Garmin nüvi 7x5T(Traffic features) as Compared to the nüvi 760/780
Add MSN Direct Expanded Features (12 Feb. 2009)
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Return to Home Page ° Text by jack yeazel and joe mehaffey

GENERAL:  The 755T includes traffic receiver and North American maps, 765T adds Bluetooth and 785T adds MSN Direct receiver with 3 mo trial. The 775T is similar to a 765T but includes maps for both North America and Europe.

NAVIGATION: The nuvi 7x5T has a major improvement over the 760/780 in that one can now see traffic problems on the navigation map.

The 7x5T units also have a new feature, Lane Assist, which guides you to the correct lane for an approaching turn or exit, making unfamiliar intersections and exits easier to navigate.  It displays realistic road signs and junctions on your route along with arrows that indicate the proper lane for navigation.

The latest feature added (with Ver. 3.00, available through WebUpdater is ecoRoute.

nüvi 7x5T
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The Normal (left) and the Traffic maps have different 'looks'.
An icon on the upper left of the navigation map indicates when traffic Info is available and takes you to the screens below.
The color of the icon indicates whether or not there are traffic delays on your route.

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These  pages allow you to switch back and forth between the Traffic and Normal maps

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One of the trip computer's data fields (bottom left) has now been changed to show Overall Fuel Cost.

New "3D" map (below)
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The 3D map is a shaded relief which appears at some zoom levels -or at all levels, if the street map is not selected.

Some Comparisons
nuvi 760                                                                                            nuvi 7x5T
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The traffic icon is red indicating serious traffic.  Also there is a visual turn indicator (plus speed) not available on the 760.
Note that navigating with the 760 no traffic information is available while the 7x5T shows it clearly.
The 7x5T's 'Turn Indicator' in the upper left-hand corner is a better indication of turn alerts.

Loss of Feature
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Both the traffic and regular maps of the 7x5T only show the street being driven on.
The 660 (right) still shows the up-coming cross street.
For other comparisons click (HERE)

Lane Assist:
When available, the Lane Assist page may display a view of the upcoming junction and in which lane you should be driving. To view the Lane Assist page touch the upper-left corner of the Map page. You can also access the Lane Assist page from the Next Turn page.

Making a Turn to the Right from one Interstate to Another
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The number of lanes involved in the turn appear in the upper left

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In some locations, actual navigation signs appear on the unit.

Making a Turn to the Left from one Interstate to Another
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The navigation signs are very 'realistic' and aid at night when they may not be well lighted.

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Lane Assist appears on some surface streets if they are state highways.

NOTE: Lane Assist doesn't actually know which lane you are IN.  Thus if you are in an exit lane prior to the routed exit lane, one must determine from the distance to the proper exit lane, when to get in that lane.

Next Turn Page:
When you are navigating a route, the Next Turn page shows the turn on the map and the distance and time left before you reach the turn.  To view an upcoming turn on the map, touch the upper-left comer of the Map page, or touch any turn on the Turn List page. When available, touch Lane Assist on the Next Turn page to view the Lane Assist page for this turn.

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ecoRoute for 2x5 & 7x5T nuvis:
Save Gas and Money:
We're all looking for ways to conserve both money and fuel.  This is a free software update for compatible nüvi products that allows users to select the most fuel-efficient route and track their fuel usage. With ecoRoute, one can save gas and money by adopting smarter driving habits while also helping to reduce our impact on the environment.

Select Fuel-efficient Routes:
With ecoRoute, users will have a “less fuel” option as a routing preference. When selected, nüvi will determine the best route for saving gas.  If you're using the MSN data, only the price of the lowest grade fuel is used.    Over time, this will make more intelligent decisions on fuel efficient routes related to the average economy you achieve while driving on different road classifications.  It is possible that the less fuel route will match either the fastest or shortest route.  As you use the unit and calibrate the mpg when you fill up, the unit will be able to better adjust for differences between highway and city driving.

Get Fuel and Mileage Reports:
Through ecoRoute’s Fuel Report and Mileage Report, drivers can focus on their habits even when they're not behind the wheel. Fuel Report tracks fuel usage over time, and Mileage Report monitors mileage and fuel usage on a per-trip basis. You can also customize your nüvi by entering vehicle type, your car's fuel economy and the current price of gas.  See: http://www.garmin.com/garmin/cms/site/us/services/ecoRoute
 
 

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Other features include a Driving Challenge game where you try and get as close to a score of 99 points which are calculated using various parameters of the way you drive like acceleration, deceleration, & speed.  As far as calculating routes using ecoRoute, there is now a Less Fuel option in the Route Preferences.  This uses the various parameters entered in the ecoRoute settings to optimize the route.

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As you speed past 65, your score gets less and less.

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You also get penalized if you go too slow! (Even if you can't help it)


Our first score wasn't too great!

Cons:

Bluetooth:
When the nuvi 765T experiences a temporary loss of signal, it doesn't automatically re-connect to a cell phone as does the nuvi 760.

Routing:
Occasionally and particularly during re-routes, the unit will select some strange circuitous routes which can take you quite some distance out of your way to get to your destination. We hope Garmin will fix this soon but (for us) it is not a deal breaker.  The problem is mostly involved while routing on surface streets with the Routing set to Fastest.  For a 'prime' example of the problem, click (HERE)

Now don't get lost out there -youall!  jack yeazel