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Garmin 2820 GPS Detailed Review |
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File under Product Review GPS
Author: Michael
Location: Normandy, France
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Only announced yesterday, here's already a very detailed test review (14 detailed photos) of the Garmin 2820 GPS. Thanks to Michael at UKGSer.com for the report.
The easiest way to describe this GPSR would be to say that it is the most competent motorcycle navigator I have ever used.
It is the same form factor as the previous 2xxx series Garmin GPSRs, which means it fits right into the Garmin Motorcycle Bracket, and uses the same power cable and other accessories as all the other 2xxx GPSRs. There are two slight differences with the accessories – the remote control is the newer version (same as the 27xx series), and the 12 volt adapter with the built-in speaker – the one you would use in a car, not on a motorcycle – is also the same newer one with the more sophisticated speaker that was first introduced with the 27xx series. The 27xx and 28xx both feature true ‘text to speech’ – meaning, they pronounce the full street names – and that requires a higher fidelity speaker. The older remote from the 25xx series will work with the newer 27xx and 28xx products, but it doesn’t give you all the control that the new remote does.
The big improvement: A fully integrated Bluetooth system. You can pair your cell phone up to it, and also pair a Bluetooth headset (for example, a BMW System V helmet with the WCS 1 Bluetooth system – see the write-up about it here {link}), and voila, you have directional guidance in your helmet, radar camera audible warning in your helmet, phone audio in your helmet, and full control of your phone, including your phone directory, caller ID, even a reminder of phone battery life remaining on the screen of the GPSR.
If you get bored with all that, you can listen to music using the built in MP3 player, although the quality of the music is not the greatest when you are listening to it via the BMW helmet system. But… the 2820 comes with an audio in connector (and a tiny little clip-on microphone, for use in a car) and an audio out connector. I connected the audio out from 2820 to the 12 channel, 270 watt sound system in my Volkswagen Phaeton, and I was pretty happy with the music quality. Installing a 12 channel sound system in a helmet might take a bit of work, though…
Pairing up phones and headsets with the GPSR is very simple. You put the external device into ‘discoverable’ mode, then tell the GPSR to start looking. Once you have paired a device up, the GPSR automatically recognizes it and hooks up to it every time you go riding in the future – no further actions, button pressing, or attention is needed – it’s that simple. I could talk on the phone via my helmet in a parking lot, as long as I stayed within about 25 feet of the motorcycle. However – this is thoughtful – there is a touchscreen control that allows you to transfer the call from your helmet (or other headset) back to your phone, just in case you get off the motorcycle and want to keep talking as you walk into the office, your home, a restaurant, etc.
Satellite acquisition is very fast, and the GPSR appears to keep a lock on the satellite constellation much better than previous models did. I have done about 1,800 kilometers of riding in the past week – Zurich to Dresden to Wolfsburg and back – and I never saw the ‘Lost Satellite Reception’ message, except for when I was in tunnels.
The GPSR comes preloaded with City Navigator NT version 8 software for Europe – I don’t know what the North American users get. Partly because of the newer indexing system used with the NT cartography, lookups of cities, attractions, and addresses are much faster than ever before – there is virtually no delay between entering the search criteria and getting the results displayed.
The 2820 supports TMC (Traffic Management via RDS), same as the 27xx series. I hooked my GTM 10 FM traffic receiver up, and it worked just fine. The software for the GTM 10 has been enhanced quite a bit, and the 2820 now provides a ‘traffic map’ overview of all the traffic in your area. It’s sort of like a decluttered map, in gray scale, with the traffic events shown in color. Quite useful for getting the big picture in a hurry.
The 2820 also supports POI (Ed: Points of Interest) recognition – in other words, you can load a speed camera database into it. I don’t know what the size limitations are on the Custom POI database, but I had no problems loading a speed camera database for all of Europe that contained 12,500 listings, all with individual speed settings and text annotations. When the warnings appear, they show the speed that the camera goes off at, and a one-line comment field (e.g. “westbound only, in front of McDonald’s”).
