Portable GPS Units

Subether

Hello Everyone,

I'm going to be moving to the city of Seattle within the next few months, and I've never been any good at navigating.

I'm looking into purchasing a GPS unit, something that can be used in a car (If it can be used on a bicycle as well, that would be handy). I'll mainly be using this for in town travel, but I also do quite a bit of backpacking/cycling and would love something that I could use in those hobbies as well.

I'm really not to sure what to look for as far as functionality goes, and I suppose I am mainly asking for your opinion on good brands as well as good functions to have on your gps (Translation, Currency Conversion, Expandable Memory, etc)

A friend pointed me towards Garmin and TomTom as far as brands go, looking at their models though, I could spend anything from $100-800. I'm viewing it as an investment, so spending a few hundred dollars is completely fine, but what are some of the major differences as the price goes up?

I apologize for my question being semi vague, I'm still in the "information gathering" step of this purchase, not having any previous experience with GPS and all.

So I suppose to sum it all up:
What brands are you fond of?
What functions do you believe HAVE to be there for you to be interested?
How much should I spend if I am looking to be using the device for years to come? (Not something 'top of the line', think Entry - Intermediate level)

Arrath

I picked up a nice Garmin unit for $100 this Christmas. Works like a charm, has some features I didn't expect like trip tracking (top speed, avg speed, mpg calculator) and an extensive database of places I may want to go to. Makes searching for the nearest restaurant or theater really easy.

Friends of mine also have Garmin and recommend them. My only complaint so far is that it rarely takes a while to find satellites.

EWom

I'll second Garmin, they are a good brand when it comes to all types of GPS. But really these days if you just go with a major brand you'll be set. I'm not up on the newest automobile GPS units, as I am mostly intersted in handheld outdoor/sports GPS units.

I know a lot of people like voice recognition, but I believe that's one of the more expensive features. And I know most people want Turn by Turn voice navigation which these days should be standard, I'd say that's a key feature, a GPS is worthless if you ahve to read the screen the entire time when also trying to drive in heavy traffic.

darkgrue

Third for Garmin. Thehy consistently get better reviews. I have a Nuvi 660, which is now an older model, but I've been very happy with it. While they are more expensive, the difference seems to be worthwhile.

Keep in mind that part of the TCO of a GPS unit is service costs. I think Garmin's now offering (as optional extras) lifetime subscriptions for map and traffic updates, but make sure you look into and understand what the costs are before you buy, lest you be disappointed.

Subether

Thanks for the advice everyone. That gives me at least a starting point on what to look for.

Raneados

another tip of the hat to garmin

cheap, easy to use, reliable

japan

Worth bearing in mind that Nokia smartphones do turn-by-turn GPS navigation for free (as in you don't have to pay for service or map updates).

Crashtard

I'm going to second sticking to major brands like garmin & tom-tom. I have a tom tom that I really like that I paid $100 for. In fact, it's this exact one. I've navigated VA, MI, KY, IN & IL with no problems, and the maps tend to updated for major construction zones (as long as you download the updates for them).

Taximes

japan wrote: »

Worth bearing in mind that Nokia smartphones do turn-by-turn GPS navigation for free (as in you don't have to pay for service or map updates).

Android phones as well. I recently relied solely on my Droid to navigate me to, around, and back from Florida and it worked incredibly.

illig

Most smartphones give you this functionality as well. Of you already have one with a data plan, look into downloading the required apps.

The android software is amazing in particular. You hit an icon and say "navigate to X" and it will get you there turn by turn and then show you a Google streetview of the destination!

That said, smartphones are generally limited to areas that have data

japan

illig wrote: »

That said, smartphones are generally limited to areas that have data

Nokia's Ovi application lets you pre-load maps, so it works as a sat-nav even if you're in an area with no data coverage.