What's a good GPS system to get?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Nov 29 2006, 06:57 PM) [snapback]355532[/snapback]</div>

I just ordered Garmin Nuvi 360 from Costco.com 2 days ago. Costco is having a sale for this GPS for $550. I was actually thinking of Garmin Nuvi 660 but it cost too much (close to $800) and its size is bigger than Garmin 360.

Both GPS are equipped with bluetooth function and it is pretty light. Also, they can be loaded with maps from different region. I would like to use this GPS in the car and as my walking tour guide when I travel to Europe next year.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(burritos @ Nov 29 2006, 04:42 PM) [snapback]355375[/snapback]</div>

Buy anything Garmin! I've owned Garmin GPS units for 5 or 6 years, starting with the Street Pilot III. They are reliable and have more features than you would ever need - unless you decide to become a GPS "Geek".

Most importantly, Garmin's support is the best I've seen from any company that I have ever dealt with.

A recent example:

We currently run an IQue-3600 and a Street Pilot 2610 in our 2 cars. The tip of the cigar lighter plug-in came off of my wife's unit. This had happened before, but I always managed to find the missing piece on the car floor. This time - no luck! I called Garmin tech support to see if I could get the missing pieces (metal tip, plastic nut). The Techie said that the pieces were too easily lost and it had been a problem, and that he would send me replacements. The next day I received 2 complete automotive adapters via FEDEX - one for each unit. Replacement cost about $90.00.

Go with one of the "C" series. The Nuvi is a little above your desired price range.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(syclone @ Nov 30 2006, 04:42 AM) [snapback]355625[/snapback]</div>

Nuvi 360 is $539 at Amazon. The C550 is $599 and the only C series with bluetooth, so you'd be giving that up by moving to a cheaper model in the C series. I highly recommend getting a GPS with bluetooth so that your hands-free can travel with you along with your GPS.

There is also a recent firmware upgrade for the Nuvi that lets it display text messages (but not speak them like the more expensive TomTom 910).

 

There are only two brands of GPS that I would definitly go with right now. Garmin and Lowrance. I might consider TomTom, but I wasn't impressed with their initial offerings when they first hit the US market.

I have used the Garmin Quest II in the past. Wonderful unit and quite flexible for doing more than just automotive GPS. I currently have a Lowerance iWay 350c. It is an excellent GPS unit in spite of it having only an internal intenna with no external port option. This can be bad in urban canyons or in mountain passes, but most of the time it locks on to satelites and keeps them without much trouble.

If I were buying today I would be shooting for something from the Garmin C series with built in maps. Nothing is more inconvenient than having to load map info onto a GPS unit from a computer. In addition, most GPS makers have had little or no Mac support, so that kind of turns me off from GPS units that require me to put in detail maps in addition to the base map.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jeromep @ Nov 30 2006, 01:22 PM) [snapback]355916[/snapback]</div>

I would not buy a GPS that wasn't equipped with the SiRF III chipset. The receiver sensitivity is so much better than you won't want one without it. That excludes all of the Garmin C3X0 models, as well as many if not all of the Lowrance line.

The point about loading maps is almost moot now, as all of the desirable units have maps built-in. However, I did not find it an inconvenience to load maps - you only do it once anyway, as you'd have to be stupid not to buy a flash memory card big enough to hold the entire continent you were on. And if you want to update to newer maps - you have to download them regardless of whether you have built-in maps - unless you are super lazy and buy a flash memory card with the maps already installed.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Nov 30 2006, 02:55 PM) [snapback]355973[/snapback]</div>

I have an i3 w/128MB so I know all about this.

1GB SD cards are $15 from NewEgg, and can hold the entire US and Canada with nearly 200MB to spare. Why in the world would you NOT buy a bigger flash memory and load all the maps??? :blink:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(burritos @ Nov 29 2006, 04:42 PM) [snapback]355375[/snapback]</div>

I have the Garmin C320 (no hard drive). The unit came with a custom(?) USB cable and AC adapter. It does cut out around some buildings in the city (wasn't a practical problem in Old City Philadelphia) and does not work indoors but it is portable. I place it in the top cup holder and run it off its own battery. The suction cup is hard to keep taking off the glass. I bought it at fry's outpost.com in July so the price has probably dropped. No complaints with the unit but I am a light user.

 

I am a fan of Garmin products and have three of them.
I really like the nuvi 360.
All of which are better than the nav on the Prius!

 

I have the Garmin Street Pilot 2720 and I am very happy with it. It comes with all of the USA and Canada loaded into it. It may cost more than your target price. I don't know. But it's a first-rate unit.

 

I got a Garmin Nuvi 660 for the wife. It's awesome. I wouldn't buy anything else.

SirF III chipset, a BRIGHT & BIG screen you can see with sunlight on it, and it's slim - it'll fit in your pocket for walkin around town. clock, calculator, plays mp3s and shows photos, and does abunch of other stuff.

But don't buy it at a store, you'll pay $1,000 if you can find it. Go to gpsnow.com or do a shopping search. you'll find it for $750.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(burritos @ Nov 29 2006, 01:42 PM) [snapback]355375[/snapback]</div>

i am shopping for a prius...is there any reason not to get the one that comes with the car? thanks all

 

I'd say the biggest cons are:

Expense: the packages with built-in NAV are thousands of dollars more than those without. I paid about $24,000 for my 2004 pkg 6 with all the safety features: air bags all around and VSC, not to mention HID headlights and SKS. I think the package with NAV (and some other stuff I had no use for) was $28,000 or $29,000.

Portability: I went on vacation and rented a car. I took my Street Pilot with me and used it in the rental car. I can also bring it into the house to program at my leasure, in the comfort of my office.

My Garmin sits on the dashboard, in my line of sight, which I find very useful. The MFD requires you to divert your eyes from the road.

While using the built-in NAV you cannot display any other screen. With my Garmin I can still have the CAN-View on the MFD

Pros of the built-in unit:

Voice activation (though folks have posted some bizarre reactions to voice commands).

Integrates with your bluetooth (something I don't have!)

Someone who breaks into your car cannot steal it.

Neutral point:

Both units have lots of POIs, and both have all the maps built in.

I would not buy the factory NAV unless you really want all the other features of the top-level packages that include it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Nov 30 2006, 06:55 PM) [snapback]355973[/snapback]</div>

Buying a 20 dollar SD card and loading North America took me 5 minutes, and I prefer the idea of using a flash card then a hard drive with moveable parts that always break.

The C320 is the nobrainer choice for a great budget GPS unit IMHO.