Posted on 08/05/2008 6:47:56 PM PDT by Phantom Lord
Question for those who know. I drive around for work a good amount and am tired of using Mapquest and Google for directions. Especially since half the time they are not the best way to get somewhere, or even correct in how to get there. So I want an entry level GPS.
Being that the "evil Bush" has destroyed the economy and I am only a pay check away from being homeless according to the libs, I don't want to spend a lot.
So $150 to $200 is my range. Not a tremendous amount. But then I don't a fancy one. No real need for a gazillion points of interest, maps of Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Europe, etc...
So I am basically looking at two units right now. The Magellan 3225 at BJs for $150 and the Garmin Nuvi 200. Also for $150.
Looking at what comes and does not come with the units I see that there is no USB cable or AC adaptor included. The car charger is included if memory serves me right. And I would hope so.
So my first question is, regardless of which one I get, do I need to purchase a USB cable for the unit and an AC adaptor? If yes, why. If not, why not.
2nd, of those two, which would be preferable? Why?
Is there another unit or two I should consider in that price range?
Get the Garmin. Don’t know on these new types but I have a Garmin and a Magellan hand held. The Magellan software and techsupport suck compared to Garmin.
Garmen. Only way to go.
I love mine, and I have the entry level one.
Gonna give it a test Thursday!
I have a Garmin and like it. It should come with a computer cable and ac adapter but double check. The accessories often cost a lot.
Whatever you do, don’t buy the Alpine Blackbird.
Don't need to, but the USB cable makes it a ton easier to manage custom waypoints and also you can link your GPS to google earth after your trip to log you adventures :). Highly recommended.
Garmin Nuvi 200 is the perfect entry level GPS. Borrowed one for a trip to Lake Michigan. It performed flawlessly.
$254.86 on Amazon.
Try making friends with some retired old geezer who knows the area and just bring him along with you.
I can however tell you that I'm very pleased with mine.
I plan on buying one with the larger color screen in the near future as my eyes aren't what they used to be.
L
I have the Nuvi 200W and love it. The wide screen shows a bigger map, more icons on one screen, and makes it easier to see/read.
I chose not to pay the $60 or so extra for the text-to-speech feature. The GPS saying “Turn right” as opposed to “Turn right on Lincoln Road” isn’t a big deal. Plus, if there are roads close together and it’s not clear which one to turn on, the name of the correct road for the next turn is displayed on the screen anyway.
The Garmin interface is very intuitive, fast and easy to use.
Fletcher J
Go with the Nuvi 650 if you can swing it.
The advantage of the 650 over the 200 is ‘Text to Speech’
IOW, instead of “turn left in 500 feet” it says
” turn left on Walnut street”.
The Garmins are supposed to have superior maps and software.
Some of the data points are out of date, especially, for non-chain stores. But that's understandable.
My main complain is that you can have only one destination and only one "via point" between where you are and your destination, I would like to get a model that will plot various stops along the way. But we're not planning on getting another model soon -- the one we have has taken us all over the country by car a couple of times, and we just love it.
Consider if you will use it only in one vehicle or if you’ll need it elsewhere. I have a hand held (a Mio given as a gift) which has a bracket for in car mounting. I am more likely to use it hiking or on boats or in rental cars than in my own car so this works perfectly for my situation.
Get a Garmin Nuvi 200. I bought one at Wally World for $139.95 and I absolutely LOVE it! Great unit!
I think my Garmin is trying to kill me. Could it be she has figured out a way to contest my will? Does she really think she’d be happier without me? I don’t know, but once she sent me the wrong way on a one-way road, and another time I was trying to find my new realtor’s office and Miss Garmin told me to hang a right when I was in the middle of the Highway 59 bridge over the Brazos River.
I called the cops, but they don’t believe me. They ask how something so small and colorful could be that evil.
Real men use maps.
Magellan’s fine. That’s what I have and I don’t have any problems with it. Doesn’t have any cool features like traffic reports or weather forecasts, but it’s inexpensive and will get you from point A to point B.
check out www.epinions.com. It’s a great site and has all kinds of reviews and even links to the lowest prices around.
It looks like people like the Nuvi (I didn’t check the other one)
http://www.epinions.com/GPS_Devices/xDN_~garmin
I have the Garmin and love it. It is easy to use and gets me to my destination without problems.
funny you'd say that... last night I went to our city council meeting, and one of the speakers was some nutball talking about conspiracies, the CIA, and space aliens. Then he went off on a diatribe about how we should stop all of our foolish spending on tools (the issue last night was whether or not to allow a Lowes in our town) and get to know the old folks in town and borrow their tools instead.
