Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm blue in
the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on NewEgg, any
suggestions for competitors?

Thanks

Mike wrote:
Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm blue in
the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on NewEgg, any
suggestions for competitors?

Thanks





I have a Magellan, TomTom, internal GPS on my Smartphone (works great
because it will download the google maps satellite image as a layer) and
an external USB GPS on my notebook.

You didn't say what the intended use might so I will assume auto
navigation. I like the current TomTom products. I would look at one of
the TomTom 4.5" XL series (maybe a 340).

"Mike" wrote in message
...
Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm blue in
the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on NewEgg, any
suggestions for competitors?

Thanks

Let me tell you everything you need to know about GPSs. It all depends on
the use. For one that is bulletproof, for just hiking, the Garmin XL12 is
so good, one is in every USAF survival pack. A TomTom is good for driving,
and I have one. The smallest one, but it really helps for what I use it
for, and that's locating properties for real estate surveys. The better
ones have all the bells and whistles and a bigger screen. The bigger more
expensive ones have cds and computer interfaces so that it is really helpful
when driving or motorhoming. They all have touch screen navigation, and
some are more user friendly. There is a gps newsgroup, too, and you might
want to lurk there and post. Don't let the knowitalls and snobs rattle your
tree, though, as they will try.

It all depends on the use. I have two of the Garmin 12xl's, and I use them
for navigating around for atv'ing, rockhounding, geocaching, etc. About
$125 each. My TomTom was a gift, and it cost the giver $100. They go from
there, and get up in the $400 range for one with all the bells and whistles.
I wouldn't have one of the more expensive ones, but you are not me. Again,
asses the use, then buy accordingly. One that is complicated and hard to
use is no fun when you just want to get back to the same place you found a
nice rock, or find the trail again.

Steve

On Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:08:11 -0400, "Mike" wrote:

Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm blue in
the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on NewEgg, any
suggestions for competitors?

Thanks



My personal experience and opinion is that there is not much
difference between the units. They all start with the same data, and
they all have more than sufficent accuracy. The differences are in
the interface and size and price of the unit. I like mine that has
voice anouncements of the upcomming street names and instructions.

"George" wrote in message
...
Mike wrote:
Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm blue
in the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on NewEgg, any
suggestions for competitors?

Thanks





I have a Magellan, TomTom, internal GPS on my Smartphone (works great
because it will download the google maps satellite image as a layer) and
an external USB GPS on my notebook.

You didn't say what the intended use might so I will assume auto
navigation. I like the current TomTom products. I would look at one of the
TomTom 4.5" XL series (maybe a 340).

ditto on the Magellan. Used it to get to NYC and back to TX. Only got lost
once in DC because it sent us to the opposite side of town.

Mike wrote:
Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm blue in
the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on NewEgg, any
suggestions for competitors?

Thanks


What's best for you really depends on intended use. e.g. for driving
navigation there are plenty to choose from, there are some that can also
be used for hiking, biking, boating, etc. and a lot of what you are
paying for are the maps (don't believe me? check out Garmin's site -
buying a map that your unit isn't loaded with costs about half as much
as the unit itself) so it pays to get what you need up front. Also
updates are good - I recently bought a Garmin and it was useless until I
took advantage of my "free" map update. Haven't had to go outside my
sphere of influence since updating so can't say how out of date the
"current" maps are. Took about 4 hrs. on a 56K connection to do
everything. I also downloaded an enforcement camera database as well so
it can warn me when Big Brother is watching (I live just outside of DC,
there's both speed and red light cameras all over the place. That also
explains somewhat why an out of date map isn't much use to me - there's
tons of construction projects going on around here and all the way out
into Loudoun County...)

But short answer, if we knew what you were going to be using it for, we
might be able to give you better advice. Me, I got a Garmin nuvi 500,
which is pretty much an all-around compromise - it's mostly driving
centric, but doesn't have spoken street names and has a smaller screen
than some other models. It's waterproof, but only has a rough topo map
and no marine charts. It costs about the same as a better unit for
driving only. So if your priorities are different than mine you might
be disappointed with the unit I bought... (and who knows if I even
bought the exact best unit for me.)

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

on 8/24/2009 8:08 PM (ET) Mike wrote the following:
Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm blue in
the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on NewEgg, any
suggestions for competitors?

