First Look
Garmin Montana 650t GPS
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3MevgJoP04"]What is in the Box from Can Am delaler with a Montana 650t GPS[/ame]
I bought the Garmin Montana 650t GPS from my local Can Am dealer that comes stock on the new 2012 Limited Commander. I also got the dash from the Limited Commander but that will be in later. The nice thing about this setup is it can be bolted right in replacing the stock dash with the limited dash.
I have mixed thoughts on this Montana 650t GPS, it adds some great features but lacks in may basic features and it is loaded with bugs. Liking much better now that almost all the issues are no longer.
List price from Can Am is about $650 that comes with a mounting bracket.
List price from Garmin is $700 that does not come with the mounting bracket but you can buy the same bracket for $38.
So unless you find a good deal the Can Am dealer is the way to go saving $88 if you end up getting the mounting bracket.
I have had the GPS for about 4 days and I have not got it out on the trail but I will give my review after I get out on the trail.
So here is what I have after 4 days.
Garmin Montana 650t GPS
Pros:
1. Fits right in the Commander with the Limited Commander Dash
2. Waterproof
3. Glove friendly with pressure sensitive screen
4. Large screen 4"
5. Can be used in both Landscape or portrait view
6. Can use either the included rechargeable battery or 3 AA batteries
7. Comes with base map and 100K Topo maps
8. Can use the new BirdsEye Satellite Imagery Subscription Maps ($30 per year)
9. Works with Google Earth to import tracks, routes, scanned maps or downloaded PDF maps. So making custom maps is no problem.
10. Removable to set thing up in the house before the ride.
11. Good Satellite reception with internal antenna
12. Can be used on the Commander, motorcycle and boat as well as in your car if you buy the $80 City Navigator maps.
13. Looks good in bright sunlight and in the dark.
14. Can be updated using Windows 7, Vista, or XP, and Mac.
15. Can share your tracks, waypoints and routes wirelessly with other compatible Garmin GPS's
16. Has 5 MP camera (not sure if I really care about this)
17. They speak english at Tech Support. (Thank you Thank you!)
Updates in red.
Cons:
1. Wile great in bright sunlight and dark, not good in low light.
2. Corrected with update / No standard information when navigating like heading, speed, ETE, or pointer without exiting the map and going into Compass mode that does not show the map. (What was Garmin thinking?)
3. Exit out of 3D view does not work wile in Landscape mode, must turn the unit to Portrait mode to exit the 3D mode.
4. Corrected with update / Info like time, date, battery life, and signal moves over icons when in Landscape mode and controls are set to right side.
5. With just about any map sets this is not a problem / Will not navigate around the city with included maps, just comes back with (Routes Calculation Error: Maps do not have routable roads in this area). Remember this is a top of the line unit for $650 to $700.
6. No traffic info at all and no way to add it
7. No XM radio and no way to add it. (What was Garmin thinking, this unit is for off-roading and that is the GPS you would want XM Sirius added to).
8. Tech support is not the brightest. ( I spent a couple hours of my life to prove to them the unit would not allow me to order the BirdsEye Satellite Imagery. You have to register a compatible GPS unit to order the $30 per year subscription and now after 4 days no email, call, text, and still not working. I was told I could not get a discount for my hours of beta testing there unit, oh wait I didn't want to beta test this thing I paid full price and waited till the bugs were worked out I thought. They told me to expect a email in 24 hours but didn't happen. I also had to tell them there direct phone number for tech support just hangs up after the recording, and I had to use the 800 number. You would just think they are closed by the way it gives the hours and then hangs up.)
9. I learned how to use it better so not a problem, just push harder / When moving the map it adds a thumbtack when NOT wanted all the time and you have to return to current location to remove it. They really need to have a menu button or double tap to a the thumbtack. This is a bad design no matter how you look at it.
10. Corrected by making custom map sets with needed setting where you need them / Setup menu is a mess, you have to look all over to find the setting you are looking for in a number of sub menus. They should have just one setup list and maybe one additional Advanced setup menu. Here is a example, the control location setting is in the Appearance menu.
11. Corrected with update / No way to turn off things like Trees marking Parks and Buildings marking Schools. You can turn down the info to a lower level but I want other info but I could care less about every park.
12. BaseCamp program is very old school and controls are not user friendly. They should buy the BasCamp programers a new computer and maybe a iPhone and let them see how a user friendly program should work.
So like I said very mixed feeling on this GPS unit. Liking it much much better after updates and very happy with it now, thanks Garmin.
