Helpful Information On Gps Units For Cars

[trubluluc]

Guy and Gals-

I sell GPS units as part of my job description. A few things you should know before buying.

Getting one unit to do it, (hiking, driving) all sounds good in theory, but in practice it is a big compromise.

1. The use of gps is free once you have the receiver, courtesy of the government.

2. The only charges you may incur, and it is completely up to you, would be if your unit does "live traffic updating" which is a service you sign up for that will notify you if there is an accident or some other traffic impedance. You can subscribe monthly or annually for this service.

3. All gps units will work in the car, HOWEVER...not all GPS units are designed for in vehicle use. You can buy additional software to include "city street maps" for more money. Depending upon the amount of memory your unit has, you can download part or all of the country into them. If that is your plan, either get one that is PRELOADED with city maps, or get a unit with a memory card, because street maps take up alot of memory.

4. If you want one to use one in a vehicle, GET ONE THAT TALKS TO YOU. Using a unit in which you must look at the screen while driving to get directions is a recipe for disaster.
All in vehicle units are not equal. If you really want the best in navigation, you must get a unit that SAYS STREET NAMES. Having a unit that simply says turn left in 300 feet is fine when out in the country. When in a downtown situation, there may be 3 streets between you and a 300 foot distance, which leads you to wonder "which one". A unit that says street names requires better voice articulation and costs more period.

5. Bluetooth and FM transmitters.
Let's face it the speaker on any of these units is very small. And if you are alone, driving without tunes it works well. But if there is conversation in the car, tunes jamming etc. you can find yourself saying "what did it say?". Having either bluetooth or an fm transmitter allows you to play the guidance voice over your car speakers. Having Bluetooth also allows you to use the gps as a cell phone. Answer your calls and talk hands free. Which becomes mandatory Jan. 1st in California. The higher end models also include mp3 players, picture viewers etc.

6. Suggestions. I have been a Garmin devotee for several years and have at least a dozen units by them, 3 of which are in vehicle use models. They have a very intuitive interface.

BUT.........I am currently recommending TOM TOM.
They have a better overall value and have some features that garmin does not have. Including a user basemap updating and a "shareware" mentality as far as updating the database.
Their new GO920 model does ADDRESS VOICE RECOGNITION which is huge, as it is an on the fly system, allowing you to simply speak an address and the unit will take you there, as opposed to trying to type in the address while driving. It also comes with a free year subscription to "live traffic".
There are other, more geeky advantages, which you may or may not use.

For the best experience get a unit that:

1. For in the vehicle use get a unit that talks.
2. For the best system, get one that says street names.


-Luc

[trubluluc]

...and the TOMTOM unit lets you record your own voice or that of your mistress on the unit, or certain celebrities voices as well.

Imagine John Cleese of Monty Python saying, " turn left on elm street...I said left you twit".

-Luc

[dorokusai]

Great post TBL, thanks for the insider info honcho :)

Can we get your voice for personal direction?

[Kex]

Excellent post trubluluc! Two suggestions I'ld like to make about bluetooth though: to work with your car, your car has to have bluetooth also (this is becoming more common, but is still not all that widespread). Secondly, and more importantly perhaps, for cell phone usage, whilst this seems like a great idea, I actually prefer not to use GPS for this because (a) I don't always use the GPS unit, or have it in the car, and (b) a decent bluetooth headset seems like a better idea to me since it places the speaker in a more optimal position for eliminating background noise (I hear no background noise when my wife uses her Nokia BH-800, it is so good at eliminating background noise that it is impossible to tell if she is calling from her car or from her office). YMMV of course (and if your car is bluetooth equipped, it does not apply)!

[beardog03]

I have the Garmin 660...very happy with it so far...

I have Karen the Ausi, or is it English.....any way when she would talk to me anymore I took it back and told them I wanted a new one, cause I pissed her off and sh ewon`t talk to me anymore..!!











They gave me a new one !!

[dohcmark8]

I have a Magellan 2200T... I bought it because of the decent feature set (text to speech, custom POI, NAVTEQ maps, long battery life and attractive interface). Have had it for about 3 months now, hasn't let me down once. It has just about the loudest and clearest speaker a GPS could possibly have.

Now Magellan customer support does suck and the company is a bit slow to release map and firmware updates, but the hardware is solid. I have no complaints about my little device. For about $50 I can upgrade it to have Crossover capability meaning I can use it on a boat or for outdoor and off-road stuff but I don't have the need for that.

