Share PMMM's profile
PMMM
PMMM's stats
- Review count2
- Helpfulness votes13
- First reviewJanuary 26, 2010
- Last reviewOctober 24, 2012
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4
Reviews comments
- Review comment count0
- Helpfulness votes0
- First review commentNone
- Last review commentNone
- Featured review comments0
Questions
- Question count0
- Helpfulness votes0
- First questionNone
- Last questionNone
- Featured questions0
Answers
- Answer count0
- Helpfulness votes0
- First answerNone
- Last answerNone
- Featured answers0
- Best answers0
PMMM's Reviews
Garmin nüvi 2595LMT Portable GPS: With text-to-speech voice guidance, this GPS makes it easy to reach a variety of locales, even if you're unfamiliar with the roads. If you accidentally miss your turn or would prefer to take another route, automatic rerouting provides new directions from your current location.
Posted by: PMMM
from Maryland
Bottom line up front:
Would I recommend the Garmin nüvi® 2595LMT to anyone? No
Rationale
This is the 4th Garmin vehicle GPS I have owned over the past decade or so. 2 of my older units are still in use every day by two of my adult kids, and I added this one recently for my second vehicle (my primary vehicle has onboard navigation).
Why I bought this unit:
~ Brand: I have tried Magellans and TomToms, and hated both.
* I have found that Garmin products are both more reliable and user friendly than any other I've tried.
* Garmin's maps and routing program are better than the other brands I have tried.
* I have found that Garmin products are both more reliable and user friendly than any other I've tried.
* Garmin's maps and routing program are better than the other brands I have tried.
~ Traffic: Having first experienced traffic information on my nüvi® 265WT I can't see not having the option, especially since I commute in the DC area
~ Up-to-date: I wanted the latest. It is a step below the 3500 series, but they are the same family...the more advanced merely adds a quicker traffic program. Other than that, they are identical.
~ 5" Screen: Bigger is better, especially since my eyes are starting to age a bit.
Why I wish I bought the 3500 series instead:
~ Traffic: On the nüvi® 2595LMT (second generation) the traffic feature is incredibly weak.
Why??
As I found out after RMA'ing the first one I received (more on shoddy customer support later) thinking that it was packed with the wrong vehicle charging cable, the unit I received is considered to be a "Second Generation" version of the model. When the new unit was received and what I thought to be the wrong cable was again all that was in the box, I provided Garmin support the serial number of the new unit (which was coincidentally the next one sequentially from the one I returned) and the response I got back was that the reason I did not receive a GTM cable was because, according to my serial number, my unit is a "Second Generation" unit which has the traffic receiver built into the unit.
Well, the second generation 2595 has that receiver built into the body of the unit, and so no GTM cable is needed...just a regular vehicle charging cable.
That would be great, not having that bulky wire and receiver hanging from the back of the unit; however the quality of the traffic information presented on the screen is poor, at best. But...being sometimes scientifically minded, I decided to do a side-by-side test. Here's what I did:
~ I plugged in both my new 2595 and my older 2350 LMT into my vehicle with a proprietary onboard navigation system (with traffic).
~ I set off for work at the normal time, knowing I will run into the same traffic conditions I normally run into, or worse.
~ About 10 miles before the first major slow down, the 2350LMT told me that there was traffic ahead (it does not say how far ahead, but you can scroll through the traffic menu to find incidents). The 2595LMT was blissfully green.
~ About 5 miles before the traffic, again the 2350 alerted me to the traffic ahead, complete with the little red circle. At this point the onboard nav system also notified me of the traffic. The 2595 was again blissfully unaware. And again, I can attribute this to the learn routing preferences in the 2350.
~ After sitting in mostly stopped traffic for about 3-5 minutes, the 2350 had correctly displayed the red line along the highway and the red traffic icon in the corner. The 2595 was still blissfully unaware and displaying no traffic in the immediate area.
~ A few minutes late the 2595 finally chimed, but instead of displaying the traffic I was in, it was merely telling me of traffic in the area...along routes that were not in my path. It seemed to me this information was merely hardwired into the programming as a typically congested area, vice an actual report.
~ A few more minutes later, the 2595 chimed again and displayed yellow along my route. The 2350 was still correctly displaying red, as the traffic was mostly travelling below 5mph.