They ran a test between a Garmin, Magellin, and a Tom Tom, the cheapest of the three. The Tom Tom gave the best directions, quickest and simplest to the destination, avoiding such things as going the wrong way on a 1-way street, etc that you sometimes get.
Garmin Nuvi. I didn’t know I needed one until I got it as a gift recently - it’s very handy. At Target they had the plastic “beanbag” type stand for it, which with its nonslide base is much better than sticking the holder that comes with it to the dash or windshield (yes, I have a new car I don’t want to mess up).
I have a Garmin Nuvi 200. I love it. Consumer Reports had a comparison review a few months ago and many Garmin models made the top 10.
I bought one of these and am really happy with it. It is a refurbished model, but has been very easy to use and reliable.
By the way, if you buy a Garmin Nuvi 200, it may come with 2008 maps loaded on it. If you register it, you can download the new 2009 maps ($70 value) for free.
The sandbag mounts for the GPS are better than the suction cups. The beanbag and the GPS can be hidden while you park, whereas the suction cup indicates a GPS is in the car somewhere. No sense giving the thieves a heads up.
Magellan, blows goats.... Garmin is the way to go.
I like the way the damned things holler "Turn around! Turn around!" then go in to that "Recalculating route!" routine every time you go haring off in a direction they don't like.
Isn't that akin to reading instructions?
My wife bought me a Garmin Nuvi 760 for Father’s Day, and it comes with a USB cable that is also the charger. Just make sure whatever you get has software that will tell you which street you’re going to turn on to, not just the distance until you turn. Most of the new ones do that, but it’s something to keep in mind. I know Amazon.com has a lot of good reviews from buyers on the various GPS units, so I’d read over those. As with most things, though, it just boils down to how much you’re willing to spend.
Go to Amazon.com and get the Garmin Nuvi 350. It's there for $199 and free shipping.
Or for $219 and free shipping you can get the Garmin Nuvi 260 which is a newer model.
I recommend the 350. I got one and am as happy as a pig in slop.
It rocks.
Just a thought, but I have GPS on my phone (Verizon) and it works quite well - I listen to the directions through my bluetooth earpiece. I use it as needed when I travel for work rather than buying a unit.
I bought my Mother a Garmin Street Pilot for X-Mas. It works fine and is inexpensive. The Garmin 200W looks pretty good as well and can also be found for under $200
I got the Nuvi 260 from Amazon also. I paid $208 with free shipping a few months ago. I love it. I was shocked at what I could see on the sides of where I drove. I never new so much existed. I also love that you can just search for a craving. If you want KFC.... it can find it. If you want steak, it finds that too. I have driven all over Western NY with it from Cooperstown, Binghamton, Rochester, and Buffalo. I’ve even taken it canoeing to see how fast I could paddle.
Go Garmin. And I’d go with one of the 6xx series Nuvis.
And for how to make your own custom “point of information” files, the best place on the net: http://www.poi-factory.com
Go with the Garmin Nuvi — I bought one recently and love it. Spend the extra few dollars for the sand bag dashboard mount. It’s worth it. I didn’t get a USB cable and don’t really know why I’d ever need one.
Yet it didn't help you escape.
I recently had my Nuvi in my carry on bag . Was tempted to drag it out and see how it worked in the plane.
Anyone try that?
LOL
I’m rather fond of my Tom Tom.
http://www.epinions.com/TOMTOM_ONE_XL_GB_Hard_Drive
Currently selling for under $170.
I have a tomtom XL I like how it works and I like it’s name.
Before you buy a USB cable make sure you don’t already have one from something else you already have that uses one. My external harddrive, cell phone and SD card reader all use the same USB cable as my tomtom.
I’d recommend the Garmin Nuvee 350.. available on Walmart.com for $195. And, the bean bag mount..
I just bought two for use by my group at work. We’ve all loved them SOOO much, I bought one for myself. Used it on a recent vacation trip.. and, seriously.... this has to be the best investment we EVER made. It’s SO easy to use.. It can locate stores, restaraunts, airports.. anything.
On our trip, we marked the hotel location... then, we drove anywhere we wanted, without caring about where we were. Cause, all we had to do was tell Garmin to “take us home”. It as awesome!
Oh yea... the 350 comes with everything you need.... except the bean bag... which, you don’t HAVE To have... but, it’s nice.
It also comes with 1 free map update. That took about 2 hours to download.. but, it’s VERY current.
We look for attractions and things to do in places we've never been. Like browsing the 'net for something to do on vacation.
Did you register with Garmin to get your free download of the 2009 map set yet?
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