« Amazon Starts Black Friday Deals Today | Main | Garmin nüvi 760 vs. 765T »


November 25, 2008

Garmin nuvi 765T Review

Own this GPS? Rate It Now!
GPSmagazine Rating: 4.5 of 5
Buy this GPS from Amazon

Call In-Progress
Figure 107: Call In-Progress

During a phone call, the above page is displayed. Tapping Back returns to the map page, where you can continue using the phone while navigating on the map. End Call hangs up the phone, and Call Options displays the Call Options page, shown below.

Call Options
Figure 108: Call Options

The Call Options page, shown above, allows you to enter touch tones (useful for voicemail systems), take a call off speakerphone and return the call back to your phone, or mute the microphone.

POI Details, With Bluetooth Enabled
Figure 109: POI Details, With Bluetooth Enabled

Most Points of Interest entries contain telephone numbers. Once the nuvi 765T is paired with a phone via Bluetooth, POIs can be dialed directly from the POI details page by tapping on the phone icon displayed next to the phone number.

Phone Menu
Figure 110: Phone Menu

Touching the Phone icon from the map or Main Menu brings up the Phone menu, shown above. The following functions are supported:

  • Phone Book - Access your phone's phone book
  • Points of Interest - Search for POIs
  • Dial - Use the on-screen number keypad to manually dial a phone number
  • Call History - View your phone's call history
  • Call Home - Dial the stored Home phone number. If no Home phone number has been specified, the nuvi will prompt you to store one
  • Voice Dial - Dial a contact using your voice (if your phone and carrier support it)
  • Status - Displays your phone's battery life and cellular signal strength


Figure 111: Phone Status

Adding A Second Bluetooth Device
Figure 112: Adding A Second Bluetooth Device

It's possible to pair the nuvi 765T with multiple phones, but only one phone can be connected to at a time. You can, however, connect to a phone and a headset at the same time.

21. Playing Audio Through Your Vehicle's Speakers

The nuvi 765T has an internal FM transmitter that lets you broadcast the nuvi's audio over FM to your vehicle stereo system. Set the nuvi and your car's radio to the same, unused, FM frequency, and the nuvi's audio is heard through your car's much better, louder speaker system rather than the nuvi's internal speaker. Combined with the nuvi 765T's Bluetooth capabilities, you can also use your car's stereo as a better speakerphone, using the in-car speakers to hear callers, and the nuvi's microphone as a hands-free device.

Main Menu
Figure 113: Main Menu

To switch the audio output from the internal speaker to the FM transmitter, touch Main Menu > Volume > Audio Output > FM Transmitter.

Audio Output
Figure 114: Audio Output

Touch Audio Output.

Current FM Frequency
Figure 115: Current FM Frequency

Touch the large blue frequency button to change the FM frequency, if needed.

Adjust FM Frequency
Figure 116: Adjust FM Frequency

Find an unused spot on the FM dial using your car's stereo, then use the Plus and Minus buttons to tune the nuvi to the same frequency. Once both the nuvi and your car's radio are set to the same channel, you'll hear the nuvi's audio output via the car's speaker system.

Mixer
Figure 117: Mixer

It's also possible to adjust the volume levels for navigation prompts and media (music, Audiobooks) separately via the Mixer.

The ability to hear the nuvi's audio on your car's speaker system is a potentially powerful feature that can turn the GPS into a full fledged a media hub, linking cell phone, navigation, and music all into one seamless combined system.

Unfortunately, the nuvi 765T's fatally underpowered FM transmitter remains totally inadequate, just as it has been on previous Garmin nuvi models. Even the weakest FM interference causes static, and the nuvi isn't powerful enough to broadcast over other FM frequencies. The result is an endless hunt for unused FM frequencies that must be re-adjusted every 10 miles or so.

I became so fond of using the car's speaker system instead of the nuvi's internal speaker for hands-free calling, mp3 playback, and navigation prompts, that I ended up working around the poor FM transmitter and using a cassette adapter (one that's designed for use with mp3 players) instead, plugging the cassette adapter into the car's tape player and the other end into the headphone jack on the nuvi.

Garmin says the poor FM transmitter performance is the result of FCC regulations that limit the power output of the transmitter. However, I've tested GPS units from Alpine and TomTom where the FM Transmitter works very well.

Simply put, the FM transmitter is so underpowered that it's almost useless.

Most Popular Reviews

GPSmagazine 2009 Back To School Buyer's Guide