GPS for car

[suskyguide]

Can anyone give me some information or a review on in car GPS systems. My wife's b-day is coming up and she really wants one. I could use some opinions.

Thanks,

Mike

[frogtog]

I have the Garman and I'm very satisfied with it, bought it from Wal-Mart for around $140.00

[Wayne P.]

I have the Tom-Tom One, was on sale at Circuit City for less than $130 a couple of months ago. Very satisfied and surprised with it's accuracy. I have done two on-line updates since the purchase.

It's so easy to use that "even a cave man can do it", my wife too.

[Jake P]

Garmin Nuvi 260, and you can get it in pink if you like for the wifey. My brother bought one about 2 weeks ago and i used it to find some places. Its incredibly simple to work and you can find restaurants, stores etc. that you didn't even know existed in your city. If you find something you like, save it to your pinpoints and you have it right there for whenever you need it again.

 It tells you how many total miles you will travel and how many minutes (on a good day with not much traffic) it should take to get there. It has turn by turn voice prompts like most other Navigation systems also.

If you want to go a little cheaper, i have a buddy who owns a TomTom One 3rd edition but it doesn't have as many features as the Garmin and i have been in the truck with him when it has given us not so much wrong directions just a longer way to our destination. If you look at alot of online site you may be able to find the Garmin for a little cheaper than 300$, my brother got his for 240$. Hope that helped, good luck.

[brgbassmaster]

i have a magellan maestro the thing is awesome have drove all over the place using it and never has it gave me a wrong turn.

[RobbyZ5001]

I have worked with Magellan, TomTom, Garmin, Sony, and Mio. Personally I would either go with the Garmin or TomTom. It depends on what you prefer.

The Garmin is extremely well organized. Some of the Garmin's have more features than others. What I suggest to the basic users is text to speech and a wide screen. I personally like the Garmin 260W for the basic users . Some other models have other options such as traffic control ready, MP3, picture viewer, and bluetooth compatible. The 200 and 200W won't tell you street names, but are the cheaper models. It will say something such as turn right in .3 miles. It won't say turn right on Mill Road in .3 miles.

If you are a control freak you may be interested in the Tom Tom's. They have features such as finding POI (Point of Interest) on route, nearby, and near destination. They are faster when retrieving POI's as well. They have some features Garmin's don't have.

My suggestion is to go to the store and play around with them. Everyone has there own preference, but I sell mostly Garmin units. Like Jake_P said the Garmin's are incredibly easy to navigate. You can find find food specific restaurants such as Italian, BBQ, Asian, and etc.. You can find gas stations, recreation, bank/ATM, shopping, parking, etc.. You can search for a specific location via the name. You can  input a specific address, and hit go and it will take you there. It will tell you the ETA to the location, and it also will update while driving.

One thing I will say about all GPS units is that you need to work with them. If you know a better route, and the GPS is telling you to do something different go your route. You need to work with them, and once you are on your route the GPS will recalculate to going your route. I bought my GPS after I got lost in New York city after a Mets/Phillies game. I use it for tournaments every weekend, and I love it. I also save the launches on the GPS to find in the future.

I sell GPS and car audio equipment everyday at work. If you have any questions PM me. I have been drilled with questions from multiple customers, so like I said if you need anything PM me.

[Olebiker]

I'm a sneaky devil.  My wife wants one for her birthday which is coming up in August.  I bought it from Bass Pro Shops so I could get the reward points.

I bought her a TomTom One XL 330 based upon what a couple of friends have to say about their TomTom units.  With TomTom, you don't have to pay for updates.  They are free.

[suskyguide]

Thanks guys

[Chad.]

Garmin nuvi 350

[RobbyZ5001]

I'm a sneaky devil. My wife wants one for her birthday which is coming up in August. I bought it from Bass Pro Shops so I could get the reward points.

I bought her a TomTom One XL 330 based upon what a couple of friends have to say about their TomTom units. With TomTom, you don't have to pay for updates. They are free.

Can you show me where online where it says the map updates are free? I was almost positive that you have to pay for them. I checked on the TomTom website, and went to the maps and there is a fee. I know there is a map share option. So you and another person with a tomtom can share maps (which is free), but I don't know about free updates.

http://www.tomtom.com/support/solution.php?GID=1&PID=1679&SID=0&CID=224-227&Language=4&FID=9079

[Olebiker]

Darn, looks like I was misinformed.  

[RobbyZ5001]

From personal experience it is hard to know the ins and outs of every unit out there. There are so many units that are very similar. I am almost positive that you need to pay for updates on every make. I think the TomTom at least comes with the USB cord which costs about $29. The Garmin's don't! I also think that the TomTom updates are cheaper then the others. Either way Olebiker you have bought your wife a very nice unit!

[simplejoe]

I bought a tom tom it came with a usb cable and a password so you can update your unit but I'm very satisfied with it I even bought my crew one for the work van when they travel doing retail stores all over the country

[RobbyZ5001]

Simplejoe could you tell me about some features you like in TomTom that garmin doesn't have? This is simply for my knowledge to help me sell them. Also how does that password work? You just buy a one time password, and can update whenever you want?

[simplejoe]

I really can't tell cuz I never played with a garmin, but a guy I met on a job had a garmin and he could look up home depot and lowes on his maps and I can't. I can only look up hotels , poi ( points of intrest) malls and other stuff but no home depots and were out of town on a construction job. I find all of my other locations on it though.  I still need to update it I had it for a year and a half and never updated it, I don't know how the password works it just came in the package I thought it was for updating the unit now you got me wondering I let you know tomorrow I'll update it tonight when I get home back to my van (I brought my wife's rover today its better on gas)

[Top]

I personally like the Garmin 260W for the basic users

YES... I have this one.. I LOVE IT... we bought it the day I got into the States on my leave.. I knew I was going to be going to Orlando and didn't want to get lost... and I LOVE IT.. it tells you when to turn.. now its not fool proof... if the roads are new like they are in Orlando you still have to watch.. I missed a couple turns because I was relying on technology rather than my eyes  ;D  but for the most part... VERY VERY GOOD... I won't leave home without it... I will never be without one again...

AL

[Wayne P.]

The satellite updates are free to get quicker lockon for TomTom units. It is called "QuickGPSfix" and is recommended to be done weekly.

The first 30 days after you start using the TomTom is when you get the free map updates that take the "code" that is contained in the information sheet.