Ok, so I have two MP3 players now, the NUVI (really a GPS of course) and the Zune. It turns out the Zune software for the pc does a nice job of ripping MP3s from CD, at good quality. But most importantly, it automatically imports the album art. Then, once you've ripped your music, you can add the album art into the songs! Why would you want to do this? Well, songs ripped this way work on the NUVI with the artwork! I've had my NUVI since last summer, and until now, I had never gotten the album art to work. Now it does, and the world just got a little bit better!

 

The video iPod will also display album art. iTunes will automatically download it from the web for you.

 

Had no clue that nuvi is supposed to display the album artwork. Nice to know. MMM

 

So dumb question... what does the bluetooth functionality do with the NUVI - if you have bluetooth in your car does that mean you can play MP3s via bluetooth from the NUVI?

 

I don't think so. The NUVI's bluetooth functionality is used to connect wirelessly with a (bluetooth-equipped) cell phone. It's essentially a hands-free phone set up incorporated into the GPS device. If you already have bluetooth in your car, it's a redundant feature.

 

Correct. Bluetooth on the NUVI allows you to make handsfree calls using a cell phone through the NUVI. It also can send and receive SMS messages this way. Sadly, the cellphone people at Garmin seem somewhat clueless. The full features of the bluetooth don't work on Windows Mobile phones, Treos and a host of other phones. I would love to use my T-Mobile SDA with the NUVI as a bluetooth keyboard for SMS... no dice.

For someone with a MINI and the builtin Bluetooth, the Garmin Bluetooth features are redundant and don't work as well. If I had known this for sure, I would have bought a NUVI 350 or the next version which has both Europe and US maps but no Bluetooth.

That said, the NUVI with its album art looks cool, and the music plays well through the AUX port in the MINI.

 

Does the Nuvi 360 use it's internal speaker only for the BlueTooth or can it be plugged into the Mini's AUX jack ( or wired in) and play thorugh the MINIs audio system?

 

The headphone jack on the NUVI plugs into the aux port on the MINI. You can hear music, voice prompts, and I suppose sound from your bluetooth enabled cell phone this way. The voice prompts even mute the music, and it's very cool.

 

Thanks for the info!