Thanks


I have had, and still have Garmins for automobile use.
If your someone has a cell phone, get one with Bluetooth capability.


--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

"Mike" wrote in message
...
Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm blue in
the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on NewEgg, any
suggestions for competitors?

Thanks


I have a Garmin Nuvi 350. It does what I ask of it.
I have little experience with other brands, but they all seem to have
comparable features in a given price range, they all use the same satellites
and most use the same maps.

GPS is reliable and mine gets me where I want to go. Keep in mind though,
it does not always know the "best" route. Computers have their little
quirks and it will pick the route you requested, say shortest, but that may
take you ways you would prefer not to travel. They don't know traffic
conditions, rush our tie ups and so forth. As a forinstance, I'm in
northeast CT and if I plug in a destination around New Jersey or
Philadelphia, it will route me down rt. 95 and across the George Washington
Bridge. I'd rather go route 84 and the Tappan Zee Bridge. Having traveled
those routes for 30 years, I don't even turn the GPS on until I'm close to
an unknown area for my destination. It is very hand looking for those city
streets.

Handy as they are, you still have to look out the window to drive to where
you want to go.

On Aug 24, 8:46*pm, wrote:
On Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:08:11 -0400, "Mike" wrote:
Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm blue in
the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on NewEgg, any
suggestions for competitors?

Thanks

* * * * My personal experience and opinion is that there is not much
difference between the units. *They all start with the same data, and
they all have more than sufficent accuracy. *The differences are in
the interface and size and price of the unit. *I like mine that has
voice anouncements of the upcomming street names and instructions.

My personal experience and opinion is that there is not much
difference between the units.

Don't take this the wrong way, but your personal experience must be
very limited.

They all start with the same data...

I disagree, but I guess that depends on what you are calling "data".
For example, Garmin uses NavTeq maps and Tom-Tom uses Tele-Atlas.
While both contain a number of (different) errors, there are definite
differences in the maps and the algorithms used to plan routes.

...and they all have more than sufficent (sic) accuracy

I guess that depends on your definition of "sufficient accuracy"

I once ran a Magellan and a Garmin side by side and the Magellan sent
me the wrong way at 2 different highway junctions near my house. As
soon as I followed the incorrect directions, the unit immediately
recalculated and routed me in a big loop to get back to where the
Garmin told me to go in the first place. If going a few miles (or
more) out of the way on the wrong highway is what you'd call
"sufficient accuracy" then that's OK for you...but not for me. Imagine
being routed into in-bound rush hour traffic when you wanted to go
away from the city and having to sit in the traffic just so you could
loop around to get back to where you belonged.

The differences are in the interface and size and price of the
unit.

And features like MP3 players and FM Traffic receivers and the number
of VIA points and Text-To-Speech and the ability to learn routes and
the ability to download pre-planned routes (i.e. your own tours) from
the internet and the ease of adding custom waypoint files and I could
go on and on.

The difference in features and accuracy cover as wide a range as the
price range from very affordable to way above my budget.

On Aug 24, 8:58*pm, "Master Betty" wrote:
"George" wrote in message

...



Mike wrote:
Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm blue
in the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on NewEgg, any
suggestions for competitors?

Thanks

I have a Magellan, TomTom, internal GPS on my Smartphone (works great
because it will download the google maps satellite image as a layer) and
an external USB GPS on my notebook.

You didn't say what the intended use might so I will assume auto
navigation. I like the current TomTom products. I would look at one of the
TomTom 4.5" XL series (maybe a 340).

ditto on the Magellan. Used it to get to NYC and back to TX. Only got lost
once in DC because it sent us to the opposite side of town.

See my previous post where I mentioned that I ran a Magellan and
Garmin side by side. The Magellan sent me the wrong way at 2 different
highway junctions near my house while the Garmin sent me the right way
both times.

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...
Mike wrote:
Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm blue
in the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on NewEgg, any
suggestions for competitors?

