. That can't be good for the phone and I sure wouldn't want to subject my phone to that on a regular basis.

Like others, my phone does not function when I'm wearing riding gloves.

I also have a questions for those who have a lot of Garmin experience. I would love to eventually upgrade my 550 to a newer model. I'd like to have lifetime map updates and a larger screen. I'm using the cradle that came with the unit and the power supply is hardwired to the bike. Does anyone know if the plug that fits the 550 cradle is the same on newer models? In other words, if I get a new unit can I just replace the cradle or will I have to re-run the power wire?