Surprising to some, Wal-Mart, BestBuy, and most of the major retailers don’t really represent even close to the best prices you can find on the garmin nüvi 660 GPS travel assistant, and in fact if you take your time to shop around online in 95% of cases you will get a better price-tag then that of which you can find online (even after shipping is accounted for!)

One of the best places to buy garmin’s nüvi 660 online is actually the largest and best known store to many; Amazon.com I have found. Not only do they have the most secure and reliable reputation and policies like free shipping and price matching, but they also take under there wing many of the smaller companies that offer unbeatable prices under their reputation to get you even better deals securely. There are a few other alternative like auctions sites (eBay namely) but in my experience with electronics, its much better to spend the extra .5-2% extra and take the security and insurance of purchase then to trust your shipping and products condition to some unknown seller - if you do decide to check out the auction type of sites, I recommend you thoroughly investigate the seller and have some experience and familiarity with ebay or the merchant in which you are dealing with, although you may find them to not be the cheapest or lowest priced option after all when you calculate extra charges and shipping costs of the product.

Compare best prices to buy here…

This is a great video that shows you everything you wanted to know about the Nuvi 660. Larry seems to love his new toy so much he wants to share it with the world, which is understandable because it really is an awesome new toy.

The antenna is nice and small, it flips up when you’re using the Nuvi and then you can flip it back down so it’s not so bulky and there’s less chance of it snapping off in your pocket or something. This really shows just how easy it is to clip the Nuvi 660 to the windshield suction mount. It slides right on with no problem so you’ll never feel you have to leave your Nuvi660 in clear view even if you’re just leaving your car for a minute.

Larry shows us a few of the handy extra features like the MP3 player. He has obviously used his USB cord to load up some of his favorite songs from his computer and has them saved right into the unit’s internal storage. Don’t forget you can load up a SD memory card with songs and pop it in the SD card slot whenever you want to listen to them. The same can be said for pictures. The picture slideshow is a nice feature if you want to show off say a trip to your family and friends while you’re driving. The currency converter is nice but you have to manually update the exchange rates. I’m not sure how else they could do this, maybe have it updateable from the website but that would almost be more hassle than just updating the ones you use by yourself. Maybe in the future they’ll find a way to have it updated via satellite in real time but until then this works just fine. Unfortunately Larry doesn’t have a Bluetooth capable phone so he can’t show us the Bluetooth technology but I’ve used it myself and it works great. My phone also does voice dialing and the unit can use this feature too.

The Nuvi 660 can go through a couple different voices and speaks a bunch of different languages. Larry likes the Aussie girl, so do I. There’s a few different accents on there you can check out. Sometimes if one is butchering all the street names in an area you can switch the voice or the language so it sounds right.

The Navteq maps are huge. It’s crazy how committed this company is to mapping our planet. They have all kinds of points of interest included like places to eat that can be sorted by the type of food they serve and places to park that can be sorted by distance from current location.

Larry shows us how truly customizable the Garmin 660 is. You can choose your vehicle type through the list with options like car, pedestrian, bicycle, truck, or bus. You can also choose through a list of things to avoid with options like traffic(the FM transmitter can receive traffic information and help you avoid it), U-turns(the Nuvi 660 will recalculate your route if you make a wrong turn instead of telling you to get back on the old track), highways, unpaved roads, toll roads, and ferries.

The Garmin Nuvi 660 is an excellent navigation device that is packed full of extremely useful extra features. The Nuvi 660 has a super bright antiglare 4.3″ widescreen with the most up-to-date Navteq maps. Extra features that make it very worthwhile over the Nuvi 650 are the Bluetooth hands-free technology and the integrated FM transmitter that picks up TMC traffic reports.

Main Menu

The Garmin Nuvi 660 is very intuitive with its menu system. The features and extra options are organized in a very user friendly way that makes customization and using features very easy.

