The Garmin 1300T is a nice GPS navigation device with the usual features, plus the additional great feature of FREE lifetime traffic information. But there are two things you need to know about the traffic information feature. First, in order for it to work, the device needs to be connected to the charger, and the charger needs to be plugged into the car cigarette lighter. This is because the antenna receiving the traffic info is located on the charger wire. The traffic information feature will not work if the device not connected to the car through the charger. Second, the traffic information feature also provides advertising - the advertisers are apparently the ones who are paying Garmin and the traffic system so that you can have free traffic info. The advertisements show up on a small line at the bottom right of the screen when the device is in the traffic info mode (which is a separate display from the navigation mode). Note of this is explained in the very brief quick-start guide. Another thing a buyer should know is that an 100/220 volt "home" charger is NOT included in the box. Also a case for the device is NOT included in the box. But you can buy these separately for additional money. My only criticism is that all of these things are not clearly brought to the attention of the buyer before the purchase. Garmin nüvi 1300T GPS Navigation System
I have had this going on a month now and find it to be one of the best, if not THE best GPS Vehicle Nav I have come across. I've several handhelds of various names as well, but in sticking with the scope of this review, I will only mention my previous experience with the vehicle GPS units.
I've had just about every brand name of GPS unit in search of the "perfect" one. Up until now, the closest I came was with a Nuvi 350 when it was first released in 05, which I foolishly sold as I wasn't using it as much as I had originally thought. Back then, GPS Nav was a nicety and not nearly as "big" as it is today. Since then, I've had units from Magellan, Cobra, Finedrive (Ugh!), Whistler, TomTom, Mio(My favorite TeleAtlas based brand) and Navigon. All had their plusses and minuses but, never really hit that sweet spot. With the exception of one small detail, the 1300 FINALLY gets it.
I can't tell you how happy I am to be back to a Navtech based device. While TeleAtlas certainlny has come a long way, it's still not as accurate as Navtech. I still have two of my TeleAtlas based units(Mio and TomTom) and have done a series of comparisons between the 1300 and the others, with the 1300 being the most accurate. The Navigon actually has free map updates and is running the very latest maps, but still falls short in comparison.
The routing alogarythim is also much better in this unit than with rest. With the exception of the Nuvi 350, of course, which routes very similar to the 1300. That's not to say, there are no routing flaws. All GPSes have flaws, and this is no different. However, the strange routes are far less than with my previous units.
And last, but not least: Appearance. Good lord this thing is gorgeous! The map display is top notch and looks great scrolling through whatever road I may be on. I know this doesn't really matter to some, but for those who like good looking graphics, this is the unit for you!
Also, I HIGHLY suggest getting the 1300T over the 1300. That is if you live in an urban area and are affected by traffic on your commute. This has saved me TONS of time, as people around here can't seem to drive through a simple tunnel without crashing daily! I will point out, however, the free lifetime traffic does come at a small cost. There are unobtrusive ads(hotels mostly) at the bottom of the screen when on the traffic menu. These only show when not moving and are quite small. Definitely not something to get in a fuss over, but thought I'd point it out.
The only thing I would change about this model(and the whole Garmin vehicle line) is the ability to better control your detours. On my previous TomTom, Magellan, Navigon and Cobra, I could tell it how far to reroute and in some instances, choose the route. Garmin just gives you one Detour and that's it. Sometimes even putting you back on the same road a few miles up. This isn't as much of a problem with the traffic module, as it automagically routes you around the traffic. But it would still be nice to have more tweakability.
First of all, I am a MAP guy. I like paper maps, Paper maps at my local AAA and they have gotten me to my destination for years without problems. That said, I work in the transportation industry as a dispatcher. My drivers often claim that they can not find a street because it does not show up on their GPS. This is because they do not enter the information correctly. Street numbers, Street spelling are very important with all GPS receivers.
I have traveled to the Sierra foothills to the local drives in the San Francisco bay area. The free traffic alerts are pretty accurate. The GPS navigation routes are pretty direct and good. When I take my own route or a turn, it recalculates quickly and gives me the direction to where I need to go. Satellite acquisition is quick and have never had a problem with it. The points of interest are nice to find post offices, restaurants, and other stores. Has the option to spell out the particular name of the retail outlet you may be looking for.
I would recommend this Model to anyone looking for a GPS receiver with good features and is priced reasonably. Use with conjunction with a Iphone or regular map, its all the GPS I would ever need. Now I want to see how long it will work without problems. At the time of this review, Ive owned it for little over a month.
Got this as a gift a few months back and took it on vacation with us to Las Vegas. It was a lot easier to use than the GPS system that was built into the rental car. In fact it was working like a champ until the last day of our trip. Then when you turned it on, it would boot to the Garmin logo screen and freeze there. It was fully charged and ready to go but it would never get past that logo screen. I figured that I'd reconnect it to my laptop to see if that would shake loose the problem. Nope, no luck. Got on their web site and quickly discovered comments from other users who had a similar problem. Apparently the original software that shipped with the nuvi 1300 had a fatal software flaw in it that would cause the entire unit to seize up and be unuseable. Something happens occassionally when using the USB cable to sync with your computer. The problem is easily avoid IF you download the latest software update to the nuvi before this self destruct kicks in (which needs the USB sync to your computer to complete, so cross your fingers).
The good news is that they had very responsive customer service that shipped me out a replacement unit within a week. Down side is that it is a whole new nuvi, so any saved data on the original unit will be lost and need to re-entered on your replacement unit.
Still, despite the initial issue, I have been overall pleased with the performance of the nuvi. The screens are pretty intuitive and the Eco mode option is good if your like to track your fuel economy and route to your destination with the minimum use of gas. - Garmin Nuvi - Garmin 265wt - Gps - Nuvi'
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