(car) handheld GPS unit recomendations

[lesch2k]

any recomendations for a GPS unit. i'm more concerned with one that i can use for directions in my car than i am for camping / hiking.

 

[Kaido]

Garmin Nuvi 350. The 360, 660, or 680 if you can afford it. Alternatively the Tom Tom.

 

[coomarlin]

I was going to post the exact same question. The Nuvi's look great but man are they expensive. In my case I could care less about playing MP3's and looking at pictures. What I want is a unit that has a fairly easy to use interface and a good POI database. And most importantly a reasonably good price.

I've been keeping my eyes open for a hot deal on something and would prefer to pay under $200 for one. Iv'e heard good things about both the Mio and Navman GPS's and both of them can be had for around $200. I'm a big fan of Lowrance Sonar in my boat but I've heard their entry level nav system is not that great. Circuit City sells a portable nav system by ViaMichellen for under $200 that I was able to find online for $159. I'm having a hard time finding reviews since it's relatively new but from what I've read it doesn't sound bad. Text-to-speech would be nice but that bumps the price up at least another $100 or so and I'm not willing to do that.

Anyway, hopefully you'll get some feedback on this topic that we can all use.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: coomarlin
I was going to post the exact same question. The Nuvi's look great but man are they expensive. In my case I could care less about playing MP3's and looking at pictures. What I want is a unit that has a fairly easy to use interface and a good POI database. And most importantly a reasonably good price.

I've been keeping my eyes open for a hot deal on something and would prefer to pay under $200 for one. Iv'e heard good things about both the Mio and Navman GPS's and both of them can be had for around $200. I'm a big fan of Lowrance Sonar in my boat but I've heard their entry level nav system is not that great. Circuit City sells a portable nav system by ViaMichellen for under $200 that I was able to find online for $159. I'm having a hard time finding reviews since it's relatively new but from what I've read it doesn't sound bad. Text-to-speech would be nice but that bumps the price up at least another $100 or so and I'm not willing to do that.

Anyway, hopefully you'll get some feedback on this topic that we can all use.

Again, Nuvi or TomTom is the best way to go. You can get cheaper but not necessarily better. I've used a lot of GPS systems from dedicated units to PDA units to Smartphone units to laptop PC units. If you want functional, Nuvi is the best followed by TomTom.

 

[lesch2k]

hi kaido,

thanks for your advice about the nuvi / tom tom. can you point out any of the better features / ease of use that make these better.

thanks.

 

[lesch2k]

if anyone was looking for prices the best i've found is:
$370 for the model nuvi 350
$430 for the model nuvi 360

$500 for the nuvi 660 - valid until june 11th from costco.com only.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: lesch2k
hi kaido,

thanks for your advice about the nuvi / tom tom. can you point out any of the better features / ease of use that make these better.

thanks.

The interview and the navigation systems are just awesome on the Nuvi. I would highly recommend reading as many reviews as you can find on the Nuvi. YouTube is a great place to watch video reviews as well. Here are a few to get you started:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvNKNx1hE-g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CarJ3VesiF0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N3KRUW56NQ

 

[coomarlin]

After doing more research one of the things I think I'd like to have is text-to-speech. That narrows down the units considerably. The Garmin Nuvi's have it but the Tom Tom doesn't. (unless you buy that huge TomTom910).

One of the units I've been reading a lot about is the LG LN735 which has text-to-speech and goes for under $300. Lots of good reveiws on it. LG at Circuit City

Other things I've read is that you should make sure the unit you buy has the SiRF Star III GPS receiver which is considered the best right now. Also I've read that for North America the Navec Maps are much better than the teleatlas maps which are used by TomTom.

With my budget I think I'm going to have to do without the text-to-speech and go for a sub-$200 dollar unit like the Mio. I'm also looking a unit from Roadmax called the VMAX361. It looks like it compares favoribly to the mio and other $200 GPS units. Has the SiRF Star III and Navtec maps.

 

[coomarlin]

One thing I'm not clear about concerning all of these GSP units is the map software. Can this ever be updated with more recent maps or is the unit stuck with the software that comes with it forever? I know they all offer USB connectivity so will this allow you to download updated streets or POI's?

 

[lesch2k]

garmin lets you but a whole new set of maps for about $60 so sayeth the circuit city salesman

 

[BabaBooey]

Picked up one for mom and this thing does it all and is not hundreds upon hundreds of dollars.



:thumbsup:

 

[coomarlin]

Originally posted by: bababooey
Picked up one for mom and this thing does it all and is not hundreds upon hundreds of dollars.



:thumbsup:

Yeah I was looking at it hard until I read that the 310x uses Teleatlas maps from 2005 rather than the 2007 maps that come with the Mio C220. The only real advantage I see for the 310x is that it plays mp3's and like I said earlier that is of no importance to me.

Right now for me it's between the $181 Mio c220 from Amazon and the $229 TomTom One from Dell. They have very similar features and use the same teleatlas maps. From what I've read the TomTom is slightly more refined as far as the interface is concerned but overall both are great units.

 

[lesch2k]

after a month of garmin nuvi 660 use i'm pretty happy. only problem is slow turn on / load times (20 seconds) and it would be better wiht a stylus for entering data

 

[imaroon]

Top 5 gps vehicle navigation system from GpsDock.com

1. Garmin Nuvi 350
2. Mio Digiwalker C220
3. Garmin Nuvi 660
4. Garmin Nuvi 650
5. Magellan Maestro 3100

 

[Kaido]

I just got off a 2600-mile road trip using the Garmin Nuvi 680. I have to say, I really like it. It was accurate 99% of the time. It got confused sometimes at huge highway intersections, but usually worked out as you followed the exit. It only got us lost once, but that was because a road wasn't finished being plowed that year (don't ask lol). The Bluetooth speakerphone is really loud and works well. The FM Transmitter is extremely nice. The MSN Direct feature (for getting data) is decent, but the gas prices were sometimes off - one gas station we went to was actually out business. But that's more of a fault of MSN Direct than the GPS itself. The big screen was really nice for driving and using the touchscreen controls. The suction cup mount is super strong, surprisingly. It was very intuitive to use; I never even opened up the manual. Overall it gets my recommendation!