The menus follow an easy to understand flow, with more detailed and specific information and submenus being intelligently organized into sections - keeping the nuvi really simplistic and easy to use, something very important safety wise in my opinion while driving a motor vehicle

Navigating and Driving

The touchscreen on the Nuvi 660 makes inputting a destination while driving very easy. The voice directions with the large colour-coded, detailed map make navigating while driving very easy as well. Directions are given visually on the map with arrows, written at the bottom of the screen using distance, direction, and street name, and audibly with a voice reading it out. The voice can be played through your car audio with the FM transmitter so it is louder. The map can be displayed in either a 2D or 3D mode. The Nuvi 660 can also estimate the time it will take to get to your destination and it is quite accurate.

Accuracy and Route Control

The accuracy and speed of data delivery is the best I have seen on any GPS device. The Nuvi 660 comes with a WAAS GPS receiver by SiRF which is leading the pack in GPS technology. The routing algorithms are extremely well calculated. From my usage around my city it has always gotten me to my destination very quickly. Taking wrong turns isn’t a problem either. If I don’t like where the unit is telling me to go and leave it’s chosen route it will quickly recalculate a new route to the destination from where you are now. You can pick between the shortest route or the route that the device thinks will get you there fastest. The FM transmitter on this unit gives you TMC traffic information that the unit can factor into your route to avoid traffic. You can also choose to avoid highways and tollbooths or unpaved roads and you can pick your vehicle type so if you’re in something big it won’t take you down tiny roads. In pedestrian mode it doesn’t limit you to roads.

Portability/Design

The Garmin Nuvi 660 was created to be extremely portable with a windshield suction mount that is easy to apply and remove and a very slim design that allows you to fit it in your pocket. It is only 4.9″ by 2.9″ by 0.9″. Because of the touchscreen there is no need for extra space for buttons so the widescreen covers almost the entire front of the device.

MP3, Pictures, and More

The MP3 player included with the Nuvi 660 is very high quality with the FM transmitter broadcasting it for your radio to pick up and play through your car audio. The screen contains volume, skip forward, skip backwards, play/pause, repeat, shuffle, browse, and audible book buttons. The browse button lists all your songs to look through and the audible book button takes you to any audible books you have put onto the unit.
If you’re traveling there is a travel kit which is featured in the above picture with useful features like a language translator, savings for things like restaurants and hotels, and a travel guide with information on popular destinations on the place you are visiting. The picture viewer is also handy when taking trips to review your pictures and keep the ones you like.

Points of Interest

Points of interest include things such as entertainment spots, restaurants, ATM’s, gas stations, hotels, and even speed trap cameras. With the speed trap cameras it will actually notify you if you are traveling too fast near one. It comes with about 6 million preloaded POI’s and a program called POI Leader that lets you download free POI databases online and transfer them to your unit via the USB or SD memory card.

Bluetooth Hands-Free Calling

Bluetooth technology is a way of wirelessly connecting two electronic devices. This means with a Bluetooth capable phone you can connect your Garmin Nuvi 660 to it and send and receiver calls hands-free. Incoming calls are displayed on the screen and are answered by pressing accept. The FM transmitter plays their voice through your car speakers and a mic picks up your voice for them to hear. Outgoing calls are made either by selecting a number to all from the POI list or by inputting the number on the screen. The touchscreen turns into a keypad for you to use. If your phone also has voice activated calling it is also possible to use this for a truly hands free experience.

Visitor Reviews

• Scott’s Nuvi 660 Reviews
• Wilson Family Reviews Garmin nuvi 660
• Robin’s Garmin 660 GPS Review
• Charles leaves review of garmin’s nuvi 660 gps
• Edward’s Nuvi 660 comments

Video of Usage

Here’s a video of the Garmin Nuvi 660 and its usage right from start-up.

Comparing the 650, 660, and 670

The Garmin Nuvi 6XX series is very similar. The 650 is the basic model and the other two add features. The Nuvi 660 has Bluetooth technology and the FM transmitter while the Nuvi 670 adds European maps on top of that. The cost of adding the FM transmitter to the Nuvi 650 is $171.51 and you cannot add the Bluetooth but the cost of buying the 660 is less than a $171.51 difference. The cost of adding the European maps to the 660 is almost $300 while buying the 670 instead of the 660 is about a $250 difference. Of course, if these aren’t necessary features for you, they might not be worthwhile buys. A comparison of the devices by Garmin is available in a nice chart right here.