Thanks


What's best for you really depends on intended use. e.g. for driving
navigation there are plenty to choose from, there are some that can also
be used for hiking, biking, boating, etc. and a lot of what you are paying
for are the maps (don't believe me? check out Garmin's site - buying a
map that your unit isn't loaded with costs about half as much as the unit
itself) so it pays to get what you need up front. Also updates are good -
I recently bought a Garmin and it was useless until I took advantage of my
"free" map update. Haven't had to go outside my sphere of influence since
updating so can't say how out of date the "current" maps are. Took about
4 hrs. on a 56K connection to do everything. I also downloaded an
enforcement camera database as well so it can warn me when Big Brother is
watching (I live just outside of DC, there's both speed and red light
cameras all over the place. That also explains somewhat why an out of
date map isn't much use to me - there's tons of construction projects
going on around here and all the way out into Loudoun County...)

But short answer, if we knew what you were going to be using it for, we
might be able to give you better advice. Me, I got a Garmin nuvi 500,
which is pretty much an all-around compromise - it's mostly driving
centric, but doesn't have spoken street names and has a smaller screen
than some other models. It's waterproof, but only has a rough topo map
and no marine charts. It costs about the same as a better unit for
driving only. So if your priorities are different than mine you might be
disappointed with the unit I bought... (and who knows if I even bought
the exact best unit for me.)

nate

My Garmin 12xl's rattle around on an atv for hundreds of miles, get left out
in the sun and rain, and so far, so good. Not so sure how other units would
have done, but these have sat in rain, snow, and 115 degree heat and didn't
squawk.

Steve

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...

But short answer, if we knew what you were going to be using it for, we
might be able to give you better advice. Me, I got a Garmin nuvi 500,
which is pretty much an all-around compromise - it's mostly driving
centric, but doesn't have spoken street names and has a smaller screen
than some other models.

This is the one I'm looking at. It will be used for driving.
http://www.newegg.com:80/Product/Pro...82E16858108329

On Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:43:47 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski"
wrote:


"Mike" wrote in message
...
Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm blue in
the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on NewEgg, any
suggestions for competitors?

Thanks


I have a Garmin Nuvi 350. It does what I ask of it.
I have little experience with other brands, but they all seem to have
comparable features in a given price range, they all use the same satellites
and most use the same maps.

GPS is reliable and mine gets me where I want to go. Keep in mind though,
it does not always know the "best" route. Computers have their little
quirks and it will pick the route you requested, say shortest, but that may
take you ways you would prefer not to travel. They don't know traffic
conditions, rush our tie ups and so forth. As a forinstance, I'm in
northeast CT and if I plug in a destination around New Jersey or
Philadelphia, it will route me down rt. 95 and across the George Washington
Bridge. I'd rather go route 84 and the Tappan Zee Bridge. Having traveled
those routes for 30 years, I don't even turn the GPS on until I'm close to
an unknown area for my destination. It is very hand looking for those city
streets.

Handy as they are, you still have to look out the window to drive to where
you want to go.



Let me add that with my two Garmin C340's I like the fact that if I
drive differently than the prescribed route, within a 100 feet or so
the unit will recalculate a new route and 9 out of 10 times it will be
my preferred route.

On long routes, such as taking 84 to the Tappan zee, I would put in my
final destination and then a waypoint such as the intersection of I84
and the Garden State Parkway which will cause the unit to redirect the
primary way I wish to travel.

Most responders are correct, most are similar so try to find a store
that has multiple brands, powered on and let you play with them.

Good luck

"Mike" wrote in message
...

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...

But short answer, if we knew what you were going to be using it for, we
might be able to give you better advice. Me, I got a Garmin nuvi 500,
which is pretty much an all-around compromise - it's mostly driving
centric, but doesn't have spoken street names and has a smaller screen
than some other models.

This is the one I'm looking at. It will be used for driving.
http://www.newegg.com:80/Product/Pro...82E16858108329

Good product name. Good price. It will do more than the average owner can
learn how to make it do the first year. Nice wide screen. I'd buy it.
Don't overthink this. This gps is like a computer. It will do more than
the average user can make it do.

Steve

On Aug 24, 10:27*pm, "Mike" wrote:
"Nate Nagel" wrote in message

...

But short answer, if we knew what you were going to be using it for, we
might be able to give you better advice. *Me, I got a Garmin nuvi 500,
which is pretty much an all-around compromise - it's mostly driving
centric, but doesn't have spoken street names and has a smaller screen
than some other models.

