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 Handheld / Trail GPS ranging from $252.59 to $499.99. | ||
 | In stock at North Adams Outdoors | $252.59 |
 |  In stock at Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) | $299.95 |
 |  In stock at HSN.com | $399.95 |
 | In stock at pcRUSH.com | $258.69 |
 | In stock at Beach Camera | $255.97 |
 | In stock at Crutchfield | $249.99 |
 | In stock at PCNation | $358.15 |
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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
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
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.