Looking for a handheld type nav unit for the wife.

needs to be decent, but not too expensive (under $1K)

I don't use nav usually so not sure which ones are good... any suggestions?

thanks.

 

Do you really mean a hand-held GPS or one that is designed mainy for use in a car?

For a hand-held, the new Garmin 60csx can't be beat. I use it for hiking as well as autorouting in the car. For an all-around outdoors and automotive GPS, it can't be beat.

But if she wants something more designed for someone who wants it only for use in the car, then I would lead her toward something like a Garmin c530 or c550. Both of these are a good bit less than $1k and are great.

Don't buy anything that is not using the newest SiRF III receiver. It is by far the most sensitive receiver ever made and is a quantum leap in satellite reception.

Avoid Magellan units like the plague. While they may be just fine, the company's customer support has gone completely down the tubes while Garmin is well known for taking care of their customers.

www.gpsnow is a great place to buy online. Very competitive prices and good customer support for a retail store.

 

thanks Yucca!! she's going to use in the car...

 

Sam's has the Garmin nuvi 350 for $654.00. Nice little unit from what I can tell.
I'm not sure if it uses that SiRF III receiver that Yucca referred to, guess I will go check the Garmin site. I'm trying to decide whether to go for this one of wait for the nuvi 360 which has bluetooth.
Annette

 

I got a TomTom go 910, loaded of features (bt, mp3 player....) 20Gb harddisk... However, the US map isn't quite up to date. I bet Garmin nuvi is a better choice. Anyway, I got the TomTom go since I planned for a future trip to Europe and Canada, since it already have those maps in the box, and their Euro map are more up to date.

 

The Nuvis are really neat too. Very slim and they have some neat PDA type features not normally associated with a GPS (jpeg picture viewer, alarm clock, currency converter, calculator, and the 360 will have bluetooth). The only slight downside when compared with the chunkier but still quite small streetpilots is that the Nuvi's screen will not be as bright.

 

I just took a 4650 mile road trip with a borrowed Garmin unit (sorry I don't know the exact model number). While it was extremely handy for finding food, fuel, and lodging, its directions were a bit suspect. Twice it took us over remote, obscure two lane roads, when slightly longer routes via Interstate would have been much quicker. We ended up buying a small atlas to cross check its suggestions. If you're under no time table, I guess that's okay, but our trip was a series of destinations for cycling, not sight-seeing along the way. As we left Vermont headed south, the Garmin kept insisting that we take the Interstate that heads through NYC, while my experience has been that I88 through Binghamton and Pennsylvania has much less traffic. A great tool, but still needs some human input.

 

i've got a garmin nuvi 350 since last thanksgiving and so far, it's been
great especially when on TDY. extremely portable (fits in shirt pocket)
and the routing is pretty decent and extremely flexible. that said, if you
don't pick the correct routing options (of which there are many), you'll
end up like mtbscott.

i do wish that the c-series garmin had downloadable routing and a way
to avoid certain waypoints. as this time, the garmins still have better
us maps than tomtom. (i like the tomtom's display better, but the
maps for my area are still catching up...)

 

looks like Nuvi 350 is a sound choice. pricewise, well within budget
and small enough that she can fit it in her purse.

I will let my wife know. thanks everybody!

 

I have had no problem with Magallen???

If I were to buy today, NUVI would be high on the list, simply because of the intergrated BT and small size. Good choice.

 

I use a Sony NV-U70 (Crutchfield) and really like it. I use it to find hidden clients . . .

 

This is the popular misconception of any GPS unit. People think it should tell them where to go.

The entire point of GPS and I use it professionally at work, is to let you know where you are.

GPS has been converted in to a navigation system for personal use to the public, but the best advice a GPS can give you about getting somewhere will be dictated by the software loaded on the unit itself. A GPS can not second guess or come to a real decision about the detour in the road ahead because of some road work that is not loaded in to the unit.

Street navigation is a very tricky art and any GPS will have blind spots when it comes to telling you how to get from point A to point B because it is truly a device to pin point where you are, not where to go.

 

The Nuvi 360 - just now shipping - is the Nuvi 350 plus has a built-in hands-free Bluetooth speakerphone. You can even dial the phone from the Nuvi's screen.

I've had good luck buying from GPSDiscount.com. Fast service and excellent prices. I'm not sure if they have the Nuvi 360, yet. One place that does have it in stock is GetFeetWet.com. These folks are great and will spend the time with you on the phone to answer your questions.

Both the 350 and 360 have the SiRF chip, which permits the units to still navigate - even if the satellite signal is lost, in a downtown area with large buildings, for example.

The new Garmin C-550 has SiRF and Bluetooth. It's a bit larger than the Nuvi, but has a better screen, IMO. I bought a C-330 (earlier model, no SiRF or Bluetooth) for my daughter and she loves it. The 350 uses an internal Microdrive (like an iPod), where the Nuvi has everything stored in flash memory.

