Zumo or 276c (278)

Im in the process of upgrading from my 60Cx to a Zumo or 276c. There is also a new model called 278 with more memory.

I consider myself an advanced GPS user. The Zumo with its touchscreen, BT and MP3-player appeals me, but still I have read some negatives about autorouting etc. Are these issues solved in later software-upgrades?

The 278 is very nice, too, but hasnt got the touchscreen etc. It also have an older generation of chip which seems to be not as sensitive as the one in the Zumo.

Which would you go for?

Yea, I've pretty much got it narrowed down to the zumo or 276 myself. From what I have read, the 276 seems to be the more capable unit. It does more, but is more compicated to use. The Zumo offers ease of use at the cost of some features. The Auto-recalc issue being the big issue there.

I think the new 278 is only available in EU.

I would of course go with 278 (which I also has ordered), since I love the screen on 276c, the new 278 also supports POI Loader which 276c does not, so for me it's easy. The less sensitive chip in 276c (and in 278) has never been a problem for me.

On the other hand I have a starcom1 intercom with bluetooth (for phone) and ipod connected (and a Tomtom for the car), so I don't have the need for the other functions on Zumo 550, which makes it easier for me to choose...

Here's a good thread discussing the 276c in detail - with some comparisons to the Zumo. Mike - the author - really does use a GPS.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=211097

Well, I already have the intercom-setup with phone and MP#, so I guess the 278 would be my choice then.

Seems like the Zumo is a bit too "simplified".

How much are the 278s going for in your area?

Over here, they're £600 (€885 or 8140 SKr), tax included.

You get them from €950 in DE or from 9500 SEK in Sweden (tax incl.), but a swedish dealer told me that garmin is raising the price 5-30% on electronics, have no idea if thats only in sweden.

Ouch - just seen them for £559 in Malthouse Marine - that's 7,580 SKr at the moment.

Another Q....

I know the 278 comes with City NT preinstalled in its 2GB memory.

What if I want to upload other mapsets as well?
Can I install an extra memorycard? If, is it Garmins own memorycards or can I use normal SDs?

It accepts G2 (Garmin) cards - I think those are different from the SD's. You can load other mapsets.

Forgot to add - I went thru this Zumo vs. 276C process recently. I settled on the 276C as being more useful.

Yep, as richc says:

Accepts optional g2 data cards (g2 does not show current flow and Mariners View on the 278) for detailed marine cartography and City Navigator® street level mapping

(from the Garmin UK page for the 278)

wow, that is a good price, seems they ship to sweden as well...

I noticed that some of the swedish dealer has raised the price.

The Zumo is dumbed down for the general populace, the 276C, 376C, 478, etc. are more like working tools. Think again about that static screen and where you'll be riding, your fingers touching that screen will eventually scar it up and the touch screen can get nutty in dusty, static conditions, like a dry dirt road.

If you're just going to the coffee bar the Zumo will get you there.

Bought the 278 from the above, great service, best price and really quick delivery, got it after only three working days (UK to Sweden).

I've seen some posts suggesting the 276C is hard(er) to use. I just got one and am a GPSr moron, I've had 3 or 4 of them but never really used them because they were too complicated and the UI wasn't what I'd term intuitive. I've managed to figure out how to use what I want in the 276 - I've made a route in Mapsource and transfered it to the GPSr, I've modified track interval a couple of times and used them to follow my route back, I've gotten someplace and entered it is a waypoint, I've found the distance between a couple of points and I've loaded CN and TOPO maps on it. I don't know what else it does, but it's pretty easy to use and I like the big screen.

I used a 276c for three years. Lots of features and most of what I used it for was off-road. I found the user ergonomics sucked. I did like the ability to configure screens but the most irritating thing for me was the poor sensitivity of the GPS receiver.

The Zumo with the latest OS release, v3.30, provides most of the features that one needs for off-road track and route management. As for the touch screen, I use an InvisbleShield screen protector and I have had absolutely no problems off-road with it. Dust is no more of an issue than on the 276c. I am not sure what you have experienced regarding static and interference. I have found it easy to use the Left hand buttons to do most of what I need to do when off-road. One of the features that you will not find on the ChartPlotters is the ability with Mapsource 6.12.3 and Zumo v3.30, is the ability to create a Track in Mapsource that is both on-road and off-road segments. When that Track is uploaded to the Zumo it is turned into a routable Route and it maintains the track path off-road. So, what you now have are Routable Tracks.

I also had significant issues with the lack of satellite reception with the old chartplotter GPS (276c). With the Zumo's SiRFstarIII GPSr I have not had any sat-lock drops in some very challenging conditions/locations.

DRTBYK, I'm also trying to decide if I go with the zumo 550 or the 276C. Let me ask you this. Once you've created a route on Mapsource, transfer it to the zumo and selected the route so it appears on the screen; when you start moving, will the zumo trace or draw your movements, lets say, on different color, so you can compare your actual riding with the original route? This would allow you to correct your direction as you move along. The reason I'm interested in this is because many times we ride out in the open dessert with no roads or tracks. Hope my question is not confusing!

Ozz,

The Zumo is always tracking (Zumo calls it TRIP LOG). You can choose to have your track visible or not but you don't get to choose the color (Blue). The Zumo will therefore do what you are looking for; i.e, show your track over the top of the Route you are Navigating.

While I have not created a route in mapsource, I have created a route on the Zumo and then did not follow it. The zumo showed the route it calculated in a pinkish color and the actual path I was taking was in a light blue color. So yes it shows the plotted vs the actual in different colors. Also, now that 3.3 allows one to turn off autotracking, it is damn near perfect for my use.

Mike

Mike,

Yes, v3.3 allows the user to set RECALCULATION=OFF. This keeps the Zumo from recalculating your route when you deviate form the route you are navigating: this is often the case when you have a mixed on-road/off-road Route.

Another new feature that is available with v3.3 and Mapsource 6.12.3 is the ability to make a Route out of a Track that is mixed on-road/off-road. this is done simply by transferring your Track from Mapsource to the Zumo making sure the Zumo Navigation Preferences are set to Off-Road and Recalculation=Off.