30. Picture Viewer

Figure 138: Picture Viewer

Also located in the Tools menu, the Picture Viewer lets you view photos on the nuvi 780's bright, wide-screen display.

Any images stored in the JPEG folder on the nuvi will appear in the Picture Viewer.

Figure 139: Viewing an Image With Picture Viewer

Images can be scrolled through, viewed full screen, or even set to replace the Garmin logo startup image.

31. World Clock

Figure 140: World Clock

For the James Bond in all of us: those of you who find yourself in Morocco on Monday, London Tuesday, and Monte Carlo Wednesday -- the nuvi World Clock is for you!

Figure 141: World Map

Tapping on "World Map" from the World Clock page brings up a world map that shows day/night zone information, as well as the current date/time in your own time zone.

32. Calculator

Figure 142: Calculator

The nuvi 780 includes a basic calculator that is accessed via the Tools menu.

33. Text-to-Speech Voice Quality

Text-to-Speech allows the GPS to speak actual street names instead of generic maneuvers. So instead of hearing "Turn left in 1 mile", you'll hear "Turn left on South Main Street in 1 mile".

Speech quality on the nuvi 780 is identical to that of previous nuvi models. In my testing, the nuvi did a decent job pronouncing street names and I didn't find the voice abrasive or irritating.

A cool unexpected feature I found is that the nuvi 780 will also perform text-to-speech on saved addresses in your address book. So if you save an address as "Work", when arriving at that location, the nuvi will announce "arriving at work".

34. Garmin Lock

Figure 143: Garmin Lock

The nuvi 780 includes a feature called Garmin Lock. Using Garmin Lock, you can set a PIN code and designate a "secure location". A secure location is a saved location on the map where you can unlock the GPS even if you've forgotten the PIN code.

Figure 144: Security Menu

Garmin Lock and Safe Mode can be turned on or off via the Security menu.

Personally this sounds like more of a liability than a help, but if you're into the idea of a password for your GPS, then GPS Lock might be just the ticket. To configure GPS Lock:

Figure 145: Setting a PIN Code for Garmin Lock

Once a Garmin Lock code has been entered, you must enter the PIN every time the nuvi is powered on. Be forewarned though: if you forget your PIN code AND the saved "Secure Location", you must send the unit back to Garmin to be reset.

35. Signal Reception Performance

Figure 146: Garmin's New Slim Design Trades GPS Reception for Convenience

The new nuvi 700-series (and 200-series) units don't have a fold-out style antenna, as the 600-series (and 300-series) nuvis did. Instead, the nuvi 780 relies on an internal antenna located on the back of the GPS. This new design is slimmer, has fewer moving parts to break, and is generally more convenient. Unfortunately, there's no free lunch, and the new design trades GPS signal strength for convenience: testing revealed a significant GPS performance degradation between the nuvi 600 and 700.

Figure 147: Garmin nuvi 780 vs 660 GPS Reception

The nuvi 660 shows 12 foot accuracy while the nuvi 780 only reports 19 foot accuracy. The nuvi 660 was getting approximately 58% stronger reception. I left both units on in a stationary car and let them numbers settle. Even after 20 minutes the nuvi 660 was receiving between 45% and 60% stronger reception than the nuvi 780.

The nuvi 780 I tested was equipped with SiRF's high performance StarIII GPS receiver, as is the nuvi 680.

Despite the fact that the older nuvi 680 got stronger signal reception, the nuvi 780 still performed extremely well, maintaining solid GPS tracking even in the GPS-unfriendly conditions of driving in Manhattan.

Figure 148: The Benefits of nuvi 780's InstantFixII Technology

It's not all bad news for the nuvi 780 - initial position fix is much faster on the nuvi 780 than the older nuvi 600-series models. After powering on the nuvi 680 (left) and the nuvi 780 (right), the nuvi 780 acquired it's full signal strength almost immediately, thanks to its use of SiRF's InstantFixII Technology.

Overall, GPS signal strength on the nuvi 780 is very good, albeit not quite as good as the older Garmin nuvis. I don't believe the reduced signal strength should be a major concern for buyers, as the 780 still provided rock solid tracking everywhere I tested it, and was completely reliable.