What kind of portable GPS system to get?
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 at
5:17 pm
itsme! asked:
My husband wants a GPS system for his car for Christmas. I know nothing about these things. I’ve seen the Tom Tom’s, and Garmins, but I’m not sure what to look for. He just wants something basic, nothing too fancy with a gazillion features. But not the cheapest one either. Any suggestions? Thanks!
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Tagged with: Christmas • Gps Car • Gps System
Filed under: Handheld Gps
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6 comments
I bought a Garmin the other day…and I LOVE IT!! I got it the day before a trip to Bethany Beach and it was a HUGE help. I think my model is the “nuvi”? That might not be the right name but it is close. Anyway, I bought mine on HSN.COM…and I actually got a 2 pack for 300.00. The one that I bought retails for 279.00 at Walmart. So if you know someone else that might enjoy one or you would like one for your car also that “bundle” online is worth it.
I just bought the Garmin 255w Nuvi and it’s great!
You are in a right track, choose a brand first, TomTom , Garmin, Magellan all make pretty good GPS devices, then you can look at the screen size, then you will probably have a price range of how much you may be spend into the GPS, after that, you can compare GPSs with number of features and price.
Personal advise: I don’t know what you mean by “basic”, but Magellan do make some low end GPSs (usually under 150, if lucky you will probably get the GPS under 100), but I prefer TomTom and Garmin, I believe they make better products as well as a little more expensive. Look at the Garmin Nuvi series, you maybe interested.
Hope this helps
When GPS shopping, first things first.
1. Turn-by-turn vs Text-to-speech.
A unit that has “turn by turn” will say “turn right in 100 yards”
text to speech will say the street name, “turn right on east plano parkway.” Text to speech always trumps turn by turn.
2. Maps that are up to date.
Sure you might find a tomtom for $89, but it a discontinued model? Are the maps up to date or from 2006? It’s worth knowing that when you purchase a unit, no matter what brand, the maps be 2008 or newer. Since the maps are all pre-loaded, set the expectation that you will more than likely have to update your maps once a year and costs $80-no matter what the brand. That’s just what the mapping companies charge.
3. Traffic
If you don’t need it, don’t get a unit that has it. Traffic is a subscription, and costs money yearly. Sometimes you’ll find a unit with a trial which in nice if you just want to check it out.
4. Voice Recognition/bluetooth
Unless you’re totally set on these features, don’t worry about ‘em. They’ll set you back a few hundred dollars…on top of the price of the unit.
5. If all this sounds good…
check out a brand called Mio (me-o). They are the second larges GPS company in the world. All of the Moov series units have txt to speech, are basic, easy to use, feature rich, and affordable. As if that’s not enough, they’ll recalculate a route (say if you miss an exit) in 4 seconds or less. They’re often on sale at Radio Shack. And Bonus, they come with a free 2009 map. No other product can compare
Hope this helps! Happy Mapping!
As mentioned by someone already, Garmin Nuvi 255W is the way to go. Real value for money, with all the functionality you will need. Check out this site to learn more about it:
Right now you can get a cheap Automobile GPS for under $100.00, but as the saying go’s you get what you pay for.
Garmin is number one according to Consumer Reports The Nuvi 660 and 760 took top models.
IMO the most important features are turn by turn audio so you don’t need to look at the device. Also a card slot so you can add maps.
Also bluetooth is a nice thing to have so you can connect your cell phone or iPod touch to it. Live traffic update are nice too.
A little story. Cheap GPS can get you lost. Remember the guy from cNet who followed his GPS onto a closed road in the Northwest and landed up walking around in circles till he dropped dead. His family was found. When you get away from a city GPS become less accurate.
You should read Consumer Reports Best GPS for 08 article below