Garmin GPSmap 478 GPS Review by Bob S, March 7, 2009

• Overall Rating

I’ve had this unit for 9 months and use it in the car, on a sailboat, on my Harley and on my KTM dirt bike (offroad). It is very versitle and works great for all the different uses. It has modes for Auto, Marine and offroad – so it knows how to plot your best route. The maps are great. And the track feature is very helpful for offroad riding – you just can’t get lost.

Recently, I had a bad spill on my dirt bike – several flips, which the 478 took the brunt of due to the mounting on the handlebars. Well, the screen got damaged, ‘cuz basically the bike fell on it. First off, I was surprised the unit was still intact and when I got home, plugged it into my PC and found the system worked (showed my speed right at impact at 59mph!). So, since it was still under warranty, I sent it in and was stunned that they sent me a new unit! What a great company! That’s service!
I was so happy, I just went out and bought a Garmin Nuvi 650 for my wife.

Garmin GPSmap 478 GPS Review by David H, May 1, 2009

• Overall Rating

The ultimate portable GPS. It has high detail moving maps, on the road, turn by turn spoken guidance, ‘off the road’ course deviation (left or right)guidance or birds eye view guidance. On the water, on the road, or off the road, it’s hard to think of anything else you could want a GPS to do.

Garmin GPSmap 478 GPS Review by Ross, May 18, 2009

• Overall Rating

I’ve had mine for about 5 months and have no complaints. Accuracy is good and seldom loses signal . I use it on a motorcycle , two boats and in the cars. I bought the GXM30 unit that enables the xm radio and weather , both work great and the weather in particular is a lifesaver. (If only the subscription weren’t so pricey) I’d recomend this unit to anyone needing waterproof GPS with a medium size screen and weather capability.

Garmin GPSmap 478 GPS Review by Matt Moniz, July 27, 2009

• Overall Rating

My 6 year old GPSIII worked OK but the display was hard to read & I wanted detailed maps. I considered GPSMAP 276C, but if I ordered all the extras I wanted the 478 was a better deal..not to mention additional speed and capacity. Another big attracton was that I didn’t have to swap memory while driving cross country. Ordering from GPSNOW was easy and when the 478 arrived I was suprised to find the battery fully charged. This meant the Kid in me could immediatly start checking it out. The menus are really intuitive and button placement and operation was like my ole’ GPSIII. When I road tested my 478 I was amazed at how fast it recalulated my route when I took an intentional wrong turn. The display is easy to read even from the center of the dash. I recommmend turning the twilight adjustment to AUTO because the bright daytime screen is too bright at night, but the white on black twilight screen is great, easy on the eyes and not distracting.
If forced to find something wrong with my 478, my wife said the mounting system looked “clunky”. But the mounts are secure,easy to use, and have a tight fit. The beanbag mount is amazing! It conforms to the dash or console with equal ease and stays there. I am a commercial driver and never know what kind of vehicle I will be delivering next, so the beanbag will really get a workout.
Bottom line: I love it!

Garmin GPSmap 478 GPS Review by surfnturf, August 6, 2009

• Overall Rating

After studying many units and gathering intelligence from friends with other units, the Garmin 478C was the sensible choice. Having all the automotive and marine charts pre-installed was worth the extra cost from the 276 and 376 models. My first use with the unit was to drive from N Georgia to Everglades City, FL for a 1 week fishing trip in the 10,000 islands. The road trip in automotive was perfect for the 581 miles. In the 10,000 Islands you should not consider exploring without a good GPS. The 478C worked flawlessly and I have planned a more indepth flats boat trip on the Wilderness Waterway end of June. If you wish to subscripe to XM you can get current doppler for those pop-up summer storms to avoid or be ready for.