Garmin GPS - StreetPilot 2730 impressions

Author

StreetPilot 2730 impressions

Seagull

2006-01-15, 11:48 pm

I got my StreetPilot 2730 (North America version) this weekend and have
been playing with it in the house (I haven't had a chance to go driving
with it yet). My initial thoughts and impressions on the new
features, as a 2610 user, follow.

Frist, some notes on what's in the box.

My unit came with firmware v4.40 but Garmin has posted 4.5 on their
Web site, so if you get one of these be sure to check if you need the
update. I loaded the new firmware in just a few seconds with no
issues.

It came loaded with City Nav North America v7 NT. There were no
MapSource CDs or DVDs in the package, so there's no way to do route
planning on the PC unless you already have the v7 maps from some other
source (in my case, I do). There's the familiar yellow slip of paper
with an unlock code included in the packaging, but I tried it with my
City Nav North America v7 DVD (not the NT version) and the lock code
wasn't recognized. In fact, MapSource lists the 2730 lock code as an
"unknown" map region when you go to review your unlock codes.

When I wrote to Garmin a month or so ago they suggested that they might
make the v7 NT maps available to purchasers of the 2730 on request. I'm
going to do that and see what happens.

In the box are the familiar SteetPilot mount options: a bean bag mount,
and the standard mount with the adhesive pads. There's also a remote
control, (short) USB cable, AC adapter, cigarette lighter adapter, the GXM
30 antenna, Windows drivers on CD and the user manuals. A nice addition
to those coming up from the 2610: there's also a face shield provided
to protect your screen when you're stashing your GPS. This is nice. :)

It's basically a 2720 with MP3 player, audio book player and XM
receiver. As such, just a few general comments for those coming
from the 2610:

The display on this is /beautiful/, basically the same as the 2720's
and a vast improvement over the 2610. Coming from the latter, it's
nice ot be rid of that awful yellow background. The text is also
much clearer and more readable, even in smaller fonts. The colors are
pleasant and the screen looks modern rather than dated.

It takes a little getting used to the new manu layout if you're
familiar with the 2610, but it's intuitive enough. The map display is
as configurable as it needs to be. Drive and navigation tabs are also
very configurablem ala 2610 style, though you can no longer "hide"
individual tabs (a feature I found useful on the 2610). Like the 2720,
if you customize your tabs, you lose the green, top bar on the "default"
tab layout. However, this information can be duplicated on custom tabs
so it's not a big loss.

I do miss the loss of the dual-function buttons. Marking your current
location is now an extra step (touch the map screen, then hit "save as
a favorite", the default position is your current position). Making
up for that are zoom in/out hot spots directly on the touch screen.

As for the new features...

Audio output options are the internal speaker or the FM transmitter/
modulator. You cannot use both at the same time. If you do the
latter, there's no volume control since you would be using your
stereo for that. So far, I'm not impressed with the FM transmitter
(though I'm not impressed with them in general, this one seems
particularly weak).

There's also a headphone jack on the unit itself which can be configured
for line level or headphones operation. This can be used in conjunction
with the above audio options.

Best option: use the headphone jack to either the line in of your
stereo (if you have one) or a casette adapter.

The MP3 Player:

You load MP3s by hooking the unit up to your computer via USB and
selecting "mass storage mode" on the device screen. This makes the
2730 show up like a mass storage device/hard drive. You copy MP3s
to the MP3 folder and you're done. According to Windows, the total
storage is 2 GB (1.92 GB formatted). About 1.1 GB are used by the
maps and other system stuff, leaving a respectable 850 MB or so
for user data. That's the good news.

The bad news: the connection is USB 1.1. This is inexcusable, IMHO.

Audiobooks:

Audio books from Audible.com are supported. As with other Audible
players, you have to do everything through Audible's software manager.
You can bookmark your place in the book.

