Garmin Nuvi 500
While we certainly didn’t need to add to the already huge lineup in the Garmin Nuvi line, Garmin has introduced a new member– the Nuvi 500. Still, the Garmin Nuvi 500 does fill a huge void in the GPS market providing both auto navigation as well as off-road capabilities yet retaining functionality such as a touch screen. Yes, the ultimate “I just want one GPS, what should I get?” answer might very well be here within a couple of months.
Auto
When you get right down to it, you can think of the Nuvi 500 as a waterproof version of the Nuvi 205, but it waterproof and comes with topo maps. It comes with auto maps of the 48 contiguous US States plus Hawaii and Puerto Rico. (The Nuvi 550 includes the USA & Canada, but no topo maps.) Want traffic services too? The Nuvi 500 can be connected to either a TMC traffic cable or the MSN Direct traffic service. As a bonus you also get the Historic Route 66 map guide by by MAD MAPS. The only thing that appears missing from these otherwise fully loaded devices is Text To Speech. Multi Destination Routing with route optimization also appears to be supported.
Off-Road
Waterproof to IPX-7 standards and an 8 hour battery life make the Nuvi 500 series very capable for off-road tasks. Topographic maps are included with the Nuvi 500 so you can tap a switch and move from auto maps to topo maps. All of the basic off-road navigation functions are included– compass, tracklog, removable battery, and connectivity with geocaching.com.
The Garmin 500 Nuvi can also be used for bicycling, walking in pedestrian mode, or loaded with optional marine charts for boating.
“This multi-mode nuvi is the ultimate device for those seeking portable navigation in the car and in the great outdoors,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “This product allows us to combine features from several of our most popular automotive and outdoor navigators into one compact unit. From weekend trips to the lake, to a hike around the trail, nuvi 500 is ideal for people seeking automotive and recreational navigation in one dynamic device.”
We are extremely excited to see this product hit the streets and can’t wait to take one for a spin…
Garmin says you should be able to get your hands on one in Q3, pricing of the 500 and 550 is currently displayed as $499.99 for either model.
| Store | Rating | Best Prices |
|---|---|---|
Compare all prices on the Garmin Nuvi 500 Auto / Road GPS ranging from $235.27 to $499.99. | ||
 | In stock at Gempler's | $299.95 |
 |  In stock at MemorySuppliers.com | $399.00 |
 | In stock at HSN.com | $399.95 |
 |  In stock at pcRUSH.com | $268.71 |
 | In stock at Newegg.com | $254.99 |
 | In stock at Sears.com | $299.99 |
 | In stock at PCNation | $249.80 |
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Actually all the Nuvis with recent software can load TOPO maps as well as the standard Navigator maps. So all Nuvi’s are able to “Crossover”. I have a new Nuvi 200 and use the 2008 TOPO in it without any problems.
But the BIG issue with that is that they are not waterproof— get a drop of water or dust inside that huge SD card slot and your Nuvi 200 is toast. Your Nuvi also has a shorter battery life and doesn’t have a replaceable battery.
If you’re going to use the topo maps enough to warrant spending the cash for the maps– you probably won’t want those limitations.
Absolutely correct. I only use mine for geocaching etc.. so rain usually is not a factor. Hmm maybe I should carry a baggy…
Yeah, that is probably not a bad idea.
Looks like just the PND a lot of posters are asking for. Expect it will be a pretty good seller. I’ll assume Inland Lakes and Offshore maps will also be quite usable with it?
I think there are a group of people that are looking for something exactly like this. And they want it bad. But I’m not sure this will be a record seller.
$130 – Garmin Nuvi 200
$ 90 – Garmin Topo USA 2008
$125 – Garmin eTrex Venture HC
For a total of $345, versus $500 for the Nuvi 500. (And of course those are current street prices versus the MSRP.) Sure, there are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches, but there is still a premium price there for convenience. (That many will be willing to pay.)
Trying to figure out which marine maps are compatible with the 550 unit. So far only the BlueChart g2 Vision is listed, which is rather expensive and with some limitations for this unit. Apparently Garmin’s marine maps have not been developed for this unit and standardization is not a consideration.
Isn’t another advantage the larger screen than the eTrex?
I received a NUVI500 as a B-day gift. Great gesture on the part of the giver but WHAT A MAJOR DISSAPPOINTMENT – considering the price. Not all that user friendly – I go out on the lake it says I do not exist but it was sold to use on a boat.
Oh you want to use it on the boat? Go buy a cable hunt down the maps- pay for them and then download them. Wait a minute. This piece of junk cost $500 and now I NEED to do all this to make it do what it was supposed to do and pay extra.
