Automotive GPS

S

Soilarch

Joined
Oct 15, 2007
Messages
297
I'm looking into getting one. Never really handled any GPS stuff before. I'm looking to keep it below $200. I'd really like text-to-speech though and it's looking like that will bump it up to a $250 price mark.

I'm looking specifically at things like the
Mio Moov 200 & 300
TomTom ONE 130
Magellan Maestro 3200
Garmen Streetpilot c530


Any recommendations? I don't need Canadian or Puerto Rican maps. I really don't see myself using a traffic alert feature. (If it comes with it, yeah, I'll use it but I dont see myself paying each month for a subscription.) The feature I do think I'd like is the text-to-speech. The kicker is that Mio Moov is putting it on most its GPS BUT their search menus suck. (You can search "restuarant" but you can't search "Barbeque restuarant")



So what do you guys think and what features do you appreciate the most?
 
I recommend a refurbished from edgegps.com

I have a garmin that I use all the time.
 
Things like GPS really sorta depend on the maker. You want to have fast satellites and rerouting so as not to miss prompts to exit and such. Additionally, maps can make or break a gps, so look into that too. I have a Garmin that has served me quite well, but even it has errors at points. IMO, text to speech is really necessary to use in situations you don't know what you're doing. Otherwise, you can get confused easily. My mom had a cheap $100 Magellan, vs. my more expensive Garmin, and you could tell the difference. Other thoughts are that GPS is moving into cell phones, might not this be a better use/purchase to cut down on amounts of electronics?
Zero
 
Zero_Time said:
Other thoughts are that GPS is moving into cell phones, might not this be a better use/purchase to cut down on amounts of electronics?
Click to expand...
I got a nice Garmin unit for Christmas and then in March or April I purchased a new phone that happened to have GPS (LG Voyager). There is absolutely no comparison between the two. Maybe in a few years there will be less of a technological gap between dedicated GPS units and phone-based units, but for now I would not count on a phone as a primary GPS unit. A dedicated unit will give you a better user interface, a larger screen, and most likely faster response times.

I can operate my Garmin alone while driving. My phone, on the other hand, pretty much requires a second person as a navigator. In that regard, it can be handy in the right situation: if I'm in a buddy's car I can pull out my phone (which I always have on me, unlike the Garmin) and help us find our destination. But if I were to try it alone, I'd either have to pull over and make ample preparations or end up rear-ending someone.

It's the same way my cell phone camera will never replace a dedicated camera, but is handy when I don't have a "real" camera with me and need a quick snapshot.
 
I ended up with a garmin nuvi 260. One of the few units in my price range that would come up with a large majority of positive reviews. It has text-to-speech and Garmin's POI database...so we'll see. Alot of reviews said it's fabulous for its price-point without the bluetooth and mp3 and 'wide-screen' extras. I've got 60 days if I don't like it.
 
I got my dad a Garmin Nuvi for his birthday. I noticed that when I was shopping around, a lot of the GPS's had all sorts of superfluous stuff that's not really related to the business of getting where you need to go like MP3 players, picture viewers, even games. I found the Nuvi, which has everything he needs and nothing else. Highly recommended, just keep the damn thing plugged on all the time.
 
I have a Garmin Nuvi 350
I love it, I bought it just over two years ago. I paid double what they go for now, and I would do it all over again.
-Eric
 
Tom Tom One. My first GPS and I wanted something simple and small enough to throw in my pocket to navigate urban areas on foot. Inexpensive, easy to use, and has a certain flair due to the European origin. One caveat: it doesn't announce the street names, but tells you when/what direction. I like it a lot.
 
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