Garmin Zumo 590LM
 

Does anyone have any experience / views on the Garmin Zumo 590LM they would care to share please?
Thanks. Horizonti.

Well since posting have been busy researching and found this very helpful site...
Login(Zumo forums)
...and have now invested in a Zumo590 and a Touratech locking mount...
Handlebar mount for Garmin ZUMO 590 LM *lockable* black - Touratech GPS brackets - GPS accessories - Navigation | Touratech Ltd
...to hopefully keep it secure!

First impressions are very good, using it in portrait mode in the car and landscape on the bike is handy. Seems to recalculate your route within a few vehicle lengths if you divert. Not got audio set up on the bike yet or had time to play with basecamp or other mapping options yet but will get around to this when time allows.
The Touratech mount is a work of art and seems to hold the unit nice and steady. It wouldn't take long for someone to unbolt the whole thing off the bike but at least it will prevent a quick grab while you are paying for fuel etc.
Am off on a tour of Britain next week so will be looking at loading up some routes before I go and giving it a decent test. Fingers crossed!

Ps. Is replying to your own posts the same as talking to yourself?:confused1:

Ps. Is replying to your own posts the same as talking to yourself?:confused1:[/QUOTE]


Probably! doh

I've been really interested in this, too. Glad your first impressions are good. I'm going to buy one later in the year.

I might not have replied, but when I read your original post, I was hoping someone with one might have replied! I did, however, find a whole thread on the subject over at adv rider.

Let us (me?!) know how you get on. If you find any serious issues, I'd love to know before I shell out for one!

One major concern I have about the Zumo 590 is that it appears to only be able to source traffic information via a Bluetooth connection to the user's smartphone. It doesn't appear to support connection of a FM radio traffic receiver, as all the other Garmin motorcycle GPS navigators have in the past.

I stress the word 'appears' because I have not got my grubby little hands on a 590 to try it out with a GTM traffic receiver. The literature published on the Garmin North America website does not mention support for a GTM traffic receiver, although it does explain at great length that for a fairly small (about $15) one-time fee, the user can activate traffic advisories via a paired smartphone.

Garmin makes both North American (called 'Americas') and European (called 'Atlantic') versions of their motorcycle navigators. It is possible that maybe the European version will support FM traffic.

For me, relying on a paired smartphone to get traffic is a no-go. I live in Canada, and would get nailed with data roaming charges if I ride into the USA. Similarly, when I ride in Europe (which is frequently), I would get nailed by data roaming charges as I moved from one country to another.

All the above notwithstanding, the 590 looks like a nice device. I have seen one operating in sunlight, and the screen is much brighter and offers far higher contrast than the Zumo 660 screen.

Michael

While driving 4 wheels in the UK I listen to the radio for such information.
While riding motorised two wheels in the UK I am not interested, in the slightest: nothing holds up the bike short of ice and snow, so I just get the weather forecast before departing.
Maybe Garmin realise this?

While travelling overseas, who cares? I am retired, on vacation/"an adventure"; I can filter (lane split) traffic (irrespective if it is deemed to be illegal within certain countries - by which I mean that I still have free choice).
No worries basically.

Posted here to save the OP from talking to himself.

Did you manage to find out if a FM antenna will work with the 590?

Half-dozen-questions on 590lm features
 

Apologies if I'm piggy-backing onto this thread...

Over the last several years I've used cheap (£45) Chinese 5" tablets loaded with the superb IGo Primo navigation software. At last, with the 590LM, Garmin seemed to have just about caught up with what this budget combination delivered as standard. Despite the 10x price difference I'm seriously tempted but there's quite a few things I'd be keen to learn from 590LM users....

Is it reasonably easy to plan a route directly on the device? It is with IGo Primo.
Can you upload routes planned on an Android?
Is Basecamp compatible with Android devices?
Is the MP3 player sound quality good?
Is there a 'jump link' from the home screen to a configurable 'favourites' list? e.g: to delete last waypoint, access music player, sound levels, change viewpoint etc.
Do you have a selection of day/night map displays to choose from?
Can you choose the amount of audio info (verbosity) spoken?

I've asked Garmin but their responses have been, to be polite, less than satisfactory.

I've had a Zumo 590 for about 6 months now (I have it on my North American moto, I'm still using a 660 on my European moto). All in all, I'm pretty happy with the 590, it is considerably faster at calculations and display refreshes than the 660, and the screen quality is amazing... the brighter the sunlight, the easier it is to read the display (honest, no kidding).

