Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Product Description
Featuring pre-loaded, detailed maps of North America, this plug-and-play portable automotive GPS navigator lets you get started as soon as you take it out of the box, without having to deal with unlocking or uploading of data that the Garmin 2610 requires. The Streetpilot 2620's hard drive contains detailed maps of the entire United States plus some metropolitan areas of Canada, and features over five million points of interest, including lodging, restaurants, gas stations, and local attractions. You can also navigate to a specific address. Its intuitive, color, menu-based touch screen features voice prompted turn-by-turn navigation and a powerful microprocessor for fast route calculation and map redraw. There's even a unique wireless infrared remote control, which allows easy operation of the unit from a distance. Garmin makes accessories to help you integrate your GPS with your life and your priorities. Keep your GPS at the ready while protecting it from knocks and bumps is with a carrying case, that has space for your hookup cable and remote control. In the car, you'll appreciate the mounting options and clear reception afforded by the Garmin Magnetic or Suction Mount Antenna that will give you better satellite reception than if you only place your GPS on the dashboard. Using your GPS in more than one vehicle? The Garmin Dashmount is just the ticket, providing one temporary and one permanent adhesive mounting disc so you can move the unit back and forth between your cars. The 2620's WAAS-enabled support provides the highest degree of GPS accuracy and it comes with a host of cool new features, including: Multiple Destinations, in which the 2620 can automatically sort out a selection of destinations and then determine the most efficient route. Road Segment and Area Avoidance, which lets you avoid bad traffic and road construction by letting you determine areas to avoid when calculating routes. Find Nearest on Route lets you limit searches for waypoints like gas stations and restaurants to upcoming points on your. And finally, the Adjustable Road Class Preference feature lets you adjust your preferences for major, medium, and minor road categories. The StreetPilot 2620 sports a built-in patch antenna and MCX-type connector for optional external GPS antenna connection, a 305 x 160-pixel display with bright, automotive-grade 8-bit 256-color LCD touch screen, an alphanumeric remote control, a built-in photo sensor that adjusts the display for light conditions, plus data storage without any memory battery needed and a snappy integrated dash mounting system. The WAAS difference
 | - 100 meters: Accuracy of the original GPS system, which was subject to accuracy degradation under the government-imposed Selective Availability (SA) program.
- 15 meters: Typical GPS position accuracy without SA.
- 3-5 meters: Typical differential GPS (DGPS) position accuracy.
- Less than 3 meters: Typical WAAS position accuracy.
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WAAS is a system of satellites and ground stations that provide GPS signal corrections, giving you even better position accuracy. How much better? Try an average of up to five times better. A WAAS-capable receiver can give you a position accuracy of better than three meters 95 percent of the time. And you don't have to purchase additional receiving equipment or pay service fees to utilize WAAS. How it Works
WAAS consists of approximately 25 ground reference stations positioned across the United States that monitor GPS satellite data. Two master stations, located on either coast, collect data from the reference stations and create a GPS correction message. This correction accounts for GPS satellite orbit and clock drift plus signal delays caused by the atmosphere and ionosphere. The corrected differential message is then broadcast through one of two geostationary satellites, or satellites with a fixed position over the equator. The information is compatible with the basic GPS signal structure, which means any WAAS-enabled GPS receiver can read the signal. Who benefits from WAAS?