Garmin Montana 650t GPS
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3MevgJoP04"]What is in the Box from Can Am delaler with a Montana 650t GPS[/ame]
I bought the Garmin Montana 650t GPS from my local Can Am dealer that comes stock on the new 2012 Limited Commander. I also got the dash from the Limited Commander but that will be in later. The nice thing about this setup is it can be bolted right in replacing the stock dash with the limited dash.
I have mixed thoughts on this Montana 650t GPS, it adds some great features but lacks in may basic features and it is loaded with bugs. Liking much better now that almost all the issues are no longer.
List price from Can Am is about $650 that comes with a mounting bracket.
List price from Garmin is $700 that does not come with the mounting bracket but you can buy the same bracket for $38.
So unless you find a good deal the Can Am dealer is the way to go saving $88 if you end up getting the mounting bracket.
I have had the GPS for about 4 days and I have not got it out on the trail but I will give my review after I get out on the trail.
So here is what I have after 4 days.
Garmin Montana 650t GPS
Pros:
1. Fits right in the Commander with the Limited Commander Dash
2. Waterproof
3. Glove friendly with pressure sensitive screen
4. Large screen 4"
5. Can be used in both Landscape or portrait view
6. Can use either the included rechargeable battery or 3 AA batteries
7. Comes with base map and 100K Topo maps
8. Can use the new BirdsEye Satellite Imagery Subscription Maps ($30 per year)
9. Works with Google Earth to import tracks, routes, scanned maps or downloaded PDF maps. So making custom maps is no problem.
10. Removable to set thing up in the house before the ride.
11. Good Satellite reception with internal antenna
12. Can be used on the Commander, motorcycle and boat as well as in your car if you buy the $80 City Navigator maps.
13. Looks good in bright sunlight and in the dark.
14. Can be updated using Windows 7, Vista, or XP, and Mac.
15. Can share your tracks, waypoints and routes wirelessly with other compatible Garmin GPS's
16. Has 5 MP camera (not sure if I really care about this)
17. They speak english at Tech Support. (Thank you Thank you!)
Updates in red.
Cons:
1. Wile great in bright sunlight and dark, not good in low light.
2. Corrected with update / No standard information when navigating like heading, speed, ETE, or pointer without exiting the map and going into Compass mode that does not show the map. (What was Garmin thinking?)
3. Exit out of 3D view does not work wile in Landscape mode, must turn the unit to Portrait mode to exit the 3D mode.
4. Corrected with update / Info like time, date, battery life, and signal moves over icons when in Landscape mode and controls are set to right side.
5. With just about any map sets this is not a problem / Will not navigate around the city with included maps, just comes back with (Routes Calculation Error: Maps do not have routable roads in this area). Remember this is a top of the line unit for $650 to $700.
6. No traffic info at all and no way to add it
7. No XM radio and no way to add it. (What was Garmin thinking, this unit is for off-roading and that is the GPS you would want XM Sirius added to).
8. Tech support is not the brightest. ( I spent a couple hours of my life to prove to them the unit would not allow me to order the BirdsEye Satellite Imagery. You have to register a compatible GPS unit to order the $30 per year subscription and now after 4 days no email, call, text, and still not working. I was told I could not get a discount for my hours of beta testing there unit, oh wait I didn't want to beta test this thing I paid full price and waited till the bugs were worked out I thought. They told me to expect a email in 24 hours but didn't happen. I also had to tell them there direct phone number for tech support just hangs up after the recording, and I had to use the 800 number. You would just think they are closed by the way it gives the hours and then hangs up.)
9. I learned how to use it better so not a problem, just push harder / When moving the map it adds a thumbtack when NOT wanted all the time and you have to return to current location to remove it. They really need to have a menu button or double tap to a the thumbtack. This is a bad design no matter how you look at it.
10. Corrected by making custom map sets with needed setting where you need them / Setup menu is a mess, you have to look all over to find the setting you are looking for in a number of sub menus. They should have just one setup list and maybe one additional Advanced setup menu. Here is a example, the control location setting is in the Appearance menu.
11. Corrected with update / No way to turn off things like Trees marking Parks and Buildings marking Schools. You can turn down the info to a lower level but I want other info but I could care less about every park.
12. BaseCamp program is very old school and controls are not user friendly. They should buy the BasCamp programers a new computer and maybe a iPhone and let them see how a user friendly program should work.
So like I said very mixed feeling on this GPS unit. Liking it much much better after updates and very happy with it now, thanks Garmin.
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