6. Traffic

Technically speaking, Traffic is part of the MSN Direct offering, but since real-time traffic data is such an important feature, it warrants its own section in this review.

Access to real-time traffic information and the ability to navigate around traffic jams is a major selling point of the nuvi 780, and one of the features consumers are most interested in; after all, the thought of avoiding traffic jams and intelligently routing around them is an appealing proposition indeed. Unfortunately, traffic data is generally limited to major highways and cities, is delayed, and is still far from perfect.

Figure 46: Map Screen - Traffic Event Notification

If a traffic event is received that will impact your current route, the nuvi 780 displays the corresponding icon in the lower-right hand corner of the map display, as shown above. Tapping the alert displays additional information about the traffic event, shown below.

Figure 47: Traffic Event Overview Page

This screen displays an overview of the traffic problem, and marks the problem area with the appropriate traffic icon.

Tap the traffic notification bar at the top of this screen (the gray bar that reads: "1 min delay 15 mi ahead"), and additional details of the traffic issue are displayed. Tapping "Avoid" forces the GPS to find an alternate route around the traffic problem.

Note that if the nuvi receives a traffic alert and finds a faster route with less traffic, it will automatically prompt the driver with a message asking if you want to route around the traffic (a message saying "A better route is available").

Garmin's traffic integration in well implemented and easy to use. My biggest complaint was with data accuracy; more often than not I found MSN's traffic data either wrong or missing, resulting in avoiding traffic jams that don't exist, or the nuvi telling you the road is backed up as you sail along at 70 MPH. In fairness, this isn't unique to MSN Direct - virtually every traffic-enabled GPS I've tested to date suffers from the same limitation. Hopefully, over time the data accuracy will improve and coverage areas expand, making traffic data a more valuable feature. Currently, traffic data is better than nothing, but it's still got a long way to go.

7. Map Screen

Figure 48: nuvi 780's Map Screen

The map screen is displayed automatically when navigating to an address. The route the GPS has calculated is marked with a magenta line, as shown above in figure 48. The map screen can also be manually invoked by tapping on "View Map" from the Main Menu.

Figure 49: Using the nuvi 780's Map Screen

Figure 49 shows the map screen, as displayed when navigating to a destination:

1. Text Bar - This text bar displays the current navigation instruction. Tapping on this bar opens the turn list (a list of all up-coming turns)
2. Zoom Out - Zoom out the map display
3. Speed Limit - When available, the nuvi 780 displays the speed limit for the current road you are driving on
4. Vehicle icon - This customizable icon represents your vehicle on the map. Tapping on the vehicle icons allows you to save your current location (even if there's not a valid street address at your location)
5. Arrival Time - Displays your estimated arrival time. When not en route to a destination, your current speed is displayed here. Tapping this icon opens the Trip Information page
6. Menu - Tap the Menu icon to return to the Menu page
7. Turn In - Displays the distance to the next turn. Tapping this icon displays the Next Turn page (a detailed view of the upcoming turn) and repeats the last voice instruction
8. Highlighted Route - The highlighted route is "painted", or marked, in magenta color
9. Zoom In - Zooms in on the map display

Figure 50: Trip Information Screen

Tapping on the Arrival Time area (#5 in figure 49) brings up the trip information page, which displays a running counter of various statistics about the "trip", or since it was last reset.

Figure 51: Turn List

Figure 52: Next Turn Page

The "Next Turn" page is available by tapping on the lower-right icon from the map view, and displays a detailed view of the turn. This split-screen view shows a 2-dimensional drawing of the turn on the left side of the screen, and a text description of the turn on the right side. Also displayed are the distance and time to the turn.

Tapping the up/down arrows in the lower-right portion of the screen cycles through the upcoming turns, one at a time. Voice prompts are also announced as each turn is viewed.

Figure 53: Speed Limit Indicator

New to the nuvi 700-series is the addition of a speed limit indicator on the map screen. When the nuvi 780 knows the posted speed limit for the road you are traveling, the speed limit is displayed on the map screen, as shown above.This feature can also be disabled if you prefer not to see it.

Overall Garmin's map screen is well implemented and carefully designed. It is easy to read and does a good job displaying key information without being cluttered or confusing. For example, notice how the green information bar across the top of the map screen mimics the color and font used on actual highway signs. Also notice how the angle of the 3D map makes it easy to see upcoming maneuvers.

The map screen is one of the most important aspects of any GPS, and the nuvi 780 gets it right.