So, here's my attempt to answer your questions:

Very easy. In fact, I have since given up on doing route planning using MapSource or BaseCamp, and now just create the routes directly on the device. Be aware that the 590 will not work with (will not communicate with) MapSource, if you want to create routes on a computer, BaseCamp is the only Garmin application you can use.
I don't know. I kind of doubt it, but, it is so easy (and fast) to create routes on the device itself, it's not really necessary to use an offline device (computer, phone, etc.) for route creation.
I don't know but I strongly doubt it.
It is friggin' awesome, 10 out of 10, so far as the Garmin end of things is concerned. But be aware that 99% of the 'sound quality' issue is up to the helmet audio system, not the Garmin device. By example, I have a ridiculously expensive BMW System 6 helmet with Bluetooth audio, and the music quality is crap. I also have a very inexpensive, bottom of the line Sena audio system in another helmet, and the music quality is awesome.
Uh, yes, sort of. The menu structure is such that you can get to MOST of the functions you want to control with only one screen press from the main map screen. A few functions require 2 screen presses to reach. Unfortunately, Garmin does not allow the user to re-arrange the order of icons for various functions (like one can do on an iPhone), which means that certain icons that never get used (e.g. Pandora) remain in pride of place, and other icons that a user might use a lot (like find food, or find hotel) might require scrolling to get to. But, all in all, the user interface is well thought out, and once you get used to it - which will require some study and practice - , it is fast and easy to use.
Yes. Or you can just leave it in 'automatic' and it will switch back and forth between day optimized and night optimized automatically, at exactly the correct time for sunset at your current lat/long. You can also chose various customized skins for the display.
No, not really. But what I do when I don't want the audio is just reach up and turn off my helmet bluetooth system (one button press) - that's faster and easier than muting the audio from the device itself. It's worth mentioning that the quality of the spoken voice guidance is extraordinary, it sounds very natural, not at all like computer generated speech. It's a full order of magnitude better than any spoken guidance I have ever heard on any other Garmin device.

One last suggestion: If you get a 590, don't bother to get a Touratech security bracket (unless you plan on riding really, really rough trails). The device unclips and reseats into the Garmin bracket very quickly and easily, hence it is far simpler and much more practical just to unclip it and stuff it in your pocket anytime you leave the motorcycle.

The Garmin bracket holds the device quite securely, I cannot imagine it ever coming loose on any public road, no matter how rough the road might be.

Michael

Re: Half-dozen-questions on 590LM features
 

Thanks PanEuropean for your detailed reply.

Re using an Android tablet for route planning was because, having tried to route plan on a TomTom, I almost topped myself with frustration! Thought it might be the same for the Garmin 590LM. Garmin's response to using BaseCamp on an Android was evasive so I'm guessing you can't. I've asked them to clarify.

Looks like the 590LM with a Senna SMH5 or SMH10R Bluetooth headset might do the job those £45 Chinese/IGo Primo have been doing. Their biggest failings were unreliable hardware (I always carried a spare) and no weather proofing. IGo Primo is very definitely superior to Garmin; Garmin better hope they don't produce a biker's version on a weatherproof tablet!

Recently got a 590 with my new bike and some thoughts:

Routing instructions excellent, even tell you to turn at the traffic lights when it knows they're there.

Bluetooth, great for a solo rider, completely frustrating when trying it with a pillion.

Screen clarity is great, and is configurable, eg you can increase the width of roads change the colours of areas etc.

The inability to order the icons how you want them is frustrating.

Over my Interphone F5MC the music clarity is superb, voice instructions less clear.


Battery life, don't expect to use it for long without plugging into a power source.

Sleep function works well, ie it seems to shut the screen down, but fires up in a 1/10th of the time from a cold start.

Doesn't seem to batch tracks together into lumps eg a days worth like my Montana did, a pity.

Re: Half-dozen-questions on 590LM features/BaseCamp
 

You can only install BaseCamp on a computer. That's not good.

Here's Garmin's reply to the question "Can you install BasCamp on an Android device?"

"...routing on mobile apps is not supported for automotive and motorcycling devices. This is down to the fact that these Garmin devices are not compatible for use on a tablet. You will need to use Basecamp on a computer."

Thanks JohnA for your reply. On battery life... Users seems to get very different experiences, none exactly brilliant. Especially when compared to TomTom devices. Perhaps TomTom should commission a video ad similar to the old Duracell Longlife battery TV ads, seen in the UK about 15 years ago?

Not wishing to derail, but which do people think are better overall - Tom Tom or Garmin?

If you're interested in changing the colours / size of lines, how to is explained here:

Login which directs you to here:

http://www.javawa.nl/zumocolors.html

That's exactly the combination I have - a 590 and a Sena headset (either a 5 or a 10, I can't recall which, but it is one of the inexpensive Sena ones). The two work perfectly, I am very impressed with the entry-level Sena headset.

So far as route creation is concerned, based on my own experience creating routes directly on the 590 (after 15 years of doing it on MapSource), I am now pretty firmly convinced that the easiest way to create routes is to simply do it right on the 590... forget the computer completely.

Michael