MP3 storage capacity is dependent on how many maps you have loaded – the MP3s reside in the same area of solid-state memory as the maps. There is 2 gigs of memory available, so, with CN 8 Europe installed, you have about 700 megs available for MP3s. Should be enough for a weekend hop…
The user interface (how you control it) is substantially the same as the 27xx series. It’s easy to figure out, and the rider has quite a bit of control over customizing how the information is presented. I have the remote control that I used with my 27xx stuck on the clutch master cylinder of my motorcycle, and use it for zoom in/out control and for flipping through the main map pages. In theory, the remote is not waterproof. In practice – well, I had the 2650 remote on the motorcycle for well over a year, and never took it off (even when power washing the motorcycle), and it still works, and the 27xx remote has now been on the handlebar for 10 months, suffering the same abuse. It still works great. My personal opinion is that the thing is waterproof.
Here are a few pictures. The software I have been using is pre-release, so, the visual presentation and the feature set will probably get better by the time the GPSR starts shipping.
The same familiar form factor - uses all the same cables and Garmin mounts
NB: You will have to check and make sure that third party brackets (e.g. Touratech, RAM) do not interfere with the USB and new audio in/out jacks! You can see the audio jacks just past the tip of the remote control.
Traffic Information in LIST view
The color codes indicate the severity of the problem - all the way from green (for example, dead skunk on road) to red (road closed)
Detail View of a single traffic event
Note that the road sign appears just as it would in real life:
The new 'Traffic Map Overview' screen
Lets you get the big picture, showing where all the headaches are (ed: the red arrows and text were added later, it is not part of the Garmin):
The main menu screen
Note the icons that confirm what Bluetooth devices are connected at the moment. The helmet is considered a headset (ed: the red arrows and text were added later, it is not part of the Garmin):
A convenient screen to sum up what you have been doing lately
Before anyone makes any wisecracks about the maximum speed - I was riding in Germany when I took this picture.
The 'Turn List' page. This shows what your route is ahead of you.
The main phone control page
What you see if you press the 'Call History' page
If you press one of the categories, it shows you the full details (name, number, etc.) of each inbound, outbound, or missed call. Makes it really easy to dial people you frequently talk to - you can initiate a call with one touch from the detail view of any of these categories.
The 2820 automatically sucks the phone book out of your mobile phone and remembers it
The level of detail provided -e.g. home, work, mobile, etc. - will be dependent on whether or not your phone supports these classifications. Simply touch a name to dial the number.
Here's a few additional photos showing how the speed camera warning function on the 2820 works. The quality of the photos is poor, because I took them indoors in a dark room (while running the GPSR in simulation mode) - for that reason, my camera could not resolve the contrast properly. It would have been damn difficult to hold the camera in my teeth as I drove past the speed trap - with my luck, the phone would have rung.
Anyway, the pictures should be good enough to give you the general idea.
Approaching the speed camera - not aware of it, riding at 82 km/h
The warning pops up - at whatever distance you have set for advance warning - so you slow down
At the same time, you get an audible alert in the helmet via Bluetooth:
The speed limit icon shows you where the camera is.
As soon as you pass it, the red warning bar and the speed sign icon disappear.
Note: And that concludes Michael's detailed report on the new Garmin 2820 GPS. As you can see, the GPS is very suited for motorcycles. Thanks Michael !
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| Legacy (Old) Comments |
1) Hans Vaessen said on:
(04/05/2006 19:42:33 GMT)
email:Hans Vaessen | website:
http://www.gps.nlGarmin 2820 GPS Detailed Review
Sounds promising!! By the way: know that, instead of glue-ing your remote on the bike (which still is difficult to operate with gloves) there is a better solution. Picture at { Link }
2) Carlo Ratzersoderfer said on:
(06/05/2006 07:31:30 GMT)
email:Carlo Ratzersoderfer | website:
http://www;europrez.comGarmin 2820 GPS Detailed Review
Thanks for the review. I ordered it yesterday,after talking with Garmin's technical service in the US. Reading this has just confirmed that it's EXACTLY what I wanted. Does anyone have experience with connecting a 2720 to a Baehr or Autocom setup on a motorcycle ?
3) said on:
(08/05/2006 18:17:58 GMT)
email: | website:
Garmin 2820 GPS Detailed Review
Does the touch screen work with gloves on?