Save your $$$ and aggravation. Buy the lesser expensive units. The aggravation offsets any convience you might get.
TIm – you seem to be the gps guru on this site – is this the best buy if it’s going to be used for fishing & geocaching/hunting? Or should I buy multiple items like you’ve recommended? I’d like to keep the total under $300.
Thanks.
If you are just using it for fishing, geocaching, and hunting then I’d get a handheld GPS like the Oregon and skip the Nuvi.
Tim-I would like to get a gps unit for domestic and international (europe) use. My wife is a rockhound and would like to have unit that can be used off road, trails etc. domestically. Some nuvi 700 models have domestic and europe already loaded..but $$$ any suggestions on a suitable unit but reasonably priced?
Thanks.
I was about to buy the Lowrance XOG ,except they say Topo maps are downloadable and only the city/state maps are included with the unit. Well, I got a BIG shock at the Lowrance download page.I highlited the area I wanted for topos, Indiana,Illinois, sw Wisconsin. Cost of the downloads was quoted at $450 !!!! Wait a minute, the GPS is $150, how can the topos be 3 x that and only for 2 states?
I have a Garmin 60CS but the screen is too small for my 52 year old eyes, hard to focus, so what to do plus am tired of carryin around atlases and maps for driving but can’t afford to spend big money for a car unit? The Magellan and Garnin crossover units don’t look so good either. I really wanted that Text to speech for the car and Garmins reliability?
-Tom
Tom you can purchase a entire topo map for the United States for 150$.
I would like to buy my husband a GPS for Christmas. He would like to use it in the car but his main concern is boating. We boat on Kentucky Lake in Tennesse/Kentucky. What unit should I buy? I was going to buy the Garmin 500 but now I am confused!
EVERY TIME I TRY TO SELECT A GEOCACHE TO NAV TO THE UNIT TURNS OFF. HAS ANYONE HAD THIS HAPPEN?
What method did you use to load them on the GPS?
I am having the same problem, having also downloaded the info according to the manual and the garmin site. It lets me go to most caches but some it keeps switching off no matter what I do (I can navigate to them without clicking on them, but then cannot register as found or read any info about the cache, which not helpful really!) What have you suggested for this fellow as a solution, as I am interested. Thanks much
Yeah, my BF and I have had the same issue with the unit shutting down, something to do with LONG CACHE NAMES.
We have had to take 2 units back because they froze and simply would not boot up again.
We love the units, and called Garmin to see what they have found, and they played really stupid and said they have NEVER heard of that happening with the units…yeah right.
I downloaded the geocache data file from the garmin website link then copied into the gps on my desktop. I’m pretty sure I did it the way the website said to… maybe not?? What is the best method?
Am looking for a handheld gps to read trail maps for skidooing,horsebackriding,motorcycling,easy to navigate and read.Which unit wouold you recomend.Price range around 200 to 300.
If you want it to “read trail maps”, what format/source are those maps in?
I just bought the nuvi 500 and can’t wait for it to arrive. I thought about buying a GPS for my car for years and didn’t but now that we are going to start geocaching with the kids, the time is right. We also plan to use it for the topo maps, so this crossover model seems like the right fit. My only question is whether it can geotag photos (rather than simply navigate to pre-geotagged photos that have been downloaded from their Website). I downloaded and read the user manual, but couldn’t find this in it, so I assume it doesn’t do that, right??
Shelly, correct.
What a great site this is!
I’m looking for a GPS for Driving and Geocaching. Is it worth it for me to get a Nuvi 500 or should I go with a Nuvi 260w or 265t (I like the traffic feature but don’t know if it is worth it either) and keep using my old Magellan explorist 210 for the Geocaching? (Obviously I’m not one of the mega-serious cachers!) Or, are there other better options I’m missing altogether?
Oh, I’m so confussed! Help!
I’m completely new to the GPS world and I’m looking to get a handheld GPSfor my car, but also for backpacking, mtn biking, etc. trips. I was going to get the Nuvi 500, but before I spend that $$$, does anyone have any suggestions? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!
-Andrea
The Nuvi 500 is one way to go… the other way would be to get something like the Garmin Nuvi 200 and then a separate handheld GPS. You would then have two devices, but each would perform the individual task better than just getting the 500. (And you might not spend much more.)
Bought mine for $269 online. Seems like the perfect unit. The things I dislike are the lack of electronic compass, you have to be moving for the compass to work, no lanyard mount, expensive batteries. The things I like…screen size is much larger than a normal hand held, on the road this thing is 10x better than a hand held. I hope they expand this \crossover\ application.