Currently, WAAS satellite coverage is only available in North America. There are no ground reference stations in South America, so even though GPS users there can receive WAAS, the signal has not been corrected and thus would not improve the accuracy of their unit. For some users in the U.S., the position of the satellites over the equator makes it difficult to receive the signals when trees or mountains obstruct the view of the horizon. WAAS signal reception is ideal for open land and marine applications. WAAS provides extended coverage both inland and offshore compared to the land-based DGPS (differential GPS) system. Another benefit of WAAS is that it does not require additional receiving equipment, while DGPS does. What's in the box
The package comes with the StreetPilot, remote control, an external speaker with 12/24-volt adapter cable, PC/USB interface cable, A/C power adapter, integrated dash mount, and a portable "bean-bag" (friction) mount. |
Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
 It passed the ultimate test., Apr 21, 2023
Been all over California with this beauty and it just doesn't fail. How so much information can be packed into such a tidy package is way past my comprehension. The spoken commands are "right on". It does take a bit of work to understand who, what, when, where and how but if you take your time everything falls into place. It's finest moment so far is our being lost visiing a friend in a Senior Housing Project. This place had all the charm of a "Mouse Maze" and we got totally lost. We turned on the Garmin and were out amd on our way in minutes.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
 A Pleasure to Drive With, Apr 17, 2023
I wanted to update my original post, apparently it is no longer on here. Well I guess I'll try to cover the basics. I bought this unit last December in preparation for my trip from Kanas City to new Jersey. The unit worked great for my trip and it seemed flawless at first. When I got to NJ, especially on some of the streets that forks all of a sudden, the Garmin has problems deciding with way to go. So here is a quick list of what I thought were the good and the bad:
Good:
1) Price: It is less than half of the factory units.
2) Convinence: You can put this in any vehicle.
3) Size: It is not too big, it fit nicely on my '98 Camry and 2002 Acura MDX.
4) Bean Bag: I am not sure what some of the other people are refering to, I had no problems what so ever with the bean bag. Its rubber bottom sticks to my dash board like a charm. I even try to do some hard corners to see if I can tip it.
5) Accuracy: For the most part, it is very accurate. It generally takes from door to door with no problems.
6) Remote: I love the remote, you can keep your eyes on the road, especially in traffic and click the speak button and the Garmin will tell you when and where the next turn is.
Bad:
1) Re-route options: There are only three pre-programmed options (Quickest/Shortest/Off Road). I do not understand the Off-Road option. I think Garmin could have made it better by replacing it with No Highway option instead. Route 3 in New Jersey is extremely congested in the mornings as it leads into NYC. To avoid that stretch, it was a read pain to program it manuelly and you have to use the little pins on the monitor. It was not easy at all.
2) Lack of Battery: My Camry has 2 outlets in the front so I had no problems using both my Radar Detector and the Garmin. But when I needed it for my Acura MDX, which has its second outlet hidden inside the arm rest, the cord on the Garmin barely reached it and the cord extends across the middle of the cabin, definitely awkward. Also the wires are a pain and just doesn't fit well with the vehicles.
3) Weather: The Garmin does not like cold wether. When I first came up to NJ, I was getting pounded by one snow storm after another. Once I left the Garmin in the car over night and by next morning, it took the unit a good 10 minutes to warm up.
4) Accuracy: Sometimes it has trouble with the "older" roads and the ones that forks. It also have problems distinguishing between the highway and its outer roads at times. While it always was able to take me out of a jam, there are also a number of times that it got me into one.
5) Optional Antenna: It is expensive and you really need it!
In all it is a wonderful machine and one that is almost complete. There are some problems that can be irritating, but nothing is perfect. For the price and the capabilities, I think Garmin 2620 is a great buy. I love mine.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent system with a few errors, Apr 15, 2023
I just bought this a few weeks ago, and have been putting the 2620 through a workout. It is far superior to the Magellan 700 and the Iway because it has more features and functionality. Even my 13 and 8 year old can use it to find McDonald's.
The Iway has an Mp3 player, BIG DEAL! NOT. Who cares about music, when your buying this thing for directional use. The big drawback of the Magellan is that you can not set multiple waypoints in the same route. You want to go from here to there to here to there all in one trip, you can do that with the 2620, but not the Magellan. The magellan you have to go to the first point, stop, reprogram the unit, then go to the next point, then reprogram. A pain if you ask me.
