Navigation Features
Convenience Features
Installation Options
Computer Requirements
Navigation Features
5" Touchscreen LCD: The nuvi 3550LM features a 5"
dual-orientation color TFT touchscreen LCD with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels
(16:9 aspect ratio). The screen can be viewed in either landscape or portrait
orientation, and automatically switches to the proper orientation depending upon
how it is mounted. The multi-touch glass display is more sensitive that other
units, and lets you zoom in or out of a map display with a pinch action on the
touchscreen. The unit offers Daytime, Nighttime, and Auto display modes. The
screen will automatically shut off if the device is inactive for the selected
length of time.
Keyboard Options: The Garmin nuvi 3550LM gives you two
options for keyboard layouts. When you are entering an address or other data,
you can choose between a standard QWERTY keyboard layout or an ABCDE
alphabetical layout.
Preloaded Maps: The nuvi 3550LM contains NAVTEQ's City
Navigator North America NT 2012 3D maps with detailed road maps of the United
States (including Alaska and Hawaii), Canada, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands,
Mexico, Cayman Islands, and Bahamas. The 3D maps show the surrounding terrain,
landmarks, and buildings from a low perspective for a more realistic view. The
maps include more than 8-million points of interest (POIs) to help you find the
destination you desire.
Free Lifetime Map Updates: The nuvi 3550LM offers free
lifetime map updates so you'll always have the most up-to-date maps, POIs, and
navigation information. Map updates are available for download up to 4 times a
year with no subscription or update fees and no expiration dates.
Note: Free Lifetime Map Updates entitle you to receive
up to 4 map data updates per year, when and as such updates are made
available on the Garmin website, for this specific Garmin product only until
this product's useful life expires or Garmin no longer receives map data
from its third party supplier, whichever is shorter. The updates you receive
will be updates to the same geographic map data originally included with
your Garmin product when originally purchased.
nuMaps Guarantee: If you register your device on Garmin's
website within 90 days of acquiring satellites while driving, you can check to
see if a free map update is available. You must be able to connect your device
via a high-speed internet connection in order to check the loaded map version
and download the map update.
Points of Interest: The built-in maps include over 8-million
Points of Interest (POIs) such as hotels, restaurants, gas stations,
attractions, and ATMs. are included to help you find the destination you desire.
In addition, you can download additional points of interest and add them to the
unit's memory (Custom POIs). The free POI Loader software can be downloaded from
the Garmin website to assist you in creating Custom POIs.
Garmin Guidance 3.0: The Garmin nuvi 3550LM features Garmin
Guidance 3.0, the most advanced navigation engine available with a faster, more
intuitive user interface to enhance the speed and accuracy of searches and
routing. As you approach an upcoming junction, the Bird's Eye Lane Guidance
feature shows you the proper lane to drive in with an overhead perspective. When
traveling interstate highways, the Enhanced Exit Services feature enables you to
know what you'll find when you exit the highway.
Navigation Map: The Garmin nuvi 3550LM displays a real-time
moving map illustrating your current position and intended route. It will show
map scale and geographic details such as lakes, rivers, highways and towns. Your
route is marked with a magenta line. A checkered flag marks your destination. As
you travel the nuvi 3550LM guides to your destination with arrows on the map and
directions at the top of the screen. If you depart from the original route, the
device recalculates the route and provides new directions. During your
calculated route, your arrival time is displayed in the lower left corner, your
current speed is shown in the lower right corner. The posted speed limit for
most major roads is displayed near the lower right corner as well. The unit
allows you to zoom, pan, and point using the touchscreen during navigation. You can choose from a 3D map view or two
2D map views (Track Up or North Up) as you navigate to your destination.
Turn Assistant: When you are navigation a route, you can
view the next turn on the map and the distance and time left before you reach
the turn. You also view the Turn List which displays turn-by-turn instructions
for your entire route and the distance between turns.
