Looking for a GPS unit with MP3 capability(fm transmitter)

[Andrew111]

I was about to buy the Lowrance Iway 550C as it does everything I wanted........gave me directions while playing MP3s through my car stereo using a built in FM transmitter(it cuts the music when it needs to tell you directions). Unfortunately, Lowrance decided that you could only have U.S. maps on it:-( or optionally buy from a European vendor and only have European maps.....no way to load either/or. Does anyone have any recommendations for a GPS unit that can give me directions while allowing me to play MP3s at the same time and has the ability to load maps from outside the U.S. as well?

 

[RichieZ]

Garmin Nuvi 660

 

[Andrew111]

Yowser, that ones a bit more expensive but if it does the job I may have to get it. Does it play music at the same time? I know some GPS units would only do one thing at a time....at this price it better damn well do everything, hehe. The other cheaper Garmin versions don't provide simultaneous MP3 playback I'm guessing?

 

[DanDrop]

There's VERY LONG thread about the Teletype Worldnav 3100 at slickdeals. It plays MP3 and movies. It costs about $249 for the base version. Some people love theirs, some hate it. The consensus is that, if the unit works, it works great, and if doesn't, it really sucks.

I ordered the premium version and i had issues with the screen freezing, powering up so i returned it. I've read that some people have good experience with it and the company. Teletype has pretty good support and they are trying work out the bugs by putting out firmware to resolve the issue. However, i am waiting for the Garmin NUVI 360 to go on sale at Costo on Nov. 20 ($150 off). good luck.

Link to Slickdeal discussion

 

[TuxDave]

Originally posted by: Andrew111
Yowser, that ones a bit more expensive but if it does the job I may have to get it. Does it play music at the same time? I know some GPS units would only do one thing at a time....at this price it better damn well do everything, hehe. The other cheaper Garmin versions don't provide simultaneous MP3 playback I'm guessing?

The Garmin Nuvi 360 that I have can play mp3 and it will pause a sec to give you the next set of verbal directions and then resume. Not so sure about the fm transmitter part tho

 

[Andrew111]

Originally posted by: TuxDave

Originally posted by: Andrew111
Yowser, that ones a bit more expensive but if it does the job I may have to get it. Does it play music at the same time? I know some GPS units would only do one thing at a time....at this price it better damn well do everything, hehe. The other cheaper Garmin versions don't provide simultaneous MP3 playback I'm guessing?

The Garmin Nuvi 360 that I have can play mp3 and it will pause a sec to give you the next set of verbal directions and then resume. Not so sure about the fm transmitter part tho

So you use the speaker on the Nuvi to listen to music? Is the speaker pretty decent quality for music?

 

[TuxDave]

Originally posted by: Andrew111

Originally posted by: TuxDave

Originally posted by: Andrew111
Yowser, that ones a bit more expensive but if it does the job I may have to get it. Does it play music at the same time? I know some GPS units would only do one thing at a time....at this price it better damn well do everything, hehe. The other cheaper Garmin versions don't provide simultaneous MP3 playback I'm guessing?

The Garmin Nuvi 360 that I have can play mp3 and it will pause a sec to give you the next set of verbal directions and then resume. Not so sure about the fm transmitter part tho

So you use the speaker on the Nuvi to listen to music?

Yeah. And I use it for making calls on my bluetooth phone. But for music I really just listen to the radio.

 

[Andrew111]

Ah, the TomTom GO 910 seems to do everything I want out of the box. Anyone have personal experience with TomTom GPS units?

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Andrew111
Ah, the TomTom GO 910 seems to do everything I want out of the box. Anyone have personal experience with TomTom GPS units?

Looks great but $699? Ouch. I just need a simple GPS and I think the Garmin c320 for $268 is a killer deal. Then again we probably have different needs

Here's a review of the 910
http://www.gpsmagazine.com/2006/05/tomtom_go_910_review.html

 

[Andrew111]

I decided to buy it......kinda expensive but it's actually less expensive to buy the TomTom then to get the Garmin Nuvi 350........Garmin charges $283 for the maps of Europe while the TomTom comes with the States and Europe at no extra charge. Plus the TomTom has 12GB worth of storage for MP3s, photos, etc.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Andrew111
I decided to buy it......kinda expensive but it's actually less expensive to buy the TomTom then to get the Garmin Nuvi 350........Garmin charges $283 for the maps of Europe while the TomTom comes with the States and Europe at no extra charge. Plus the TomTom has 12GB worth of storage for MP3s, photos, etc.

That's good to know. I might consider TomTom for a future GPS purchase.

 

[Andrew111]

I'm in and out of Europe a lot so I definitely needed both the States and Europe.......I don't know if I'll ever use all the options the TomTom Go 910 offers but for the overseas traveler its got the most bang for the buck it seems. I'll have to test out the cell phone integration....sounds pretty promising......no more fishing into my pocket for my cell phone while driving