Hi: I'm in the market for a GPS and have narrowed search to Nuvi 350 and TomTom GO 910. TomTom seems to have more bang for the buck. Thoughts?

 

From a features perspective, I have to agree with you - the 910 has much more storage capacity and bluetooth...

I have a Nuvi 350 and LOVE it. The big advantage the Nuvi has is portability - it is truly pocketable - you can put in your pocket when you leave the car. The 910 is too bulky for that (though it will fit easily in a large purse or a briefcase). The Nuvi is usable for walking around in town - the TomTom is a bit bulky for that IMHO. I have a 4GB SD card in my Nuvi and in practice that's usually all the music I need for driving - else I bring my ipod.

I have the OEM armrest in my '06 MCSC and the nuvi will actually fit inside there when I take it off its mount...

But I think it's hard to go wrong with either of these units.

 

I just got a Nuvi 360 and I really like it. One thing I'm trying to determine (because it doesn't seem capable), is whether I can play mp3's straight off the SD card. It seems like I have to put the mp3 files directly in the Nuvi storage for them to be recognized - is this true, anyone?

 

mp3s play off the SD card just fine for me. Have to be "vanilla" mp3s... I just dump them into folders on the SD card, insert the card, go to browse music and all my tunes are listed...

 

Thanks, yeh, I was just messin round with it and figured it out.

 

hm..im thinkin about buyin an aftermarket gps.
dont wanna spend 1k on the really good nuvi but dont want to spend a hundred on a cheap one.
i want one that'll actually do the job. (which im sure all do..it's THEIR job!! xD)
so hearing from you guys are saying. the nuvi 350 is worth it.
(i heard garmin is one of the better gps)

 

I really like my Nuvi 350.

Though at some point, I hope to replace it with something that supports manual routing (on the PC) and that captures actual route data for upload...

 

I've had my 350 for a while and it's a good unit. Are there better ones, probably, but for my needs, it's perfect. It's really simple to use, graphics are very good and you literally can put it in your pocket and use it walking around.

If you haven't already go to Garmins site pull up the manual online and take some time reading what it has to offer.

 

I actually just bought the TomTom GO 910 off of ebay. Seems like a decent unit so far... no complaints. It does have a lot of cool features, for example: you can pair it with your cellphone over bluetooth and get traffic, weather, buddy finding, as well as use the 910 for a hands free device and have it read your incoming SMS messages with text-to-speech.

 

I work in the industry and I know a rep from both companies. The Garmin is the way to go. Its much faster finding addresses. The tom tom is way to slow.

Nuvi 350 is now $399 at target.

 

I've discovered something important that I wish my new Nuvi did. It doesn't seem to support a good waypoint system, I can't really load 'runs' into it. This seems like a highly desired feature for us motorers!! it's a Nuvi 360. Someone else told me that the Zumo model has this feature... Is this true?

 

Yep - that's the #1 thing I wish my Nuvi did - manual route planning. A buddy who has the Zumo says it does it. I'm considering getting one...

 

is that cheap? i saw it for $350 before. forgot where..it's expired anyways. the deal that is.
man...i knew i should have bought it.
ill just wait till another cheap one comes along.

 

Can either of these have the audio routed through the OEM stereo like a bluetooth phone system. In other words can it be set up to mute the stereo and have it go through the car speakers?

 

I have a question for the 910 owners -- where do you plug in the car adapter? I realize that the home dock has a power outlet on it, but what do you do when you're in the car? Maybe I'm completely blind...

 

Welllllll...... sortof.

I have been down this road. There are two scenarios:

1) connect the Nuvi via the MINI's aux port, and use the Nuvi as your mp3 player (which it does quite well with a 4GB SD card added). It plays mp3's, and pauses to give loud and clear directions, then resumes the mp3 seamlessly. Works very, very well. I use mine like this regularly. Downside - it ONLY works when using the Nav mp3 player. If you're listening to another source (e.g. radio), then this does nothing for you...
2) Buy an integration kit from newministuff.com. In theory, this "inserts" the Nuvi's audio through the right front speaker whenever the Nuvi has something to say, and plays the normal front right audio the rest of the time. Works with any source. Problem is, this unit was originally designed to hardwire into your GPS's speaker circuit, so it's expecting "speaker level" output from the GPS. The GPS won't put enough "volume" out the headphone jack to drive this reliably. I have inserted a boostaroo headphone amp into the circuit, and that works, but it's a lot of baling wire and duct tape to do something that should be simple...The upside - when this is all hooked up, it works the way you want it to work, with any source...

 

The adapter is plugged into the mount, and the mount is plugged into the GPS unit.

 

For costco members, you can buy the 350 nuvi for $350 for the next few days on line.... I just ordered mine!

 

Also, Garmin has just come out with a new line of Nuvi, 200 series; less expensive than the 350.