This is the one I'm looking at. It will be used for driving.http://www.newegg.com:80/Product/Pro...82E16858108329

Consider buying your unit on eBay (the 264WT appears to be available
for cheaper than at NewEgg) but know this:

1 - Keep in mind that these will probably be refurbished models, but
will come with the same Garmin-backed warranty that Garmin offers on
it's new units. If it's eligible for a map upgrade when you register
it with Garmin, you'll get it.

2 - Before purchasing, contact the seller and ask if they will supply
a non-eBay receipt with the unit. Garmin specifically states that they
will not honor warranties for units purchased at auction sites, but if
you have a receipt from the seller's store, you'll be fine.

I've purchased 3 Garmins in this manner, received map upgrades on all
3 (within 30 days) and even returned one under warranty for exchange.
They never asked for a receipt, but I had them ready if required.

"Mike" wrote in message
...
Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm blue in
the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on NewEgg, any
suggestions for competitors?


I have a Garmin nuvi 205w and like it a lot. Very easy to figure out without
a manual. Whatever make or model you get, get a widescreen unit. The
square screen units are disappearing from the scene anyhow, much like it's
difficult to find a square-screen TV anymore.

Mike wrote:
Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm
blue in the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on
NewEgg, any suggestions for competitors?

It depends upon what they are going to use it for.

Personally, I have the cheapest Garmin they sold at the time (a couple of
years ago), the eTrex H (high sensitivity). It was a hundred bucks, and the
high sensitivity lets me get a signal inside of my house (or out in the
woods in the trees.

About the only thing I use it for is finding waypoints; I mark them on my
TOPO software, then download them to the unit. When I'm out in the field,
the unit leads me to where the places I want to go are.

It makes a neat addition to map and compass, especially useful when I am too
lazy/tired/exhausted to navigate by map and compass alone. Lets me cover
more ground that way, in some circumstances.

It will never replace map and compass, but it's a nice adjunct.

Jon

DerbyDad03 wrote in
:

snip
See my previous post where I mentioned that I ran a Magellan and
Garmin side by side. The Magellan sent me the wrong way at 2 different
highway junctions near my house while the Garmin sent me the right way
both times.

That is a software problem. The on-line versions of several mapping
programs directed you the wrong way along a one-way street near me for the
longest time. I think it has now been corrected. These are the problems
that a /human/ has to notice and figure out, as stated in all the notices
and caveats.

But indeed, if one system does this in places that are crucial to YOU, by
all means use another system.

--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid

Mike wrote:
"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...

But short answer, if we knew what you were going to be using it for, we
might be able to give you better advice. Me, I got a Garmin nuvi 500,
which is pretty much an all-around compromise - it's mostly driving
centric, but doesn't have spoken street names and has a smaller screen
than some other models.

This is the one I'm looking at. It will be used for driving.
http://www.newegg.com:80/Product/Pro...82E16858108329



I think the TomTom has better prompting when it is giving directions.
Two friends have different Garmin Nuvis and I don't care for the
display. One day I was with my friend and neither of us could understand
the turn instructions it was giving in a city area and he uses the thing
every day.

RobertPatrick wrote:
"Mike" wrote in
:

Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm
blue in the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on
NewEgg, any suggestions for competitors?

Thanks


New Egg is a good site. I bought my Garmin from
http://www.tigerdirect.com/ .

I got the Garmin nuvi 360. I think it's discontinued now. Two years ago I
was stupid enough to pay $700+ for a TomTom. As soon as the warranty ran
out, the unit died. Will never buy a TomTom again.

They all have comparable prices. One failure is a pretty small
statistical sample size.

On Aug 24, 7:08*pm, "Mike" wrote:
Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm blue in
the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on NewEgg, any
suggestions for competitors?

Thanks

I used other ppl's Garmins (about 3) and then was given a Magellan
1400.
The difference is satellite acusition...the Garmins are super slow.
I also prefer the features on the Magellan.

bob_v

DerbyDad03 wrote:

I've been reading your comments in this thread- and paid minimal
attention to your experience with different models of these things.

But this sold me- If I ever take the plunge, I'm gettin' me a Nuvi.g

-snip-
I have a utility that allows me to change the things that my Nuvi
says.

Some examples...

