Garmin 010-00400-20 StreetPilot 7500 Portable GPS Navigator Review
September 26th, 2009
Garmin 010-00400-20 StreetPilot 7500 Portable GPS Navigator Review from Johnny V Shumaker jshu. Consider the 7200, I bought the 7500 after much research. It’s the most expensive unit, but Garmin seemed best, and the 7200 and 7500 have the largest screens. I only rate it two stars not because of technical short-comings, but rather because it’s not what I expected.
The Pros -
*All the maps (US) are included. No need to pay for extra unlocks and deal w/ getting them going.
*Truly did work right out of the box.
*Works well with XM (I pay $17/month for XM Radio and Nav Traffic service, both of which interface seamlessly w/ the unit) (You also have to purchase a Garmin/XM satellite antenna for this, but once you do, you essentially have a portable XM unit as well as a Nav system. )
*Easily plugged into my computer, for loading of mp3s and books.
*Interface is probably not the easiest, but that’s because there are so many ways to do what you need to do. If, however, you don’t want to muck w/ anything, it’s ready to go, and you could just go w/ the default interface.
The Cons -
*Calling customer service is brutal. Once I reached them, they were absolutely knowledgeable and easy to understand. But reaching them meant several failed attempts over several days. If it’s not busy, and they’re open, you’ll be on hold for a long time. After the first few tries I went with their email support. They do respond after 2 days, but after our 3rd back and forth, they told me to call because I had complex questions. I wrote them back, told them calling was difficult, and never heard back. So I did call.
*At issue in that call was the fact that the 7200 and the 7500 are identical except for the couple hundred dollar price tag and the dead-reckoning (ability to calculate where you are even if you lose satellite signal). Reading the online descriptions mentioned nothing about installation. Garmin’s own site said that it “requires minimal installation”. When I got the unit, the owner’s manual said that installation of the dead-reckoning cable must be performed by a Garmin-authorized, licensed technician, and basically involves connecting one wire to your car’s speed sensor, and another to the cars backup light wire. So my portable GPS unit is slightly less portable, and `minimal installation,’ which I agreed w/ customer service is relative, involves getting behind your car’s dashboard, and probably a couple hundred dollars more if you choose to go the Garmin-authorized route, as they suggest. The customer support rep told me that was just to cover themselves, but while I’m not entirely thumbs, I’m not comfortable drilling around in the dash of a new car. Incidentally, the Garmin rep (again, knowledgeable and helpful) told me that I should have read the owner’s manual BEFORE buying, online. Ironically, I had browsed through it, and attempted several times to call Garmin to ask them about the dead-reckoning before purchasing. In the end, I did what most people do, and just bought.
*Because of its excellent screen size, don’t expect to just let this sit on a bean-bag on your dash; better be ready to bite the bullet and put the adhesive mount on your dash, or buy one of the smaller units.
So the long and short of this is that unless dead-reckoning is an absolute must, and you’re willing to do the drilling, go with the cheaper but otherwise identical 7200. Even the owner’s manual is the same.
A final note, if you’re thinking about buying one, try to figure out when their next update is due. They update once per year, usually in the summer. If you purchase within one month before they come out w/ their new release (Aug 2006) you are entitled to a free update. If not, you either run w/ the software shipped, or you pay $75 to upgrade.
To check price or purchase Garmin 010-00400-20 StreetPilot 7500 Portable GPS Navigator.
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