Garmin Nuvi 880 – Voice recognition that works

A good travel companion understands the fine art of conversation, balancing listening and speaking, and intuitively avoiding interruptions. Just as important is accepting comfortable silence and being tolerant of broad musical tastes. The best co-pilots have a keen knack for navigation and an encyclopedic knowledge of travel information. Garmin has recently launched a portable navigator that meets that job description, and it never needs to stretch its legs.

The Garmin Nuvi 880 is a premium, full-featured portable navigation device (PND) with an impressive voice-recognition system. It has a wide vocabulary, enabling the driver to enter destinations and cycle through menus without touching the screen. And it does so in multiple languages. Other devices we have tested with voice recognition still required using the touchscreen to accomplish common tasks and they tended to interrupt conversations like an impatient child.

The Nuvi 880 requires the user to press a remote button before issuing a spoken command, such as entering an address or jumping right to the latest traffic or weather report. On screen, the device indicates with a green dialog balloon when it is ready to listen and it signals with red when the user needs to listen.

The learning curve is brief, thanks to onscreen text (such as on menu buttons) being recognized for verbal commands, as well as a logical list of shortcut commands. What I found in living with it, and through doing the video embedded here, is that pacing is key. Just speak clearly and it will recognize most instructions on the first try. Breaking words into syllables, or logical pieces, helped get through a rare stumbling block, as demonstrated in the video.

As this technology (hopefully) works its way down to more affordable devices, I’d love to see a future, premium model include the ability to learn the user’s voice, like computer-based dictation software. Over time, such a device would improve recognition. With the ability to have more than one user, the PND could also save preferred settings, such as address book, home, and photos, for each.

All told, the Garmin Nuvi 880 represents the state of the art.

The Nuvi 880 will join our GPS ratings next week along with eight other recently tested units when we make a comprehensive update that includes changes to how the ratings are scored and displayed to better represent the factors that matter most to users.

Read our complete First Look at the Garmin Nuvi 880.

—Jeff Bartlett

For more information on portable GPS navigation systems, see our Ratings and buying advice and watch our video guide. Discuss GPS devices in the forums.

Comments

[Jeff Bartlett - Consumer Reports]

In the month since we posted our First Look, Garmin has lowered the Nuvi 880 retail price from $1,000 to $900. Just today, I saw it online from a major retailer for $800.

[Sheppy]

I guess it does not take long for a GPS to be discontinued. When will you guys be updating your automotive GPS's? Since Garmin has discontinued the 880. I would like to see some reviews on the 885T and the 855.

Does the MSN and traffic info work here in Canada?

Thanks