I have owned the nuvi 500 for about a month now. I love the versatility. Bought it for $223.00 at [redacted], now it’s down to $157.00. My only complaint is the battery life is nowhere near 8 hrs. I have it set at 10% brightness, full GPS signal and the best I get is 3 hours. Garmin sent me another battery as they thought the original one was defective. The best I got with the new battery at the same settings is 3 1/2 hours. Garmin says to set display at zero% to get full battery life. That’s great if you don’t want to see the map.
I agree with Chet I am very disappointed with the battery life of Nuvi 500. The issue is you can never use it for off road for some extended hiking. If I wold had known the issue I would had bought a different unit which provides me with better battery life.
Apart from battery life this is a great unit to own and use it for some off road hiking. This is kind of cross over for people who likes both limited off road hiking and street driving.
I am looking for a GPS to use on a motorcycle and car. I have read about the Garmin zumo’s. I have a co-worked who has a Garmin Nuvi 500 and loves it, in a car and hiking. Would a Nuvi 500 work on the motorcycle? or should I stick with the zumo, which is designed for motorcycles?
The Nuvi 500 will work on a motorcycle. I bought a Ram mount for mine and it works just fine, so lang as you don’t mind not hearing the voice prompts. The zumo has bluetooth capabilities that let you hear voice prompts through a head set, but is that worth another $500.00. IMHO it doesn’t. For the car the unit is fine also and it is very versatile.
Can-am has the Nuvi 500 already mounted on some of their ATVs standard. I think it would work great on a motorcycle. You can turn off the voice if you want to. Also the Garmin ATV mount is very solid. I mounted one on a friends and was very impressed.
Sure wish I could figure out where Chuck bought his 550, since they deleted that link. Upgrading from a GPS76 Comparing the Garmin 550, 500, and the 276C.
HARD to DECIDE!!!
I currently have the Garmin GPSMAP76. I’m looking for a unit that can work for me on the home lake for sailing events here in SC.
GPSMAP76 is hard to read in the sun during a Sailboat Race, much less add waypoints on the fly. Want to load my MAPSOURCE LAKES V5 on my new device and use it the rest of the time for the car, Any suggestions?
Does the 500 have the same topo maps that the Oregon 400t has. I am looking for a GPS that I can use for both car and for hiking and hunting.
Kirk, see this thread in our forums: Garmin Nuvi 500 550 for 4×4 trails?
The nuvi 500 is the most disappointing product I’ve purchased from garmin. I’ve had a GPSIII+, Streepilot 550, and streetpilot i5. I bought the nuvi 500 as a replacement for the gpsIII+ that I’ve been using on my boat. The nuvi is waterproof and small, which made it look like a good choice. It also can do street routing with live traffic update, which I hoped would make it useful during towing in the crowded San Francisco Bay area.
The nuvi 500 is an ok street GPS when it works. I have a GTM25 traffic receiver for it. When the traffic receiver is plugged in, I can count on the nuvi 500 locking up at least once per trip. Garmin support is terrible, they deny all knowledge of any such issue, even though I’ve logged the issue with them before. I had it lock up on me during a trip to a campground I’d never been to, and I overshot the freeway exit by almost 15 minutes before I realized the stupid nuvi 500 had frozen again and was showing me my location from an hour ago. That is unforgivable in a gps.
With a recent software update, the nuvi 500 will speak street names, but unlike the stock voice, the TTS voices seem to have a problem with the volume. They are almost inaudible even with the volume at 100%, making them mostly useless unless the windows are up and the radio is off.
The boat mode is by far the most disappointing thing. The nuvi 500 WILL NOT SUPPORT BOAT NAVIGATION without adding bluechart g2 maps!!! I’ve been navigating for years on a gpsIII+ on the stock garmin base maps. I don’t need depth, I dont need buoys, I boat in the sacramento river delta. I just need to see where the water is, to have a compass heading to the next waypoint, and to not have the gps jumping my position onto levy roads every time I get close to one. The nuvi 500 WONT DO IT without the addition of maps that cost more than the unit itself.
The screen is dim and hard to read while wearing polarized glasses, and forget about taking it out without a power source. The battery wont last more than three hours even with the backlight off.
In summary- this product from garmin is mediocre at best. Neither of the two features I bought it for- live traffic-based routing and occasional use on a sport boat- work in any usable way.
I’ve been a proud owner of garmin equipment for ten years, but this is likely to be the last garmin product that I will buy. The product quality on the nuvi 500 is terrible, garmin support is non-existent, and the cost of the maps borders on robbery. Save your money, look elsewhere for your crossover gps.