XM Radio:

The supplied XM antenna let's you pick up XM satellite radio. You
have to activate your radio first, which generally includes a one-time
activation fee and a subscription (monthly, yearly, whatever). With
your radio subscription you also get stock data.

You get three sets of six presets. Switching between the preset groups
requires a few screen clicks and is not very convenient.

The antenna is heavy and bulky: a "puck" that's 3-1/4" in diameter
and an inch thick. While it has a magnetic base, the thickness of the
cable probably prohibits threading it through the door gasket to
mount on the roof. It also gets noticeably warm during operation.

The antenna plugs in to the USB port, so you can't listen to XM radio
while you're connected to your PC loading POIs, transferring music, etc.

XM NavTraffic:

To get traffic alerts on your GPS you have to subsccribe to the XM
NavTraffic service, which is an additional monthly fee. Coverage is
limited to a few major metropolitan areas (see http://www.xmnavtraffic.com/)
so check out coerage before you buy.

XM Weather:

To get weather reports, you have to subscribe to XM NavTraffic. Though
the traffic is limited to only a few cities, it appears that the weather
reports can be given for any city with an airport.

I'm not impressed that you have to buy the NavTraffic service to get the
weather stuff. There's something silly about being able to get stock
quotes, which are of limited value to the average person, with the radio
subscription, but the weather information requires an additional service
(which is also of limited value) and fee.

I'm also surprised and disappointed that there are no promotional
offerings bundled with the XM radio. There's no activation waiver,
trial subscription or other discount coupon.

--
\ carpe cavy!
seagull @ aracnet.com \
http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/ \ (seize the guinea pig!)

Dave M

2006-01-15, 11:48 pm

It lookmed interesting to me until I sawq that XM traffic was only
avbailable in a few cities I travel to, and the the Clear Chanel was
available in most. I am debating a 2720 or a Nuvi 350 and will decide soon.

