Garmin StreetPilot 2820

Nice GPS and Great price - - - A huge leap forward from my previous unit (Street Pilot 111). Maps and directions update quickly with plenty of options. It comes ready to use -fully loaded. The Bluetooth connection (phone) works well, but I've had complaints of sounding distant. May need to try a different mic??? Can not comment on Sat radio as I did not add antenna.

Until a week ago I owned the 2720. Unfortunately a map update failed and I had to send the unit to Garmin. The service folks from Garmin just sent me their latest streetpilot 2820 (free upgrade, just great). So, from being unhappy due to the failed update, I am now quite happy. Also, that took place within 4! work days. Dropped it off at the post office on Friday, got it back on Thursday moring the week after. Really quick. It is a great unit, just like the predecessor 2720, but now also has bluetooth and an audio book reader and MP3 Player (things I will likely not use). Bluetooth is great, though, for mobile phones in cars even though you will need to connect a speaker and micro. The unit does what it needs to do - get me where I want to go. Especially on a motorcycle. Waterprrof, with enough room to save half of the US and CAN (mine is a european unit). I used the previous version for 3 years and never has it failed to get me where I wanted to go. It is fast, has excellent routin... Read more

After spending a few days researching GPS receivers that were good candidates for motorcycles I narrowed my list to the Garmin Zumo 550, Garmin StreetPilot 2820, and TomTom Rider. Although the Zumo 550 seems to be the more popular choice lately, I decided upon the StreetPilot 2820 because it has more features (ex: multiple via points on a route and a higher resolution screen). It is an excellent choice for a motorcycle --it can easily be operated with gloves on, it's waterproof, it's easy to read, and it can pair to two Bluetooth devices (in my case a Bluetooth helmet and my Blackberry). The maps that come with this unit are outstanding --I can fairly reliably tell the difference between paved and unpaved roads (something you can't do with Google Maps, for instance). I have found one bug with the device: If you're using the music player and attempt to voice dial a phone number, the Bluetooth connection gets flaky and I need to reboot the unit --I'm hoping a future firmware ... Read more

Going on my third season with the 2820, I can't imagine touring without it. Easy to use with gloves, big enough to see without reading glasses, accurate guide, and more. The connectivity can't be beat either, plus it is a very rough and tumble sturdy unit. I was very happy with the XM radio, and in the car I plug it into my auxiliary jack. I'm happy to report that there has not been one glitch or problem over 8,000 mile of bumpy twisties and harsh riding through the elements on my motorcycle. I had the Garmin Quest before upgrading to this unit. There is no comparison. The Quest was way too cumbersome in controls and directions and screen display to be very useful on while moving fast on the road, espically if you wanted to make changes to it on the fly. My only wish with this 2820 unit is that it wasn't so big. You don't want to leave an expensive unit like this on the bike when you stop, and, although it does fit in my jacket pocket, it's very bulky. Overall, I have been very happy w... Read more

I bought this item several months ago and recently took it on a motorcycle trip to New England and Canada. I managed to hook it up with Bluetooth with my helmet and my cell phone which hung on my belt. Amazingly, it worked for cell phone calls going down the road in Toronto. The only drawback is that one needs to do a "reality check" for routes it may decide on. Some routes were out of the way or no longer in existence. A bonus was looking up the weather on areas I was planning to go to.