With the pending departure of the TSX, I'd like to pick up a NAVI to swap between vehicles. Any recommendations???

 

I love my cheapy Garmin. Wait until after Christmas, I'm sure there will be some sick deals. Right now, the $100 garmins can easily be found.

 

What's the difference in the models? Bigger screen? What else?

 

Oh, and if you like to have the streets named (ie "turn right on Oak St. vs turn right in 100 feet"), then check out the Magellan RoadMate 1412 4.3" GPS Navigation System. Bought this as a gift for $147.00 on Black Friday.

 

They have a wide screen version vs. a regular screen. Not sure why the wide screen is needed. Other models have traffic and other options. If you want the basics, they all have the same technology.

 

bigger screen, text to speech, MSN direct (traffic, movie time, weather etc.), MP3 player, FM transmitter, bluetooth, etc. But overall, $100-200 garmin nuvi's does the job. Much better than any other brands.

 

For the most part, my cheapy Garmin has been pretty good (It's either a 200W or 260W, can't remember), but lately it has been crapping out on my. It turns off by itself and many time, it will take FOREVER to find satellites. I'm not sure if the higher end models find the satellites more efficiently, but just thought I would throw that in there.

 

You basically get what you paid for, but really though, garmin gps's are best bang for the bucks. A lot easier to use for first users as well.

 

I have a Garmin Nuvi 200w (same thing Ethan got, I think)- it works well and is a good bang for the buck.

 

Anything Garmin....I like the text to speech as well, but not all of them have that feature..

 

i have a garmin street pilot c340, text to speech is awesome, but i hate how late the voice tells you to turn.
other than that the GPS is awesome.

 

What navi you can update later for some new address and new roads.??

 

I'm pretty sure most with most units... you can update for new maps for a cost... it's part of the business... they (ALL) figure since not everybody buys a new gps every year (or so) like iPods... they can still make your money somewhere... down the line

 

I have the Garmin 260W, the only time it let me down was when I wanted Burger King in some random area and there was no burger king there. I was very upset.

 

that's why a unit with higher POIs is important...

Scrib, I've been doing a lot of browsing and researching on what to buy next... I've had 2 TomTom's (navigator 5 for the Treo and 920), Garmin Nuvi 680, Sony NV-83T... I'll do a little write up...

TomTom Navigator 5 for the Treo- by for, the best bang for my buck... yeah, it's out dated, no TTS (Text-To-Speech)... but it worked GREAT, even in Vancouver B.C. But a friend of mine was messing with my Treo and F'ed up to where the actual GPS unit stopped connecting with the Treo.

With the TomTom Navigator 5 And the TomTom 920 (last year's top of the line), I love how you can browse the directions a head of time, and if there's any part of it that you don't like, you just take it out and it re-routes accordingly... with the Nuvi 680, you didn't have that feature... there was simply a "reroute" button and when you clicked on it... it'd just rerouted whatever it wanted... you don't get to choose. I HATED how the 680 didn't have a "qwerty" format keyboard layout... This might be something that you may or may not care about, but it drove me nuts... Some Garmin's have the option to change from "qwerty" to "ABC"

to find out more about Garmin products go to the link below... check off every unit interested and click on "compare" and it does a side-by-side comparison on every model you choose... I find it very helpful

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=134

They, pretty much all have TTS (again Text-To-Speech) nowadays... BUT with that said... some have very robotic like voices... and are hard to understand, pronounce street names funny, to where you have to look down at the screen to see what it's trying to say.... kinda defeats the purpose... but the truth is... you're gonna look down (or over) at it anyway...

The couple things about the Garmin Nuvi 680 that I DID like were:

VERY quick Satellite pickup time!!! It would lock on within... I'd say under 30 seconds everytime... sometimes even within 10 seconds!!!

