Travel Technology - Please recommend a GPS?

I tried searching on GPS, but FT can't do a 3-letter search.

These are the features I'd like:

1. Portable and pocketable (it will be yet another tool in my roadwarrior kit, which is already too big and too heavy)
2. Text-to-speech for street names
3. "3D" view
4. Bluetooth, i.e. my car can link to it and put the voice over the car's stereosystem
5. As inexpensive as possible
6. A "traffic" feature that will let me detect delays and plot routes around them
7. Fast satellite acquisition
8. Bonus: can upload maps for other countries and continents besides US (I might want to use it in Europe some time).

Features I couldn't care less about:

1. "Points of interest"
2. MP3 capability
3. Any other capability not directly related to navigation

Sign on to the Garmin website http://www.garmin.com and browse until you find the unit that meets your needs. Garmin isn't the only game in town but my bet would be they sell more units than anyone else, and they have a huge range of products.

Garmin 360?

It has Bluetooth, although I'm not sure it's for what you are requesting. I have the 350, as I understood the bluetooth function as enabling you to take a phone call through the unit as a speakerphone, dial a call from the GPS, etc - I already have a BT earpiece

While you can't search for GPS, try searching for "Garmin" - it's probably present in every thread discussing GPS's

Three recent GPS threads:
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=752121
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=739568
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=763811

http://www.gpsmagazine.com/reviews.php says top rated units are garmin 250W (that's what I ultimately got from costco.com), nuvi 350 (or 360/370), under $400, and newer nuvi 760 model

Based on your list of requirements, best bet is probably nuvi 350/360/370 series.....good prices at both costco and amazon, free shipping, no sales tax. With costco, in theory can return within one year.

The TomTom One LE is $150 at Bestbuy and other B&M right now.
It does not have text-to-speech or traffic.

The TomTom One XL has both text-to-speech and real time traffic for $249.

I personally think that one can do without text-to-speech. And if you have the internet, just check sigalert.

I bought a Garmin and I will be taking it back because it's missing a major feature for me. It is not a feature from your list and not something I thought about until I bought it. I like having the option of 'avoid highways' for routing but that is not an option on my Garmin (650) and it's not on several others I looked at.

So, if that's something you think you might want you may want to look for what routing features it has.

Got a garmin nuvi 200 and love it.

A client suggested tomtom 9xx but I wouldn't call it "pocketable"

I just got the AT&T Tilt cell phone. Has built in GPS with Google Maps (vs. out of date DVD in my car Nav system) and there is a Navigation application that speaks the directions. Don't know if the sounds comes over the Bluetooth but would expect it would...

Lots of people think that the traffic feature isn't worth it. Do some research on it.

-David

Your requirements are pretty extensive. My experiences are almost exclusively with Garmin, starting with an eMap in 2000.

You can use the "compare" tool on the Garmin website and compare these models Streetpilot 2820, Nuvi 650, Nuvi 750.

Streetpilot 2820
Has BT, FM Traffic but no battery.
Nuvi 650, 750
Has battery, FM Traffic but no BT.

The out of production Streetpilot 2730 has a FM link to put the voice prompts into the radio but no BT and battery. This one can be had for ~$400 where the other three are all close to $1000.

2. Text to speech is more capable but the older digitized speech is sometimes more clear in pronunciation.

3. All Garmin units that use City Navigator NT map sets can display in 3D bird's eye view. My preference is 2D North-up view.

4. Normally, BT in GPSs are for mobile phone handsfree use. The SP2820 and Nuvi 6xx/7xx has audio output cables to connect to the radio (if there is an input jack in the car).

I wrote a post on various Garmin models (post #6) in this thread:
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=763811

I bought a Garmin and I will be taking it back because it's missing a major feature for me. It is not a feature from your list and not something I thought about until I bought it. I like having the option of 'avoid highways' for routing but that is not an option on my Garmin (650) and it's not on several others I looked at.

So, if that's something you think you might want you may want to look for what routing features it has.

The 650 does have the option to avoid highways.