4) Mike Werner said on:
(08/05/2006 22:45:12 GMT)
email:Mike Werner | website:
http://motorbiker.orgre: Garmin 2820 GPS Detailed Review
Yes
5) Carlo Ratzersdorfer said on:
(16/05/2006 00:58:04 GMT)
email:Carlo Ratzersdorfer | website:
http://www.europrez.comGarmin 2820 GPS Detailed Review
There is also an adaptor bracket available from Garmin themselves with exactly the same capacities then the BMW Navigator one. Same buttons. It CAN be mounted on the original BMW adaptor that costs between 18 and 22 Euros.
6) Dave Perry said on:
(21/05/2006 11:08:13 GMT)
email:Dave Perry | website:
Garmin 2820 GPS Detailed Review
I did not see any where, if there was a battery back-up internal? I was looking for a water proof GPS for the bike and thought the 276C was a good unit. It looks like this has a lot more options but no battery?
7) Mike Werner said on:
(21/05/2006 16:04:14 GMT)
email:Mike Werner | website:
http://motorbiker.org/Garmin 2820 GPS Detailed Review
Dave, Yes, they have got a battery, in fact, it's the main power source unless you put the bike's power to the GPS. That means that the battery will become your backup in case you blow a fuse..
8) Gary said on:
(22/06/2006 21:19:34 GMT)
email: | website:
Garmin 2820 GPS Detailed Review
<quote> Yes, they have got a battery, in fact, it's the main power source unless you put the bike's power to the GPS. That means that the battery will become your backup in case you blow a fuse </quote> Not sure about this. I was under the impression that the 2820 does not have any internal battery.
9) Akif Ersahin said on:
(23/07/2006 06:13:59 GMT)
email: | website:
http://DrDakar.comGarmin 2820 GPS Detailed Review
Thanks for this great review Michael. I am searching for a new GPS for my R1200RT. My only concern is it has no battery. Is there any pictures showing the installation of the unit on to the bike ?
10) Robert Martin said on:
(24/12/2006 22:53:35 GMT)
email:Robert Martin | website:
Garmin 2820 GPS Detailed Review
Why are the buttons still on the right on the 2820 and not on the left like the zumo?????
11) Steve K said on:
(01/01/2007 04:47:30 GMT)
email:Steve K | website:
Garmin 2820 GPS Detailed Review
For those who ask things like 'why the buttons are still on the right' I'd like to point out that this is not a motorcycle-specific GPS! In fact, BMW marketed a 'smart cradle' with their BMW Navigator 'x' series Garmin units for their motorcycles that had 4 buttons on the left for left-handed operation to overcome this issue. I would like to add one small observation to the original review: it appears, that the newer 27xx and 28xx series GPS units have less screen contrast than the 26xx series had. This appears to have to do with a) the lack of contrast adjustment in the unit (they now only have brightness control vs. the 26xx brightness and contrast control) and b) it also appears that an anti-glare filter just under the outermost layer of the screen that was present in the 26xx series has been eliminated in the 27xx and 28xx series. This makes the 27xx and 28xx series GPS quite susceptible to glare that can pretty much make the screen completely illegible on bright sunny days (experienced it recently on a day-long ride). It also appears that the light sensor on the back of the unit that is responsible for adjusting the screen brightness (when in auto mode) is either less sensitive, or is poorly calibrated compared to the 26xx series units. Namely, when in auto mode the 26xx unit in bright sunshine will set the unit to about 90% brightness, while the 27xx and 28xx unit will only set it to about 20-30% brightness. That's pretty much useless and you are forced to switch to manual screen control for most of the time. As fa as the MP3 capability I would also point out that 700MB for MP3 files is precious little when compared to an ordinary MP3 player. At 5.5MB per song (average) it translates to about 130 songs, which means that you can only carry the choicest titles with you. Autocom/Baehr connectivity: I have the Autocom Pro 7 on my K12LT and connection is not a problem. However, you have to keep in mind, that the Autocom's preferred source is usually either the built-in radio or MP3 player or intercom, meaning that the GPS input is somewhat muted. I.e.: if you plan listen to MP3 muisic off the 27xx/28xx than you'll have to make adjustments to the Autocom settings to fully enjoy the music. BTW, the 27xx/28xx GPS will automatically mute its own MP3 player in favor its GPS voice announcements, a neat, albeit obvious feature.
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