Figure 10: The nuvi 680, Front

One good drop and I'm fairly certain the nuvi would break. The plastic feels fragile and overall the unit doesn't feel particularly solid. Nevertheless, the nuvi 680 is a handsome unit that looks good in your car.

Figure 11: The nuvi 680, Left Side

The Nuvi 680 is quite slim, measuring just under an inch in thickness (0.9”). The thin-ness of the 680 makes it ideal for travel, as you can easily put it in your pocket and take it with you.

Figure 12: The nuvi 680, Right Side

The right side of the nuvi 680 houses the headphone jack (bottom), AC Power/USB connector (middle), and SD Card slot. Garmin makes additional maps and travel guides available via the SD memory card format. Additionally, you can use your own SD card and load music and/or photos onto the nuvi.

Figure 13: The nuvi 680, Rear

With the slip-up patch antenna in the closed position, the nuvi is flat, thin, and easy to transport. The perforated area on the rear makes it look like the nuvi 680 has two speakers, although it actually only has a single speaker (on the left hand side). In order to receive satellite GPS signals, the flip up patch antenna must be in the opened position. Garmin says that the correct position for the patch antenna is parallel to the surface of the earth, so in normal driving conditions you would have the antenna at a 90 degree angle, forming an L-shape.

The reset button is also located under the flip antenna. In my testing I never had to use the rest button, although it's nice that the button isn't concealed like on some other units, or a pin-hole that you have to use a paperclip to use.

There's also an MCX-type connector for connecting an optional external GPS antenna. The nuvi's internal antenna should be sufficient for most users, thanks to Garmin's use of SiRF's Star III high performance internal receiver.

Figure 14: The nuvi 680, Top

The nuvi 680 is powered on by pressing and holding the Power button for 2 seconds. The same process turns the nuvi off.

Figure 15: Included Leather Carrying Case

The nuvi 680 includes a leather carrying case. If you're planning on traveling, you'll want to protect the nuvi's large LCD display, so it's nice that Garmin includes the case with the unit instead of making you pay extra for it.

Figure 16: nuvi 680 vs. nuvi 660

Physically, the nuvi 680 and nuvi 660 are identical. In fact, the only way to tell the two apart (without turning them on) is to look under the flip-up antenna and check the model number. I'll discuss the differences between the two units in more detail later, but appearance-wise the two are identical.