Conclusion:
The integrated traffic receiver is not as good as the external cable-mounted traffic receiver. To provide traffic conditions, which is a key reason why I bought this particular model, is something that this particular model does poorly. I might have just as well saved a few dollars and bought the version without lifetime traffic.
What's great about it: Large screen, Voice commands, best mapping/routing software in the industry
What's not so great: Traffic reception and display is terrible
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Durability
4
Ease of Use
3
Features
5
Share this review:
+4points
7of 10voted this as helpful.
SynopsisYour world teeters on the edge of total annihilation. As a Grey Warden, you are among the last of an ancient order of guardians charged for centuries with defending the lands. But now you are on the hunt for the general who betrayed you in a critical battle. A myriad of foes and challenges await as you pursue your quest for vengeance. Prepare to face certain temptation and wrenching decisions as you seek to unite the disparate peoples of a world at war. When the time comes, will you be willing to sacrifice all you have in order to secure the survival of humanity?Dragon Age: Origins thrusts you into a stunningly realized world torn by an epic war. Select one of six unique Origin Stories, and design your own unique hero with the elaborate character creator. Mold your character's personality and morality based on your choices throughout the game as you confront an array of complex moral decisions that will force you to address complicated issues such as murder, genocide and the possession and sacrifice of children. Dally with a seductive shapeshifter who may or may not hold the key to ultimate victory, and battle terrifying creatures in visceral combat that allows you to unleash more than 100 different magical spells and skills.
Customer Rating
5
Worth the Wait
on January 26, 2010
Posted by: PMMM
from Maryland
Dragon Age was supposed to be released a long time ago, but production issues hampered the developer team's ability to meet the original deadline. No matter...what finally made it to gold was well worth the wait.
Exceptional graphics. An engaging and engrossing main story. Side quests, unlike most games of the genre, which tie directly back into the main quest, and have the ability to alter the direction of the game. Many different ways to play.
Some feel that the game is a bit linear. Compared to The Elder Scrolls series (ie: Oblivion) or Fallout 3, every game runs on rails. But the way BioWare put this game together, your dialogue decisions affect furture events, as well as the order with which you choose to advance through the main quest. Any action you take...even killing off an NPC will reverberate through the rest of the game. You can't run across every field or climb every mountain as in Bethesda Softwork's offerings, but the ever maliable underlying story more than makes up for the compartmentalized world.
Some argue that it lacks roll-play-ability. Not true. You can play the game any way you want. In my first play-through, I chose to be a male elf warrior that only used two-handed weapons. How I needed to play each battle scene was dictate by my choice, thus required me to play the companions in a way to support that decision. My second play through I played as a female human rogue that specialized in distance weapons (and became a Ranger specialty class). The play-through was much different than the first character. Consider, also, that your gender affects how your party members react to you as well. The web BioWare created is extremely intricate, moreso than any RPG I have ever played.
The only issue I have with the game is the very limited random dialogue expressed by your character. These are the quips your character makes when you click on an action. I wish BioWare would have reserved a few more mb for this feature. If I hear my character say "Would you like me to get you a ladder so you can get off my back" one more time...
You will need a late-model gaming computer to play this game in all of its glory. The graphics are stunning at high settings, and mods are available on the net (fully supported by BioWare's insistance on providing mod-able games and tool-sets for said modding) which enhance the experience even more...if your PC can render it.
My computer was recently rebuilt with the latest and greatest quad-core processor and top-end SLUI graphics card and gamer-grade sound card, as well as 8gb of DDR3 RAM. I can peg all of the setting to max. I do not know how well it runs on a "lesser" machine. Sorry I can't help there.
In short, if you like Computer Role Playing Games, you need to play this game. It is the greatest CRPG created to date. Given Diablo, Baldur's Gate, Fallout, etc, that's saying something. Mass Effect 2 is out now...and I've been wanting to play it since I heard it was in development. Problem is, I am not finished with Dragon Age yet...I wonder if I ever will. There are so many different avenues of play I want to try yet. That's saying something.
What's great about it: Almost everything
What's not so great: Very limited number of vocals for player character
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share this review:
+6points
6of 6voted this as helpful.
PMMM's Review Comments
PMMM has not submitted comments on any reviews.
PMMM's Questions
PMMM has not submitted any questions.
PMMM's Answers
PMMM has not submitted any answers.