I paid $200 for it so I have no complaints at the price point. If anyone does get one make sure they update to the latest firmware as it totally redoes the interface to the same one as the latest Magellan Maestro units.

If I could buy a GPS today it would probably be a Tom Tom because the mapshare feature is enticing and the overall company looks good with a great support network.

Buy.com is selling the 2200T for $149 (refurb with 90 day warranty) which is where I got mine from. It's just about the best deal in GPS-land with the amount of features you get. Everything that came with mine looked brand new and it even includes a home a/c adapter which retail new units do not come with.

[trubluluc]

....but I have been know to route people off course during happy hour, or
if there's a stereo sale.

-Luc



Great post TBL, thanks for the insider info honcho :)

Can we get your voice for personal direction?

[dohcmark8]

....but I have been know to route people off course during happy hour, or
if there's a stereo sale.



-Luc

:D

I do wonder though.... Tom Tom says the Mapshare stuff is only good for the current maps for about 12 months, so when the new maps come out I dunno how they handle that. Apparently you have to start all over again. Should be interesting to see. I'll base my next GPS purchase based off how they handle this.

[zingo]

Thanks for the info!

[SLOCOOKN]

I have the Garmin 650. I have had no problems with it at all. You have a ton of options with it. It is preloaded with names, address, and telephone numbers to gas stations, eateries, hospitals, etc. You can enter coordinates for Geocahsing. As far as having to type the address, the unit is like a phone with text messaging. You can start typing and the unit will pull up the address before you are done.

[Kex]

... I am currently recommending TOM TOM.
They have a better overall value and have some features that garmin does not have. Including a user basemap updating and a "shareware" mentality as far as updating the database.
... It also comes with a free year subscription to "live traffic".
There are other, more geeky advantages, which you may or may not use.
...
I think the user's ability to update the basemap and the shareware mentality are excellent points. There is an exit on the CA-2 south, close to downtown L.A., that the Garmin does not even know (we take it all the time, so Karen, or whatever her name is, starts spouting garbage "recalculating!"). This surprised me since we are talking major metropolis here, and close to downtown on a major freeway. Same thing for the 134 and 210 intersection (Pasadena). She spouts off about taking the St. John ave exit, but there isn't one with that name. We have figured out which exit she means, but it isn't called that, and since in the middle of a California style spaghetti junction, it is an unfortunate omission.

If I had know all of this, along with the use of auto-dimming on the TomTom (which I will no longer do without on either my GPS or my rear view mirrors), I might have gone for this model, but I wasn't a Club Polk member yet at the time so I did not find a good GPS forum where I could ask these very specific usage questions. The one thing I have not seen for the TomTom or Magellan units that I also want is the friction (bean bag weighted) base mount. This is so useful in California where windshield mounting is not permitted, and it also makes car-swapping much easier. I got one for the new costco.com $310 Nuvi 650 from amazon.com for under $30 (and even though I will be giving it away as a gift, it's just so useful and easy to use IMO, but you would never guess how truly useful until you actually try it).

[engtaz]

nice useful advice trubluluc.

Thank you,
engtaz

[haimoc]

Very helpful information. Thanks.

[trubluluc]

Kex-

I have both the Garmin nuvi 650 and 360. Have you noticed the "attitude" that the american womens voice gives when "recalculating"?
It's comical....she actually sounds miffed when she says it.
I am looking forward to getting my tomtom 920, should have it in a couple weeks. I will give a more detailed review once I have used it.

-Luc



I think the user's ability to update the basemap and the shareware mentality are excellent points. There is an exit on the CA-2 south, close to downtown L.A., that the Garmin does not even know (we take it all the time, so Karen, or whatever her name is, starts spouting garbage "recalculating!").

[Kex]

... Have you noticed the "attitude" that the american womens voice gives when "recalculating"? ...
You know, I didn't really, but then I'm too busy thinking that I wish she'd just get on with it and shut up. A soft "beep" would have been quite enough to let one know that she needs to recalculate. I wonder what the TomTom celebrity voice says in the same circumstance!

It'll be interesting to read your TomTom review, especially once you've had time to figure out how the corrections work in real life usage.

[Strong Bad]

Bumping this thread to the top. I did a search and found it. Great thread as I'm looking for a GPS unit.

