Questions For Those With GPS Units?????

[DennyDay]

You migh want to look at a laptop w/Delorme Streets Atlas installed. I've been using this system for several years and wouldn't consider changing for anything else.



Denny

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

I have the tomtom 910 and LOVE it. I have owned Garmin units and the Tom Tom's are far superior in features and preferences that you can set. The new devices are now voice activated so they are much handier to program in an address or point of interest. (POI). I travel a lot and really don'r know what i would do without mine these days. Oh yeah the one really Butt saving feature ton the Tom Tom that Gramin is Assisted Sattelite Navigation... works in tunnels and when I was in Boston all through the big dig areas. That feature in itself is wonderful. I got severly LOST in Boston one time with my garmin GPS.

HUGE 910 fan TomTom Forums.com - Unofficial Site of TomTom for North America - Powered by vBulletin (BTW) I have a ton of mileage logged into mine (Gotta be 15 or more thousand) between trips to ohio, muncie, indy, canada, vt, nh, AND when I worked on the road for a year and a half. I can say with 100% that the TomTom had gotten me to the vacation spot, Bar, Airport, crime scene, fire,flood, meeting, golf outing, and many more with ZERO error.



The key is that (And look out this is tough stuff now) you dock it if it has been out of use for more than a month. It will auto update itself with all the new satelite data making it lightning quick on aquisitions.



the ONE (no punn) downer with the TT that *I* have (Again it is over 3 or 4 years old) that all the cell phone data it has is all the phones phound in europe. The newer TomToms have no issues. The one thing that is a bummer with the TT's is that they are the pricey ones. I would be in the range of an XL-330 for $230-ish up to the badarse go 930 with the latest rds tech built in (450-ish)



I got the 910 when it first came out. Kinda like getting the latest and most technologicly packed computer. You kind of *need* to get it just to stay semi current in a year or so.



My experiences with some of the other units also have not been bad either. I swapped out my TT for a coworker's Garmin NUvI 260 and It does nav with a twist that I can say is sweet. The arrows are easy to pick out of a police line up and the closer to your destination it would zoom in and get you dead on in the zone. The only thing I did not like garmin wise (And have seen it on two others) is the screen is not bright enough to overcome the glare it casts being a glossy screen.

 

[Grizzly]

My experiences with some of the other units also have not been bad either. I swapped out my TT for a coworker's Garmin NUvI 260 and It does nav with a twist that I can say is sweet. The arrows are easy to pick out of a police line up and the closer to your destination it would zoom in and get you dead on in the zone. The only thing I did not like garmin wise (And have seen it on two others) is the screen is not bright enough to overcome the glare it casts being a glossy screen.

There are a ton of difference between a Garmin nuvi 260 and one of a little more money, like the Garmin nuvi 760. The 260 is a basement model GPS. Go to Garmin.com and compare the difference.

 

[rcgibson]

I have owned both TomTom and Garmin. I no longer update the TomTom as I prefer the Garmin. However I use the mobile version in my Treo. Cannot be stolen as it leaves with me. Screen is smaller but I like everything in one device.

 

[cruiser_2]

Buffalo... you asked and I know you are thinking about the Garmin. I have had both and like the tomtom better... Like many choices areound here it comed down to personal preference... use synthetic or not... use amsoil or not... use fleetguard filters or not...



All I can say is that I have used my GPS unit for over 400,000 miles and I have spent many thousand of dollars on probably 5 units now both garmin and Tom Tom. That ought to count for something don't you think?

 

[wlowe]

I have the Tom Tom 920 and I'm very pleased with it. It has been very accurate and has loads of features that would cost much more on a Garmin. My favorite feature is the remote control. The remote makes it much easier and safer to operate when your are trying to keep your attention on the road. It also keeps the fingerprints off the screen.



Another nice feature is the ability to audibly tell you when you are approaching a point of interest like a rest area, gas station, restaurant, etc. This is great on long trips, don't have to watch the screen. . It also tells you when you are approaching a turn, the distance to the turn, and the name of the street to turn on. The ability to say the name of the street is only available on units that have the "Text to Speech" capabiity.



The feature that I use the most is the Mp3 player. The songs are played through the radio using a built in FM transmitter. I purchased a four gig mem card and have hundreds of songs installed. The remote is really nice when using the MP3 player, much easier than fumbling with the screen trying to find a song.



Other nice features are voice activation and hands free calling. My advice is to stick with either the Garmin or Tom Tom and research all the features that are available on each model, then decide which features you would use the most. There are some good buys out there right now, especially on the lower end units. Just be sure it has the features you want.

 

[icman95]

Or, depending upon how big a fan of '80's TV you are, you could get this one:



Mio KITT GPS available (finally!), but only at RadioShack | Crave - CNET



I don't have it or any other GPS, but if I were to get one, this might be a contender just on coolness alone.