Built-in Navi versus Portable GPS

[PhoenixOrion]

Purchase car with Navi or better off buying one of those GPS with loaded features and nice hi-res LCD?

 

[bucwylde23]

In-dash Navi looks better.

But you'd probably get a better system if you buy your own. I'd definitely buy aftermarket.

 

[PhoenixOrion]

I'm leaning towards portable navi. I just like to have a list that spells out that its a better deal.

Biggest reason: $300-400 versus $1500-2000 option.

 

[SoulAssassin]

what car? the quality of the navigation systems can vary greatly from car to car, some can be used in motion, some can't. some have smaller screens than others, etc.

 

[Funyuns101]

Pro for in-dash: it's always there, you can't forget in your house. No wires for power and you, obviously, can't forget it.
Whereas you may end up lost somewhere but not have your portable GPS.
You'll probably get a few extra features like back-up camera, though most of these are not necessary.

However, a decent $400 portable GPS is probably more powerful and can be upgraded whereas your built-in one will eventually become obsolete and cannot be replaced (easily).

Con for both: might make it more noticeable for thieves? (if you leave your portable in the car)

I vote for portable~

 

[PhoenixOrion]

no car picked yet....but will narrow it to either lexus, acura or infiniti.

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: PhoenixOrion
Purchase car with Navi or better off buying one of those GPS with loaded features and nice hi-res LCD?

It depends on what type of car. A Civic or Mazda 3, forget about the factory navi. I luxury car, yea, go ahead and get the navi.

I will say this though, all of the in dash/factory navi's that I've seen in friend's cars look like sh!t. The portable GPS units are more user friendly.

 

[PhoenixOrion]

what I have so far:

1. update with internet download thru pc versus buying dvd update from dealership
2. portable obviously can go to any car (although other cars already have navi)
3. price difference is huge
4. with in-dash, the resolution of the LCD can become 'antiquated' and cannot be upgraded

what else?

 

[Kaido]

Portable systems have always seemed far better to me than in-car systems. If you're going to drop some change on a GPS, buy a Garmin Nuvi 680 and accessorize it:

Garmin Nuvi 680 - $639
Lifetme MSN Direct Service - $130
InvisibleShield - $17 (for the touchscreen)
2gb SD Card - $34
Friction Mount - $27 (or a vent mount off ebay)

That's about $850. Typical in-car navigation systems run at least $1,000 on average. Spend the savings on a nice stereo receiver with front-input so you can run the GPS's voice system and MP3 player on your car speakers

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: PhoenixOrion
what I have so far:

1. update with internet download thru pc versus buying dvd update from dealership
2. portable obviously can go to any car (although other cars already have navi)
3. price difference is huge
4. with in-dash, the resolution of the LCD can become 'antiquated' and cannot be upgraded

what else?

Looks are really the only advantage - it looks really slick to have an in-dash navigation system. But you'll spend more money, it will be less effective than a portable GPS, and you can't even take it with you on vacation!

 

[PhoenixOrion]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Portable systems have always seemed far better to me than in-car systems. If you're going to drop some change on a GPS, buy a Garmin Nuvi 680 and accessorize it:

Garmin Nuvi 680 - $639
Lifetme MSN Direct Service - $130
InvisibleShield - $17 (for the touchscreen)
2gb SD Card - $34
Friction Mount - $27 (or a vent mount off ebay)

That's about $850. Typical in-car navigation systems run at least $1,000 on average. Spend the savings on a nice stereo receiver with front-input so you can run the GPS's voice system and MP3 player on your car speakers

Awesome Kaido. Exactly the kind of info I need. I knew ATOT would deliver.

