Garmin or TomTom

I too am interested in purchasing GPS too, although my girlfriend thinks I shouldn't waste my money. Where is a good place to purchase a Garmin or TomTom?

 

I tried a TomTom for a couple days, and then turned it in for a Garmin. THe Garmin Maps were definately more up to date for my area in Washingotn State. TomToms maping service was about twe years behind, but Garmin had new roads only six months old.

Both are better than the Toyota system.

Crutchfield.com, 4by4 books (on line) or CarToys are a couple of options.

 

I've had a TomTom GO700 for over a year now. I'm very dissapointed, especially considering the price I paid for it at that time. As previously posted, the maps are out of date right out of the box, especially in my area which is expanding rapidly. The lighter power plug shorts at the back of the TomTom unit, causing it run down the battery if I don't notice it happening. The bluetooth connection is horrible; robotic sounding at best, and unintelligible at worse. And it always takes ~ 5 seconds for the voice to come thru, so I miss the greetings when the call begins. (coupling with Version's crippled phones is no joy, either.) If I turn the unit on from a different place than where I turned it off, it takes ~ 3 minutes to aquire satelite.

Oh, and it's missed desitinations ~ 40% of the time. Typically you'll be on the wrong end of a street when it gives you the "you have reached your destination" message, so not too bad. But it has also placed me at least 5 miles off in Atlanta once. Rediculous.

I've not tried recently, but if memory serves, tech support was not at all helpful. I believe I finally stopeed getting responses and gave up.

I will say that the TomToms maps are prettier (and easier to read) than Garmins from what I've seen. Booting (when not aquiring sat) is speedy. The voice directions are very good.

I wish I had equal exerience with Garmin, but my TomTom experience has been so poor that I would recommend a Garmin over them sight unseen.

Keep the reciept

 

I have owned both Garmin and TomTom units and would recommend the TomTom over the Garmin. TomTom's maps have gotten dramatically better over the past year (just read some expert reviews) and you get more features for the money with TomTom. Also, one of my Garmin units suffered a failure and Garmin wanted more to fix the unit than what I had originally paid. Garmin's customer service leaves a lot to be desired.

 

If you’re looking for a no-nonsense GPS unit that does navigation very well, you should take a look at the Mio C220 – it delivers an incredible value for that price level (expect to find it at street prices of $179 - $199).

http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2007/...220_review.html

 

Just purchase a Garmin NUVi 350 (refurbished) from Amazon.com for $350.00. It is small & light weight enough that it fits in my shirt pocket. It can be set up for the car or walking because it has an internal battery. The maps are more than adequate, it also acquires the satelites quickly. Like every GPS I've tried don't use it for routes you know because the unit will give you quirky directions just use it for new place or if your lost. So far for two weeks use I like the NUVi and would recommend it.

 

Or get an Intellinav - currently from $299 new through Amazon. Internal battery gives close to 5 hours use per charge, comes with power/charge cable for the car, interface is simple to use, maps are certainly good in my area, and it has text-to-speech so you get told the name of the street to turn on.

Like all GPS devices it can create some idiosyncratic routes, but there's a pretty good set of user-controls for route planning and setting/finding diversions, so it does the job well.

 

Interesting development in mobile GPS applications:

http://www.eclipse-web.com/avn/avn2210poverviews.html

 

I never had/ used a GPS before and figured out how to use the Garmin Nuvi 350 in about 30 seconds...no exageration. It gives great audio directions and warnings as to approaching streets, names, etc. Altough there are now larger screens, I found the map extremely readable and it's mounted down below my radio storage compartment. I don't know if I'll use it walking/hiking, but it's a very handy size and weight if I do. The internal battery is important...unless I'm going on a 3-4 hr trip, I don't even have to mess with plugging in the car power adaptor. I can't believe you could go wrong with one of these. It doesn't have bluetooth, like some do now, but I already have a blueconnect so it wasn't necessary.

 

i bought one b/c we were moving to california, and we were driving from florida. Plus, we didn't know the area we were moving to at all! I researched a LOT and ended up w/the Nuvi660 b/c of all the negative reviews I found on TomTom and Magellans and such.

In fact, 2 coworkers of mine have now bought Garmins b/c of me.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(uncool @ Jun 18 2007, 05:12 PM) [snapback]464368[/snapback]</div>

I absolutely LOVE my Garmin. I bought it as somewhat a toy and I use it all the time. My co-workers made fun of me until we went on a business trip and used it everywhere. Get the portable though so you can use it with your rentals car, friends, partner's etc. It also tells you restaurants, hotels, attractions etc which is great. 2 thumbs way up!

 

Why I chose Garmin Nuvi 350 over the TomTom One....I've used both...but chose to buy the Nuvi 350...

1) Text to Voice so that it tells me "Turn right on Main Street" instead of simply "Turn right."
2) Points of interest (POI) - I like knowing where the nearest Thai restaurant or ATM machine is located.

Bought mine new at Amazon for $275. One note, the screen on the TomTom One is a bit brighter and does not have quite as much glare. However, the Nuvi is just fine, especially where I mounted it.

I just "installed" my Garmin Nuvi and here are the details with pictures.

Step 1 - Drop steering column.
Step 2 - Wedge suction cup part of holder between column and dash.
Step 3 - Gentle raise column and lock it in place when fit is tight.
Step 4 - Push excess wire in slot behid steering column.
Step 5 - Use velcro to run wire to outlet.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rayvann @ Jun 28 2007, 01:10 PM) [snapback]469445[/snapback]</div>

I did it. Works great thanks.
Instead of velco I hid the wire between and under panels -- the huge one next to the power outlet is very pliable.

Garmin rules! TomTom is a cool drum!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FreshAirGuy @ Jul 1 2007, 01:37 PM) [snapback]471056[/snapback]</div>

I think Tom Tom is on sale at Pep Boys

 

Sticking the GPS behind the steering wheel is pretty ingenious. However, when you turn the
wheel it interferes with your view of the GPS screen. But if you rely mostly on the audio cue
then it's OK I guess.

After reading this thread I decided to drag my Wayfinder compass back from the dead and
velcro'd it to that location. Turned out great. No more worries about the suction cups failing, or
having to extend myself to reach it to turn it on. It's now literally at my fingertip. Thanks to a
very serendipitous idea!

 

I just got a Magellan C2200T today at Costco for $219.99. So far, I'm very pleased with it. It has the voice prompts that tell you 'turn right on Main Street', and it fits perfectly on the drop-down door of the CD storage cabinet below the radio without needing to use the mounting gadgets.

 

I'm on my second GPS unit. I previously had a Lowrance iWay 550, but it was just too bulky for business trips.

So after a *lot* of research, googling for reviews etc, I settled on the Garmin nuvi 660. I *love* it. The screen is a little smaller than the iWay, but it can fit in my pocket.

If you're in the market for a GPS nav unit, search this PC board for opinions (this is only one of many threads on the topic), and google for reviews elsewhere on the internets.

BTW: Costco had the Garmin nuvi 660 on sale for $499