Car Accessories Reviews

1. 

   "Leo"
   June 18th, 2010 - 13:53

   Review by “Leo” for Garmin nüvi 1450 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
   Rating:
   I’ve had my Garmin 1450 now for about a week, and I got a great deal on it ($299). I was drawn to this GPS when I saw how easy it was to use for someone like me who has never had a GPS before purchasing this one. I played around with it on the store’s display. The large screen can be easily viewed while driving without struggling to view it.

   I love the touch screen feature, and the easy on/off button. It does effectively inform me of which lane I should be in; however, I do not see any road signs pictured on my GPS like the one pictured here. I see small arrows on the top left that display the correct lane to get in. I love that it also displays the time at which I should arrive at my destination.

   It does not have bluetooth capability, and it does not come with live traffic updates (you will have to purchase it separately). I do wish there was a feature that would allow me to return to the main screen without continuously having to press the back button to get back to the home screen.

   I haven’t gotten lost using this GPS, and I was told today when I showed up for an appointment that they were impressed that I found their business location, since even people from their city tend to get lost and can not find the address- I am impressed. In my current city, the GPS will map it’s way in a totally different location than is the most sensible option. Mapquest, and Google maps would not even use some of the routes. Perhaps it is because, I have it set on the fastest route. The GPS will easily re-route the trip if you miss a turn, or decide to go another direction. I am able to save 10 addresses to my favorites, which is helpful, but I want to save more than 10.

   The points of Interest tab is great. I can find locations quickly for food, gas, coffee, medical attention, shopping, etc.
2. 

   KyOTGal
   June 18th, 2010 - 14:53

   Review by KyOTGal for Garmin nüvi 1450 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
   Rating:
   Over the past 10 months I had spent WAY too many hours reading reviews on GPS systems. Something would look like the best thing since sliced bread, then there would be reviews that the tech support was a nightmare, maps were outdated, etc. I liked the bigger size and the way this looked (the Interchange graphics especially)and was going out of state in February, so I had to make a decision. At the time, there were only a few reviews. On the day I prepared to order this Garmin 1450 there was negative review. I thought “Oh, great…”, but ordered it anyway, totally overwhelmed & frustrated with the whole endeavor. It has truly been a delight. My husband has had a low-tech Garmin for years & I never liked it. My son has a Tom-Tom, friends have Magellans, etc. We found restaurants, every location we needed, all effortlessly. I was afraid to do the review immediately, for fear it would die in the future, so I have waited 3 months. All is good! The only negative thing I might include is we did need to “reboot” twice on hot days when it was on the dash – I assume because it got hot. The reboot takes only a few seconds & it never happened when I left it sitting on its Friction Mount on the gearshift mound (out of the sun). I am truly quite pleased & grateful that I haven’t had problems. I hope whatever you select turns out to be such a successful experience!
3. 

   Tennessee Dude
   June 18th, 2010 - 15:50

   Review by Tennessee Dude for Garmin nüvi 1450 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
   Rating:
   I bought the Garmin nuvi 1450 primarily because of the larger screen. The initial reviews were mixed, but there was only a couple when I was looking to buy. Because Garmin makes a quality product and often the negative product reviews are petty on their other products, I decided to buy one. I’ve been very happy with the purchase. It takes awhile for the Garmin to acquire the satellite. The biggest warning that I would tell a new buyer is to be patient the first time that you want to use it. You need to turn it on outside and wait forever for it to initialize and find the satellite the first time. They say it takes awhile. No, it takes more than a few minutes. I thought it was broken because I was impatient. :
4. 

   Chris85713
   June 18th, 2010 - 16:38

   Review by Chris85713 for Garmin nüvi 1450 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
   Rating:
   This is my third Garmin GPS and I really like everything about it EXCEPT their tech support. None of the three worked right out of the box, I had to call tech support for all three of them. The first one took about two hours with tech support to get it working. The second one took four hours to get it registered, then I signed it up for the lifetime maps update program which is a fantastic deal. Unfortunately they sent a bad link to the updates and that took two full days for tech support to correct and send the proper link.

   The third one is brand new, A Nuvi 1450. Now that it’s working it’s a fantastic unit but here’s what we went through to get it working:

   It wouldn’t register on line, I waited 35 minutes on hold for a tech support person, then spent four hours getting it to register. I tried to use it and got an error message ‘can’t unlock maps’. Another 40 minutes on hold with tech support, another three hours fussing with it and I was told that I just needed to update the maps (Updating maps on a Garmin takes about 4 and a half hours). I spent the time, updated the maps, turned it on and got the same error message: ‘can’t unlock maps’. At this point I’d invested nearly eight hours on the phone with tech support, plus the four and a half hours to update the maps and STILL did not have a working GPS.

   I waited till the next day to call Garmin Tech Support… only spent ten minutes on hold that time, and the tech support guy had it fixed in just a few minutes.

   The result of all this: While I really like all three Garmin units and they all work very well I’ll be looking for another manufacturer if I need another GPS. Garmins are indeed easy to use, they work very well and do a great job but the greatest product in the world is no better than the tech support offered – and Garmin is failing miserably in that area.
5. 

