Latest Top of the Line Garmin Units?

I have a DriveSmart 61 and I love it. I'm not sure of the difference between it and the DS 66. Mine is 6.1 inches and to be honest with my old eyes even it is getting small. Feature wise it's a very good and reliable GPS for me.

I would love to have a bigger screen for my old eyes, although I love my Nuvi 3597 LMTHD.

Yes, the bigger the better. But when traveling, I wonder if there is such a thing as "TOO Big". Needs to be able to pack it in a suitcase, or take it on a plane while traveling.

I'll have to try to see the 8" GPS in person to get a better feel for it.

But it required so much access and wants to share so much I sent it back

What did it want to share? Display too much information?

Can you please give a little more detail about your complaints ?

Thanks.

^^My guess is the complaint is more so about the link app than the unit itself¿?

To all the other 3rd party i-net companies..

I have a DriveSmart 65 and am generally happy with it. One thing that does bother me is the device occasionally spontaneously rebooting while in the middle of using it. Fortunately the firmware gracefully recovers and remembers the last route you set in it, so there is that.

The reboots do not occur with any regularity, and in fact the spontaneous reboot I encountered today was the first I had encountered in two months.

I do find the features to be quite nice. But if you want anything smaller than 6 inches, you need to go with a Drive 53. Doing so you lose most of the DriveSmart features like voice commands, 3D buildings and active lane guidance, and the junction views switch from photorealistic to basic. The Drive 53 is however very much a step back from the high end nuvi devices of old.

I also have a Garmin DriveSmart 65. Mine is the version with Amazon Alexa. While it may not necessarily be the "top of the line" Garmin unit, it is a nice screen size for my needs in my vehicle. Garmin shows that the version with Alexa is $100 more. The Amazon price, with Alexa, is less expensive than the version without right now!

I do think Traffic is a very valuable feature. I typically get traffic data via a Bluetooth connection. The power cable I use is a GTM 60 HD Digital Traffic Receiver version. That allows traffic data to be received via FM-HD broadcasters.

I chose to not get the Alexa version because I didn't feel I needed it. I still don't, but I do have Alexa-connected devices in the house so my perspective on that could change.

Traffic is very valuable, but I prefer using the Drive app for the traffic alerts as I feel it's both quicker and more comprehensive than FM. I could also use a GTM 60 if I wanted as I was given one with the 3550LM I picked up on Facebook Messenger for the cost of gas (i.e. free). In my area however FM is slow.

I don't think you are missing much of anything by not having the Amazon Alexa version. Knowing what I know now, I probably would not pay extra for it.

Traffic via Bluetooth is much better in my area of Minnesota than the traffic content over FM HD.

I'm impressed with the Garmin Drive App. It's a bit slow in identifying or releasing problem areas.So often enough you are driving in a marked area where there is no problem or stuck in traffic that has not yet been marked.
Does anyone know how/where it get's it's information. Recently we have had some snow and thus slippery spots and the Garmin drive app seems to be reasonably accurate with those.. but who/what decides where/when??

I tried two of the DirveSmart 86's and returned both of them. The first one quit working after about 2 hours, and the second one worked but wouldn't "talk". It would not give any voice directions. You had to keep an eye on the screen to see when your turn was coming up. Not safe at all.

I have a Garmin 86 and 64 and enjoy both.
I prefer The 86 over the 64 for its size but the 86 tells me I am home one block from my house. GPS error. I know where I live that close.

How did you determine the Home address: street address, or by saving a location and calling it home? Make sure you have a good satellite fix before saving a Favorite or Home POI.

I suggest you delete your Home setting and reset it.

Many years ago the advice from, as best I recall the Baltimore Police Department, was to purposely set a fake address for "home". Apparently thieves were stealing cars from shopping centers and the navi system took them to your home and often times the car even had a garage door opener.

My "home" is actually set to the local police department, about 2 blocks away from the house.

…I concur with that advice. It may never happen but why take the chance. I would rather send them to my local PD than have them show up at my house. (Of course, if my wife is doing the shopping and I am home; well, that may be a different story.)

So you don't have car registration, insurance card, anythihg in your car with an address? Did you rip off the VIN so no one could read it and get your DMV info? Did you ever have a Valet park your car? Never took your car in for repairs and gave them the key - Oh yeah, they won't ever duplicate a key and come steal your car. And a dealer repair can ALWAYS make another eloctronic key.

Let's be really parinoid and live life afraid of someone knowing where we live.

I think the days of someone breaking in your car to steal the GPS from the dash are long gone. Nobody want's them, worthless to a drugie and his dealer.

Even if they stole your car and it had a garage door opener on the visor, would they bother tracking you down and getting in your house?
I think the statiscs will show that is very low. These idoits are in it for the quick buck, not a house jacking....Geez.

No wonder I don't come here very often anymore. You guys are afraid of real life. I feel sorry for those of you that live in the poorest, drug infested, slums in the world, and have a real need to live in fear.

A couple of years ago, my nephew lost his Garmin Montana handheld while we were biking. We searched for hours with no luck. He resigned himself to the fact that he had lost a $500+ GPS.

A couple of days later, it showed up in his mailbox! Apparently, some good Samaritan found the unit and used his home location to return it!

Probably not a common occurrence but IMO, just as probable as a thief using your GPS home location to rip you off.

When you're setting Home, set it for someplace near your home, but not exactly your home. Use a nearby intersection, etc.
If your GPS is stolen, they can press Home to rob you, because they figure you're obviously not home, if they stole it.

I live in ana apartment, so I can set it for the drive to the underground parking, since there's no way they can figure my actual apartment.

I have the DS65 also. Totally agree with you. I don't have Alexa & see no benefit, especially since I don't have at home either.
If mine reboots like Strphon's I've never noticed.

Fortunately, unless I uncheck "reminders" in Smart Notifications in the Drive app, it only happens once in a great while. When it does happen though it's noticeable. It's a soft reboot so the DS65 resumes running the route upon finishing its reboot.

So, unchecking "reminders" in Smart Notifications and trying to take a call results in my DS65 freezing and rebooting. I suppose I could contact Garmin about all of this as it was a refurb unit, but I don't think they'll do much. Besides, Garmin can't help unless I get error logs, and to be honest I haven't bothered.

get Drivesmart 86 it is big and bright easy to see and tons of very useful features and in reality it is not much bigger than the smaller models and i am quite happy with mine
keep in mind that it is expensive

Remember when we worried about the suction cup mark left on a windshield if a GPS was mounted there? Seems quaint now.

Phil