"Make a U-turn" is now "Turn Around, Fool." (as per Mr. T)
"Recalculating" is now "Lost Again!"
"Arriving at ..." is now "Yahoo! You made it to..."

Does it also have user-changeable databases? I've looked at these
things off and on for a few years. But I travel so little & enjoy
being lost so much, and enjoy maps more than the average bear. . . so
I keep putting it off.

One of the great features I read about one of them was user-groups,
where folks could share databases. So if I was coming to your
neck-of-the-woods you could hook me up with all the points of
interest, shortcuts, work-zones & eateries better than some huge
database updated by the beaurocracy.

Jim

DerbyDad03 wrote:


-snip-
One of the "features" of the Nuvi line is (it is suspected) that it
will try to place your destination on the right and/or route you via
routes that make more rights than left. Rumor has it that this is
because rights use less gas than sitting while waiting to make a left.

As I said...rumor has it.

Rights are safer. UPS does the same thing.

Jim

Jim Elbrecht wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:

I've been reading your comments in this thread- and paid minimal
attention to your experience with different models of these things.

But this sold me- If I ever take the plunge, I'm gettin' me a Nuvi.g

Doable with others including stuff like changing male/female voices,
accents and using voices such as Homer Simpson etc.


-snip-
I have a utility that allows me to change the things that my Nuvi
says.

Some examples...

"Make a U-turn" is now "Turn Around, Fool." (as per Mr. T)
"Recalculating" is now "Lost Again!"
"Arriving at ..." is now "Yahoo! You made it to..."

Does it also have user-changeable databases? I've looked at these
things off and on for a few years. But I travel so little & enjoy
being lost so much, and enjoy maps more than the average bear. . . so
I keep putting it off.

One of the great features I read about one of them was user-groups,
where folks could share databases. So if I was coming to your
neck-of-the-woods you could hook me up with all the points of
interest, shortcuts, work-zones & eateries better than some huge
database updated by the beaurocracy.

Jim

Mike wrote:
Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm blue in
the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on NewEgg, any
suggestions for competitors?

Thanks






garmin. Nuvi series.

stick with the best.

On Aug 25, 8:29*am, George wrote:
Jim Elbrecht wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:

I've been reading your comments in this thread- and paid minimal
attention to your experience with different models of these things.

But this sold me- If I ever take the plunge, I'm gettin' me a Nuvi.g

Doable with others including stuff like changing male/female voices,
accents and using voices such as Homer Simpson etc.





-snip-
I have a utility that allows me to change the things that my Nuvi
says.

Some examples...

"Make a U-turn" is now "Turn Around, Fool." (as per Mr. T)
"Recalculating" is now "Lost Again!"
"Arriving at ..." is now "Yahoo! You made it to..."

Does it also have user-changeable databases? * I've looked at these
things off and on for a few years. * But I travel so little & enjoy
being lost so much, and enjoy maps more than the average bear. . . so
I keep putting it off. * *

One of the great features I read about one of them was user-groups,
where folks could share databases. * So if I was coming to your
neck-of-the-woods you could hook me up with all the points of
interest, shortcuts, work-zones & eateries better than some huge
database updated by the beaurocracy.

Jim- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

"Doable with others including stuff like changing male/female
voices, accents and using voices such as Homer Simpson etc.

The changing of voices and accents is typical of just about all brands
and models.

As far as changing the things that these voices say, I can't speak for
anything other than the Nuvi line, but the utility I speak of was
custom written by a Nuvi owner. It is *not* a Garmin supported
"feature".

The user has to access the Garmin via the USB port, edit a text file
within the Garmin and save the changes back out to the unit.

On Aug 25, 7:41*am, Bob Villa wrote:
On Aug 24, 7:08*pm, "Mike" wrote:

Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm blue in
the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on NewEgg, any
suggestions for competitors?

Thanks

I used other ppl's Garmins (about 3) and then was given a Magellan
1400.
The difference is satellite acusition...the Garmins are super slow.
I also prefer the features on the Magellan.

bob_v

Acquisition times for the Garmin Nuvi line can vary from instantaneous
to "Heck, I could have been there already!" I can't speak for other
units.

It all depends on how long the unit has been off or how far you've
moved since the last power down.

