Garmin Nuvi Voices Free Downloads – Custom Garmin Nuvi Voices
I have had friends and family calling as well as sending emails asking me about a couple of issues related to Garmin voices. Primarily, many of them have purchased a Garmin Nuvi and are interested in knowing how to get Garmin Nuvi voices free downloads. You may also be interested in free Garmin voices or perhaps you prefer custom Nuvi voices or the Premium. What ever your Nuvi’s make you will find something here.
Garmin Premium Voices
Many people are looking for premium GPS voices. They want to enjoy what they hear while driving. Surfing the internet you may come across voices such as Snoop Dogg, Homer, Stewie, Mr. T, GOzzy Osbourne and many more which may be premium Garmin voices. However, there are only two premium voices endorsed and promoted by Garmin. These are the SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer.
SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants is a voice most people love. If you are driving alone, you will really enjoy the company of a friend who has his eye on the road and can still make you laugh. The SpongeBob bundle includes two fun SpongeBob vehicle icons to liven up your Garmin map screen.
Dora the Explorer
The Dora the Explorer Premium Voice is the sweet voice of a true explorer. It is laced with a great deal of excitement. I personally prefer this Nickelodeon’s Dora voice to the SpongeBob SquarePants Premium voice.
Premium Voices Price
As you will expect, the SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer Voices are not free Garmin voices. They come at a price. My research indicates that as at May, 2011, they both sell for $5.99 on the Garmin website.
Custom Garmin Voices
Garmin knows that some people abhor the idea of being instructed what to do; they don’t like someone playing the lord over them. If that is you, and you have the time and patience, Garmin is not troubled with you being your own boss.
The Garmin Nuvi voices page provides you with tool to create your own voice prompt so no one has to tell you what to do. If you are comfortable with a friend or family member telling you what to do when driving, you can have them do it for you. You could as well get President Obama to do same for you.
Garmin Nuvi Voices Free Downloads
If you are interested in Free Garmin voices, this is where you want to pay more attention. There are several free Garmin voices you can download directly at the Tools page. Notable among these Garmin Nuvi voices free downloads are Yeti, Elfred the Elf, Squirrely the Squirrel and Dr. Nightmare!
Yeti
It is a basic truth that Yetis do a great deal of driving. More often than not their trips which are cross-country in nature see them regularly charting unfamiliar terrains for which reason, a GPS device is a must have.
With the Yeti Voices, Yetis can enjoy their drives even more. However, if you are not a Yeti, I will not recommend that you get this voice. I tried it and could hardly hear the voice prompts correctly; you don’t want to be second-guessing which direction to take. Why did you get the GPS device in the first place?
Elfred the Elf
This free Garmin voice is composed to put you in the holiday mood. You will enjoy Elfred’s great knowledge and sense of humor on your holiday vacation.
Squirrely the Squirrel
Squirrely the Squirrel is a fun and delightful voice prompt. However, just like the Yeti, you may find it difficult deciphering all the voice prompts.
Dr. Nightmare
You should know how this voice sounds from its name even before you ever hear it. It can be real fun listening to this haunted voice pack. However, it is for the brave. I don’t know how brave your family is but I don’t recommend this voice in the car that takes the children to school.
Voices Compatibility
These voices are compatible with most Garmin Nuvi makes. You can download voices and upload to the 200 Series up through the high-end 3700 Series. Even the much older Nuvi 5000 can also be loaded with any of the GPS voices you choose.
Some exceptions exist though. The voices are not compatible with the Garmin Nuvi GPS devices listed below:
* Nuvi 300 series
* Nuvi 600 series
* Zumo series
A link to the required tools for creating custom Garmin Voices is located at Garmin Voices Free Downloads.
If you are interested in buying a Garmin GPS , read my Gamrin Nuvi 1300 GPS review to see if it fits your taste and budget.