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Garmin i5 Initial impressions


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Looking at getting one of these Garmin StreetPilot i5's for Father's Day.

It is a dash mountable navigation unit with voice prompts. USB connection to the pc for updates. Actual size about like a tennis ball apparently. Seems like a handy gadget to have in the car. Hopefully I'll have a full review to follow.

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Garmin’s® StreetPilot® i5™: Good Things Come in Small Packages

StreetPilot i5

Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN), today expanded its innovative StreetPilot i-series™ product line with the introduction of the StreetPilot i5™. The i5 offers customers the lowest priced GPS navigator that is pre-loaded with detailed maps of North America which includes the entire United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

“The i5 gives customers exactly what they want – a compact, affordable, portable GPS device with pre-loaded maps at an incredibly low price point,” said Gary Kelley, Garmin’s vice president of sales. “It’s the perfect out-of-the-box, entry-level car navigation system.”

The StreetPilot i5 features three buttons on the face of the unit: on/off button, “back” button, and a unique and convenient click-to-enter scroll wheel – which makes it easy to select a destination from the unit’s menu-driven interface. It provides voice prompted, turn-by-turn directions through a built-in speaker, and the unit easily moves from vehicle to vehicle with an integrated suction cup mount. If a driver misses a turn, the i5 will automatically suggest an alternate route so they can quickly get back on course.

Even though it is the lowest priced unit with pre-loaded maps on today’s market, the StreetPilot i5 continues to provide users with some of the same features found on premium navigational units. Consumers may view detailed maps as either three-dimensional, or the more traditional “bird’s eye” overhead view. The 3D navigation perspective lets drivers see an uncluttered view of what’s down the road.

The StreetPilot i5 comes pre-loaded with City Navigator® North America NT, which features full coverage of the entire United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico — including nearly six million points of interest like gas stations, ATMs, hotels, restaurants, and attractions.

Key specifications of the StreetPilot i5 include:

Sunlight-readable display: 1.7” W x 1.3” H, 220 x 176 pixels, TFT color, backlight display

GPS: WAAS enabled, 12-parallel channel GPS patch antenna, with MCX-type connector for optional external antenna

Lightweight and compact: measures just 3.00” W x 2.74” H x 2.15” D and weighs 5.3 oz (includes vehicle suction cup mount, no batteries)

The StreetPilot i5 is expected to be available in October 2005 and will have an estimated retail price of $499. The unit ships standard with PC/USB cable, 12-volt adapter cable, vehicle suction cup mount, dashboard adhesive disk, and setup guide.

Bruce

2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

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  • 3 weeks later...

Home from our vacation, and got the Garmin i5 in the mail.

My Wife/Son wanted to get me this for Father's Day, but we waited til a bit after Father's Day watching prices, then ordered. The price oddly enough went up right before and down right after Father's Day. It arrived in about a week.

The Garmin i5 is a small GPS / Navigation unit. GPS stands for Global Positioning System, which uses a network of Satellites in orbit to allow a portable unit like the i5 to triangulate its current location with some accuracy. The unit then uses stored maps to plot a route to a selected destination, shows maps during the trip, and gives voice prompts on how to proceed.

First drive, I put the unit on the windshield to the right of the rearview mirror. It was able to track satellites. Some cars may have trouble with heated windshield or other types of obstructions, but no problem in the CTS.

First, I told the unit that our current location was home. I also turned the audio up a notch.

From the i5 menu, I then selected Where to? Then Points of Interest, then the local Credit Union ATM. The unit navigated perfectly from my house to the ATM. As one might expect, the unit would say "Turn Right" for example, then after the turn it would give the distance and direction of the next turn: "Turn left in 0.3 miles". As we approached the turn, it would say the turn: "Turn Left".

Then give the next turn advice. As we approached the destination, it said "Destination, turn right" or similar.

The i5 uses a thumb wheel and menu interface, so to pick a street address you select Texas, then Plano, then the street name, then the address. It is fairly quick once you get used to it apparently, and easier than having a full keyboard interface with the unit I suppose.

The screen is easy enough to read in daylight, although the passenger is the best person to watch the screen. The best plan when driving is to only use the audio prompts. The audio was clear and loud. The suction cup mounting worked great, with no problems with the unit falling off the windshield so far. The unit can operate on batteries or on the car auxiliary power (cigar lighter).

The unit came with a cd containing USB drivers. I installed those, and was unclear how to proceed next. However, once I went to http://www.garmin.com I was able to down load a 'updater' program which used the USB drivers to identify and update the i5 unit from version 2.7 to version 3.0. There also appears to be some point of interest programming utilities, but I have not played with them yet.

More info as we spend more time with it. Hopefully I can also upload a short movie file of the unit in action.

Bruce

2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

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Bruce,

Great Gift!

However, I was reading just the other day that the latest craze in theft is those high-value GPS units that stick onto the windshield. If in sight, thieves smash the side window, grab it and they be gone. :ph34r: The units can also leave a tell-tale suction-mark on the windshield (so thieves may be tempted to search the glove box, etc).

Thieves do not go for radios etc so much because of the anti-theft coding, the time it can take by comparison - and the limited market for a given head unit that may have parts missing. Once the GPS is gone - its complete and ready for the next owner (aside from the update CD's - which can probably be purchased separately anyway).

Is there any anti-theft coding, etc?

Good Luck and be careful out there !

Add power to leave problems behind. Most braking is just - poor planning.
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I guess record the serial number, and keep it in the center console between uses. As the price of these comes down one would suppose the resale value for stolen goods will go down as well.

Bruce

2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

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