Any updates would be appreciated.


John

[MKZ]

Garmin Nuvi 360 (http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?whse=BC&topnav=&prodid=11245222&ec=BC-EC877-CatHome&pos=2&lang=en-US) for $250 @Costco. Garmin Nuvi 650 (http://www.costco.com/Browse/ProductSet.aspx?Prodid=11271051&search=garmin&Mo=9&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Sp=S&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=garmin&Ntt=garmin&No=0&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1) will be $300 @Costco starting from Feb 11th. 660 was $350 @amazon yesterday.
I found this on google.
http://www.gpsmagazine.com/2007/06/garmin_vs_magellan_vs_tomtom_which_gps_picks_the_b est_routes.php

[polkatese]

Trubluluc,

are you still in the GPS business? I am comparing a Navigon 7200t and Garmin 265wt. Which one would you recommend? both are in the $249 price bracket, depending on the seller. Navigon selling point (for me) is the panorama 3D. Both comes with life-time traffic...

Thanks in advance..

[Kex]

Trubluluc,

are you still in the GPS business? I am comparing a Navigon 7200t and Garmin 265wt. Which one would you recommend? both are in the $249 price bracket, depending on the seller. Navigon selling point (for me) is the panorama 3D. Both comes with life-time traffic...

Thanks in advance..
And since the thread has been bumped, and it's almost Christmas again:

1) Are you able to review the TomTom yet?
2) What about lane specific GPS units (that show actual traffic lanes on the Freeway, etc.).

Thanks Luc (if you are able)!

[polkatese]

Kex, that's also the other features of the Navigon (specific traffic lane direction), along with Zagat restaurants recommendation...that I thought kinda neat.

[McLoki]

What is your thought on GPS built into the newer cell phones? Sprint uses a garmin interface (called TeleNav) and includes traffic updates.

I have used 2 phones with NAV built in.

Treo 800w. - actually a great phone and GPS is well integrated into it. Works perfect and can get drive to instructions for any contact with an address or ties into the Microsoft Live app. (about 10,000 points of interest). For those who care - it also has the best reception of any sprint phone I have used.
http://www.geardiary.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/treo-800w.jpg


Touch Diamond - For some unknown reason, this is the phone I ended up getting. My main criteria were as a phone, internet access and GPS. It is a little better at internet access (and the phone interface is really sweet) but the reception is not as good as the Treo was and the GPS is just not integrated well into the phone at all.
No drive to instructions from Microsoft life (option is not even there)
When you try to drive to a contact address, the GPS locks up. (have to reboot the phone)
When running with GPS - it shows you about 1/4 mile behind where you are currently located. A real pain to make turns (since it alerts you way ahead of time and it can be hard at 80mph to know where to turn based on the top 1" of a map.... (since it has you centered on the map 1/4 mile behind where you actually are)

Long story short - an established phone design like the treo far outweighs the new slick i-phone wannabe that doesn't work as well. I am sure my problems with the Diamond can be solved with Software updates, but they will probably not release the updates until my 2yr contract is up.

http://www.itechnews.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/red-htc-touch-diamond-for-sprint.jpg balancing on a corner like that is really hard too....

Oh well -

Micheal

[polkatese]

A couple things that make me want to get a GPS:

I have an ATT Tilt with Google MAP and Garmin. I don't have the TeleNav offered by ATT. My issues are:

- It doesn't give me audible direction, so, it's distracting to watch the screen and drive at the same time
- Screen brightness is not the best, so, it's hard to see the screen sometimes
- Screen is too small to be effective

[McLoki]

I forgot to mention - the sprint phones will give you audible directions through your bluetooth headset but it must be a stereo headset for it to work. (a2dt or something like that - if your bluetooth does not support that, no instructions through the headset.) Both phones sucked for speakerphone and the instructions cannot be heard at 60mph in a car without a headset.

Just an FYI if that helps you at all Polkatese....

[polkatese]

Thanks, Michael. A buddy of mine swear by Navigon 7200t, since he was stranded in the middle of Manhattan, and had his GPS which give him direction (pedestrian mode) to where he needs be. I thought that is pretty cool feature..

[mantis]

Kex-

I have both the Garmin nuvi 650 and 360. Have you noticed the "attitude" that the american womens voice gives when "recalculating"?
It's comical....she actually sounds miffed when she says it.
I am looking forward to getting my tomtom 920, should have it in a couple weeks. I will give a more detailed review once I have used it.