Great Hardware and Software alike with very clear navigation assistance Leon Hill, Colorado

I’m very pleased with the functionality and performance of my Garmin Nuvi 660. I feel almost spoiled by all its great features. The MP3 player is great through my car speakers. So is the Bluetooth technology. It works perfect for making and accepting calls. My phone has voice dialing so it’s truly completely hands free.

One thing that I really liked with the nuvi 660 gps over others I have tried and seen in action, is the good clarity and timing on the voice and visual directions. One of my first experiences with gps navigation assistants was a turn off, as the old sluggish unit gave poorly timed directions on many occasions that were a distraction in highly trafficed turns, an issue not present on the garmin nuvi 660 gps

The security lock feature plus the fact it’s so small you can take it with you when you leave your car make it almost impossible to steal. This is great since these units getting stolen has been a huge problem lately. The suction mount is easy to place and remove on the windshield if you’re afraid somebody might see it and break in to look under the seats for it or something. The maps are very accurate and the ability to avoid traffic jams is a must for a GPS and a major reason why the garmin nuvi 660 outsells the 650 in my opinion. The Nuvi has never gotten me lost once and I continue to strongly recommend it to everybody!

The Nuvi 660 is nearly perfect folks which came as not such a big surprise to me having viewed a few sites and stores where I saw the other garmin nuvi 660 review ratings all near perfect levels! I’ll add to the buzz and strongly recommend to any family of traveling individual that this thing WILL take any possible headaches and anxiety out of your travels, and will be a precious asset to you for much time to come.

I have used the Garmin Nuvi 660 coming up on about a month now, and has been a huge help and lifesaver on a few occasions. I do miss some of the older features of a previous TOMTOM one that I own, but the slim portability and size, huge and bright screen, strong and clear voice commands help the nuvi660 to beat my old tom tom by leaps and bounds honestly.

This thing also has many useful features and tolls that I love, such as a MASSIVE database for nearly everywhere of POIS ‘points of interest’ that you can easily get from garmin’s website; simply tell it what you’re looking for or want to go and voila; massive amounts of data and simple touch and go menus pop up to get you there. I also liked the ability to hook the Garmin Nuvi 660’s sound up to my car speakers with the FM receiver that comes included in the box, as well as the future possibility if I buy a new cell phone to have the Bluetooth hands free phone options.

The garmin also seems to have much superior mapping and data systems then my other TOMTOM gps device, as well as somethings many first time buyers may overlook like how fast it finds and locks onto a satellite signal, which it does better then anything I have seen so far.

Would I give the Nuvi 660 a perfect score? Nearly if not for such features I have missed like automatic volume scaling as your car speeds up (on the TOMTOM one classic unit) and a somewhat less then perfect included mount and carrying case, and lack of user manual for those really technologically deficient people. Would I recommend it? Yes and I have to several friends and co-workers, some of them have took the advice and bought it, and they have all had nothing but great reactions and things to say about the garmin 660 as well!

Buy Garmin’s Nuvi 660 now folks!
-GPS GEEK

I spent some time reading a couple of websites recommendations and asking some people at my job which is an appropriate GPS brand, and Garmin GPS systems were far ahead of the pack. I spent some time looking for positive and negative reviews online, and decided to buy the garmin nuvi 660 model based on the sheer volume of positive feedback and lack of any negative implications across hundreds of review comments.

I’m not exactly that bright when it comes to gadgets like this, but the nuvi 660 was easy to get going and allowed me to experiment and learn the features without the manual and without fearing of messing or blowing it up!

