TimC Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 I walk into Best Buy and see Garmin, Tom Tom, even Harmon-Kardon ranging from under $200 up to $800. My parents take a few road trips a year so it's not like they're delivering FedEx packages to far-off places like Vermont. My question is are the cheaper ones around $200 just have a smaller monitor than the more expensive ones? They all point you to the same place, don't they? What should I be looking for or avoid? I don't want to be responsible for killing my parents by sending them down a dark lonely one-way road where Azz hangs out with his chainsaw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBalata Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 (edited) I just bought my parents this Garmin 200 It's their smallest model. I didn't really know much about them. I did some research beforehand and from reading reviews it seemed people felt the Garmins had the more up to date maps. The Tom Tom and some other models were cheaper. My parents will be leaving any day now to drive down to Arizona for the winter. With my mom being the navigator, my concern was if she would have the patience to learn to use it, or if it would be easy enough for her to figure out. I went to Best Buy and they had all the different models on display and you could play around with them and see how they worked. The Garmin seemed pretty simple to use. We had our Christmas lumped in with Thanksgiving last week since they will be gone. Dad seemed to like it as we played around with it that afternoon. Will have to see how Mom gets along with it once they hit the road. The 200 I bought them does not have the ability to verbalize any street names. While the name of the street will be in text on the screen, the voice can only say Turn right in 200 yards. The more expensive models have more advanced software that can verbalize the names of the streets. It seemed the more expensive models also seemed to just have more stuff they didn't need. The 200 i got can store pictures on it. The more expensive models can store music. One thing I really liked was the option to just click on Lodging, Food or Fuel and it would come up with the nearest available options. You could even choose a specific chain of restuarants, hotels etc and it would tell you where the nearest ones were. Edited November 27, 2007 by BillyBalata Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isleseeya Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 Garmin Nuvi ..got it and its awesome ..price came down alot as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSULions Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 Just got the Garmin Nuvi 200 for $170 at Best Buy for my father-in-law. I saw a lot of very positive reviews on the CC and BB web sites, so I hope he really likes it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Like Soup Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 Tom Tom. They use the maps that the 911 service do so I think they are more comprehensive. And...the Garmin yells and screams at you when you don't go the way it tells you to...the Tom Tom lets you know you are going the wrong way and then re-routes you. That is what an anal colleague of mine told me (read: big time in to researching every purchasing decision) and from the short stint I've had using a Garmin, he is right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlence Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 I have two Tom Toms and they're both great units. My daughter is in college in OK city and it has been a godsend to her to have it. She had never driven by herself in OK city unitl she went to college, and two years later she has yet to have a problem navigating through the city. The one drawback though is that it's very difficult to see in direct sunlight. Not sure if the other brands have the same problem. The one feature I do like other than the navigation is the bluetooth capability. Once your cellphone is linked to it you can have it programmed to anwer calls automatically. It has built in speakers and mic. The maps are not totally up to date. I have a rerouted road in town thats been done for several years and Tom Tom still has the old route programmed in. A friend of mine lives in a subdivision in Moore Oklahoma which also does not show up in Tom Tom. I'm somewhat familiar with OK city so it's not a big deal to me but it might cause problems if I'm in a city I've never been to before. I did however use it when I went to St. Louis and it worked flawlessly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlence Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 Correction. What I meant to say is the subddivision shows up but the street he lives on does not which is one of the main streets going through the subdivison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isleseeya Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 Tom Tom. They use the maps that the 911 service do so I think they are more comprehensive. And...the Garmin yells and screams at you when you don't go the way it tells you to...the Tom Tom lets you know you are going the wrong way and then re-routes you. That is what an anal colleague of mine told me (read: big time in to researching every purchasing decision) and from the short stint I've had using a Garmin, he is right. I actually enjoy the Garmin screaming at me ..reminds me of when my wife is in the car with me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Like Soup Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 I actually enjoy the Garmin screaming at me ..reminds me of when my wife is in the car with me Yeah, but it is a lot quieter from the trunk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 I bought my first GPS ~5 years ago. It's a dinosaur by todays standard, B&W screen, no voice, and limited mapping. The limited mapping is a big deal if you wanted a large area (more than 1000 square miles) of "Street level maps". Mine is very limited in that regard, I can only load an area that basically covers 25 miles wide, by 50 miles long. So a trip from Chicago to Denver would pretty much limit me for street level maps for Chi and Denver ONLY! In between it would be major hiways & roads only. Not sure how pertinent that is today. Also, the maps are not totally accurate. My house, for example, will not map properly on most if not all GPS systems and Google Maps, and the rest. I guess they never digitized it in properly. Long story, but our street changes names at our corner. I have to lie to my wife's GPS to get an accurate location on her GPS (Honda Factory installed 2006) Her GPS, who we call "Lucille",. has never failed us, except in new areas (1-3 years old). Not sure what the time frame is for updates, but Honda reccs every 3 years. All in all, GPS is the tits! What I would recc is a GPS that has nationwide street level maps, IF they do a lot of traveling out of state. If it's more in state, then a lower end system will probably do fine. But Garmin, IMHO, is still the Cadillac! They have been in it for a lot longer than anyone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 The most important thing, IMO, is to make sure it has turn by turn speech. The screen size is not a big deal so long as the thing talks to you at each turn. I have a bigger screen but it is all fluff in my opionion as the turn by turn speech is what gets me there. Oh an mine is little miss know it all, RR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 Oh an mine is little miss know it all, RR. I think it's hysterical that most if not ALL people w/ a GPS have to name it! Everyone I know has a name for their GPS! And at least 2 others use Lucille! "Hey Lucille....Get us home! I'm intoxicated, the Mrs. is driving! And I need a nap!