"Seagull" <seagull@aracnet.com> wrote in message
news:dqei1s019f8@ene
ws3.newsguy.com...
>I got my StreetPilot 2730 (North America version) this weekend and have
> been playing with it in the house (I haven't had a chance to go driving
> with it yet). My initial thoughts and impressions on the new
> features, as a 2610 user, follow.
>
> Frist, some notes on what's in the box.
>
> My unit came with firmware v4.40 but Garmin has posted 4.5 on their
> Web site, so if you get one of these be sure to check if you need the
> update. I loaded the new firmware in just a few seconds with no
> issues.
>
> It came loaded with City Nav North America v7 NT. There were no
> MapSource CDs or DVDs in the package, so there's no way to do route
> planning on the PC unless you already have the v7 maps from some other
> source (in my case, I do). There's the familiar yellow slip of paper
> with an unlock code included in the packaging, but I tried it with my
> City Nav North America v7 DVD (not the NT version) and the lock code
> wasn't recognized. In fact, MapSource lists the 2730 lock code as an
> "unknown" map region when you go to review your unlock codes.
>
> When I wrote to Garmin a month or so ago they suggested that they might
> make the v7 NT maps available to purchasers of the 2730 on request. I'm
> going to do that and see what happens.
>
> In the box are the familiar SteetPilot mount options: a bean bag mount,
> and the standard mount with the adhesive pads. There's also a remote
> control, (short) USB cable, AC adapter, cigarette lighter adapter, the GXM
> 30 antenna, Windows drivers on CD and the user manuals. A nice addition
> to those coming up from the 2610: there's also a face shield provided
> to protect your screen when you're stashing your GPS. This is nice. :)
>
> It's basically a 2720 with MP3 player, audio book player and XM
> receiver. As such, just a few general comments for those coming
> from the 2610:
>
> The display on this is /beautiful/, basically the same as the 2720's
> and a vast improvement over the 2610. Coming from the latter, it's
> nice ot be rid of that awful yellow background. The text is also
> much clearer and more readable, even in smaller fonts. The colors are
> pleasant and the screen looks modern rather than dated.
>
> It takes a little getting used to the new manu layout if you're
> familiar with the 2610, but it's intuitive enough. The map display is
> as configurable as it needs to be. Drive and navigation tabs are also
> very configurablem ala 2610 style, though you can no longer "hide"
> individual tabs (a feature I found useful on the 2610). Like the 2720,
> if you customize your tabs, you lose the green, top bar on the "default"
> tab layout. However, this information can be duplicated on custom tabs
> so it's not a big loss.
>
> I do miss the loss of the dual-function buttons. Marking your current
> location is now an extra step (touch the map screen, then hit "save as
> a favorite", the default position is your current position). Making
> up for that are zoom in/out hot spots directly on the touch screen.
>
> As for the new features...
>
> Audio output options are the internal speaker or the FM transmitter/
> modulator. You cannot use both at the same time. If you do the
> latter, there's no volume control since you would be using your
> stereo for that. So far, I'm not impressed with the FM transmitter
> (though I'm not impressed with them in general, this one seems
> particularly weak).
>
> There's also a headphone jack on the unit itself which can be configured
> for line level or headphones operation. This can be used in conjunction
> with the above audio options.
>
> Best option: use the headphone jack to either the line in of your
> stereo (if you have one) or a casette adapter.
>
> The MP3 Player:
>
> You load MP3s by hooking the unit up to your computer via USB and
> selecting "mass storage mode" on the device screen. This makes the
> 2730 show up like a mass storage device/hard drive. You copy MP3s
> to the MP3 folder and you're done. According to Windows, the total
> storage is 2 GB (1.92 GB formatted). About 1.1 GB are used by the
> maps and other system stuff, leaving a respectable 850 MB or so
> for user data. That's the good news.
>
> The bad news: the connection is USB 1.1. This is inexcusable, IMHO.
>
> Audiobooks:
>
> Audio books from Audible.com are supported. As with other Audible
> players, you have to do everything through Audible's software manager.
> You can bookmark your place in the book.
>
> XM Radio:
>
> The supplied XM antenna let's you pick up XM satellite radio. You
> have to activate your radio first, which generally includes a one-time
> activation fee and a subscription (monthly, yearly, whatever). With
> your radio subscription you also get stock data.
>
> You get three sets of six presets. Switching between the preset groups
> requires a few screen clicks and is not very convenient.
>
> The antenna is heavy and bulky: a "puck" that's 3-1/4" in diameter
> and an inch thick. While it has a magnetic base, the thickness of the
> cable probably prohibits threading it through the door gasket to
> mount on the roof. It also gets noticeably warm during operation.
>
> The antenna plugs in to the USB port, so you can't listen to XM radio
> while you're connected to your PC loading POIs, transferring music, etc.
>
> XM NavTraffic:
>
> To get traffic alerts on your GPS you have to subsccribe to the XM
> NavTraffic service, which is an additional monthly fee. Coverage is
> limited to a few major metropolitan areas (see
> http://www.xmnavtraffic.com/)
> so check out coerage before you buy.
>
> XM Weather:
>
> To get weather reports, you have to subscribe to XM NavTraffic. Though
> the traffic is limited to only a few cities, it appears that the weather
> reports can be given for any city with an airport.
>
> I'm not impressed that you have to buy the NavTraffic service to get the
> weather stuff. There's something silly about being able to get stock
> quotes, which are of limited value to the average person, with the radio
> subscription, but the weather information requires an additional service
> (which is also of limited value) and fee.
>
> I'm also surprised and disappointed that there are no promotional
> offerings bundled with the XM radio. There's no activation waiver,
> trial subscription or other discount coupon.
>
>
> --
> \ carpe cavy!
> seagull @ aracnet.com \
> http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/ \ (seize the guinea pig!)

Seagull

2006-01-16, 5:49 pm

In alt.satellite.gps.garmin Dave M <davem@idonotread.cinci.rr.com> wrote:
> It lookmed interesting to me until I sawq that XM traffic was only
> avbailable in a few cities I travel to, and the the Clear Chanel was
> available in most. I am debating a 2720 or a Nuvi 350 and will decide soon.

