GPS

[Rich S]

I bought one off E-Bay several years ago. Mine is a Garmin GPS12. It is a antique by todays standerts. It save me several times when driving thru Mexico.
I see some real buys on E-Bay I think some of the people just get tired of them and sell them cheep.
If you are going new Garmin is probably the best. They make them from small handheld to aviation units. They been the gps bussiness for quite a while.
Rich

[Steve_Cox]

Steve, unfortunately, I do not have the latest and greatest..I think mine is version 3..but i'll double check tomorrow.

I was wondering how the 4.0 text to voice works, it also has the recorded voice too for some stuff. In traffic my old eyes don't downshift from the screen to traffic to quickly or vice versa.

[caseydog]

I have a Magellan in the car, but it is not "portable" as far as going hiking and such.

The more you pay, generally, the more information it has onboard. Mine has all of the USA on it. Every few years, I can upgrade it with all new maps for $99.

We get a lot of high end cars in at the magazine, and a lot of them have built in factory nav systems, and most of them suck, compared to what Magellan and Garmin offer. The aftermarket units tend to be more intuitive.

I have yet to drive a car with voice control features in the nav system that actually works. I got the Land Rover system to work partially if I faked a british accent, LOL. The only thing I got it to do was find gas stations by comanding, "navigation, petrol" with an accent. Other than that, all I got was, "Sorry, I don't understand" in response to anything I said.

CD

[emiller]

My Lowrance has a battery thats good up to 15 hours without being pluged into the 12 volt adapter. What I also like is you can find a business
on the GPS and it shows the phone number so you can call in advance if need be. I wish mine had the fuction of rerouting you do to backed up traffic like my sisters Garmin.

[S.A.Mike]

Thanks everyone,it looks like the Garmin is the way to go.
Best Buy has the mod.330 on sale now for
279.99and a "free"20.00gift card and
mod.nuvi 350 for 499.99and a 50.00 gift card.
Anyone know anything about either one of these?
Thanks Mike

[Jiminsav]

Steve, it is version 3.0..maybe when publishers clearing house gets here, I can afford to get version 4..

[Hibidi-Shibidi]

i have a Garmin Nuvi 660 and love it.

i have absolutely no sense of direction and this thing has gotten me all over the country and back home when i dont have a clue as to where i am.

as for the model, it all depends on what you want out of it.

mine is equipped with traffic and construction warnings and will give me alternative routes to get around them.

Bluetooth ability also give me hands free cell phone use, that includes, not just talking, but the ability to access everything on my phone through the Nuvi.

i would not buy the streetpilot line of garmin because i think you get a much better product if you spring for the nuvi line.

ask more questions and i will do my best to answer.

[mfkaplan]

I already posted. I have the Street Pilot 360. Works for me. Got me across the country all the way to Georgia and back with no problems.I knew wich lane I needed to be in when traveling through cities. It's big enough that I can read the screen from the dash. The graphics are easily seen. I just couldn't see throwing in another $100+ dollars for a better one. You can add maps of other countries. If you drive for a living or travel a whole lot, it might be worth it. I use it about once a month for longer trips and occasionally for finding local adresses. Mine talks but I only get one voice. Do you need a choice of voices. It also finds nearby gas and food. I don't get a 3D view, but I think the flat map is easiest to comprehend. I don't think I would get much use out of the Bluetooth option on the more expensive one.

Mary
Mom's Nest

[TLC]

I bought a Garmin C330 at Gander Mountain for $172.20 Not the model I was saving for but for the price it works great and gets me where I want to go. Having the voice tell me when to turn or what lane I need to be in is very handy when traveling solo. Good co-pilot!!
Tom

[anonymous2]

Garman E-trex Legend color hand held. Because I have mounts for the car,canoe, & bikes. More like a portable map.Doesn't talk to me,and I like that it doesn't jabber,and give me wrong directions like a buddy of mine unit does.

pateardropper

[S.A.Mike]

Thanks everyone for the info in the gps
my brother in law bought the garmin
nuvi 350
and "we" are very pleased with it.
He is not good with maps so it is going to
be great for him.
Thanks again for the help
Mike

[ob1canola]

well thats no good at all.
you have to teach him how to use maps than extole the benefits of
maps over gps so he loses interest in the garmin and sells it to you.
I have a gps 3+ and use topo usa and topo vt for software.
Love using the thing .check out.

http://www.geocaching.com/

This is a fun gps sport that has grown exponentially since i started.
basically folks put treasures out in the woods and give coordinates.
Than you go find them. Fun for the kids and grandkids too. They are everywhere just enter your zipcode and it will tell you where
the ones in your area are.

[sdtripper2]

I know I am a day late and a dollar short but for everything GPS
try this GPS information forum for specific questions and answers~

GPS Information.net Forum

[elmo]

Love my Garmin 60csx...still learning, but works great for what I use it for and takes a pretty good beating.

[S.A.Mike]

Hey ob
actually the nuvi 350 is in my posession right now,
my bro in law said to keep it for a while
untill HE needs to "use" it.
works for me
Mike