Upgrade from 595 to XT2?

[OldRS]

I've been reading, with increasing concern, the various discussions reporting the wayward routing behaviour of the XT2.

I am contemplating part-exchanging my Zumo 550 and £370 for an XT2, and then selling, or attempting to sell, my Zumo 595 to cover some of the upgrade cost

Do any owners bitterly regret having purchased an XT2? Do you consider that I will be making a serious mistake by buying the XT2.

Appreciate that these are unfair questions but I am interested in hearing what people think.

[jfheath]

If your 595 is working for you, why get the XT2 ?

The 590 is a better, more reliable device for navigation, but the 595 runs it pretty close.

If you want to replace (fed up with dull screen or the battery that dies 2 minutes after removing from the cradle), then the Xt2 is a leap beyond the XT - It is a steep learning curve, but I reckon it is worth it. But I like satnavs as a gadget to play with as well as a tool for routing, so I would get my moneys worth from it even if it never went on the bike !


For what it is worth I still have a 590, 595, XT and XT2.

The 595/590 cradle was removed from my bike secondary position when I got the XT2. The Xt cradle went to the secondary location.

The XT2 is the one that I am using all of the time now. The other three are just kept alive on my desk.

The 595 introduced a number of issues that the 590 did not have.
The XT reinforced some of these issues. I got on top of most of these.
The XT2 is a different beast. if you use it like the 595 it will still work, but it still has issues. If you use it as intended, or you know your way around the issues, It is excellent.

Ignore the negative comments you read on the likes of Facebook. There are a few people that know what they are talking about, but most of them like to make comments without having any real knowledge. Its a bit like AI - Artificial Intelligence they sweep up all sorts of information, right and wrong and then repeat the incorrect info as if it was true.


I've yet to see one reported issue with the XT2 that I cannot attribute to user error - although screen freeze takes some explaining. Mine hasn't shown this yet.

The only issue with the XT2 is that there is not much around in the way of support of the type that I produced for the 590, 595 and XT. But Im working on it !

[OldRS]

If your 595 is working for you, why get the XT2 ?

The 590 is a better, more reliable device for navigation, but the 595 runs it pretty close.

If you want to replace (fed up with dull screen or the battery that dies 2 minutes after removing from the cradle, then the Xt2 is a leap beyond the XT - but its a steep learning curve, but I reckon it is worth it. But I like satnavs as a gadget to play with as well as a tool for routing, so I would get my moneys worthbfrom it even if it never went on the bike !


For what it is worth I still have a 590, 595, XT and XT2.

The 595/590 cradle was removed from my bike secondary position when I got the XT2. The Xt cradle went to the secondary location.

The XT2 is the one that I am using all of the time now. The other three are just kept alive on my desk.

The 595 introduced a number of issues that the 590 did not have.
The XT reinforced some of these issues. I got on top of most of these.
The XT2 is a different beast. if you use it like the 595 it will still work, but still have issues. If you use it as intended, or you know your way around the issues It is excellent.

Ignore the negative comments you read on the likes of Facebook. There are a few people that know what they are talking about, but most of them like to make comments without having any real knowledge. Its a bit like AI - Artificial Intelligence they sweep up all sorts of information, right and wrong and then repeat the incorrect info as if it was true.


I've yet to see one reported issue with the XT2 that I cannot attribute to user error - although screen freeze takes some explaining. Mine hasn't shown this yet.

The only issue with the XT2 is that there is not much around in the way of support - like I produced for the 590, 595 and XT. But Im working on it !

Thank you.

Garmin replaced my 590 with a 595 when I complained about the unreadable screen. Of course the 595 screen is no better. I find that the unreadable screen on the 595 is a significant problem.

The reported issue with the XT2 that is causing greatest concern, is the way that e-routing after one leaves a created and saved route takes one by much longer routes than is logical. This thread: RUT on XT2: Intended behavior? Low Priority? Garmin wants to hear from you.

