Garmin Nuvi 550

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What's Included In The Box?

• nüvi 550
• Preloaded City Navigator NT for North America
• Lithium-ion battery
• Vehicle suction cup mount
• Vehicle power cable
• Dashboard disc
• Quick start manual

Product Information

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Family Series

Manufacturer Description

Do it all with the rugged, waterproof, multi-mode Garmin nuvi 550. Drive, hike, bike or boat - this dynamic device switches modes to navigate your active lifestyle. It's packed with detailed street maps for North America or Europe and millions of places. Like the Garmin nuvi 500, the Garmin nuvi 550 provides text-to-speech turn-by-turn directions to your destination and accepts optional maps for any adventure.

Take It Anywhere
The Garmin nuvi 550 features driving, walking, bicycling and boating modes which customize your nuvi specifically for your method of travel. This portable hybrid combines the advanced navigation features and large, color display found in automotive units with the durability of an outdoor handheld. Sleek and slim, you can slip the Garmin nuvi 550 into your pocket or backpack. The user-replaceable, rechargeable lithium-ion battery lets nuvi navigate you on roads or off.

Get Turn-by-Turn Directions
The Garmin nuvi 550's intuitive interface greets you with two simple questions: "Where To?" and "View Maps." Touch the color screen to easily look up addresses and services and get voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions to your destination. It comes preloaded with detailed City Navigator NT street maps, millions of points of interest (POIs) and features digital elevation maps that show you shaded terrain contours at higher zoom levels. With the Garmin nuvi 550, you can upload custom points of interest (POIs) and navigate to geo-tagged photos. If you're lost, use the Where Am I? emergency locator to view your exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and fuel stations.

Navigate Off-Road
Conveniently plug in optional maps on preloaded microSD cards for all your off-road adventures (see Maps tab for compatible maps). Add topographic maps to explore the backcountry or load BlueChart g2 Vision and Inland Lakes Vision marine maps for a great day on the water. The card slot is located inside the waterproof battery compartment, so you don't have to worry about getting it wet. With its high-sensitivity GPS receiver and HotFix satellite prediction, the Garmin nuvi 550 locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover, deep canyons and near tall building and trees.

Expand Your GPS
Navigation is just the beginning. The Garmin nuvi 550 includes many travel tools, including world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. Show off photos of your excursions with the Garmin nuvi 550 picture viewer. Even download geocaches and instructions from Geocaching.com straight to your unit. It also supports optional FM traffic alerts or optional MSN Direct content. The Garmin nuvi 550 features Garmin Lock, an anti-theft feature, and is compatible with our free Garmin Garage, where you can download custom vehicles that show your location on the map.

Garmin nuvi 500 and 550 Comparison

Features and Tips

Nuvi 550 features

• Voice prompts (e.g. "Turn right in 500 ft."): yes (internal speaker)
• Speaks street names (e.g. "Turn right ON ELM STREET in 500 ft.") : yes
• Speech recognition (navigate with voice commands): no
• 3D map view: yes
• Auto sort multiple destinations (provides most direct route): yes
• Auto re-route (fast off-route and detour recalculation): yes
• Choice of route setup (faster time, shorter distance, off road): yes
• Route avoidance (avoid highways, tolls etc.): yes
• Custom POIs (ability to add additional points of interest): yes
• Hands-free calling with Bluetooth® wireless technology: no
• FM traffic compatible: yes
• XM® Navtraffic (includes basic weather) & Radio for U.S. compatible: no
• MSN® Direct for U.S. compatible: yes
• Where Am I? feature (find closest hospitals, police & gas stations, nearest address & intersection): yes
• Car locator feature (marks position when removed from windshield mount): no
• MP3 player: no
• Audio book player: no
• Picture viewer: yes
• Configurable vehicle icons (select car-shaped icons for map navigation): yes
• World travel clock, currency & measurement converter, calculator: yes
• Touchscreen: yes
• Qwerty or ABC keyboard (choose keyboard layout): no
• Remote control: no
• FM transmitter: no
• Headphone jack/audio line-out: no
• Dead reckoning: no
• Garmin Lock™ (anti-theft feature): yes
• Motorcycle-friendly: yes
• Additional: This USB mass storage device is compatible with Windows® 2000 or later and
• Mac® OS X 10.4 or later.

• Unit dimensions, WxHxD: 4.21"W x 3.35"H x .9"D (10.7 x 8.5 x 2.3 cm)
• Display size, WxH: 2.8"W x 2.1"H (7.2 x 5.4 cm); 3.5" diag (8.9 cm)
• Display resolution, WxH: 320 x 240 pixels
• Display type: QVGA color antiglare TFT with white backlight
• Weight: 7.6 ounces (215 g)
• Battery: user-replaceable, rechargeable lithium-ion
• Battery life: up to 8 hours
• Waterproof: yes (IPX7)
• High-sensitivity receiver: yes
• RoHS version available: yes

• Basemap: yes
• Preloaded maps: yes
• Ability to add maps: yes
• Built-in memory: internal solid state
• Accepts data cards: microSD™ card (not included)
• Waypoints/favorites/locations: 1000
• Routes: 10

Specifications