-Luc

Waaaaaaa I love it. Mine does the same thing. I have downloaded all the voices and they all give you attitude. LOLOLOL.

Good thread , thanks,

Dan

[trubluluc]

I have had the TomTom 920 (their top of the line) for quite awhile now, and it's a decent unit.
The remote control is handy for slipping into phone mode etc. And the ability to say an address and have the unit understand is very handy.
Garmin also has this feature on it's higher end units.
I will repeat that GARMIN is a more intuitive unit. I can turn on the garmin and hand it to a woman who has never seen a GPS before and she's got it working in a couple of minutes.
Not as easy with the TOMTOM, but once you figure it out, the unit works well too.
Also the Garmin unit does much better at pronouncing foreign street names, which we have a lot of here in Ca.
It's almost comical listening to some of the mispronunciations of the TomTom unit.
Bottom line, I'm back to recommending Garmin units for their ease of use and better pronunciation qualities.

-Luc

[polkatese]

Any thoughts on Navigon's products, Luc?

[brettw22]

I just recently bought a refurb'd Garmin 780 (w/ MSN Direct service) for $277, but with Live.com's cash back program I will have ended up paying $210 on Ebay.

I was interested in the lane assist on the newer lines, but not enough to be paying as much more as it would have cost to get that type of unit.

My boss has the Garmin 5000 (5" screen), but it can't function unless it's plugged in, which took it out of the running for me........

I should be getting the 780 next week, but in every Garmin device I've played with, they're extremely easy to use..........

[nm4710]

Actually I've recently gone through a Tomtom730, Nuvi 650, and now a Nuvi 760. My take:

Tomtom - Nice unit with lots of customizability...but as a GPS doesn't hold a candle to the Garmin. Less accurate, longer routes, and doesn't tell you which side of the street your destination is on (this is an ENORMOUS plus in any city). If you just want a toy this may be the way to go...but as a GPS leaves a lot to be desired. Does have a better FM transmitter than the Nuvi (see below).

Nuvi 650 - A nice GPS unit. No FM transmitted, no bluetooth. But as a basic GPS it works very well. Screen is superior to the Tomtom's (much brighter, more clear). Easier to use than the tomtom as well (I didn't expect this).

Nuvi 760 - See above details for nuvi 650. Adds bluetooth which works brilliantly with my Motorolla V3 Razr (Verizon). FM transmitter is...CRAP! Garmin handicapped american units. This is a huge disappointment for me...it is practically useless on its own. I did find a trick that makes it work very well: plug a cheap pair of earphones into the headphone jack...they act as an antenna and reception improved 100% in my case. The device is now usable through the FM transmitter (my car doesn't have an aux-in). I hope garmin gives us a firmware update that lets us use the higher-power settings that are allowed in europe (the device IS capable of them).

In conclusion, for my purpose (ie navigating but also playing mp3s and phone calls), the Garmin nuvi 760 beat out the Tomtom 730 (which I might add was significantly more expensive). It's simply a much, much better navigation device. If I rated the devices on the fun you can have with a computer or a parked car the Tomtom would win.

[Kex]

... I was interested in the lane assist on the newer lines, but not enough to be paying as much more as it would have cost to get that type of unit. ...
It's not that expensive with Navigon or TomTom.

What I was more interested in with TomTom was the ability to correct mistakes with your own, and/or other users' corrections. With Garmin, I have to wait for an update to be released and hope the correction is included. The 134/210 intersection errors I mentioned above are terrible, and it's a big, complex junction, so I keep missing my turns when I go that way (I don't go there often enough to remember all the possible mistakes). Lane assist would help minimize the possibility for such mistakes, especially in this case, since even if the name being shown on the screen and announced by the Garmin were not only wrong, but different (the screen and voice prompt do not even agree, and both are wrong), the lane assist would show the correct lane to be in, so it wouldn't matter.

Still, if navigation is not as good on the alternatives, it might not be worth it. I was trying to decide what to get as a second unit, since we still share one unit between three cars.

The other thing I don't know is whether or not I could just use the MapSource City Navigator software to download favorites and waypoints from one Garmin (via USB) and then upload them onto another Garmin. If this works with Bluetooth, it would be even better.