I've had a Garmin Streetpilot 2610 for the past two years. It has seen rough duty on my motorcycle, and moved from car-to-car. it has never missed a beat. My vote is to stick with Garmin. They have great tech service and tech support. A couple of friends of mine that have Tom Tom's have suggested that TT's support is sub-par.

 

I highly recommend the Garmin 2720 GPS unit. I bought one several months ago and just love it. Took it on a 2400 mile vacation trip last month and it never failed to get me where I wanted to go. The dashboard bean bag mount works great and allows the unit to be moved to a different car if you want. It has a ton of features and allows for custom avoidance routes, favorite points of interest and downloadable voices. I of course use the British voice in the MINI. I have three GPS units from Garmin and this is by far the best one. Got it from Best Buy via there web site for about $700. Consider this one seriously.

 

AntiqueCarNut or anyone else, can you share a direct comparison of the C330 vs the Nuvi 350? I'm trying to decide between the two. There's a big price difference, and I don't know how to decide whether it's worth the $.

Thanks in advance!

 

My wife's got the Magellan Roadmate 760 and is very happy with it.

 

We have the Garmin C330. I really like it. The only thing I don't like is that I cannot put in waypoints. For instance, if the club wants to do a run, I cannot plug in the route we will take. Actually, is there any NAV out there that can do that without driving the route first?

 

Used a barrowed Garmin 2720 this past Spring while touring Ireland and zero complaints. This unit has good reviews at epinions.com and currently available at Costco.com for $599.


The 2730 looks interesting as it come with the built in interface for XM traffic/weather for only $100 more.

 

Having had a PDA w TomTom software for 5 yrs now I was not happy when it finally gave up the ghost. (Blown charging circuit)

Sooo I now had an excuse for a newer toy... I did my DD and picked up a Nuvi 350 for $620 on Fleabay w/ V8 softwqare...LOVE THE TEXT TO SPEACH FUNCTION AND IT IS VERY PORTABLE! It also has the newer SIRF III chip, accurate to within 3 meters (as opposed to 15 meters) and gets over 9 birds from inside my house when I am even near a window!

Don't blame the 2 yr old maps on Garmin...It is Navtec maps that most use and they are very slow!

 

While I await the arrival of my MCS, I needed to buy a toy and since I chose the Chrono Pack I figured a small GPS would be a great addition. I got the Garmin C330 and I am very pleased. It's simple and very intuitive. I can move it from the Mini to the Samurai which is great.

 

I would like to install a GPS to my new MINI. I don't care much for portable units and would like a system as close as possible to the MINI NAV system which I love. Ideally I would like to have a screen, voice and ability to connect IPod and BlueTooth. Suggestions?

MD STREGA2

soon with another little sister...

 

Just to echo what so many others have said, the Nuvi is amazing. I really can't say enough about it. It's amazingly accurate and very fast! Probably the best tech purchase of '06 so far for me. (Well, I did buy the Rebel XT camera this year so it's a toss up

 

I decided on the C330 because it looked like it would meet my needs and was less expensive than the Nuvi. The Nuvi looked great, too, but I didn't think I needed the extra features and didn't want the extra cost.

I've been using the C330 about a week and adore it. It's completely accurate--hard to do in Boston, where the roads keep changing--much more accurate than the homegrown system my husband put together (don't know which software version he's using with his iPaq/GPS hookup). Plus, I'm amazed how quickly it recalculates if I decide to go another way or make a wrong turn--my husband's always yells at him to make a u-turn--grr!

It also never loses its signal, which I've heard is a problem with some others. So, it does everything I need it to and was affordable.

The one thing that delighted me today--I needed gas, and after reading about the Top Tier gas list, had decided I only want to feed Logan with Shell. I was in unfamiliar territory, so I asked the C330 to take me to a gas station. I was delighted that it let me choose which brand I wanted to get to, then took me right to the closest Shell station. I had no idea it would let me choose. Yay!

 

I live in NJ but go to school in Wellesley, MA (Babson). I just took a new C330 on a 1500 mile trip this weekend. It a LOT better than the factory nav and a lot more intuitive to use. I did not read any manuals or do anything. I threw it on the windshield, plugged it in, and drove away. Any use a custom mount for one of these? The windshield on the right side of the driver is a bit too far away. I don't really want to mount it using one of those dash pads. Any alternatives? Thanks

 

I just read this on the Garmin Website--Did anyone know this??

NOTICE TO DRIVERS IN CALIFORNIA AND MINNESOTA: State law prohibits drivers in California and Minnesota from using suction mounts on their windshields while operating motor vehicles. Other Garmin dashboard or friction mounting options should be used. Garmin does not take any responsibility for any fines, penalties, or damages that may be incurred as a result of disregarding this notice. (See California Vehicle Code Section 26708(a); Minnesota Statutes 2005, Section 169.71)