Gps systems

T-bone71

T-bone71

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2007
Location
Conover
I'm in the market for a gps system, i'm looking for pro's and con's on what everybody has and any advice. Thanks
 
I have been through several, Had the Magellin Roadmate 1400 for a day, features were terrible and didn't give enough warning for up comming turns. Had two Tom Toms, don't remember the model. Liked them but they didn't last but 6 months each. Currently have the Garmin Nuvi 650. Have liked this one the best so far. The saying you get what you pay for definitly holds true in the GPS world.

fyi these are all road based systems that I have used.
 
I've got a Magellan 2500T Crossover and I love it. No complaints. It covers street navigation, trails, lakes, and ocean. Works in the Jeep on streets and trails, and I can take it in the boat as well.
 
got the garmin etrex venture cx. its a nice little handheld but i only use it in a vehicle (not hiking or anything) so i will probably sell it and get the nuvi.
 
i have the garmin streetpilot c320....its great...never steered me wrong, updates real quick when you miss a turn, etc etc....its strictly roaddriving tho....my maps are a lil over a year from being current and still havnt had any probs with it.....paid 100 for it on craigslist...best benjamin ive ever spent
 
tomtom xl and love it...the deciding factor for me was map share which means you never have to buy a map update
 
x2 on the maps - Garmin you have to pay for updates, $70 a pop(!)

Only complaint about our Nuvi 660 is that there's no way to tell it how to go somewhere (e.g. you change the route) or even give suggestions. It just picks a route and you're stuck w/ it.
sometimes i know it's taking me a bad way and I want to tell it a better way b/c it's doin gsomething stupid.
For instance, it is NOT faster to get a place in souther DC by going right through town, every light/intersection in the district.
I want an "avoid this spot like the plague" button.
 
Garmin Nuvi 770, the only one I've had so I have nothing to compare it it. Lots of bells and whistles, wife bought it while I was out of town :)

Takes awhile to find a satillite at boot up IMO, other than that no complaints. It doesn't have the "button" Dave mentions but I can re route and pick my route. It has saved my butt one time on the way back from FL with the interstate stopped, I was able to take a detour, paid for itself that one time IMO.
 
Do NOT get a Nokia 500. The biggest POS you'll ever buy and it took me about 6 weeks to get my money back. It was hard to use. The manual was 1" thick and was worthless.

I now have a TomTom GO720 and it is great. Easy to use, easy to upgrade, we really like it.
 
RatLabGuy said:
x2 on the maps - Garmin you have to pay for updates, $70 a pop(!)
Click to expand...


just a heads-up for anybody with this same complaint...

they fairly recently started a lifetime update deal...which works with all the Nuvi's and some of the StreetPilots (plus some more models, but those are the two I own, so that's when I stopped reading)...

Garmin lists it for $120...but I found it for just under $100 online...

four updates per year, for the life of the unit...but it can only be used on one unit...

it's not free...but it beats $70 for a single update...


As far as which one to buy...you also want to consider the "other" features. Mine also has bluetooth, mp3 player, external SD card slot, audio out port, and a traffic receiver...

If I'm traveling along on business, my favorite setup is to plug an FM modulator into the audio out port, and I can listen to mp3's through the radio, then it pauses the song when it's time to give me a direction, then resumes...and also pauses if a phone call comes in (uses radio speakers as speaker, and has a mic built into the front of the Garmin).

if you search used...I'd definitely recommend something with Text-to-Speech. The Garmin Streetpilot c330 was a very popular model (PepBoys, Walmart, everybody else seemed to have it), but it didn't have TTS. the c340 was the lowest model that had it. As info, a TTS model will say "turn right on Brown street", where a non-TTS says "turn right in .4 miles"...which means you have to look down at the unit to see the street name.

I have both a Garmin StreetPilot c550 and a Garmin Nuvi 360. Very satisfied with both.

Greg
 
tlucier said:
I've got a Magellan 2500T Crossover and I love it. No complaints. It covers street navigation, trails, lakes, and ocean. Works in the Jeep on streets and trails, and I can take it in the boat as well.
Click to expand...
Ive got the same one and it is great. More of an outdoors GPS than the other in car GPS's, but still has all of the good in car stuff.
 