Regards

Richard

[biz]

I have no problem with screen readability on either of my two 590s (both with 595 firmware). From vague memory of when I looked at the XT on introduction, many of the features I need to use on the 595 are not on the XT or XT2, so neither suits my particular usage scenario - no line out for voice interruption on my headset, for example. 590/595 does all I need, so even if all my required features were on the XT, I'd see no reason to change.

[OldRS]

I have no problem with screen readability on either of my two 590s (both with 595 firmware). From vague memory of when I looked at the XT on introduction, many of the features I need to use on the 595 are not on the XT or XT2, so neither suits my particular usage scenario - no line out for voice interruption on my headset, for example. 590/595 does all I need, so even if all my required features were on the XT, I'd see no reason to change.

Thank you.

I moved from a 550 to a 590 and found the transition from primary to pastel colours plus the transflective - I think that's the technology - screen of the 590 a total disaster. I remember one member of the previous Zumo forum who had a good relationship with Garmin lobbying for an explanation for the choice of screen without success. It's noticeable that they only used that screen technology on the 590/595. Notwithstanding that: I've never been able to read the 590/595 screen in normal daylight light and find it unreadble in bright sunlight.

I should study the operating differences between the devices. I wonder if they are documented anywhere?

Ta

Richard

[smfollen]

OldRS wrote:
The reported issue with the XT2 that is causing greatest concern, is the way that e-routing after one leaves a created and saved route takes one by much longer routes than is logical. This thread: RUT on XT2: Intended behavior? Low Priority? Garmin wants to hear from you.

That was my post. First, to address your original question, I am very happy, overall, with the XT2. I started with an XT so I can't compare to the 590 / 595.

The Repeated U-Turn / stuck in a rut (RUT) behavior occurs only with imported routes, when one goes off-route under certain conditions. The issue is not new to the XT2. There are a few easy ways to work-around it which effectively involve converting an imported route to a saved route. You can find lots of posts discussing RUT.

The post you mention was more about Garmin support and that they apparently need to hear about an issue from many users before it has any chance of getting a fix.

[OldRS]

OldRS wrote:
The reported issue with the XT2 that is causing greatest concern, is the way that e-routing after one leaves a created and saved route takes one by much longer routes than is logical. This thread: RUT on XT2: Intended behavior? Low Priority? Garmin wants to hear from you.

That was my post. First, to address your original question, I am very happy, overall, with the XT2. I started with an XT so I can't compare to the 590 / 595.

The Repeated U-Turn / stuck in a rut (RUT) behavior occurs only with imported routes, when one goes off-route under certain conditions. The issue is not new to the XT2. There are a few easy ways to work-around it which effectively involve converting an imported route to a saved route. You can find lots of posts discussing RUT.

The post you mention was more about Garmin support and that they apparently need to hear about an issue from many users before it has any chance of getting a fix.

Thank you

The point about making Garmin appreciate that it is affecting many (all?) users is very important viz. the unreadable screen probloem with 590/595.

Regards

Richard

[rbentnail]

The biggest thing I did with my 595 to help with the screen was learning to download and use other themes. I found bluer is better in bright light and yellower better on cloudy days, of course YMMV. This really helped me a lot. This thread -> viewtopic.php?f=12&t=178&hilit=theme is where I got started learning how to do that. Since I'm a computer ID-10-T I started with the zip files of themes other members posted there.

[danham]

I went from a 660 to an XT, so my opinion may not be useful to you. But... both units of mine had/have odd quirks that require learning how to work around them in order to enjoy reliable trip navigation. I suspect the same is true for your choice. The bright screen and advance traffic notifications on my XT leave the 660 in the dust. I would never go back (though I kept the 660). But as I said, both models require extra care and feeding for everything but simple A to B routing.

-dan

[OldRS]

The biggest thing I did with my 595 to help with the screen was learning to download and use other themes. I found bluer is better in bright light and yellower better on cloudy days, of course YMMV. This really helped me a lot. This thread -> viewtopic.php?f=12&t=178&hilit=theme is where I got started learning how to do that. Since I'm a computer ID-10-T I started with the zip files of themes other members posted there.

Thanks,

Back when the previous forum existed, I fiddled with themes but not to any great extent and became resigned to the washed-out display

Cheers

Richard