GPS: please recommend simple to use, reasonably priced GPS unit

[mshan]

My dad wants a GPS unit for his car.

He's a senior, so I am looking for something simple to use and reasonably priced, but is still a quality product with good ergonomics.

 

[ultimatebob]

Let us know what your price range is, and we'll let you know which Garmin you should get

Honestly, I'd be afraid to recommend anything other than a Garmin to someone who isn't good with technology. I haven't met a person yet who's tried to figure one of those out and couldn't.

 

[cliftonite]

Get a Nuvi with text to speech.

 

[krunchykrome]

I just bought a Magellan Maestro 3100. It's very easy to use and very accurate.

My only complaints is that it only has 750K POS, and it's not text to speech.

 

[ultimatebob]

Originally posted by: cliftonite
Get a Nuvi with text to speech.

The StreetPilot C series is great as well. It depends on how much he wants to pay, though.

 

[RichUK]

tomtom one!

 

[sniperruff]

http://shop3.outpost.com/product/5211987?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

$140 shipped no tax. awesome. bought friend a c320 and i think garmin's are easy to use.

 

[mshan]

What's the lowest price range to get something quality with accurate maps, ergonomic, and touch screen?

EDIT: can you even get anything decent for a couple hundred dollars?

 

[Fritzo]

Nuvi 350. Best GPS ever.

 

[ultimatebob]

Originally posted by: sniperruff
http://shop3.outpost.com/product/5211987?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

$140 shipped no tax. awesome. bought friend a c320 and i think garmin's are easy to use.

The StreetPilot i3 is great for it's price, but it isn't quite as easy to use. You need to load maps from your PC before you can use it, and the scroll wheel is a pain to use while driving.

If you do get one of these, make sure to get the expanded memory card. If you get a Gig Transflash card with it, you can practically load the whole DVD onto it in one shot.

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: mshan
What's the lowest price range to get something quality with accurate maps, ergonomic, and touch screen?

$150 for cheaper brands
$200 for major brands (garmin, magellan)
$300+ for premium brand/model (tomtom, more expensive garmin)


personally i'd really get that $140 refurb garmin i posted above.

or about $400 for the nuvi 350

 

[ultimatebob]

Originally posted by: mshan
What's the lowest price range to get something quality with accurate maps, ergonomic, and touch screen?

EDIT: can you even get anything decent for a couple hundred dollars?

The cheapest Garmin with a touchscreen and all of the maps preloaded is the StreetPilot c330. Amazon.com has it for $270. I have one, and I like it a lot.

The Nuvi 350 adds text to speech (it says street names), and costs about $350 now. That's the one that my sister got, and she also likes it.

My parents have my old i3, so I can recommend that one as well if you want something cheap

 

[mshan]

Can you input a final destination into any of these gps and get step by step directions from start to finish?

 

[Kaido]

Tom Tom or Garmin Nuvi.

Nuvi being the better of the two.

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: mshan
Can you input a final destination into any of these gps and get step by step directions from start to finish?

that's pretty much what a GPS does

 

[RichUK]

Originally posted by: mshan
Can you input a final destination into any of these gps and get step by step directions from start to finish?

:shocked:

 

[mshan]

Another stupid question ( ):

If my dad leaves in in the car (e.g. mounted on the windshield), is it highly likely that someone will smash a window and steal it? (he's a senior citizen, so I am worried about him leaving it in the car and taking it with him and just losing it)

 

[RichUK]

Originally posted by: mshan
Another stupid question ( ):

If my dad leaves in in the car (e.g. mounted on the windshield), is it highly likely that someone will smash a window and steal it? (he's a senior citizen, so I am worried about him leaving it in the car and taking it with him and just losing it)

Are you just being a tard now?

 

[ultimatebob]

Originally posted by: mshan
Another stupid question ( ):

If my dad leaves in in the car (e.g. mounted on the windshield), is it highly likely that someone will smash a window and steal it? (he's a senior citizen, so I am worried about him leaving it in the car and taking it with him and just losing it)

If he lives in a high crime area, yes! That's one advantage to the i3... it's the size of a baseball, and really easy to remove from the windshield when you're not using it.

At $140, it's not a huge financial loss if it does get stolen either. Do your dad a favor and preload the maps for him, though.

 

[mshan]

No, that's an honest question.

He's forgetful at times, so I am worried whether if he gets one, he's just going to quickly end up with a smashed window and no gps anymore.

EDIT: with the i3, is the preloading from computer just a one time thing?

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: mshan
Another stupid question ( ):

If my dad leaves in in the car (e.g. mounted on the windshield), is it highly likely that someone will smash a window and steal it? (he's a senior citizen, so I am worried about him leaving it in the car and taking it with him and just losing it)

my friend left his gps windshield MOUNT in his car and his windshield got smashed...

DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING IN YOUR CAR... but then we live in the ghetto.

take everything off and leave them in the glove box.

 

[RichUK]

Originally posted by: mshan
No, that's an honest question.

He's forgetful at times, so I am worried whether if he gets one, he's just going to quickly end up with a smashed window and no gps anymore.

EDIT: with the i3, is the preloading from computer just a one time thing?

It doesn?t matter where you park your car, the opportunist thief won?t think twice about smashing a window to steal an easily accessible GPS unit.

I always leave my ?tomtom one? in the glove box of my car when not in use.

 

[mshan]

Thanks for the input, guys!

May I ask what best street prices for the Garmin StreetPilot C330 and Garmin Nuvi 350 are? And best places to buy?

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: mshan
Thanks for the input, guys!

May I ask what best street prices for the Garmin StreetPilot C330 and Garmin Nuvi 350 are? And best places to buy?

check out amazon.com. no tax + free ship. check out dell as well.

i believe next week the tomtom ONE will be $250. that's a decent price for a tomtom.

 

[mshan]

Yeah, I think the TomTom One is going to be $250 at Staples tomorrow.

I did a quick search and the complaint that seemed to keep popping up is that the maps aren't up to date.