Lane Assist w/ Junction View: The Lane Assist feature lets you know in
advance which lane you need to be in to make an upcoming turn. In select
metropolitan areas, the nuvi 3550LM will enter split screen mode to display the
photoReal junction view, a realistic depiction of the junction, complete with
road signs and arrows to indicate the proper lane for navigation. The Bird's Eye
view also gives you a top-down view of upcoming interchanges.
Speed Limits: As you travel along a major road, the speed
limit is displayed on the screen alongside of the vehicle's speed display. If
you are exceeding the speed limit, the color of the vehicle speed indication
changes to red. If the highway's posted speed limit has changed since the last
map update, you can change the speed limit display on the unit.
Text-to-Speech Audible Directions: In addition to the visual
map, you get voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions that speak street names to
your destination; allowing you to keep your eyes more comfortably on the road.
The nuvi 3550LM offers male and female voices of various languages.
Transportation Modes: The Garmin nuvi 3550LM offers two
transportation modes for navigation methods; Automotive or Pedestrian. Routing is calculated
differently based on your mode. If you have the optional cityXplorer maps loaded into the unit, the pedestrian navigation
feature adds public transportation options as you travel on foot.
Destination Search: When the Where To? button is pressed,
you can use the search tools to find your destination and plan your route. The
search tools allow you to search for cities, addresses, intersections, or
coordinates. The new Search Bar lets you directly enter a category, brand name,
address, or city name. The unit's memory stores the last 50 locations you have
found so you can quickly find a previous destination. By default, the unit finds
destinations closet to your current location. You can also find destinations
near another city or location.
Trip Planner: You can create and save a trip with multiple
destinations using the Trip Planner. Once you have entered your destinations,
you can manually set them in the order of your preference, or allow the device
to calculate the most efficient route. Trip itineraries can be saved in memory
for future use.
Route Preferences/Avoidances: When calculating a route, you
can select the following preferences; faster time, shorter distance, less fuel,
or off road. You can also program the unit to avoid certain things that may be
undesirable on your route; such as U-Turns, Highways, Toll Roads, Carpool Lanes,
Unpaved Roads, and Ferries.
Photo Navigation: Pictures with location information can be
uploaded to the nuvi 3550LM or to an inserted microSD card. You can use the
GarminConnect section of the Garmin website to search for previously uploaded "Geotagged"
photos. Once the photos are loaded into the device, you can set a destination
based on the photo's imbedded location data.
nuRoute Technology: The nuvi 3550LM includes nuRoute
technology with trafficTrends historical traffic and myTrends predictive
routing.
- myTrends: The myTrends feature senses when you are
driving to a common destination and displays the destination and estimated
time of travel in the navigation bar on the map. When you save your regular
destinations in your "Favorites," the nuvi 2450 will, over time, begin to
figure out where you're going even without your telling it.
- trafficTrends: When the trafficTrends feature is
enabled, the nuvi 3550LM uses historic traffic information to calculate more
efficient routes. The nuvi 3550LM automatically learns daytime trends for
traffic flow to improve your routes and better predict your estimated time
of arrival based on time of day and day of week. Different routes may be
calculated base based on traffic trends for the day of the week or based on
the time of day.
Trip Computer: The trip information page displays your
current speed and direction, and provides helpful statistics about your trip.
Dual trip odometers keep up with your total mileage. The page also indicates the
distance and driving time to your next maneuver, as well as the distance and
driving time to your destination. Your maximum speed and moving average speed
are also displayed. The information can be reset in advance of your next trip.
Where I've Been/Trip Log: The Where I've Been application
allows you to view your previous routes and places you have stopped on the map.
In addition, the device keeps a Trip Log, which is a record of the path you have
traveled. The Travel History setting must be enabled in order for the Where I've
Been and Trip Log features to function.
Optional Digital 3D Traffic Updates: With the optional GTM
60 Digital 3D traffic receiver (150GTM60,
sold separately), you can receive traffic
updates every 30 seconds over the HD Radio broadcasting system. That's up to 10
times faster than traditional traffic receivers.
