Garmin Nuvi 2689LMT 6.1-Inch Bluetooth GPS Navigator - (Renewed)(Black)

I got this to replace an older nuvi that got left behind in a rental car and was never seen again. My old unit was only a couple years old so I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a new one. That's why I decided to go with a refurbished unit despite the fact that "refurbished" makes me nervous.I haven't done any big trips but I've been using it just to drive around town to places I already know how to get to just to make sure it works properly. So far I like it better than the old one. The voice sounds better than the old unit. I was surprised one day when, as I was getting closer to my turn, instead of saying "in so many miles turn left on such and such street" it said "turn left after the Panera Bread." Then as I got even closer It did then give the street name. It doesn't do this all the time and it might take some getting used to but when I ask people for directions I like for them to give me landmarks to look for so I'm thinking I'm really going to like that feature. I love the clarity of the screen and I think the touch sensitivity and response is better than my old one which did not have the glass screen. I think the voice command works a little better than my old one but it's still pretty hit or miss on whether it understands me. I like that I can use it with my phone for phone calls but I really wouldn't call it hands free. I was disappointed that you can't use the voice command to make calls. How is it hands free if I have to touch the screen to go into the phone app then find the contact I'm looking for then make it call. I will say though that the sound of the calls is much better than the Bluetooth through my car. I had smartlink on my phone with my old unit but never really checked it out much. But I looked at it a bit yesterday and I really like that I can look up an address on my phone and send it right from my phone to the nuvi. I think I'm going to enjoy that feature. I also think when I take it out of town I will find the foursquare function really nice for finding places of interest and places to eat. I live in a very small town and I looked online to see if there's traffic coverage for this area and there's not. So I can't really comment on the traffic function until I take it somewhere more urban. My old unit had a bad habit of telling me there was traffic ahead AFTER I was already sitting in it. But I know GPS traffic reports can only be as good as the data they receive from local contacts. Unfortunately when I lost my old unit the dashboard mount I had bought for it was attached to it so now I'm going to have to get another one of those too. However, I currently have it attached with the suction cup and I have to say it is holding much better than any other GPS unit I've had before. I will still get the dash mount though because I prefer that for placement location, especially as large as this is.Now the problem which may not even be a problem. When I first start it up the screen flickers a little. It's not enough to be distracting and it does stop after a minute or two so I'm wondering if it might just be the new kind of screen warming up. It doesn't do it when it comes back on after just a short stop. I'm not sure that it's actually a problem but I think I'm going to call Garmin about it and possibly exchange it for another of the same units.So the loss of one star is because the "hands free" calling isn't actually hands free and the slight flicker.Updating already, I decided to go ahead and call Garmin. They looked up the serial number and saw that my unit is part of a batch that is having the screen flicker issue. They are sending me a new one that that is from a batch that the screen flicker has been resolved. Also I mentioned it would be great if you could use voice command for the phone function and he said you can. Apparently I just needed to scroll down on the voice command options screen and I would have seen that "phone" was a command option. Whoops. So I'm now giving it the fifth star because customer service was great. My call was taken quickly and the agent was polite and helpful. Also it's not a foreign call center so I could actually understand him and he could understand me. And now I know the hands free phone function is actually hands free.

Although it says Bluetooth, You can not connect to the Bluetooth of your vehicle. I wanted to connect the GPS to the speakers of my vehicle and that can't happen with this model. There is NOT an AUX connector on this GPS either. What you can do is connect your phone to the GPS, and you can use the speaker off the GPS to work with making/receiving class from your phone. That is pretty LAME for me. I wanted it so that when I'm listening to music, the GPS directions would override the music temporarily and give me the directions that I need. Not the case. I need to turn down music and listen to the speaker off the GPS. The speaker on the GPS works well, but when full volume there is a little distortion and sometimes hard to hear if the area you are in is loud.Screen is PERFECT size. Not too big, Not too small. Easy to read.Tells you current speed limit of the road you are on, and tells you YOUR current speed. Very accurate with the speeds.The route of travel.......not so much. I like the routes GOOLGE suggest more. I have used the routes via GPS and it had me take some questionable roads. GOOGLE routes seem to be a lot better.Not a bad buy. Wish it was cheaper.

System purchased to replace Tomtom GOLIVE system that had built in 2g real traffic.I purchased this system to replace a very high end gps that had all the bells and whistles, and I must say, I should have bought Garmin first...Pro's:- YOU DO NOT need the special charge chord to get real traffic updates, weather updates etc, you can blutooth your phone via the smartphone link from android or itunes (you can also set blutooth just to pull the traffic data so you can still connect your headset or other items to your mobile device for calling or music.(the app doesnt pull hard on data)- You can use a multi port usb and connect via that instead of having to take up your entire 12v charger for the system and still get everything you need- Screen resolution is bar none, I was actually really surprised at the definition and size of this, please make not THIS IS A BIG GPS- The fact that it tells you which lane to be in (I drive in Chicago and the lanes here were made by a madman and this is a big time saver and very helpful- Nice features, really this is a pro and a con. The features are somewhat overkill, but you can turn them on and off as you choose.- You can throw out more money and get a lot of paripherals for this item, such as baby cam, and back up cam (I am not sure but with some of the other garmin devices you can also have a dash cam though it will not sync with this directly)- BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE! I am big into the outdoors so I have a lot of Garmin stuff, every time I call I get someone who is nice, understanding, and helpful, even when it comes to highly technical questions. AND THEY ARE BASED IN US! Sorry but I hate call centers that have been outsourced... its just well, frustrating.CONS: (all personsal preference)- It doenst have TRAFFIC CAMERA SPEED TRAP CAMERA INFO ON IT, this is a big deal in Chicago, but I am sure that I can find a app to connect it so that I can get these, just have to search- ITS HUGE, please make note this is one of those things you will have to take off your window or dash when you close down for the night if you live in a populated area. It has STEAL ME written all over it.- I dont like the original voice, going to change it for sure.- Traffic updates dont give you a linear line like tomtom that allows you too see where the congestion is and what the delay will be in said congestion, this would be nice.OVERALL: This device is easy to set up, it is easy to follow, it has everything a daily commuter would need and more. It has been a great experience so far moving to this device from my tomtom (which cost twice as much) I now have 8 Garmin Devices from my vivosmart to my cycling gear to my fishing gear. I would suggest this product to anyone who is looking for high quality that will last and will fit into a mid level budget.