Go to the setup (the wrench icon)
Touch the "Navigation"
Touch "Avoidances"

You can "avoid"
Traffic
U-Turns
Highways
Unpaved roads
Toll roads
Ferries

Make sure you have "Avoidances" enabled

Lydia

Good sale price on the 650 ($299) on costco.com

costco.com has a good sale price on the 650 ($299)

You might also want to consider an all-in-one solution like a Wing or iPAQ rather than adding another two pieces (unit and charger) to your travel gear.

The major advantage of these, like the Tilt mentioned above and many others, is that you aren't locked into one manufacturer's interface AND maps AND features AND software forever. The fact that the same device will also contain your surfing/email terminal and all your contacts and schedules and itineraries and books and guides and music and travel applications is just gravy.

Dedicated devices tend to become obsolete. Software solutions are infinitely more future-proof.

I use Microsoft Streets & Trips on a laptop in the car, and move the maps to a Pocket PC when I'm on foot. One software and one map base. The S&T program can be bought with a "GPS Locator" (receiver) that plugs into a USB port. MSRP is $99, but they're easy to find for $80 or less. Microsoft also sells S&T with "Connected Services" like detours, delays, and even the cheapest fuel near your route. It's $149 MSRP, with subscription services sold separately.

Don't buy a Magellan - people have been having bad service experiences with them - somehow, this blog entry I did a couple years back (http://ben-johnson.org/blog/archives/2005/10/158/#comments) has become a rallyping place for peoplem with bad Magellan experience.

The 650 does have the option to avoid highways.



Costco has special $299 special going right now....i think lowest price around

Any PDAs with good GPS/map capabilities? Specifically looking for Outlook contacts/calendar sync plus location and route calculation.

Thanks for any tips.

I have looked at many places but cannot find
info which unit to consider when I want "dual-
continent", North America and Europe. Ideas?

I have looked at many places but cannot find
info which unit to consider when I want "dual-
continent", North America and Europe. Ideas?

A Garmin Nuvi 270 has both Europe and NA maps loaded. Or, just buy one one-continent version and the map set SD card for the other.

Costco has special $299 special going right now....i think lowest price around

I had picked one up on Wal Mart's site for that same price as a Friday special a couple weeks ago. I showed it to my neighbor and he wanted one also. Then Costco ran out for a while. Thanks for posting they have it again. My neighbor is very happy at the moment.

You might also want to consider an all-in-one solution like a Wing or iPAQ rather than adding another two pieces (unit and charger) to your travel gear.

The major advantage of these, like the Tilt mentioned above and many others, is that you aren't locked into one manufacturer's interface AND maps AND features AND software forever. The fact that the same device will also contain your surfing/email terminal and all your contacts and schedules and itineraries and books and guides and music and travel applications is just gravy.

Dedicated devices tend to become obsolete. Software solutions are infinitely more future-proof.

I use Microsoft Streets & Trips on a laptop in the car, and move the maps to a Pocket PC when I'm on foot. One software and one map base. The S&T program can be bought with a "GPS Locator" (receiver) that plugs into a USB port. MSRP is $99, but they're easy to find for $80 or less. Microsoft also sells S&T with "Connected Services" like detours, delays, and even the cheapest fuel near your route. It's $149 MSRP, with subscription services sold separately.

Using a PC in a car is really a last resort kind of thing. The LCD is not bright enough and icon are too small to click on while moving. Even the Garmin made for car software nRoute is too hard to use. Longer trips may require an additional DC adapter for the PC. I also tried using Smart Phone loaded software and they tend to crash the phone more often than I like.

In the end, these solution tends to be more for tinkering than real use.

Carrying a dedicated GPS is still the best.

A Garmin Nuvi 270 has both Europe and NA maps loaded. Or, just buy one one-continent version and the map set SD card for the other.

And a nuvi 370 ;)

Any PDAs with good GPS/map capabilities? Specifically looking for Outlook contacts/calendar sync plus location and route calculation.

iPAQ rx5900 (http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/215348-215348-64929-314903-3329748-3263043.html)

iPAQ rx5900 (http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/215348-215348-64929-314903-3329748-3263043.html)

Thanks for the tip. On my first day of work (today), I found out that the company is on Lotus Notes, not Outlook. Now I've gotta figure out an elegant way to sync a GPS PDA running either Windows Mobile or Palm OS to Notes.

:mad: