ZeroPSI

This little piece of equipment never ceases to amaze me. I picked up a Garmin Nuvi 350 about three months ago from Cabelas for when I go out hunting. Most of the rural areas in Nebraska are not well marked, and I never know where a gas station, hotel, or restaurant may be located. This week, I had to drive out to Denver to be on a job site, at an address that isn't even established, downtown Denver. This little device gave me turn-by-turn directions to my destination, hotels in the area, estimate travel time based on my current speed, and even recommended one of the best steak houses I have ever ate at in Golden, CO.

For $300 and some change, everyone should have one.

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-17...350&category0=

stogie1020

I have nav, should I still get one?

is300eater

I think the prices been drop'd since then... for $300 right now I think you can get the a model or two above...

virtualbong

I love my Garmin Nuvi. I bring it everywhere!

ZeroPSI

I am not sure how it compares to the OEM Nav in the Acura's. I like it because its small, portable, and I am able to switch it between my vehicles with little to no hassle.

Loseit

iTrader: (1)

weren't you supposed to post op pics of this in yer 335?

JnC

iTrader: (12)

Costco has the 650 for 299, after contemplating that deal and the navigon I ended up getting the Navigon 7100 for $299 from overstock.com.

dom

Just picked up a TomTom One XL for $190 CAD. So far so good.

ZeroPSI

Maybe my 335 is still on Santa's sleigh?

zeroday

wrong zero and i'd take the time to do it if i actually thought you were going to buy a 335i

charliemike

He's thinking about it ... and taking FOREVER ... Kirstie Alley doesn't take this long to choose a cheesecake.

zeroday

yeah but Kirstie Alley doesn't choose a cheesecake, she eats all of them and decides afterwards which one was best

Jay leno takes this approach with cars..

picus

I grabbed a 720 for my wife, it puts my in car nav to shame. The thing has so many features I'm still finding them after a month. It's pretty unbelievable what ~$400 will get you considering in car NAVs are still $1500+.

is300eater

I'm really interested in the Navigon 7100... with that "Reality View" feature...

Shoofin

I have the Nuvi 660 that I use all the time, and I just picked up the 650 for my driver to use because he kept taking mine, always conveniently when I needed to use it too. I got it from Costco when they were offering it for $299 online. My 660 is still better featured, but for the price (I paid over $700 for the 660 when it first came out), it definately puts my 660 to shame..

Whiskers

I got the 520 (basically the same as the 720 but without Europe)....I like it but have some issues find stuff...

is300eater

what's the difference between the 650 and the 660?

Shoofin

Bluetooth and traffic broadcasting

zeroday

you can actually get traffic broadcasting on the 650, it just doesn't come with it.

is300eater

how's the bluetooth work as a hands free device? Is it loud enough? In June 08' the law goes into effect here and I hate wearing those BT headsets...

JnC

iTrader: (12)

I have used the nuvi 350 and recently bought a 7100 for the GS. Garmin has a better UI but that could also due to the fact that I have used garmin for a while and am not use to the Navigon UI, at least not yet. I love the reality view and also love the bluetooth, which so far has worked very well with my treo. I picked up mine from overstock.com for $399 (plus $50 paypal and $50 MIR, end cost $299). The traffic updater is free but it only works if you are within the cities that Navigon offers it in, Boston happens to be on the list.

Black Tire

yeh...from what i read on the web and what I see on TV shows like CNET. The portable Navi devices outperform all OEM Navi from car makers.

I am thinking of getting one myself...not sure which model...TOMTOM or this one.

dom

I presume you installed European maps?

Are the maps not accurate?

Whiskers

No dummy, England is not considered Europe (here at least). So mine has UK and North Ireland.

The maps are accurate, but its hard to find something (like a place - Harrods for instance)....Can't find it when you spell it...

dom

Download and install your own POI's?

I just downloaded a Tim Horton's POI

Whiskers

I could, but if it doesn't know Harrods, its pretty crappy...

dom

There are likely custom POI's out there that cover Harrods. If there is one for Tim Horton's there must be one for shops in the UK.

Loseit

iTrader: (1)

i've been waiting to see whether to order navigation or not and you're holding me up here


and...what's wrong w/ cheesecake?

picus

Weird, I didn't need to install a custom POI for Timmies; I did do a map share with someone who had theirs for awhile, so maybe it updated my POI's.

dom

But do your maps display a "Tim's" bitmap when you approach one?

To tell you the truth I haven't even searched the stock POI's for Tim's.

jlukja

Do all TomToms do that? My TomTom ONE 3rd ed manual is crappy.

dom

Not sure. Just learning about this myself. I haven't uploaded the custom POI yet. But after reading up, it appears the One XL can do it. I don't see why the One 3rd ed couldn't. I'll try and upload tonight and let you know how it goes.

And Ya, Tim's are in the stock POI's but there are a bunch missing from what I saw.

klepto

just fyi for everyone

costco.com has been having a sale on their navis. I picked up the nuvi 650 for $300 for my GF for xmas. Its pretty awesome. Lifetime warranty too so just return the damn thing for a full refund whenever

http://www.costco.com/Common/Search....=0&Ntt=gps1123

picus

Haha yes, I have the little Timmies logo when I am near one. :p

is300eater

I've been meaning to ask... how are these devices do in cities with tall buildings? And also, I don't expect them to work in parking garages, but how fast do they find signals once you exit the structure?

charliemike

Not a bad deal. If only it had Bluetoofz.

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

Nuvi 680 purchased 2 weeks ago. Good stuff. Wife relies on it.

bradykp

the only reason why the portables outperform the OEMs is because they're tweaking the features in the portables more frequently. Honda/Acura is using their NAVI is hundreds of thousdands of cars and has a production line, so they're not gonna switch it every single year.

portable navi's have changed a lot in size, display, features, etc over the years. they are nice, but i still prefer having the integrated features in my car. my mom has the garmin c330 which i got for her. we're buying my in laws the nuvi 650. so far, i still like my navi being in the car, but if i had multiple cars, the portable is probably the better choice.

Shoofin

It isn't bad...My only problem is that most of the cars I drive are a bit noisier inside, I tend to end up screaming even though I don't have to. When I did use it, it worked flawlessly, imported my phone book and everything. I do rely on my headset more though. I've been using one for the last couple of years, so I'm pretty used to the headset on my ear.