The Garmin nuvi 550 will guide you while you drive, hike, bike or boat. Go sightseeing with geotagged images from Garmin Connect Photos or see your terrain with the digital elevation model basemap. The nuvi 550 comes preloaded with highly detailed City Navigator maps. The preloaded map data features millions of points of interest, including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs and attractions. The map data is provided by NAVTEQ, a world leader in premium-quality mapping. Geocaching, including Wherigo Platform player Built-in DEM Basemap (Digital Elevation Model) 3.5 QVGA color antiglare TFT with white Backlight Touchscreen Display - 320 x 240 Pixels User replaceable lithium-ion battery - up to 8 hours depending on use Dimensions - Width 4.21 x Height 3.35 x Depth 0.9 (10.7x8.5x2.3cm) Weight - 7.6 ounces (215 grams)
Readmore! Garmin nüvi 550 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
Technical Details
- High-Sensitivity GPS Receiver For Improved Performance And Reception- Built-In 3D Basemap
- Built-In US Maps
- 3.5-Inch Display, 320 X 240 Pixels
- Easy Touch-Screen Interface
See more: technical details
By Biomedman (Boston, MA, USA)
I got the Nuvi 550 for my motorcycle because I didn't want to spend $700 for the Zumo 550 or 660. This is the 5th Garmin that I now own, including the Nuvi 660. The buttons are easy to find and press with gloves on and the first thing I noticed is that the Favorites button is on the SECOND page after pressing Where To? Personally, I use the Favorites almost exclusively as I enter in all waypoints through Map Source and I find this inconvenient and a wasted extra step. The Nuvi 660 Favorites are on the FIRST page and I suspect this is because of the wider screen. I have yet to figure out if I can move the button locations. Also, the Nuvi 550 and 660 provide different routing; the 660 is more direct. I wonder if it is because the maps are different versions. Regardless, they both get you there. I'd rather have the widescreen on the 550, but that would involve purchasing the bug-laden Zumo 660 for $400 more. The major differences are Bluetooth and XM; the Nuvi 550 does not have them built-in or available and weren't worth the paying the extra $400 to get them in a Zumo. I have Bluetooth set up through my helmet headset so this is not an issue.
Overall the Nuvi 550 seems OK and is up to typical Garmin standards. As there aren't many options in the waterproof category, I opted to save $400 and go with the Nuvi 550. I'm sure it will serve me well over the years until something better comes along for the money.
I would recommend the Nuvi 550 for outdoor use on a motorcycle or bicycle. I also bought the RAM mounts for it.
By Johnny maestro
The 550 is not bad but seems to be confusing to use while driving. This unit will tell you to turn when you should be going straight. On several occasions I have entered an address on to be led a block away or the wrong side of the highway. At intersections with turning lanes, dividers or anything other than a four way intersection this does not always show all the roads at the intersections only the route. This makes it difficult to navigate as you choose which way to go. The unit will only tell you that you went the wrong way after a 100-feet or so. It will get you close but not the quality I expected.
By J. Heuer
This is a wonderful product! So easy to use and we've purchased our maps to use on the boat!
By Curtis A. Ducken
The Garmin 550 is easy to use. I like its multi-functions. I bought it for my motorcycle. No wires to mess with and the battery lasts up to 8 hours. If that's not long enough I just plug it into my power plug on my Electra Glide. Even though I can't hear the instructions at freeway speeds the screen is easy to read. Showing the street names makes it an easy adventure. Being waterproof has its advantages of course. You never know when your'e going to come across a storm on a road trip. Directions are easy to follow. You can read and download the manual on line.I have only had it for 3 months, but I wish I had bought one sooner. No more guess work. A big thumbs up!!!!!!!!!!
By A. George (Umatilla, Oregon)
The Nuvi 550 is a very fine GPS for general automotive use, but less handy for boating. I bought my Nuvi 550 because I had the BlueChart maps for boating that I used on my Garmin GPS V before it died.
First, the Nuvi 550 is limited in the ability to customize its settings, both for automotive use and particulary for boating use. Compared to the GPS V, the Nuvi 550 is very limited in the settings options. In the GPS V, I could select speeds for individual highway types and then choose between shortest route or quickest route. The Nuvi 550 does not allow you to customize those settings. You can only pick shortest route or quickest route, which often will put you on city streets when you want to be on highways, or on freeways when you want to be on two-lane highways.
On-screen button pushing sequences get laborious. If you go deep in the menu, you can't just jump straight out to the top menu, you must laboriously work your way back out the menu the way you came it. Setting points for a route can become quite tedious.
For boating, the Nuvi 550 has limited route finding capabilities. For example, I'm on a river and want to plot a course to a distant city on the river. The Nuvi 550 will plot a straight line through the surrounding terrain instead of the shortest path on the river. You would think that if you are in boating mode, it would not allow the boat to go through land, but it does. The worst part of using it for boating is you cannot select the boat speed to get an ETA to your destination. Clearly this is a major oversight.
Good points on the Nuvi 550, it acquires satellites very quickly.
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