I'm thinking of buying a GPS and have narrowed it down to the Zumo. Both HD and Garmin market a Zumo product and I'm a little confused about the differences between the two products. Can anyone help out by explaining the differences between the two? Are there any technical advantages of one over the other?

 

The HD version costs more and does not include everything in the box that the Zumo does. The HD branded version includes dealership POIs and the Zumo doesn't but you can download them from the Internet and install them yourself.

Great forum to learn more... zumoforums.com

 

Cosmetics:
- The HD Zumo is black with the bar/shield logo.
- The standard Zumo is silver and black without the HD logo.

Operations:
- They are the same, expect for the pre-loaded POI file (which is available free online).

Usability:
- Standard Zumo 550 comes with both a bike and car kit
- Best Buy price - $899

- HD Zumo price - $799.95
- Auto Kit - $199.95
- Handlebar Kit - $79.95
- HD Cost to match standard Garmin Zumo - $1079.95

Buy the regular Zumo, pick it up on sale somewhere during a Black Friday Sale.

 

You should be able to get the 550 for a lot cheaper than $899. I got mine over a year ago at pcnation.com for $631 and $9 for overnight shipping. Forget the HD one and just get the 550 from a REPUTABLE dealer off the web.

 

+1 for the above they are correct. I bought mine from PC Nation online,I think it was $500, anyway they were the best price and shipping was very quick. You will be very pleased with the Zumo, it has a lot of nice features. My neighbor has the HD gps (not Zumo) and everytime we vary from the route all it says is "make a U-turn" whereas the Zumo will auto recalculate your route.

 

I have the Garmin Zumo 550, very happy with it, played through the radio it is great for MP3 music and getting voice directions. Easy to download routes from the computer. I would highly recommend.

 

I bought two in the last 9 months, one for former wife and one for me, both from gpscity.com. Current price is around $660. I agree with the others above.

 

In terms of Usability, there is absolutly NO difference. Biggest difference is the HD logo on thiers...Do you really want to pay hundreds more for an HD logo??

The HD Dealership POI takes about 3 minutes to download and load into the GPS.

The standard Garmin Zumo 550 comes complete with Car mount, Handlebar mount , a set of decoritive panels, all software, wiring, cables, and more.

Get the Garmin. thier customer service is second to none. If you have a problem with the HD one, you have to go thru the dealer (who will simply contact Garmin for the fix) and wait for them to get back to you, and possibly have to pay for parts that may have broken etc..

With garmin, one phone call and its done. If something broke, they are fantastic about sending you a new part.

I had the quest on my last bike. cradle that holds it broke the clip on it, (design flaw) Called Garmin, they sent a new one and had it in my hands in 3 days. No charge, even though the unit was 2 years old.

If you don't need the Bluetooth capability, or the MP3 player, go with the Zumo 450. Costco.com has it for $350.00 Great price.