6. Finding an Address

The nuvi 750 allows you to input a destination address a number of different ways. The most common method, however, is to enter a street address. In the following example, we'll enter a destination address in New York City: 135 Central Park West, NY NY.

Figure 32: Accessing the Where to? Menu

It doesn't get much simpler than this: after powering on the nuvi 750, the Main Menu screen appears, as shown above in figure 32. From here, you can view the map, search for an address, adjust system settings (wrench icon), or adjust the volume (speaker icon).

Also notice that the Main Menu displays the GPS signal strength, Bluetooth icon, battery level, and current time (Tip: pressing and holding the GPS signal bar for 5 seconds displays more detailed signal strength information).

To begin entering a destination address, tap Where to? from the Main Menu.

Figure 33: Using a Street Address as a Destination

Most of the time you'll probably be driving to a street address (as opposed to a business name or an intersection). After tapping on Where to? from the Main Menu, tap on Address to begin inputting a street address, as shown above in figure 33.

Figure 34: Entering the State

The nuvi 750's address entry system is slightly different from previous nuvi models. Unlike the nuvi 600 and 300 models, which prompt you to enter the State first, the nuvi 750 defaults to the State you are currently located in and asks for the city name first.

If your destination address is in a State other than your current location, you'll need to tap on Change State/Province, as shown in figure 34.

Figure 35: Entering the State Name

After tapping Change State/Province, the nuvi 750 displays an on-screen keyboard.

Figure 36: Recently Found States/Provinces

Tip: tapping on the folder icon in the upper left corner, as shown above in figure 36, displays a list of the 5 most recently found State names.

Figure 37: Choosing a State Name From the Results List

I'm entering a destination address in New York State, so I type out N-E-W-space, and the nuvi automatically produces a short list of matching States (just one, in this case) to choose from. I'll tap on New York and continue on to the next step.

The nuvi 750 feels fast and is very responsive, allowing me to enter the city name as quickly as I can type, without any annoying delays or sluggishness.

However, I did find myself wishing Garmin would implement a text entry system more like Magellan's excellent QuickSpell system, which dims out invalid letters as you type, only allowing you to press keys that would spell a valid city name. TomTom also has a similar, though less refined, text entry system. These assisted text entry systems reduce the likelihood of misspellings and speed text entry overall.

Figure 38: Entering A City Name

Now that the nuvi 750 knows we'll be entering an address in New York State, we're ready to tell the GPS what city our destination address is in.

If you know the name of the city your destination address is located in, tap Spell City to enter the name. If you're not sure what city the destination address is located in, tap Search All to search the entire selected State.

Since I know my destination address is in Manhattan, I'll tap Spell City to continue.

Figure 39: Spelling the City Name

Entering the city name is identical to the process for entering the State name; once enough letters have been entered the nuvi automatically produces a list of results.

Also, just like the State entry screen, tapping on the folder icon in the upper left corner displays a short list of recently found city names.

Figure 40: Selecting the City

After tapping M-a-n on the keyboard, the nuvi produces the results list, shown above. I'll tap Manhattan, NY to continue.

Figure 41: Entering the House/Building Number

Like most GPS units, the nuvi 750 asks you for the house number before the street name. Some users new to GPS find this confusing, but you get used to it quickly enough.

Some other GPS units allow you to specify the order in which you want to enter address information. For example TomTom's GO models allow the user to specify whether they want to enter the street name, city name, or house number first. Unfortunately, the address entry order cannot be customized on the nuvi 750.

Another minor complaint is that the nuvi 750 doesn't display the valid range of possible house numbers when entering a destination address. Magellan's Maestro GPS units, for example, display the valid range of houses along the chosen street, allowing you to enter a valid a house number even if you're not sure of the exact address.

Figure 42: Entering the Street Name

The final step in entering the destination address is inputting the street name. I'm entering an address on Central Park West in New York City, so I start to spell out C-E-N-T-R-A-L and then press Done to see a list of matching street names. Note that I could have also continued spelling out the street name until so few matching names exist that the nuvi automatically displays the results list.

Figure 43: Selecting the Street

I tap on "Central Park W" to continue.

Figure 44: Address Confirmation Screen

With the address successfully entered into the nuvi 750, I can now either view the address on the map (Show Map), save it to my address book (Save), or start driving to it by pressing the large green Go! button.

Figure 45: Viewing the Destination Address on the Map

Tapping on Show Map in the previous menu displays the destination address on the map. This is a useful feature that allows you to see what the streets will look like at the destination address before you start driving.

Figure 46: Navigating to the Destination Address

Tap on the green Go! button and the nuvi starts routing to the destination address.

Figure 47: Garmin nuvi's Automatic Map Scaling Feature

As you approach an upcoming maneuver, the nuvi 750 automatically adjusts the scale, zooming in closer as the turn approaches. Once you've successfully made the turn, the map automatically zooms back out to show more distance.

Take a look at the two map screens shown above in figure 47. Notice that the nuvi has automatically zoomed the map to a street-level view in order to clearly illustrate the next turn. Having completed the maneuver, the next turn isn't for another 4 miles, so the nuvi slowly zooms back out to show more of the map, as shown in the map on the right side in figure 47.

Automatic map scaling works well on the nuvi 750. Scale adjustments are made smoothly over a few seconds and you hardly notice it's happening.