Travel Technology - Need easy to Read GPS that can be moved car to car

I want a unit that will primarily be used in my car. It needs a big touch screen as the smaller ones are not good with my weak eyes. Blue tooth would be nice. It would likely only be used in US cities.

I have been told that the TOM TOM GO 700 is not as accurate as some other units and that its directions are not always the best. Also, heard that it tends to reset itself often several times a day. But most users seem to like it. Biggest complaint is that its data is dated.

I have seen the 700 for as little as $617 delivered. Other top units are priced as high as $1,200. I'd like to stay under $900.

Now the high priced units are all color. Do I need color? Touch screen seems needed, but am not sure on color.

And yes, I did a search. Technology does not stand still and I did not see my exact question addressed. I did see a lot of TOM TOM fans.

I have a RoadMate 700 and love it. The suction mount is easily moved car to car and adjusted.

i've used a garmin streetpilot (think it was the 2720) in an unfamiliar city and had a great experience. it seemed accurate; the interface was easy to use, easy to see in bright daylight, and we moved it from car to car with little hassle.

http://www.garmin.com/products/sp2720/

i haven't used any tom tom products to compare it to.

I love the garmin line. On my second one now, left the first one in China by mistake. I don't have color now, but the next unit will certainly have color, the contrast is a huge advantage to seeing it in the car. The downside to the one I have is that it's an older model, and you have to load up maps all the time when you go from one side of the country to the other, it doesn't have any expandable storage.

I'll probably look at the Street Pilot i3 or i5 next. Never had an issue with any of their maps, but I believe that may be just as much luck as anything else, I'm sure they all have their areas.

I've been using the Garmin StreetPilot 2720 for about 4 months now and would highly recommend it. Beanbag mount & cigarette lighter / speaker combo. Purchased online for $740 delivered. No bluetooth, but has the entire US database preloaded. Have also used the Magellan Roadmate 700 and was less impressed with the accuracy.

I want a unit that will primarily be used in my car. It needs a big touch screen as the smaller ones are not good with my weak eyes. Blue tooth would be nice. It would likely only be used in US cities.

I have been told that the TOM TOM GO 700 is not as accurate as some other units and that its directions are not always the best. Also, heard that it tends to reset itself often several times a day. But most users seem to like it. Biggest complaint is that its data is dated.

I have seen the 700 for as little as $617 delivered. Other top units are priced as high as $1,200. I'd like to stay under $900.

Now the high priced units are all color. Do I need color? Touch screen seems needed, but am not sure on color.

And yes, I did a search. Technology does not stand still and I did not see my exact question addressed. I did see a lot of TOM TOM fans.

Tried Garmin, Magellan and TomTom; and stayed with TomTom.

Simply the best unit. Best maps, best directions and best options. Also the best reception of all the units. Downloading traffic and weather through your Bluetooth enabled phone is awesome.

I want a unit that will primarily be used in my car. It needs a big touch screen as the smaller ones are not good with my weak eyes.
If your eyes are that bad, I'd rather you kept your attention on the road!

But seriously, the TomTom 700 is nice, but a little too much for what I'd use it for. I use the Garmin Legend Color, but I use it for other things besides auto navigation. I've had three Garmin units and am very happy with my latest one. If I had to upgrade, I'd pick the new Legend Color with the memory card slot.

$700 for a GPS receiver just seems like too much money.

...and always remember to check first before you use one on a plane. You can find a list of "GPS friendly" airlines at:
http://gpsinformation.net/airgps/airgps.htm

I bought a Garmin C330 in August 2005, paid $520 from Amazon. Very easy to use. I lent it to my non-techno parents and they were able to figure it out for their 3,000 mile road trip last week.

This thread has lots of good insight for a GPS newbie like me. :)

I've seen some TV ads for TomTom and it looks easy to use. I did some poking around on Engadget- it sure helps to have gadget-y friends to recommend sites.

I saw that the TomTom Go 700 got an award for best in category.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/02/07/the-winners-of-the-2005-engadget-awards/

I also looked on Amazon and saw some really excited reviews for another model- the Go 300.

I am extremely happy with my Garmin Nuvi 350. It is a newer unit and I have used it on a couple of recent trips to the UK and on a trip to Alabama and am extremely impressed with how accurate it is, and with all of the POI data.

The size makes it very easy to travel with, most units are very bulky but this isn't much bigger than a deck of cards. Great battery life. I have found that you don't even need to look at it while driving, it speaks the names of the roads that you will be travelling on quite clearly.