If the unit has been off for more than 4 hours, it assumes the stored
satellite data is stale and starts from scratch. The same thing can
happen if you move more than a few miles from where you powered the
unit down, although that is not as clear cut. These acquisitions time
can be upwards of 2 minutes.

The longest acquisition times usually occur when both of the above
conditions are true *and* you are moving at the same time. These times
can be excruciatingly long.

If I have absolutely no clue where I'm going and know that the unit
will take a while to acquire the satellites, I'll pull over or not
leave the parking lot until the unit is ready. There's no sense in
driving around while extending the acquisition time, only to find I've
been going in the wrong direction.

"RobertPatrick" wrote in message
...
"Mike" wrote in
:

Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm
blue in the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on
NewEgg, any suggestions for competitors?

Thanks


New Egg is a good site. I bought my Garmin from
http://www.tigerdirect.com/ .

I got the Garmin nuvi 360. I think it's discontinued now. Two years ago
I
was stupid enough to pay $700+ for a TomTom. As soon as the warranty ran
out, the unit died. Will never buy a TomTom again.

Man, you WERE stupid! Units all over the place for half that. What
motivated you to buy a $700 unit? Mine was a gift at $100, and their
smallest unit. I'd buy another in a second if this one dies, and I'll just
skip it like a stone at the lake and not feel bad.

Steve

"Steve Barker" wrote in message
...
Mike wrote:
Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm blue
in the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on NewEgg, any
suggestions for competitors?

Thanks






garmin. Nuvi series.

stick with the best.

I'm seeing a pattern here ..................

On Aug 25, 7:35*am, George wrote:
RobertPatrick wrote:
"Mike" wrote in
:

Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm
blue in the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on
NewEgg, any suggestions for competitors?

Thanks

New Egg is a good site. *I bought my Garmin from
http://www.tigerdirect.com/*.

I got the Garmin nuvi 360. *I think it's discontinued now. *Two years ago I
was stupid enough to pay $700+ for a TomTom. *As soon as the warranty ran
out, the unit died. *Will never buy a TomTom again.

They all have comparable prices. One failure is a pretty small
statistical sample size.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

They all have comparable prices.

Huh? GPS prices range from under $100 to over $5,000.

How does that range fit "They all have comparable prices"?

On Aug 25, 7:34*am, George wrote:
Mike wrote:
"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...

But short answer, if we knew what you were going to be using it for, we
might be able to give you better advice. *Me, I got a Garmin nuvi 500,
which is pretty much an all-around compromise - it's mostly driving
centric, but doesn't have spoken street names and has a smaller screen
than some other models.

This is the one I'm looking at. It will be used for driving.
http://www.newegg.com:80/Product/Pro...82E16858108329

I think the TomTom has better prompting when it is giving directions.
Two friends have different Garmin Nuvis and I don't care for the
display. One day I was with my friend and neither of us could understand
the turn instructions it was giving in a city area and he uses the thing
every day.

Did you try the TomTom in the same location?

It's not fair to slam one brand unless you know how the other brand
would have handled the same situation.

"SteveB" wrote in message
...

"Mike" wrote in message
...

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...

But short answer, if we knew what you were going to be using it for, we
might be able to give you better advice. Me, I got a Garmin nuvi 500,
which is pretty much an all-around compromise - it's mostly driving
centric, but doesn't have spoken street names and has a smaller screen
than some other models.

This is the one I'm looking at. It will be used for driving.
http://www.newegg.com:80/Product/Pro...82E16858108329

Good product name. Good price. It will do more than the average owner
can learn how to make it do the first year. Nice wide screen. I'd buy
it. Don't overthink this. This gps is like a computer. It will do more
than the average user can make it do.


Yeah, when you over think it, the price goes up $20. Damn, went to order
just now, its up $20 since yesterday.

"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
...
On Aug 25, 7:35 am, George wrote:
RobertPatrick wrote:
"Mike" wrote in
:

Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm
blue in the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on
NewEgg, any suggestions for competitors?

Thanks

New Egg is a good site. I bought my Garmin from
http://www.tigerdirect.com/ .

I got the Garmin nuvi 360. I think it's discontinued now. Two years ago
I
was stupid enough to pay $700+ for a TomTom. As soon as the warranty ran
out, the unit died. Will never buy a TomTom again.