 

[Lonyo]

GPS reciever + laptop + in car power adapter for laptop + MS Autoroute or w/e your preferred mapping software is + stereo hookup + dash mount for the laptop ^_^

Movie player + GPS all in one.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: PhoenixOrion

Originally posted by: Kaido
Portable systems have always seemed far better to me than in-car systems. If you're going to drop some change on a GPS, buy a Garmin Nuvi 680 and accessorize it:

Garmin Nuvi 680 - $639
Lifetme MSN Direct Service - $130
InvisibleShield - $17 (for the touchscreen)
2gb SD Card - $34
Friction Mount - $27 (or a vent mount off ebay)

That's about $850. Typical in-car navigation systems run at least $1,000 on average. Spend the savings on a nice stereo receiver with front-input so you can run the GPS's voice system and MP3 player on your car speakers

Awesome Kaido. Exactly the kind of info I need. I knew ATOT would deliver.

My 680 actually just arrived yesterday. I'll give you some feedback later today after I've driven around town I've wanted a 680 ever since they came out, but they debuted at over $1,000 so it was way, way out of my price range for something I was using on a regular basis but not always daily. $640 is still expensive but much more reasonable for something that I would use consistently throughout the week. I've tried a variety of GPS systems (laptop, PDA, phone, dedicated GPS) and none of them were what I'd call "great". I read a lot of reviews on the Nuvi line, starting with the 350. The 360 and 660 build on the 350, then the 680 tops them all with features. Since this is a one-time purchase, I wanted to be sure I got a good one so that I would never have to worry about it. My brother has been through two or three cheaper GPS units so far and has terrible luck with them, so I figured I should invest wisely. Here are the main features that I like about the Nuvi 680:

-Top dog in GPS systems (2D/3D maps, turn-by-turn voice directions, custom POIs)
-Huge, bright, sunlight-readble 4.3" widescreen - easy to fiddle with and see
-MSN Direct service - 1 free year included, lifetime service available (traffic, gas prices, weather, movie times)
-Multiple mounting options (suction cup and available vent or friction mounts)
-Bluetooth Speakerphone with Dialing (use with your cell phone)
-MP3/Audiobook playback & SD card support - nice convenience
-FM Transmitter - nice if you don't have front input on your stereo (my wife's car doesn't)
-Easy to update over USB port
-Lightweight, easy to carry around

Oh and make sure you get a "crap bag", like a cheap camcorder bag off ebay, to throw all the stuff in if you use your GPS in more than one car.

 

[Aikouka]

I have the navigation system in my Nissan Altima and well... it's got some perks and some serious downsides to it.

Good:

1) It also ties into the audio system, so instead of a rinky-dinky little LED display, I get a nice touch-screen LCD interface for the audio system and other various features (handless phone system, etc).
2) It also ties into the car's steering controls. Pretty self-explanatory, I can use the same knob-thing that I use for audio switching for selecting and pressing buttons on the screen, there's also a back button.

Bad:

1) The quality of the actual navigation isn't very good. My brother's $300 Wal-Mart GPS (a Mio) found roads that my $2000 GPS system didn't have. Also, my system kept sending me PAST my destinations where my brother, with a huge chagrin would hold up his Mio proudly when it said "you have reached your destination" as mine exclaimed "you are nearing your destination" or something like that. I think the most heard term from my GPS is, "You are currently on an uncharted road or area, please head toward the designated route following all traffic regulations"... which is equivalent to, "our database sucks and you have to put up with it."

I think I should call up and complain to Nissan about this. If I have to pay to fix this travesty that they call a GPS... well, I will not be happy.

 

[amdhunter]

This will be in my 06 Civic next week.

 

[vi edit]

How does the "idiot lock" work on factory nav systems that lock them down while the car is in drive? I think that would drive me apesh!t. The majority of the time that I'm traveling in uncharted waters is when my wife and I are on vacation. One of is doing the navigating from the passenger seat. It would blow not being able to manipulate the nav system while in motion.

That to me is almost reason enough to go with an add in unit.

 

[yllus]

Originally posted by: Lonyo
GPS reciever + laptop + in car power adapter for laptop + MS Autoroute or w/e your preferred mapping software is + stereo hookup + dash mount for the laptop ^_^

Movie player + GPS all in one.

Alternatively, you can get a Nokia 770 with a 4.3" high-res (800x480) LCD, a Bluetooth GPS receiver and the freeware program Maemo Mapper.