Well back to the Streetpilot.... I live in Boston. It is not compatible with the all of the new BIG DIG road configurations. I was going from the south shore to Lynn. It told me to take roads that no longer existed due to the big dig, but it did do wonders to reroute me automatically. It detected that I was off route and recalculated. Sometimes it does tell you to take very strange routes to get to places, but you can just continue on your way and most of the time it will recalculate the route the way you want it, but sometimes it would not.
Example: Going from Peabody to Brockton (50+ miles). Told me to go through Boston on Rt93 instead of Staying of Rt95 (more direct route). When I passed Rt93, it kept telling me to pull off every exit and basically turn around and go back. I had to stop and fully reprogram the route, finally it took me straight on Rt95.
One trip it told me to EXIT RIGHT, well the exit was on the LEFT!!! There was no right at all. And that road has never changed, been that way for over 20 years.
the dash mount beanbag is awesome! Slips on inches if you make a panic turn, as when someone drifts into your lane. The speaker is great, very easy to understand. I have yet to lose satellite signal even in downtown Boston. Only lost it when I was underground, but as soon as I emerged, it reconnected to the satellites in about 5 seconds. I have seen first hand the Magellan suction cup come off while driving and when the windows are cold and even hot. I am sure you do not want to see your unit drop off the window and crack on the floor when your driving at 65 MPH. Also the Magellan vent mount is stupid. YOu have to take your eyes off the road to view it, since its not at eye level any more.
they should give you a case to store the unit when not in use. The Streetpilot 2620 does all the Magellan 700 can do, plus much more.
I studied the manuals on the company's websites for weeks before making my decision and I am glad I went with the Streetpilot. The screen might be a drop smaller than the others, but even when its about 2 feet away from me driving and sitting on the dashboard of my car it is clearly visible.
2 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
 still got lot of wrong directions, Apr 13, 2023
bought this gismo last week. this gps in general is not bad, but not that good either. going to brea, southern california. already knew the address, it should be on the left side of imperial highway and after passing brea blvd. but this machine kept telling me to turn right once pass FW57, kept telling me off route, recalculating, off route....even i have already arrived the address. can you believe this dumb machine? the other unacceptable mistake was when we tried to drive to an address in corona, it directed us to a totally opposite direction, the address should be in the north, but this dumb machine kept telling us to go south, wasted us about 45 minutes and decided to take out thomas guide to get the correct direction. the problem is that you simply can't totally rely on it, you still have to bring thomas guide with you, otherwise you might end up on the moon! darn machine sold so expensive is not in the least justifiable! the other problem of this machine is that it would suddenly turned into screen saving mode, the whole screen would suddenly dimmed to a unreadable status, you have to press 'speak' or other buttons or even patted on it to wake it up. this is a farely stupid modern headache came not cheap at all.
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
 Disappointing for the money, Apr 11, 2023
I used the Garmin iQue 3600 for two years before buying the 2620. In those two years I learned to rely on an onboard GPS, and couldn't survive when visiting places like Boston without it. I assumed that the 2620 represented a quantum jump in features and ease of use over the iQue 3600 considering that it costs several hundred dollars more.
Unfortunately that is not the case. While the 2620 is relatively easy to learn and extremely easy to use, its route finding algorithm is not nearly as accurate as the iQue 3600. In New London, it has me take the Block Island Ferry and get off in the middle of the Thames river to get to a friend's house that I can get to via a straight shot up the road a mile. It recognizes when I am off route, but its recalculation doesn't help much in getting me unlost. It is capable of recalculating 6 times in a minute rather than using a modicum of intelligence to find a good re-route in the first place. This repeated calculation was never necessary with the iQue 3600.
Another disadvantage of the 2620 is that it needs to be either plugged into your car or the wall. It has absolutely no portability, while the iQue 3600 has a battery that will last at least for a few hours.
In short, save a few hundred bucks and buy the iQue 3600 which has the same features and much better routing Or get the 2610 for $150 less than the 2620. The extra money for the preloaded maps isn't worth it.
In short, Ease of Use = Excellent. Routing and re-routing = Terrible. I am going back to my iQue 3600.
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