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polksalet Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 Do not even consider buying anything if it is either not WAAS or SBAS compatible. In most locations you are talking the difference between 3 and 40 foot accuracy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polksalet Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 I think it's hysterical that most if not ALL people w/ a GPS have to name it! Everyone I know has a name for their GPS! And at least 2 others use Lucille! "Hey Lucille....Get us home! I'm intoxicated, the Mrs. is driving! And I need a nap!" Mine is named Javad. He is accurate to .04 feet. of course it a 30 grand as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 Do not even consider buying anything if it is either not WAAS or SBAS compatible. In most locations you are talking the difference between 3 and 40 foot accuracy. Very good info here! Mine has WAAS, as old as it is. I njust wish it had more memory!!! Mine is named Javad. He is accurate to .04 feet. of course it a 30 grand as well. That is cool! 3' is pretty much the consumer standard, but from what I read, the latest/greatest systems (gubment only!) can send a rocket up your car's tail pipe from hundreds of miles! Polk's 0.04'=0.5" of accuracy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 I think it's hysterical that most if not ALL people w/ a GPS have to name it! Everyone I know has a name for their GPS! And at least 2 others use Lucille! "Hey Lucille....Get us home! I'm intoxicated, the Mrs. is driving! And I need a nap!" Just as long as it doesn't learn the lyrics of "You Picked a Bad time to Leave Me, Lucille" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 Just as long as it doesn't learn the lyrics of "You Picked a Bad time to Leave Me, Lucille" Lucille, you won't do your sister's willA-Lucille, you won't do your sister's will You ran out the minute when I loved you still Lucille, please, come back where you belong A-Lucille, please, come back where you belong I been good to you, baby, please, don't leave me alone I woke up this morning, Lucille was not in sight I asked my friends about her but all their lips were tight Lucille, please, come back where you belong I been good to you, baby, please, don't leave me alone - wow I woke up this morning, Lucille was not in sight I asked my friends about her but all their lips were tight Lucille, please, come back where you belong I been good to you, baby, please, don't leave me alone A-Lucille, m-baby, satisfy my heart A-Lucille, m-baby, satisfy my heart I played fine wit' you, baby, that gave us such a wonderful start Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polksalet Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 Very good info here! Mine has WAAS, as old as it is. I njust wish it had more memory!!! That is cool! 3' is pretty much the consumer standard, but from what I read, the latest/greatest systems (gubment only!) can send a rocket up your car's tail pipe from hundreds of miles! Polk's 0.04'=0.5" of accuracy! Believe it or not that is 1999 civilian technology. The new ones do better but what is the real difference between .04' and .03'? I will be you good money that within five years everyone (for a small annual fee) will have centimeter level gps in metropolitan areas and 10 years in rural. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chargerz Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 I was out shopping today and saw a Magellan Roadmate 1200 for $150. Can anybody comment on this unit's performance and /or price?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Ryan Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 Tom Tom ONE 3rd edition. This baby rocks. I got this for $149 the day after Xmas, regular $300. Bluetooth capable, though havent tried it yet Traffic conditions And I dont know about others, but this sucker has listing for everything, and the phone number of everything. From Restaurants, to Gas stations, to Stadiums, to Lakes, to Parks, to Hospitals, Even has barber shops, shopping, theaters, you name it. No more calling for directions to anything. Plug in the address, and you are on your way. If you dont know the address, plug in the name, and it will give listings of everything. Dont know how I lived without this sucker, and Ive only had it 5 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isleseeya Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 Yeah, but it is a lot quieter from the trunk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_bone65 Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 Tom Tom is the way to go from what I hear. The dumb blond sales girl that works for my wife has 1 and if she can use it then it must be very easy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABearWithFurniture Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 I actually enjoy the Garmin screaming at me ..reminds me of when my wife is in the car with me Yep, that's the biggest problem I find with most of the GPS audio directions...almost all of them use a female voice which I stop listening to after about 2-3 minutes of driving time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 Yep, that's the biggest problem I find with most of the GPS audio directions...almost all of them use a female voice which I stop listening to after about 2-3 minutes of driving time... Would a man's voice help you through the geography? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABearWithFurniture Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 Would a man's voice help you through the geography? I prefer flying... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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