Garmin DriveSmart 50 LMT-HD Navigation System

Was good & Cheaper.

Great Product. I am still discovering new features to this thing.

I didn’t know that this had Voice Command for hands free operation before I purchased it.
It is an amazing feature and I won’t own another GPS that doesn’t have it.
Mine is mounted on the center of my dash on one of the self adhesive disks that come with Garmin GPS’s so you can use the suction cup mount anywhere. The windshield is too far away to comfortably use it mounted there.

For Voice Command to work, you do have to speak up a bit and project your voice, but it does recognize the commands pretty well. If there is a hard rain that is causing other background noise, as you would expect, voice command has a harder time hearing you.

When you say “Voice Command”, it responds and shows you a list of the common commands that you can give it. Since there are just a few more commands than can fit on the display, it gives you the option to say “Down” to scroll to the next page.

The only thing that I can say negative about voice command is really an example of how well it works.
Occasionally, someone on the radio will either say either the word “Voice” or the word “Command”, and the GPS picks up on that and activates voice command mode, which switches the display away from the map.
It is easy to cancel that verbally just by saying “Exit”.
So that is not such a big deal.

You can actually change the phrase that activates voice command. I am changing it to something that is less likely to be said over the radio and cause any false activation’s.

Also, there is a really great search function that allows you to only search for options (gas stations, restaurants, etc..) along the route which you are currently following, rather than searching the surroundings in all directions. It was annoying to have the GPS display search options at the top of the list which are behind me, but when you select to search along your route, it only shows what is ahead and shows you the exits where those options are located.

It also acts as a hands free speaker phone when you link it to your phone via Bluetooth.
In the state where I live, it is against the law to drive while holding a cell phone. You will get a ticket if it just in your hand. So if you have a car that doesn’t link with you cell phone, this is a good option.
My car links to my phone so I can’t tell you how well that feature works. Sorry.

**Lastly, when playing around with my GPS to reference features for this review, I discovered that it can be upgraded with a backup camera (BC 30) that you can purchase from Garmin, which will display what is behind you, either whenever you shift into reverse – OR – you can wire it to constant power and be able to switch to backup camera view on you GPS at any time, whether the car is in gear or not.

Easy to use, works well

I have owned a Gamin GPS (nuvi 1450) since 2011 and have successfully downloaded my maps with the Garmin Express App routinely for several years using exactly the same internet connection and provider. The first thing I did was to charge the battery which took several hours. Then I began registering the product and setting it up with help from a Garmin support representative. The next thing I attempted was to update the software and maps. I made 3 attempts dealing with 2 different Garmin reps with no success. At first I was told I needed to uninstall my current express app and re-install an updated version which I did. Then I was told to temporarily disable my anti-virus software which I did. Then I was told that my transfer rate was likely too slow, and I should attach my laptop to my router with an Ethernet cable. With the Ethernet connection the transfer rate improved significantly. After attempting all these things, I was still unable to update the maps. Each time I received an “error” message. Unfortunately the folks at Garmin do not know exactly what caused this error, blaming it on the internet connection. It seemed to me that something was not working properly inside the Gamin device and tech support had no way of diagnosing the problem. Since the ability to update maps is essential to maintaining a Garmin GPS, I elected to return the device.

SUGGESTION: Perhaps it’s not a good idea to purchase a refurbished device that depends on internet connectivity for updates when it comes to GPS navigation. Although I’m disappointed in Garmin’s inability to diagnose my problem, I may consider purchasing a brand new model.

Was having trouble turning it on , and connecting to the computer for update when I unboxed it, for now seems to be working fine when connecting to blue tooth although it does connect you can’t get out of the screen.