GPS

Rhino

What's a good GPS/map system for my car? Basically I want something simple (ie. cheap) that gives good directions. Doesn't have to be to fancy. Will only be used for car travel, finding my way from point A to point B.

Basically something like google maps (the 'get directions feature') in my car.

mts

i just bought a garmin nuvi 260 from frys for under 200. its isfrom their budget line but it still has text to speach (ie, tells you turn on A street in 5 ft rather than turn right 5 ft. definitely get something with TTS

so far super happy with the nuvi. it aquires the satellites pretty fast. only wish it was a touch louder.

RUNN1NGMAN

Garmin Nuvi is pretty good, Consumer Reports ranked it very highly. They are completely expandable--you can update your maps online and order new maps that come on SD cards. They also have many different models at different prices, so you only have to pay for the features you need. My wife and I have a Nuvi 260W and are very happy with it.

MichaelLC

Could RUNN1NGMAN drive to mts' place to compare the Wide vs Regular, and let everyone know which is better?

I'm asking for a Nuvi too for xMas this year - consider this another recommendation, Rhino - but can't decide if the W is worth the extra $.

mts

well i really wanted the wiescreen but wasn't willing to pay the difference. i typically of the mindset , pay extra buy once, but i have been really happy with it. unless you can get a screaming deal on the widescreen, , i would go regular screen and save some buckage. screen is nice and clear on mine.

ApexMirage

I've got a Magellan 3250 (or was it 3225?) for 159$ cdn on sale, it has TTS and an SD slot, works great. Not bashing garmin, I've never used one.

RUNN1NGMAN

MichaelLC wrote: »

Could RUNN1NGMAN drive to mts' place to compare the Wide vs Regular, and let everyone know which is better?

I'm asking for a Nuvi too for xMas this year - consider this another recommendation, Rhino - but can't decide if the W is worth the extra $.

Haha...as far as I know they are identical except the screen on the W is obviously wider. I actually don't really think it helps much because usually you just care about what's coming up in front of you, and they are the same in that regard.

Geod

I have a Garmin Nuvi 660... love it. I've always bought Garmin products for my GPS needs and never been disappointed. You probably don't need the 660 though if all you want is just to get from point A to B, but I would definitely get the text to speech like mts suggested. You can find them pretty cheap online.

Mine is widescreen, which is definitely nice, but by no means a must, especially if you're on a budget. If you're not into Garmin, TomTom I've heard are pretty good, Magellen are OK, but I never liked their handheld models. My friend actually has a TomTom model that uses the voice of John Cleese to direct him. My Garmin has a nice female Australian voice though.

Deathwing

TomTom

I have a TomTom One (3rd edition, I think) that I got as a Christmas gift last year. So far has served us well on car trips from NoVA to Ohio and Alabama and back again.

I do wish it was a little faster about updating the map if you miss a turn, and its directions about staying in the proper lane to avoid or hit a highway exit tend to be annoying or just plain unecessary....It's still a helluva lot better than a paper map though.

Transparent

The Garmin, Tomtom, and Magellin are all good GPS systems. Text to speech is a very nice feature, I'd find the cheapest one with that. I did like that the Megellin had more information like reviews and store hours in its POI database.

I ended up getting a Garmin Streetpilot C550 for myself because I didn't care that it was bigger than the Nuvis, it has a bluetooth speakerphone, and it was on sale for under $200 when I got it.

Rhino

the two I'm looking at (thanks to suggestions on this forum) are the 260 and 350 Garmin. Same screen size, but the 350 has a few more features. The odd thing is, they are both priced around $200 ?

DrFrylock

I have a Magellan 3250, which is the Costco-exclusive version of the 3225. I've found it to be pretty useful and it's not very expensive. It has text-to-speech and comes preloaded with all of Canada and the USA. The only downside is that the points-of-interest file that comes with it is only 1.3M entries. However, there is a free 1GB of space on the device and it is possible to find a 6M POI file on the Internet that can upgrade it. Searching takes a wee bit longer but it makes the unit very much more useful.

Lukin

I have a TomTom One XL... no idea what the difference between a TomTom One and the XL version is, but I'm an XL kinda guy so I thought it'd suit me better.

Anyway, it takes forfreakingever to acquire the satellites. Two forfreakingevers if you happen to turn it on in the city and want to find your way out, which amounts to much driving around aimlessly until the device tells you where you are and where you should have gone... But once it figures out where it is, it's pretty sweet. I give it a B.

ApexMirage

DrFrylock wrote: »

I have a Magellan 3250, which is the Costco-exclusive version of the 3225.

That's what I was talking about earlier. I got the new POI file but i dont have an SD card to slap in there just yet.