Garmin 010-01187-02 Garmin Nuvi 2539LMT North America

This unit replaced my 4 year old Garmin Nuvi 1450. I depend on GPS frequently as I am traveling in the U.S. all the time. For a long time I had been frustrated with the screen in the 1450 and knew that when I replaced it I wanted something with a screen that responded more like my smartphone, fluidly. I narrowed my search to 5 of the units that Garmin had which came closest to that goal and bought the 2539LMT which was the best price point and offered the features I was looking for. We have been very happy and impressed with the improvements Garmin has brought to this unit. Pinch to zoom works well and the screen responds well to finger movements. Real directions is a great tool. In our old unit junction view only displayed when you were almost a mile from your exit then disappeared before reaching the exit. This resulted in our getting off on a wrong exit in Cleveland due to exits being very close together and then having to drive for miles to get to another on ramp. The split screen junction view helps eliminate that issue. Real directions is something I have wanted for a long time. It helps get you in the correct turn lane when you have more than one choice. It is also more specific regards landmarks and street names. Direct access is something we haven't used yet so don't know how well that will work. The menu on the map screen is a big improvement which allows you to make some changes without having to leave the map screen. Love the "where to" screen now since you can add shortcuts for your favorite searches. For example, we like to stop at Subway restaurants for lunch and I added that search to the where to screen and now just have to tap once for that search wherever we are. This unit calculates so much faster than the old unit. Make a wrong turn and it has recalculated instantly. We are still learning our way with this GPS but are very happy with it. Only two negatives. One is that there are no male voices that you can use with Real Directions, for that matter, no english male voices at all. The other is the glass screen which depending on the angle of the sun and placement of the device gives you some glare. So far we haven't found it to be a major problem but I can see where it could be. I assume you could get an anti-glare screen protector to fix that. That said, the glass screen is what allows for the better touch screen experience so I don't know what the solution would be.

I replaced an old (like 10 years old) Tom Tom with this Garmin 2539LMT. I expected a world of difference what with new technology and all but this unit is really amazing. It takes a bit to learn it for this old senior but boy is it sharp. Even alerts me for school zones well in advance. Like that the speed indicator glows red if I am above the speed limit (amazing how it keeps track of speed limits all by itself!) Easy to use points of interest that takes me right to the door. Recommend an LMT model like this for the free map and traffic updates for life. Screen is easy to read. I mounted it on the windshield in the low center position and it does not block view. I am getting used to the touch screen which the old Tom Tom did not have. The unit snaps on and off the windshield mount easily but mounts solidly and does not vibrate. I'm still learning all the various functions and may change it to a male voice as I hear male voices easier (wear hearing aids). A nice unit that gives clear, ample instructions well ahead of time and gets me to where I want to go. Did a lot of research before buying this unit and I am well pleased with it. Recommend it to others.

Very sharp bright screen. I wish it was anti-glare in that is some instances you see reflections in it but the screen is still readable in those instances. The voice has inflections that help in following the verbal instructions. Amazingly, it knows where stop signs, lights, bridges etc are uses them as additional instructions that really help (i.e. Turn right at the stop sign). You still get the actual road info, but then the additional verbal. If it has to recalculate it states in on the screen but does not annoy you verbally. When coming to an exit it splits the screen so you can see the main road on the left and exit road/lane info on the right. It will also gives you traffic delay info on the right when needed. The on/off button is large and in the rear. Pressing it once turns it on, or puts it into sleep mode. Holding until you get a prompt is how you actually shut it off. I bought the optional dashboard weighted mount instead of putting in on the windshield as that it cannot fall off and you won't get a ticket in some areas which have laws on sticking stuff on windshields. I bought this model in particular not to get the Bluetooth for the phone because I already had that in the car. Updates are VERY easy with their downloadable software (it did need an update when I got it). Garmin KNOWS it has free lifetime updates so even without registering it can be updated, all you have to do is add the device within the program. I took off one star for not having an anti-glare screen. This is my 4th Garmin GPS over the years, all are still working great, though each one is better the previous one. PS- Be smart and buy models that come with lifetime map and traffic (like this one), it is cheaper that way in the long run and you really need the updates. This GPS's directions with the current maps is WAY better than google so far in my tests. The manual you download. Although it is pretty obvious how to use it, I suggest reading the manual, for instance that is how I realized how to actually power it off with the power button (when used in car it automatically counts down to sleep).

Now that I have had a chance to use this GPS, I must tell you my experience with it. Going through Minneapolis was a breeze. I love the feature of showing you which lane you need to be in with plenty of time to get in it, any of the two lanes, or three lanes, if your not already in one. I love the 'up ahead' feature, such as a gas station, rest areas, eating places, and how many miles to there. It will give you a traffic update such as 'light traffic ahead' or 'traffic is now mild'. Good, clear directions. It would also say 'turn left/right at the end of the road'....meaning the road didn't go straight. A surprise came when we stopped for a few minutes at a rest area just to close my eyes for a few moments, when the GPS announced 'are we back on the road?'. This is our second Garmin GPS and I really liked the first one and after several years of using that one, it gave out on us. This Garmin is amazing and I love it, love it!