I'd like to hear from people who use the traffic services. My big
question is how effective this function really is, since most traffic
services are only covering major highways. Around here, bailing from a
major highway onto surface street can be far worse than just sticking
it out.

In really large metro areas, like L.A. where people have entire
conversations about which freeways you can take between points A and B
because there are just so many of them, I can possibly see some real
value. Elsewhere, particularly in smaller metro areas, it just seems
like the autorouting portion is little more than a gimmick.

That being said, just knowing how bad the traffic is around your city's
freeway system can be pretty useful, as you can plan alternate routes
based on what you know about your roads. But autorouting...it seems
that the GPS just wouldn't have enough (or any) information about
secondary routes to do it for you.

Cheers,
-+JLS

--
\ carpe cavy!
seagull @ aracnet.com \
http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/ \ (seize the guinea pig!)

Seagull

2006-01-16, 5:49 pm

Something else occurred to me today as I was parking my car: Garmin
is beginning to push the limits of "portable" in the StreetPilot line,
at least from a convenience standpoint. Yes, you can carry them with
you, but if you have a 2730, or a 2720 with the GTM 10, you are now
disconnecting up to three cables from the back of the unit every
time you take it from the car: the GPS antenna, the power connector
and the antenna for the radio or traffic service.

A single plug that could be connected to the GPS (and that the other
antennas would attach to) would be a nice addition to future products
to enable quick connects/disconnects.

Cheers,
-+JLS

--
\ carpe cavy!
seagull @ aracnet.com \
http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/ \ (seize the guinea pig!)

Jack Erbes

2006-01-16, 11:48 pm

Dave M wrote:
> It lookmed interesting to me until I sawq that XM traffic was only
> avbailable in a few cities I travel to, and the the Clear Chanel was
> available in most. I am debating a 2720 or a Nuvi 350 and will decide soon.

I'd have to agree with that. I think the XM traffic feature is aimed at
the "that sounds like a great idea" impulse buyer. It might not ever do
a lot of buyers any good at all. XM Traffic has only provides reports
for 21 locations currently as listed here:

http://www.xmradio.com/programming/...sp?hood=traffic

Another issue to me on XM radio is that adding it to a GPS receiver
seems to be the harder and more expensive way to get it. You already
have a FM receiver in the average car. For about $50 or so you can buy
a Roady XT or similar XM receiver and that will send a low power
broadcast to your FM receiver and give you 160 digital channels to
choose from there. The XM antenna is similar to a mouse style GPS
antenna in size and style needs about the same kind of exposure.

The XM receiver does not need to have prominent exposure (center mounted
on the dash with sky view, etc.). It can be directly controlled with
button presses or (more conveniently and generally more safely) with a
handheld remote.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA (jackerbes at adelphia dot net)
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine dot com)

Seagull

2006-01-18, 5:48 pm

In alt.satellite.gps.garmin Seagull <seagull@aracnet.com> wrote:
>
> When I wrote to Garmin a month or so ago they suggested that they might
> make the v7 NT maps available to purchasers of the 2730 on request. I'm
> going to do that and see what happens.

Garmin is shipping map DVD's on request to 2730 owners. I assume this
also applies to owners of other GPSrs with pre-loaded maps. Here's
the reply I received from tech support:

Thank You for Contacting Garmin International

I have ordered you a DVD with the most current mapping version 7 on
it. We are currently out of stock but you are on the list to receive
one when they do come in. We are looking at about a 2 week waiting
period. Your order # xxxxxx.

Thank You
xxxxxxxxxx
Product Support Specialist
Garmin International

Cheers,
-+JLS

--
\ carpe cavy!
seagull @ aracnet.com \
http://www.aracnet.com/~seagull/ \ (seize the guinea pig!)

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