They all have comparable prices. One failure is a pretty small
statistical sample size.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

They all have comparable prices.

Huh? GPS prices range from under $100 to over $5,000.

How does that range fit "They all have comparable prices"?

reply: They're all quoted in US $ ?

"Mike" wrote in message
...

"SteveB" wrote in message
...

"Mike" wrote in message
...

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...

But short answer, if we knew what you were going to be using it for, we
might be able to give you better advice. Me, I got a Garmin nuvi 500,
which is pretty much an all-around compromise - it's mostly driving
centric, but doesn't have spoken street names and has a smaller screen
than some other models.

This is the one I'm looking at. It will be used for driving.
http://www.newegg.com:80/Product/Pro...82E16858108329

Good product name. Good price. It will do more than the average owner
can learn how to make it do the first year. Nice wide screen. I'd buy
it. Don't overthink this. This gps is like a computer. It will do more
than the average user can make it do.


Yeah, when you over think it, the price goes up $20. Damn, went to order
just now, its up $20 since yesterday.

I saw them at Costco. Might check around locally and get a deal.

Steve

DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Aug 25, 8:29 am, George wrote:
Jim Elbrecht wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:
I've been reading your comments in this thread- and paid minimal
attention to your experience with different models of these things.

But this sold me- If I ever take the plunge, I'm gettin' me a Nuvi.g

Doable with others including stuff like changing male/female voices,
accents and using voices such as Homer Simpson etc.





-snip-
I have a utility that allows me to change the things that my Nuvi
says.
Some examples...
"Make a U-turn" is now "Turn Around, Fool." (as per Mr. T)
"Recalculating" is now "Lost Again!"
"Arriving at ..." is now "Yahoo! You made it to..."
Does it also have user-changeable databases? I've looked at these
things off and on for a few years. But I travel so little & enjoy
being lost so much, and enjoy maps more than the average bear. . . so
I keep putting it off.
One of the great features I read about one of them was user-groups,
where folks could share databases. So if I was coming to your
neck-of-the-woods you could hook me up with all the points of
interest, shortcuts, work-zones & eateries better than some huge
database updated by the beaurocracy.
Jim- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -

"Doable with others including stuff like changing male/female
voices, accents and using voices such as Homer Simpson etc.

The changing of voices and accents is typical of just about all brands
and models.

As far as changing the things that these voices say, I can't speak for
anything other than the Nuvi line, but the utility I speak of was
custom written by a Nuvi owner. It is *not* a Garmin supported
"feature".

The user has to access the Garmin via the USB port, edit a text file
within the Garmin and save the changes back out to the unit.

There seems to be a community of enthusiasts around any device that is
hackable. It isn't any big challenge to mount a filesystem and then edit
a text file. Flashing different ROM images etc can be somewhat more
tricky. The TomTom is Linux based so you can change the UI or even add
little programs you might write.

DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Aug 25, 7:34 am, George wrote:
Mike wrote:
"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...
But short answer, if we knew what you were going to be using it for, we
might be able to give you better advice. Me, I got a Garmin nuvi 500,
which is pretty much an all-around compromise - it's mostly driving
centric, but doesn't have spoken street names and has a smaller screen
than some other models.
This is the one I'm looking at. It will be used for driving.
http://www.newegg.com:80/Product/Pro...82E16858108329
I think the TomTom has better prompting when it is giving directions.
Two friends have different Garmin Nuvis and I don't care for the
display. One day I was with my friend and neither of us could understand
the turn instructions it was giving in a city area and he uses the thing
every day.

Did you try the TomTom in the same location?

It's not fair to slam one brand unless you know how the other brand
would have handled the same situation.

I did. And at multiple locations. I have been using GPSs since when they
only gave you Lat/Long. TomTom used to be the AOL of GPSs as far as
their UI. They moved away from that and have been making good stuff for
quite some time.
I just think the UI especially for prompts is well done in TomTom.

DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Aug 25, 7:35 am, George wrote:
RobertPatrick wrote:
"Mike" wrote in
:
Do you own one, if so, what brand?
Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm
blue in the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on
NewEgg, any suggestions for competitors?
Thanks
New Egg is a good site. I bought my Garmin from
http://www.tigerdirect.com/ .
I got the Garmin nuvi 360. I think it's discontinued now. Two years ago I
was stupid enough to pay $700+ for a TomTom. As soon as the warranty ran
out, the unit died. Will never buy a TomTom again.
They all have comparable prices. One failure is a pretty small
statistical sample size.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

They all have comparable prices.