Eeaaah. Its OK. Not great. Not horrible. Just OK. The physical device itself is pretty decent. Like the screen. Big. Easy to read and see. Adjustable brightness works better than my phone. Menu system is a little weird as it'll let you jump from place to place without having to back out of one section to go to another. That makes it a little difficult to configure the entire device because you never know where exactly you are and if you just found another similar setting to the one you were on or if its really the same setting accessed from a completely different direction. Software is a little clunky but anyone that's used another Garmin over the years won't be surprised by anything. :) Its missing a couple things that Navigon for Android has but nothing earth shattering and routing seems to be (is) more intelligent in the Navigon app. Maps are good. Garmin is good about updates. Their updater is a little flaky but overall it works. What I don't like about Garmin maps - and doesn't seem to have changed ever - is that they're reliability is 'splochy'. They seem to be pretty good in the city and medium sized and up towns. The further from a major city you get, the less reliable the maps are. This DOES NOT make for a good cross country GPS. In fact, it makes for a very dangerous product since people rely on GPS now days rather than actual maps. IMHO, a LOT more than they should. In the time I've been using this product, I've figured out that any road outside of city suburbs lesser than a paved county road should be viewed with some skepticism. There is an option to enable or disable the use of unpaved roads used in routing in the software configuration. Since I travel A LOT of unpaved roads, I enabled that function. Ignoring unpaved roads in routing might be a way to make this safer but in my opinion takes away about half the purpose of having the device. In hindsight, if I had known that the maps were that bad when it gets down to that level of resolution I wouldn't have purchased this device. When I want a GPS is when I'm going somewhere I've never been. Its not much use if I have to cross check every road the device selects to make sure it IS a road - or ever was a road, once. The traffic feature works pretty well. Again, not as good as the Navigon software but to be fair the Garmin doesn't have the same features in that respect. However, I'm happy with it. Not supported outside major metropolises, of course, so don't expect this feature to work 300 miles from nowhere. Compared to all the Android apps I've tried including TomTom, its on the upper end. Again, this device does not always have all of or the same whizebangs that the apps or higher end Bluetooth/wireless enabled GPS devices have. In a straight across comparison this device has worked better and more consistently than the phone/tablet apps I've used. Garmin and TomTom maps are about even up. Navigon maps right below that and OpenMaps (they can't even get major highway names correct) are WAY, WAY down towards the bottom. So, over all, a decent unit. Good in the city, not so good the further away you get. More than adequate for navigating major and minor highways. I probably wouldn't purchase this again because of the map issues - I can use a phone app to get around town - and because I would like more intelligent routing but I'd have no problem recommending it to someone that needed a basic reliable city use GPS.

So far I've used this Garmin Nuvi 2539LMT on my drives to Missouri from New York as well as many little trips within the state of New York. This GPS unit has performed admirably and most importantly, reliably, although I am sometimes concerned about the possibility of it overheating during my sunny summer day drives. The one exception is Philadelphia. Up to the city limits, the GPS was quite reliable. However, once I got into the city, the GPS seems mildly confused about the one-way routes in the city, and had some mild trouble. The traffic function is very nice, although often it lets me know of a traffic obstruction only after I'm well in the middle of it.

Bought July 2. The charger stopped working july 20. Will be returning it to Amazon. We had a Garmin Nuvi gps before for about 3yrs, no problem with that until it got stolen. Replaced with a newer version but this worthless not even for a month of using and suddenly won't charge. Navigation was working, no problem with that. The Foursquare really did help locating places. Has a little glare to it but nothing too bad that you wouldn't be able to see what's on the screen. The touchscreen works better than our older one. Overall its good product but when your charger just stop working that's not cool, maybe it was just the charger but this is supposed to be a brand new product that should last.

I am impressed with this GPS. This is my 3rd Garmin and the first one with free lifetime maps. I have updated the maps twice and it does take a good 12 hours or so to update. I have a built in Garmin in my 5 year old vehicle and Garmin wants $150 to update it, so I decided to buy this one instead. I like the clarity and do not find the glass screen to be annoying at all. It would be like looking at your phone of tablet in the car, some glare, but if you position it right, not an issue. I like the clearer images it provides. I like the details the GPS provides on screen like restaurants, gas stations, lodging as you travel your route. Satellite acquisition is quick and searching for information is very fast too. We will be taking a couple major road trips this year and this will be a close traveling companion as we venture from Florida to British Columbia in the process.