With all of the other features of this device such as MP3 player, picture viewer, language translator and travel guide, you really can't go wrong. Some might consider it pricey but for me it is a tool and a damn good one. http://gpscentral.ca/products/garmin/nuvi.htm

This thread has lots of good insight for a GPS newbie like me. :)

I've seen some TV ads for TomTom and it looks easy to use. I did some poking around on Engadget- it sure helps to have gadget-y friends to recommend sites.

I saw that the TomTom Go 700 got an award for best in category.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/02/07/the-winners-of-the-2005-engadget-awards/

I also looked on Amazon and saw some really excited reviews for another model- the Go 300.

Since I already have a bluetooth carkit in my car I got the Go300; it has everything I need.

I have also seen the Nuvi 350 in action.

Hands down the best portable little GPS unit I have ever seen. Crazy cost, but I was in total gadget lust.

Unbelievable unit

I used to have a Garmin StreetPilot 2610. Took it on a few trips, but it was very large and bulky, plus I had to swap out CF cards when I went to new areas.

Now I have a Garmin StreetPilot C330. These were created mainly in response to the TomToms when they were released. I like this because it is slick, has a good inteface, and has all the maps for the US built right in.

One thing is that the glare from sunlight can get bad on this model.

I have had the Garmin Quest for more than a year and really like most of its features. It is easy to use, and with updates to the MapSource software I have found it very accurate. I don't like its memory constraints, which means that I have upload map files for some cities because it can't hold all of the US. On the positive side, its display is quite clear, great voice direction and it is relatively small and reasonably priced.

As I understand it there are several companies providing maps for these GPS devices. Like TeleAtlas and Destinator. I guess choosing the right map provider is as important as choosing hardware. To me it’s very important to get the right POI (read speedcam warning :D).

I used to have a Garmin StreetPilot 2610. Took it on a few trips, but it was very large and bulky, plus I had to swap out CF cards when I went to new areas.

Now I have a Garmin StreetPilot C330. These were created mainly in response to the TomToms when they were released. I like this because it is slick, has a good inteface, and has all the maps for the US built right in.

One thing is that the glare from sunlight can get bad on this model.


I also switched from the Streetpilot 2610 to the C330. The C330 is much easier to use than the 2610 was and seems to do everything except let you use waypoints. That really isn't a big deal though. I haven't had any problem with glare. The one thing I don't like about it is that it does not display cities on the maps like the 2610 does. It will display the names of bodies of water, but not cities.

The Garmin i5 is pretty cool. Size of a tennis ball. Has the entire U.S. in its memory. Surprisingly very readable screen, clear audible guidance. Can be easily moved from car to car.

The info on Garmin is appreciated. Any comments on the Tom Tom 400--pro or con--wound be appreciated. It certainly gets good reviews.

THanks for the thoughtful opinions- I am not a gadget guru and I feel so much better about making a big ticket purchase when I've done research.

From my days in consulting I know of cnet (finally something from tech strategy consulting applies in real life!), so I did a quick search there. It looks like TomTom has better overall scores than Garmin.

http://reviews.search.com/search?part=&q=TomTom

http://reviews.search.com/search?q=Garmin&tag=srch&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=Go%21


As SB Neal mentioned,
The info on Garmin is appreciated. Any comments on the Tom Tom 400--pro or con--wound be appreciated. It certainly gets good reviews.

More info from TomTom users would be great! What is this 400 product- do you mean the TomTom Go 300?

I'm particularly eager to learn more about that product. It looks very user friendly- especially the interface!

BusinessWeek has a good review ("The Easiest, Smartest GPS Yet") of Garmin's nüvi here (http://businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_05/b3969022.htm).

Thanks, that review is very non-techie friendly. :) Forgotten how much I like BusinessWeek.

I hadn't thought to research there. I found a nice interface for GPS reviews, but it doesn't include all the models discussed above.
http://www.businessweek.com/cgi-bin/register/archiveSearch.cgi?h=05_37/b3950088_mz070.htm&campaign_id=search

I found incredibly in-depth info. on a GPS site, some of the reviews are a bit older but the screen shots are great for helping me visualize the GPS experience.

http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/item-menu.php?idSubCat=11

I'm really excited about the TomTom's user interface, the images look so clear and easy to read!

BusinessWeek has a good review ("The Easiest, Smartest GPS Yet") of Garmin's nüvi here (http://businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_05/b3969022.htm).

I'd hardly call it a "good" review. Things like this:

"THE NUVI IS DIFFERENT. Even starting from a "cold fix," which occurs when you first turn it on in a new location after traveling with it turned off, the device will generally find its position in under a minute. If you turn the nüvi on without having moved far from its previous location, a fix is nearly instantaneous."