Huh? GPS prices range from under $100 to over $5,000.

How does that range fit "They all have comparable prices"?

Because it does? Its just like for example most standard production cars
have comparable prices feature for feature. A Ford Focus isn't priced
the same as a Lexus.

SteveB wrote:
"RobertPatrick" wrote in message
...
"Mike" wrote in
:

Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm
blue in the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on
NewEgg, any suggestions for competitors?

Thanks


New Egg is a good site. I bought my Garmin from
http://www.tigerdirect.com/ .

I got the Garmin nuvi 360. I think it's discontinued now. Two years ago
I
was stupid enough to pay $700+ for a TomTom. As soon as the warranty ran
out, the unit died. Will never buy a TomTom again.

Man, you WERE stupid! Units all over the place for half that. What
motivated you to buy a $700 unit? Mine was a gift at $100, and their
smallest unit. I'd buy another in a second if this one dies, and I'll just
skip it like a stone at the lake and not feel bad.

Steve


Likely his "two year" time frame was more than that. It wasn't that long
ago when $700 was the typical price for a GPS which had fewer features
than say a $250 unit might have now.

DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Aug 25, 7:41 am, Bob Villa wrote:
On Aug 24, 7:08 pm, "Mike" wrote:

Do you own one, if so, what brand?
Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm blue in
the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on NewEgg, any
suggestions for competitors?
Thanks
I used other ppl's Garmins (about 3) and then was given a Magellan
1400.
The difference is satellite acusition...the Garmins are super slow.
I also prefer the features on the Magellan.

bob_v

Acquisition times for the Garmin Nuvi line can vary from instantaneous
to "Heck, I could have been there already!" I can't speak for other
units.

It all depends on how long the unit has been off or how far you've
moved since the last power down.

If the unit has been off for more than 4 hours, it assumes the stored
satellite data is stale and starts from scratch. The same thing can
happen if you move more than a few miles from where you powered the
unit down, although that is not as clear cut. These acquisitions time
can be upwards of 2 minutes.

The longest acquisition times usually occur when both of the above
conditions are true *and* you are moving at the same time. These times
can be excruciatingly long.

If I have absolutely no clue where I'm going and know that the unit
will take a while to acquire the satellites, I'll pull over or not
leave the parking lot until the unit is ready. There's no sense in
driving around while extending the acquisition time, only to find I've
been going in the wrong direction.

Exactly, the data rate for the almanac is quite slow and moving only
aggravates things.

TomTom has a nice feature where you can preload about a weeks worth of
almanac data available via their management software.

On Aug 25, 11:13*am, "SteveB" wrote:
"DerbyDad03" wrote in message

...
On Aug 25, 7:35 am, George wrote:





RobertPatrick wrote:
"Mike" wrote in
:

Do you own one, if so, what brand?

Buying a gift for someone, and have been reading reviews until I'm
blue in the face. Looking to spend around $250. Been looking on
NewEgg, any suggestions for competitors?

Thanks

New Egg is a good site. I bought my Garmin from
http://www.tigerdirect.com/.

I got the Garmin nuvi 360. I think it's discontinued now. Two years ago
I
was stupid enough to pay $700+ for a TomTom. As soon as the warranty ran
out, the unit died. Will never buy a TomTom again.

They all have comparable prices. One failure is a pretty small
statistical sample size.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

They all have comparable prices.

Huh? GPS prices range from under $100 to over $5,000.

How does that range fit "They all have comparable prices"?

reply: *They're all quoted in US $ ?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

As far as I know...

http://www.bizrate.com/gps/brand--ga..._sort--6..html

Top price - close to $10K for a marine quality unit with a large
screen, DVD player, etc.

Even if you just consider the range of prices for "normal consumer
GPS's", a range of under $100 to close to a grand doesn't fit my
definition of "they all have comparable prices".

Sure, maybe if you base the price on a feature for feature comparison,
they might have comparable prices, but that blanket statement doesn't
work for the entire range of devices available.