Convenience Features
microSD Card Slot: The nuvi 3550LM has a microSD card slot
so you can store and use optional cityXplorer maps (available from Garmin), or
download custom voices and vehicles from the Garmin Garage.
Garmin Garage: The unit offers your choice of seven standard
icons to represent your vehicle. The online Garmin Garage offers dozens more
vehicle icons that you can download for free. In addition, you can purchase icon
and voice bundles with Star Wars (Yoda, Darth Vader) and Nickelodeon (SpongeBob
SquarePants, Dora the Explorer) themes.
Where Am I?: The "Where Am I?" feature gives you instant
access to important information in case of an emergency. When you select "Where
Am I?" from the menu, you get the coordinates (including elevation) of your
current position, plus the nearest address and intersections. There are also
buttons to help you locate the nearest hospitals, police stations, gas stations,
and roadside assistance. You can also save the location for future reference.
Garmin Locate: To assist you in finding your parked vehicle,
the Garmin Locate feature saves your location to memory when you remove the
device from the windshield mounting cradle while the device is on. You can
search for your vehicle's location using the Last Spot button in the menu.
ecoRoute: The optional ecoRoute feature calculates the fuel
economy and the fuel price of navigating to a destination, and offers tools for
improving fuel efficiency. The ecoRoute application can be purchased from the
Garmin Online Store.
GPS Simulator: When indoors, you can activate the built-in
GPS simulator and practice using the unit. This turns off the GPS receiver so
it's not searching for satellites, saving battery power.
Picture Viewer: The nuvi 3550LM's Picture Viewer can display
JPEG photo images that you have stored in the device or on a microSD card. The
images can be displayed in a slideshow, or set a single image as wallpaper.
Audiobook Player: The device can play audiobooks from
Audible.com. A subscription to Audible.com is required. Audiobooks can be loaded
to the device or to a microSD card. You can browse titles, authors, or
narrators. Bookmarks can be added, so the player will automatically resume from
the point where you last stopped. Playback controls include play, pause, fast
forward, fast reverse, next chapter, and previous chapter.
Note: The nuvi 3550LM cannot play digital music files.
Tools: Other tools that can be found on the device include a
world clock, alarm clock, calculator, unit converter, and a language guide.
Installation Options
Mounting: The Garmin nuvi 3550LM should be securely
installed when used in a vehicle. The unit comes with a mounting cradles that
includes a suction cup bracket. The suction cup can be used to mount the unit to
the windshield. Once the nuvi 3550LM is mounted, it can be adjusted on the
ball-and-socket bracket for best visibility. The unit must be installed where it
has a relatively unobstructed view of the sky.
Note: The unit's mini-USB (type-B) port for connection
of the included 12-volt power adapter is found on the side-panel of the
mounting cradle.
Power Requirements: The Garmin nuvi 3550LM is powered by
your vehicle's battery using the included 12-volt cigarette lighter power
adapter. The built-in Lithium-Ion battery will provide up to 4 hours of use
after a 4-hour charge. An optional AC adapter (150ACNUVI,
sold separately) allows you to operate the unit on ordinary household current.
Note: Use the unit's Sleep Mode to conserve battery power when the
device is not in use. Sleep Mode uses very little power, and a battery
charge lasts for weeks when the device is in sleep Mode.
Computer Requirements
myDashboard: Use Garmin's myDashboard
(www.garmin.com/dashboard) to register the device, check for software & map
update, access product manuals, and technical support. myDashboard will
automatically open when you connect the nuvi navigation device to your computer.
Note: The unit's micro-USB port is USB 2.0 Full Speed
compatible. The unit's micro-USB port is found on the bottom of the GPS
navigator.
Computer Compatibility: The nuvi 3550LM is compatible with
Windows XP or newer and Mac OS X 10.4 or later.
Note: The nuvi 3550LM is not compatible with Windows 95,
Windows 98, Windows Me, or Windows NT. It is also not compatible with Mac OS
10.3 and earlier. This is a common limitation of most USB mass storage
devices.
