It’s the same operation all along the route. Intersecting it at any point causes the GPS to begin guiding you along the path. If the answer is no, the route is plotted and displayed.
If the answer is yes, it provided directions to the start point then switches to the selected route without manual intervention. When a route is selected on the 220, it asks whether you want to go to the route beginning or not. To illustrate my more basic complaint about the 396, I’m going to again reference the 220. Forgetting or maybe just tossing something that I think they did right in the past is the sort of thing Garmin does repeatedly. There is no need to fumble around with route selection in the middle of traffic or drive on without directions while the GPS accesses the new route. Then, as those points are approached (and earlier points fall away) directions become available. When the limit is encountered during route import, the user is told that directions to points beyond the limit could not be calculated. The 220 has a point limit, of course, but it appears to be somewhere around 200, and it is handled quite differently. As far as I know, the only differences between it and its larger siblings, such as the 660, are screen size and (possibly) memory capacity. I own a zūmo 220 which, like the 396, is the cheapest of its generation. To show how this didn’t have to be, I’ll make my first comparison to the previous generation of zūmos. When the endpoint of the first segment is reached, that fact is announced and it is left for some human to select and activate the next segment. The real issue is that the Garmin unit does exactly what it says and splits the route into two (or more?) completely separate trips. Maybe the more expensive zūmo XT supports more but that isn’t the real issue anyway. 29 via points does seem a little low but this is the “economy” model. I realize that infinitely long trips cannot be supported so I readily accept limiting or splitting trips at some point.
Of course, the ability to download those predefined routes is also a requirement, and here the 396 really missteps. Yes, I understand that that allows you to continue your travels without backtracking but it sure interferes with following an old road up to the edge of a temporary closure. If a point on the route is blocked by construction or something else, the unit seems to take that as justification for ignoring the fact that automatic recalculation is turned off and just recalculates things anyway. The 396 supports this but with at least one flaw.
Without this, the GPS will recalculate the route every time you miss a turn or pull over for gas.
The 396 does this exceptionally well and even integrates with smartphones to provide traffic and weather information plus Foursquare and Tripadvisor ratings for restaurants and motels.Ī rather basic requirement for following a predefined route is the ability to turn off automatic recalculation when you happen off of the route. They provide a route of their choosing from where you are to where you want to be.
The most basic piece of background is that I want a GPS unit to feedback to me a route I’ve predefined. I’m thinking that for you to fully appreciate my viewpoint would require more background than I’m willing to write, and definitely more than you’re wanting to read. Things aren’t quite as bad as I thought when I wrote that first paragraph, but they are a long way from good.
Even after all this time, I’m still not sure if some of my theories are right or wrong, but I have gained experience and I do have a more informed opinion. I’ve been putting off finishing this article with intentions of gaining more experience with it and verifying or disproving some of my theories. I wrote that opening paragraph over a year ago, shortly after I purchased the unit. The out-of-step feeling comes from the fact that almost no one else sees any problem at all with the manner in which the unit plays back what it calls “Saved Trips” while I see some very big problems. It’s because it doesn’t handle predefined routes the way I think it should. It’s not that it doesn’t have some wonderful features or that it’s shoddily made. I have once again purchased a Garmin product that disappoints me. That’s sure how it seems when the subject is GPS routing. Everybody’s out of step except my boy Denny.