Also, the traffic feature worked GREAT! It would automatically route you AROUND the traffic area... some GPS, will route you through the congestion but will ask you if you want to reroute due to traffic...

but things I didn't like about the Nuvi 680:

lack of "qwerty" to "ABC" keyboard option-believe it or not... it was one of the main reasons why I returned it... I know they advise you NOT to enter addresses while driving, but lets face it... how many of you actually pull over to do such task? When you're driving, and trying to enter an address, the last thing you wanna do is have to run you finger up and down a keyboard layout like "ABCD..." to find the damn correct letter. But this may or may not bother some people, it did for me...

as mentioned by someone else already about the Garmin... I would a bit on the delayed side when it announced turns and such... I also noticed too... say, I'm about to cross an intersection, and on the screen... it would show that I was about to cross... this bother the F out of me too...

I didn't cared for the cartoonish-like graphics...

Sony NV-83T-GREAT 4.8" screen... It has a "lane assistance" feature that I thought helped a lot... basically tells you want lanes to be in... in preparation for upcoming freeway interchange... This might not be a big thing in your home town, because already know what lanes to be in... but IMHO, in an unfamiliar town, this will helps a lot.

Sony's flaws.... terrible satellite pickup time... it would take up to 2 minutes to find satellites signals... and it would sometimes give really funky, irrational directions... like for example: my final destination would be on my left... I'd only have to make a left turn to get there, but it would have me go up to the next light, make a U-turn and come back... not really a big deal... but sometimes the directions were even funkier... making big loops around a community (a right turn, followed by 2 left turns), but could've gotten there with ONE left turn


bottom line: they will pretty much ALL get you from point A to point B... but some features like FM transmitter are crap IMO... well, at least here in Southern California it is... because there are sooooooooo many damn radio stations... which means, it makes it harder to find an open station to be used with the GPS... The Bluetooth feature is cool, but some don't connect well with the phone... thus making conversations difficult... if you already have a BT headset... you're better off using it instead. Bigger screens are a plus IMO, because if the screen's bigger, it makes the keyboard bigger, thus easier to enter addresses. And also the street names appear bigger, making it easier to read. POI's (Points Of Interest) important... especially in an unfamiliar town... (restaurants, banks, gas stations etc etc...).

the GPS forums I've been lurking in are:

http://www.gpslodge.com/

http://www.gpsreview.net/


the unit I'm about to pull the trigger on is the Garmin Nuvi 755T

I've heard great things about Magellan's too

 

Got a Garmin 200 and love it. Picked up a Garmin 205 for the parents on T-giving for 110. I've always heard that Garmin is the best in the portable Navi game....

 

i have a cheap garmin 200w as well. it's a good unit for the money. directions lag a little sometimes and reception is slow at certain times of the day. other than that, it is worth the small price that it comes with.

 

FTMWF!!!

Thanks!

 

I think I've pretty much decided, that even if it costs me a pretty penny, I'm gonna get nav in my next car.

 

You're getting rid of the TSX ?? Seemed like yesterday you just got rid of the G...

What's next ?

edit: Nevermind, just looked at the 3-series thread...

 

Picked up a Garmin 255W.

 

^ fck, you don't waste time. Talk about delivering!

 

Picked one up for my better half. Funny thing is, I walked in this morning and told her I was done shopping for her... She said "Did you get me a Garmin?" Little does she know...

 

Good pick up. That was what I would have recommended. I have a Nuvi 680 and I love it. It works great. I have never had any major issues with it.

 

I just got word from my dad that he got my mom a Nuvi 6 or 7 something. I'm a little jealous. All I think I remember him saying is its one of the ones with weather and tells you routes to direct you around traffic. Hell; I would just like if mine said street names.

 

Unless you travel often to a third world country, it's not likely that you'll need to update your unit very often stateside.

Its easy to get spoiled with how good the Honda sat navi units are - but the Garmin units are convenient to use when out of town rockin a rental.

 

About the updating for new maps, my oldest sister was just talking about it last night. She said it costs $70 for each new upload which they supposedly suggest once a year. This is for Garmin btw.

 

job well done...