GPS suggestions

[lfgary]

I am not sure I am in the right forum but since it involves travel here we go. I am looking for a GPS navigation unit for my car. What brand and model do you use and/or what would you recommend? They are all over the map (pun intended) in price from $80 to $400.

[Mark Woods]

Get an iPhone and you'll have a lot more than a simple GPS.

[lfgary]

I have an iPhone and want much more of a system than that.

[David Beal]

Latest issue of Consumer Reports rates the Garmin Nuvi 760 as a best buy. About $250.

Safe driving.

/s/ David

[BarryS]

I have a TomTom One. It's a good basic GPS and I'm happy with it. I did a bunch of research and was comparing expensive GPS units for esoteric features, when I saw a great deal on a TomTom One refurb and bought it. No regrets, it does the job and I've used it for 2-3 years without a problem.

[Jim Cole]

I have a TomTom One XLS. It does the trick. The graphics and voice give great directions with plenty of warning about impending turns. It gets me where I'm going every single time whether in Seattle, Phoenix or San Antonio (where I've used it so far).

[bobwysiwyg]

I just received a Garmin Nuvi 255w for my B-day from my daughter and her husband. Great compared to my old one. It has a 4" screen turn by turn voice naming the roads/streets to turn on. Great improvement over my first GPS a Mio which kept abending atleast once per trip. :mad: The Garmin provides some interesting trip reports as well. Just a little tip if you get a Garmin. There are multiple "voices" to choose from. If you change it, make sure it is to one with (TTS) noted after it. These are turn-by-turn voices. Otherwise you just get, "turn right, etc." with no street name. Not well documented, I had to experiment to find it out. Oh, it was about $210-215 at Best Buy.

[oris642]

I have an iPhone and want much more of a system than that.

Actually, I downloaded the Navigon App for iPhone last week, after reading generally positive reviews. I like it, it announces turns, gives you a preview of highway signs up ahead, and has lane views to make sure you're in the right lane. On sale for $69 until August 15th (Canada & US) and, no, you don't need cellular access for it to work. The download does take about 50 minutes though (1.3 GB file) so make sure your iPhone is plugged into a power source first!

Downside: screen is obviously not as big, but surprisingly good layout of stuff on screen makes it quite readable. I'm happy.

Saves from having ANOTHER windshield mount, another power cord, another item to remove every time I get out of the car...

[rdenney]

I have played with them all. And they all work about as well as each other--the Garmin, Magellan, and TomTom.

Their differences have to do with how one enters information, and how one receives instruction. I preferred the Garmin approach, but others prefer the TomTom or the Magellan. I think, therefore, that you need to play with a couple of them to find which suits you.

Or, just buy one and get used to it.

I also have an iPhone, and I've played with that, too. It works, but the Garmin's user interface is wholly designed to function as a nav device, while the iPhone has many other duties. Also, the iPhone is in my pocket, and the Garmin is on my dashboard.

But I will look into the app mentioned for it--it might be useful to have when traveling to avoid having to bring the Garmin in my briefcase.

Rick "who also has Garmin's MobilePC installed on a car PC in his RV" Denney

[iamjanco]

Latest issue of Consumer Reports rates the Garmin Nuvi 760 as a best buy. About $250.

I've had a Garmin 770 for a year now and it's been a blessing. I was doing contractor work in CT, traveling back and forth from up near the Canadian border almost every weekend, and it found shortcuts I would never had thought of. Of course, when I bought it, it was still one of the latest models on the market, and was a lot more expensive. And even though I can deduct the cost of my unit as a business expense, I'd consider $250-- for a 760 a steal.

Though it's more or less tangential, I should add that I'm fixing to order a Garmin Colorado 400T. I'm attending an Adirondacks Waters (http://www.adkpi.org/workshops/2009/bowie_aug13.html) workshop the weekend after next, and I want to be able to retrace the routes the instructor takes us on, in case I want to drag my Norma back to some of the spots we visit for some LF fun (I use my D300 to geotag locations I think might be work another visit).

[Eric Brody]

I've had a Garmin for some time, the model is now discontinued, but as others have said, pick your brand, pick your price. Consumer Reports is unbiased and reliable. I named mine "Celeste," for her abilities with celestial navigation. She's gotten me to many wonderful places. I now have a car with GPS built in. The screen is larger, and the system is more complex, but it does no better than good old Celeste.
Good luck.
Eric

[PenGun]

I haul a laptop that has a USB GPS device and runs Google Earth. A bit big but hard to beat. You are using satellite pictures and areas with no real roads are opened up to my KLR.

It's overkill for areas where road maps work. The big screen is very nice though.

[Jim Michael]

The 800 series Garmins have speech recognition and bluetooth which enables hands free use of your phone in the car. The speech rec works pretty well for finding addresses and making phone calls. Due to inventory excess you should be able to find some pretty good deals out there.

[falth j]

Another opinion...

For the outback, and in canyon country, my son purchased a Garmin GPSMAP 60CXS which he uses extensively while photographing.

I have a Garmin Nuvi 255w, and have also used his Garmin 60cxs.

Aside from the voice features on the Nuvi 255w, I believe the 60csx to be much more accurate and useable in areas covered by trees, surrounded by hills, canyons, mountains, and tall city buildings.


The 60csx probably doesn't have some of the advanced features of the Nuvi 255w that only are available for use in about 20 selected U.S cities, but it seems to be overall more accurate, and it calculates and draws maps faster than the Nuvi.

This information might be a little dated, because of the age of the instruments, but my son just downloaded a new set of maps for his 60csx, and the results are outstanding...