   A. Funk
   June 18th, 2010 - 16:58

   Review by A. Funk for Garmin nüvi 1450 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
   Rating:
   Wonderful GPS. I have owned $600 Lowrance units and $200 Tom Tom’s. But for the money, this 1450 Garmin is wonderful. The support online for updating the unit and adding some custom touches to the gps are really nice. BUT there are only two items that I don’t like about this gps. First, is the “lane viewer” or what ever they call it sucks. (The feature that shows a picture of the signs that you will be seeing) I travel 6 states for business and drive through major cities; Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Cinci, Indianapolis, etc… I had it only show me the picture of the signs that show what lane to be in twice after visiting all these cities. This was a bonus feature for me, not a selling point. That’s why I didn’t have it affect the way I rated it. Second, is when trying to find a hotel or gas station, it shows them surrounding you. That is great, but I wish there was an option to see what is on the way to your destination. I want to see what is in front of me, not behind. This just makes it harder and longer to find what you are looking for. So once again, not a huge problem for me. Now, if you care about bluetooth or voice navagation, I don’t so can’t give you a review on that. I mute mine and just glance at it from time to time. But what I can tell you is the ease of finding your destination, the continued updating online, the fact you can rate a hotel or destination, the size of the screen, easy to use, and how you can add a destination or correct a current destination, are things I love about the 1450 Garmin. Great price and very happy with it. I recommend this product!
6. 

   G. E. Burnell
   June 18th, 2010 - 17:50

   Review by G. E. Burnell for IZZO Swami 1500 Golf GPS Unit
   Rating:
   I ordered the swami, received it on time, easily hooked it up to my computer, loaded my home course and played nine holes that night. It worked just as advertised. Often my ball lands where yardage markers are not readily available. Swami proved to be a great help in club selection in these all to frequent situations. The next day I requested mapping for some local unmapped courses and ordered a Swami for my wife. While the company states an unmapped course will be mapped within 5-10 business days, I was notified by e-mail four days later that the courses that I had requested were mapped. These courses were easily loaded into my Swami. I used it on one of the newly mapped courses the next weekend and Swami really helped my club selection on a less familiar course. When we took my wife’s new Swami to our home course the unit did not recognize the course. I took it home and reloaded it and had the same problem. I gave it one more try. It worked for 11 holes and then yardage displayed by the unit went wacky. She was standing about 130 yards out and the display kept changing by hundreds of yards and never settled down. I called Swami support the next morning, and in less than 24 hours she had a new fully charged Swami in her hands loaded with her course choices. The new unit works as advertised. Great friendly customer service!
7. 

   BO
   June 18th, 2010 - 18:04

   Review by BO for IZZO Swami 1500 Golf GPS Unit
   Rating:
   This device basically does one thing, and does it well: displays distance to the green. One of the four buttons, labeled FCB, cycles through the distance to Front, Center, and Back of the green, so it is possible to determine depth of the green as the difference between front and back. The other three buttons are on/off, next hole, and previous hole. There’s no touchscreen, scorekeeping, weather reporting, etc.

   This is my evaluation, based on limited (several rounds) experience:

   Pros
   
   + Simple and effective
   
   + Accurate (within a couple yards of on-course markers and center of green)
   
   + Good battery life (at least 4 rounds per charge)
   
   + Includes AC/USB adapter (computer not required to charge the device)
   
   + Large LCD display; numbers easily seen at a glace
   
   + No issues with software, setup, course selection, downloading
   
   + Good value, considering base price and $10 annual data fee

   Neutral
   
   o Plastic belt clip – I wonder how long until it breaks
   
   o Overall size is not small, though effective use of front surface space with the LCD and buttons.
   
   o Ten (10) course capacity is reasonable

   Cons
   
   - A bit thick: almost 1″ at widest point on the belt clip.
   
   - USB/charging port is not protected. What will happen when it gets wet?
   
   - It only goes in the belt clip in one direction. If worn on the belt, you look at the numbers and controls upside down. Or, if clipped upside down, there is the risk is falls off the belt or out of the clip.

   [end of review 10/17/09]
8. 

   A. T. McPhee
   June 18th, 2010 - 18:06

   Review by A. T. McPhee for IZZO Swami 1500 Golf GPS Unit
   Rating:
   Just purchased the Swami 1500 and used it this weekend. Fully accurate and with numbers plenty large enough for me to see without my glasses, which I don’t wear when playing. Really easy to use too. LOVE IT!
9. 

   John W. Byam
   June 18th, 2010 - 18:57

   Review by John W. Byam for IZZO Swami 1500 Golf GPS Unit
   Rating:
   The device is easy to use and does an excellent job for the money. It easily finds the course it is on and provides very accurate distance to the greens. One just has to remember to turn it off at the end of the day or the battery runs down.
   
   An excellent value for the money.
10. 

    M. Thomas Diklich
    June 18th, 2010 - 19:20

    Review by M. Thomas Diklich for IZZO Swami 1500 Golf GPS Unit
    Rating:
    Simply put, this is the best deal on an entry level golf gps out there. All it does is lock onto the satelites fast, recognize the course you are playing without any input from you, and tell you how far you are from the center, back or front of the green. It updates constantly as you move, and all you have to do is hit the ^ button after each hole, advancing it to the next one. The readout is large enough to see from quite a distance, so you can clip it to the cart when carts are allowed on the grass, but it’s more than small enough to fit comfortably in your pocket. If you are good enough to need distances to all the hazzards on each hole, and are willing to pay at least twice as much, look elsewhere. Otherwise, this unit this close to $100 is the bomb. Be sure the wall charger is included, ’cause some vendors are lowballing this unit without telling you it isn’t in the box. (Charging it with the computer cable included requires that your computer and their software is running, and this can be a bit of a bother sometimes.) Their annual course download fee is only 10$, not the 35$ everyone else wants. It only holds 10 courses at a time, but downloading others is a snap and they will map any course for you that they don’t already have. (they had all the ones I wanted already mapped) The charge lasts 12 hours, but you do have to be responsible enough to turn it off when you are done, something Izzo might consider correcting in the future with an auto off feature.

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