...make it clear the guy has little experience with GPS units. Nothing different about that. Also; he doesn't explain why the Nuvi is a whopping $300 to $400 more than comparable units.

Just heard there are some new products coming out from TomTom: GO 510 and 910.

They look pretty sleek from the picture and the blurb says you can use the device with an iPod- that sounds like an awesome feature.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/01/t...creen-display/

Anyone got details on these?

Magellan Roadmate 760 - Love it and it works like a charm.

So far from what I've read, these portable GPS units come pre-configured with a geographic region, i.e. USA or sub-regions in Europe. Is there a portable GPS model that contains both regions which can also be used outside of a car? What I'm thinking of is a unit that can be used in a car on both sides of the Atlantic and double as a travel guide on a walking tour of a specific European city, say, London.

The Garmin Nuvi 350.

NA is preinstalled on the unit itself and I have City Navigator Europe installed on a 2 gb SD card, which has plenty of room left over. Check the link I posted above and you will see that you can get a travel guides and a language translator also.

I was thinking about getting the travel guide but not sure it is necessary as everything I have looked for (major attractions) is already installed as POI's in the city navigator software. I have used mine as a walking guide twice in the UK since I got it in December and this past weekend in San Francisco, and it was brilliant! It is definitely the best one on the market at the moment that I have seen.

What I'm thinking of is a unit that can be used in a car on both sides of the Atlantic and double as a travel guide on a walking tour of a specific European city, say, London.

Did you know that the GPS makers offer software for PDA, that would be very convenient for walking tours.

You bring up a great point about GPS that has US and Europe maps. I could really benefit from a device with Europe maps already built in when I go on vacations there. . .

So I looked again and saw that one of the new TomTom products I mentioned, the GO 910 has US, Canada and Europe maps built in. No need to purchase new maps and install them in the last minute rush of packing for a trip, sounds good to me.

I see repeated criticism of Tom Tom USA maps, mostly from last year. Have they been updated and are they better? Who has the best maps?

I hear that Garmin only names the main street that you are on and not other streets shown on the map. I want a gps where I have not inputted an address to show me the names of the streets around me. Do any of them do that?

Map quality is understandably an important feature.

I've looked around a bit in GPS communities and it seems that map quality of the big providers varies based on the particular area you're in. So feedback really reflects where the poster is driving about.

I've seen some people mention that overall the maps used by TomTom and Garmin are of the same quality.

So far from what I've read, these portable GPS units come pre-configured with a geographic region, i.e. USA or sub-regions in Europe. Is there a portable GPS model that contains both regions which can also be used outside of a car? What I'm thinking of is a unit that can be used in a car on both sides of the Atlantic and double as a travel guide on a walking tour of a specific European city, say, London.

The new upcoming TomTom units are the first to come with US, Canada and Europe all preinstalled in the device.

Yes, that feature is really valuable. I found an article comparing the features on the different TomTom GO models, see the chart about halfway down the page.

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060309005354&newsLang=en

Two features included in the GO 510 and 910 that look pretty cool are weather updates and TomTom buddies- something that lets you communicate with people you know who also have the TomTom over the units.

The 910 also has an audiobook capability.

Map quality is understandably an important feature.

I've looked around a bit in GPS communities and it seems that map quality of the big providers varies based on the particular area you're in. So feedback really reflects where the poster is driving about.

I've seen some people mention that overall the maps used by TomTom and Garmin are of the same quality.

On average both map providers in the US (Teleatlas and Navteq) provide similar maps with only minor differences. I prefer the Navteq maps, but manage just fine with Teleatlas. The big differences in navigation units is in the actual planning algorithm used, some devices are absolutely terrible (Kenwood/Denson), others are great (TomTom and Garmin).

Have tom tom 300, love the unit and the maps. I believe it is the only one that has internal batteries built in. Now I'am working on a system dell x51v pda and tom tom gps for usa and europe. Check out aximsite.com and gpspassion for more info.The new gps bluetooth units are very small and very sensitive.Check above sites for more info.Good luck.

Ukie, thanks for the site suggestions. Glad to hear you are so satisfied with your TomTom.

I meant to write that I borrowed a TomTom from a friend for a day trip over the weekend. It was the GO 300.

It was very easy to use. The ride was decidely more enjoyable for both the driver and me who often has the *pleasure* of handling the atlas.

The TomTom's screen was nice and clear- easy to see. I put the unit on top volume and could hear it over the radio and wind noise from open windows.