What is the best system for mapping trails?? I want to be able to use it in the street and trail. I am going to WV this summer and want to may the path's we take.
 
bigwaylon said:
As far as which one to buy...you also want to consider the "other" features. Mine also has bluetooth, mp3 player, external SD card slot, audio out port, and a traffic receiver...
If I'm traveling along on business, my favorite setup is to plug an FM modulator into the audio out port, and I can listen to mp3's through the radio, then it pauses the song when it's time to give me a direction, then resumes...and also pauses if a phone call comes in (uses radio speakers as speaker, and has a mic built into the front of the Garmin).
Click to expand...


ok until now i have always said screw the kitchen sink in the GPS...but the cell phone through the car speakers via GPS is very interesting... can you give some info on the FM modulator you plug in? also how do you answer a call when it rings, hit the button on the cell?
 
garmin nuvi 200w is what I have. got it for 119 after thanksgiving. not bad price at all. you can select things on it, such as avoid high ways or towns. just cant pick one particular route.
 
SkihiK5, you dont have to plug in an FM modulator. Its built in to some of the nuvi models. I have it on my garmin Nuvi also. you just touch the answer button on the GPS screen to answer. It also stores mp3s right to the nav unit and plays that through the car radio.

As for the avoid that area like the plague button..... on the some of the newer nuvi models that have the msn receiver it does check traffic reports and guide you around them.
 
Has anyone ever heard of a brand called Navigon, I have heard from someone on another board that it also has maps of state and national forrest roads as well as all regular roads. Their website doesn't say that but it does say updateable. So i didn't know if anybody has one or heard of this? Thanks for the input so far.
 
Has anyone been able to map the trails at ure or other areas on their gps?
 
SkyHiK5 said:
ok until now i have always said screw the kitchen sink in the GPS...but the cell phone through the car speakers via GPS is very interesting... can you give some info on the FM modulator you plug in? also how do you answer a call when it rings, hit the button on the cell?
Click to expand...


it quite nice to have the GPS, music and phone all come through the speakers...

I can't comment on the fact that the Nuvi has a built-in one...I use the StreetPilot c550. I bought a modulator off Ebay for under $10, but you can buy them at Walmart, Best Buy, etc.

When a call comes in, the number pops up on the screen and there's an Answer button to push. Some phone will even sync (my Samsung wouldn't, and I hadn't even thought about checking my iPhone until you asked this question) their contact list so you'll get name/number caller ID.

The fact that the Garmin pauses the song, for either a direction or a phone call, rather than just muting it, is something I like.

mine isn't like this, but here's an example:

FM Modulator on Ebay

that one has an aux input (for your GPS/ipod/etc), as well as taking USB sticks or memory cards...plus, it has a remote...right now it's $9.99 w/ free shipping. :D

oh yeah...one other benefit of the bluetooth/fm modulator...when you use the directory to find a hotel/restaurant/shop/etc, and the address/phone number comes up on the screen, you can just hit Call without having to get your phone out of your holster/pocket/etc. I'm pretty sure it just had a keypad option as well, but I don't make outgoing calls on it very often.

Greg
 
bigwaylon said:
When a call comes in, the number pops up on the screen and there's an Answer button to push. Some phone will even sync (my Samsung wouldn't, and I hadn't even thought about checking my iPhone until you asked this question) their contact list so you'll get name/number caller ID.
Click to expand...

BTW...I checked my iPhone/Garmin combo today, and the contact list syncs up perfectly!! :D

Greg
 
Garmin Nuvi 660 in wife's ride...Best Buy had on sale @ Xmas
Lowrance XOG in Tow Rig...my xmas from Mom (from Cabela's)..shout out for Mom..!!!
Both work great...the Nuvi has more wifey features...stores for shopping, gas stations, restaurants, etc.
Also have an old Magellan something found scraped up on the road at an intersection...:confused:...maybe gave bad info and sumbody chucked it out...??? :shaking:
it works though...haven't used it in the car yet...
...usually... the folks on here will tell you where to go too..!!
They DO ME...:lol:
 
T-bone71 said:
I'm in the market for a gps system, i'm looking for pro's and con's on what everybody has and any advice. Thanks
Click to expand...

you ever decide on anything?

I always find it interesting to see the outcome after a variety of input...plus, it may help some others...


SkyHiK5 said:
ok until now i have always said screw the kitchen sink in the GPS...but the cell phone through the car speakers via GPS is very interesting... can you give some info on the FM modulator you plug in? also how do you answer a call when it rings, hit the button on the cell?
Click to expand...

did you give this a shot?

Greg
 
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