One of my favorite features is that you can match your garmin 660 with a cell phone to go through the speakers, which allows me to answer all those pesky business calls and obligations without the anxiety of fumbling around with my blackberry and giving the other vehicles around me heartaches (fewer middle fingers and mad honks coming my way these days)

One thing I would add and point out if you don’t do your research or read hundreds of garmin nuvi 660 reviews like I did, is that many people and myself included opt to buy a different mount separately rather then use the one that is provided and is windshield mounted. In some states it is against the law to mount in the windows, but someone pointed out in a nuvi 660 review as well that if you mount in lower in your vehicle you won’t have to worry about glare from the sun as well as it being less distracting to other vehicles driving up on your side.

Amazon.com offered the best and cheapest prices from what I could find, on the nuvi660, the mount and an extra charger for the unit at least.

The Nuvi 660 does a wonderful little job of picking an appropriate course of navigation and rarely will it not pick the absolute best way to get where you are going. The screen truly is vivid, bright and easy to read even for an old person like myself and I really appreciate the widescreen over the normal size for its larger viewing angles and size of the objects on screen. Voice and sounds are fairly clear and crisp and I have not had an occasion yet where I was messed up on my travels by some sound or voice directions which was a frequent problem on the Magellan Maestro GPS system I previously owned.

The music system and player is quite nice and really a big hit for me after my son helped me get some of my old classics on board, and interruptions and prompts to let you know your upcoming turns and course changes are timely and well thought out as to make the music playing not a distraction that will make you miss turns like I was first worried about.

Overall I would buy the garmin nuvi 660 again if I had the choice to choose any gps system on the market, and I would recommend and buy it as a gift for others as I truly love it!

Two Thumbs up for Gamin’s 660 Nuvi,
Robin Dell, NY

I bought the Garmin Nuvi 660 and think it is great, although not perfect and as such I thought I would write a nuvi 660 review to give some experienced feedback to let prospective buyers know a few of its faults.

• Route Exclusion: Sometimes its convenient to be able to turn off the nuvi 660 from using certain streets and such like when there is a sudden problem that makes for a certain road to be unavailable for a certain period of time – construction or natural disaster for example – there is a way to exclude roads but it’s a pain in the butt and I have only been able easily to do for roads that I’m currently on

• FM: A nice addition – although the reception isn’t perfect all the time and when it is working 100% isn’t all that clear either.
• Suction Mount: Nothing more annoying then this thing falling off because you didn’t thoroughly mount it – suction cup could be vastly improved or another mount included as well
• Voice: one of the better voice direction software’s I have seen – it’s still faulty in the mispronunciation in some funky names – not truly a big deal but could be improved

With that being said, I’d still give my garmin nuvi 660 a 4 out of 5 stars because even though there are a few aspects it could be improved on, it’s still vastly superior to some of the other units I have used and the positives vastly outweigh these negatives that I thought I would just quickly point out in a nuvi 660 review to let a few people know its not perfect!

Wow my friends, I can’t believe that I didn’t buy the garmin nuvi 660 sooner then I did! This thing is great and I was hesitant at first being a stingy old fashioned type and having to calculate how the nuvi 660 gps would eventually end up saving me time, money and frustration. I’ve live in the same city coming up on 50 years and I really thought that I knew every back road, shortcut and road there was to know anyways, but then when I loaded up my car with the garmin 660 I was totally surprised and after abut 2 and half weeks of using it I can certainly see why it is so popular and why it is probably the highest rated of all the units you can buy as of summer 2007.

Not only can and will the garmin nuvi 660 pick more appropriate routes for you then you possibly could, but it will and can warn of you of car wrecks and obstacles that you could never predict off hand that really does go a long way in saving you time (thus money) and frustration.

I work in the servicing area and as a result I have more then 200+ areas around the city and state that I frequently visit to look after and service machinery, and I love the ability to be able to store each of the sites I visit into memory, pull them up, take the guess work out of traffic and obstacles and get there quickly and without any unexpected distractions – truly resulting in more efficient traveling, SAVE TONS ON GAS, and making me have less of those long and draining bad days on the job. Got to hand to the guys that developed this whole system, and thanks to all the previous garmin nuvi 660 reviews that finally helped me to see the light and break my stingy habits to get this puppy!

Edward (Atlanta, USA)