I am in the process of purchasing a portable GPS and would appreciate your buying experience and opinions on brands and models. Thanks.

 

Garmin Nuvi.

 

Garmin Nuvi. If you don't like the suction cup windshield mount the get the Kuda mount for the dash.

 

Do a search for prior NAM threads. There's a lot of info out there.

 

Before you go and spend alot, I have one question.

Do you have a Pocket PC by any chance?

There are alot of "Sleeves" and software/antenae add-ons that you can get for your Palm or Pocket PC that costs HUNDREDS less and work just as well, or better.

-B

 

Everything's relative. You can make your PDA work like an MP3 player, a telephone, a secret decoder ring, etc. But the Nuvi is so easy to use - it's the Ipod of GPS. I like purpose-built technology like the Nuvi. Used to be a PDA gadget freak ("look at all the stuff I can do with this") - but I got tired of the compromises. In some cases you can do MORE with the PDA-integrated stuff - but it's just not as easy to setup and use... IMHO.

Here's another mounting option for the Nuvi.

 

I got a Garmin Nuvi 660 for $660 an am thrilled with it. The screen is considerably bigger and brighter than the Nuvi 360 that Mini sells. I have a Kuda mount on order and will report on it when it comes in.

 

We currently have the Nuvi 350 and 660, and I just sold a Garmin 276c a few months ago. The Nuvi is certainly a "dumbed-down" consumer GPS, compared to a lot of other models, but if it does everything you want/need, it's hard to beat for convenience and ease-of-use.

The only things my 276c had that I really miss with the Nuvi are:

1) Water resistance - I use the GPS on my motorcycle, so this is nice. I have a plastic baggie that I can slip over the Nuvi if I get some unexpected rain, while the 276c was waterproof to one meter, so I never had to worry about it.

2) Routes - The Nuvi doesn't allow you to program in a series of waypoints as a route. You can insert one destination between your current location and your final destination, but that's it.

3) Flexible display - the 276c Let you display up to four parameters overlaid on the main display, things like car battery voltage, time-to-destination, current speed, elevation, time/distance to next turn, satellite accuracy etcetera. There were actually about 35 parameters that you could choose from, which was really nice.

 

Garmin Nuvi... Nuff said...

 

I have the NUVI 360. It is quite convenient. I have to say though, that if you need ONLY a GPS, the Garmin Quest 2 is great as well, is waterproof (so can be used as a bike/motorcycle computer too) and has a 20 hour battery. The NUVI lasts only about 4hrs on battery. I do think that either will be better than trying to use a PDA and bluetooth GPS. I have never found a PDA solution that was as reliable or easy to use.

 

last year, I bought the Magellan 6000T. Works nicely, but after using a friend's Nuvi 350, I *should* have bought the Garmin. Smaller and easier to mount and use, in my opinion.

 

I miss ability to load routes too.

Garmin makes a version for the motorcycle too: zumo
I've never tried it since I don't have a motorcycle.

 

I tried a bunch of Navigational units before buying.
First off, are you going to be using the bluetooth in the GPS?
How about the MP3 player?
If not, you're going to pay extra for a feature you won't use.

After weighing what I wanted and needed in a unit, I ended up with the Magellan 2500T. It had built in NA maps (No flash cards, I'm a semi-pro photographer, the last thing I need in life is more memory cards to cart around and lose!) It has both 3d and 2d maps. It costs less than $400, and is extremely easy to use.
And now, the new Magellan Crossover is out (you can use it for walking around, camping, etc, then take it into the car as well) and you can upgrade the 2500T with the crossover software.

I'm sure there will be hundreds more saying the Nuvi, but I would definately take a look at the 2500T.

No, I don't work for Magellan!

 

I recently purchased a portable GPS and looked at several different models before making my purchase. For my money and use, the TomTom One fit the bill just fine for $299.

It is about as simple to use as it gets, and so far it has been on the money with directions, points of interest, and service station locations.

Here is a link to their web-site:

http://www.tomtom.com/?Lid=4&selecto...q9dsuee12dqf70