That would give you a Linux-based touchscreen Internet tablet that can do music, video, act as a GPS receiver, Remote Desktop client... The downside would be having to mess around with the device quite a bit to get it set up properly the first time.

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
How does the "idiot lock" work on factory nav systems that lock them down while the car is in drive? I think that would drive me apesh!t. The majority of the time that I'm traveling in uncharted waters is when my wife and I are on vacation. One of is doing the navigating from the passenger seat. It would blow not being able to manipulate the nav system while in motion.

That to me is almost reason enough to go with an add in unit.

In my Nissan, you can change anything while the car is in Drive; however, certain features require the car to be stopped (regardless of what gear you're in). To my knowledge, these features include the on-screen dial pad and entering addresses. A lot of the commands have voice activation features associated with them... such as I can ask for it to pull up all the local restaurants by pressing the voice button and following the on-screen listing (by saying which one I want). I think I can also select them via steering control. I don't use these features often, so I'm not entirely sure without trying them.

 

[SoulAssassin]

Originally posted by: PhoenixOrion
no car picked yet....but will narrow it to either lexus, acura or infiniti.

I have a TL and the NAVI is one of the best out there. I would recommend going to the dealership and asking the sales monkey to let you play with the NAVI units during a test drive.

 

[amdhunter]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
How does the "idiot lock" work on factory nav systems that lock them down while the car is in drive? I think that would drive me apesh!t. The majority of the time that I'm traveling in uncharted waters is when my wife and I are on vacation. One of is doing the navigating from the passenger seat. It would blow not being able to manipulate the nav system while in motion.

That to me is almost reason enough to go with an add in unit.

Aftermarket HU's do the same thing. Usually there is a way to bypass this feature, to allow you to watch movies, navigate, etc, while the car is in motion. Sometimes it's as easy as connecting toground wire on the parking brake, othertimes it can be a real PITA.

 

[franksta]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
How does the "idiot lock" work on factory nav systems that lock them down while the car is in drive? I think that would drive me apesh!t. The majority of the time that I'm traveling in uncharted waters is when my wife and I are on vacation. One of is doing the navigating from the passenger seat. It would blow not being able to manipulate the nav system while in motion.

That to me is almost reason enough to go with an add in unit.

On my wife's Volvo it's just a disclaimer screen. "blah blah blah this thing doesn't drive the car for you, we're not responsible if you crash, do you agree?" Accept/Decline

Then it works really nice. You can have it find nearby restaurants, gas stations, and roadside attractions. The only downside of it is the DVD player is in the glove box taking up a lot of room.

 

[jamesave]

Does the portable GPS makes thieves break into the car more than the built in ones?

 

[daniel1113]

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin

Originally posted by: PhoenixOrion
no car picked yet....but will narrow it to either lexus, acura or infiniti.

I have a TL and the NAVI is one of the best out there. I would recommend going to the dealership and asking the sales monkey to let you play with the NAVI units during a test drive.

Seconded.

I've used quite a few nav systems, both factory installed and after market, and the Honda/Acura system is easily one of the best. It is definitely the best of the factory installed systems.

Great interface, easy to use, clear directions, and can be used at any time, not just when the car is in park.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: jamesave
Does the portable GPS makes thieves break into the car more than the built in ones?

I guess of all the things I could steal, a device that's sole purpose is to tell you exactly where you are would probably be at the bottom of list.

 

[jtvang125]

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Originally posted by: jamesave
Does the portable GPS makes thieves break into the car more than the built in ones?

I guess of all the things I could steal, a device that's sole purpose is to tell you exactly where you are would probably be at the bottom of list.

You're not thinking like a thief. Here's what probably going on in the mind of one:

1. Is it an easy target? (Smash and grab)
2. Is it easy to sell? (On the street or in a pawn shop)
3. Is there a demand for it?

Most people mount their units on the left side by the pillar or in the center of the dash. Very easy places to get to by just smashing the window. A unit installed in the dash takes a lot more work to remove so the risks of getting caught is greater. But if they really want it they will get it.