Garmin Nuvi 880 offers an impressive feature list and solid performance, but it's the accurate speech recognition that really pushes the Nuvi 880 over the edge and makes it one of the best GPS we've tested to date. To be honest, we were a bit weary since we've tried other such-equipped GPS devices, including the {Magellan Maestro 4250} and the {TomTom GO 930}, and while they worked, there weren't the most accurate and the capabilities were limited. This isn't so with the Nuvi 880. We were blown away at the accuracy of the speech recognition, the range of features you can use it with, and its overall ease of use. This, in combination with the navigation offerings, sleek design, and solid performance, makes it worthy of our Editors' Choice award.

Another benefit is the Nuvi 880's spacious 4.3-inch touch screen. With a 480x272-pixel resolution, the display is bright and easy to read, whether you're reading maps or using the other features. You can adjust the screen's brightness and there's an automatic mode that switches the map colors for optimal viewing during the day or night.
The Garmin Nuvi 880 comes preloaded with City Navigator NT maps of North America and millions of points of interest. Perhaps the biggest highlight, though, is its speech recognition capabilities. We've seen this technology in other systems, such as the Magellan Maestro 4250 and TomTom GO 930, but the Nuvi 880 is the most impressive with the breadth of its capabilities and accuracy. In all, you can use voice commands to perform 30 functions, including entering addresses, adjusting the system volume, activating the hands-free speaker system, playing/stopping the music player, viewing the trip computer, and accessing MSN Direct services.
Many customers will rejoice at Garmin's decision to switch from an internal battery to a user-replaceable, lithium-ion battery on the nuvi 880. In the event you continue to use the nuvi 880 beyond the life of the rechargeable battery, a battery replacement can be purchased for around $25.The lithium-ion battery only fits into the nuvi 880 the correct way, thanks to plastic guides on the battery that prevent you from accidentally inserting the battery the wrong way around.Once the battery is installed, slide the battery cover back on until it snaps into place.