Garmin Nuvi or other Auto GPS experience

AdamZ

AdamZ

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Feb 24, 2005
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Montgomery County PA
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Display name:
Adam Zucker
The lease is up on my Honda Pilot and I think I will be buying a new one. The one I lease has a Navigation Unit ( GPS) built in which is great for my wife who although wonderful is truly directionaly challenged.

I think the Navigation Unit adds about $2000 to the price of the vehicle. Yes that is a lot, but at my hourly rate the time it saved me on the phone with my wife trying to figure out where she was and give her directions to where she was going the thing paid for itself quickly. LOL

My brother in law just got a Garmin Nuvi for about $250 and loves it. I tried one the other day and it seemed to work well but redraws a bit slowly. I can save a significant amount on the purchase of the car by getting the Nuvi instead of the build in nav system. But if the Nuvi is not all that great I'll spend the extra money so my wife can find her way home. Does anyone have any experience with this unit or similar Auto GPS units?
 
I have a Garmin Nuvi and it works really really well. In this part of the country (lots of woods, etc) it takes a few minutes to acquire the satellites, but otherwise it's flawless. My dad gave it to me as a birthday gift, and he plans on getting one for himself in the near future after seeing it used in my car. He's looking at the model that verbally announces the exit numbers, street names, etc, but mine doesn't do that.
 
My wife has a NUVI. It's very slick. The daughters say, "Mom, can I have GPS Lady?" We got it for less than $200 at an internet store- Newegg.com, I think IIRC.
 
I have a Garmin Zumo I bought for the motorcycle but I also use it in the truck. The truck, by the way, has a built in $2,000 navigation unit which sucks compared to the Garmin. I never turn it on.
 
Here's another thing- how do you update the maps in the built-in GPS? I suppose there is a mechanism. The Garmins are easy to update from MapSource, lthough it is a little pricy @ $75.
 
Hey Adam..

I had bought the nuvi 200 a few weeks ago and had the chance to play with it for a while. I liked it alot and think it is a very good device especially considering the price < $200.

I did a little additional research after getting it and found out that Garmin is coming out with the newer maps this month, they will be the 2009 maps.

I also found out that they announced the nuvi 205 and 205wide they are 2 new units that should be out sometime between now and June. Search the Garmin site for more info on this model. Looking over the specs of the new ones it seems that to me it is worth the wait, so that is what I am doing ( I returned the other one ). One new feature is the available traffic option. The list prices on the new ones will be the same as the old.

Good luck with your purchase.

Jon
 
I have the Nuvi 660 with da color, da big hi-res screen, da reads street names, da bluetooth handsfree phone interface, da mp3 player, da world book, the translator, da....

It all works pretty well.

Da only problem is the da battery only lasts about an hour when da screen is set to full bright so you need to keep it on ship's power.

I love the phone interface.

I don't love that database updates are $79 a year. I've had it for a couple years. but I'll only spring for this year's release in May or whatever.

I just had an adventure driving out to Janesville where it wanted me to turn around, drive 25 miles south to pick up the interstate and drive 20+ miles northwest when I knew the airport was about 17 miles west down the two lane I was on. :dunno:

I drove west and "Karen" eventually said, "Continue 12 miles." Thanks, babe.
 
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Adam,

I got my son a Garmin 530 Street Pilot for Christmas. I've borrowed it a few times and have been pretty impressed with it. The refresh rate doesn't seem to be an issue.

From the research I did, the Street Pilot has a better speaker than the nuvi so it's easier to hear the turn by turn commands. The Nuvi was designed to be more portable, but if you plan to leave it in the car, the Street Pilot is probably the way to go.

If she's as directionally challenged as you say you'll want to spend enough to get the audio directions, as opposed to having to read them off of the screen. The one my son has tells you when to turn but you have to read the screen to get the street name. The guy I carpool with has a higher end Street Pilot that says the name of the street in the audio directions.

My wife is also directionally challanged, and she's borrowed my son's GPS a couple of times. She found her own way every time without having to call me..........Priceless ;).

I bought it from megagps.com for $169. It was refurbished but we haven't had any trouble with it.

Lee
 
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Cap'n Jack said:
Here's another thing- how do you update the maps in the built-in GPS? I suppose there is a mechanism. The Garmins are easy to update from MapSource, lthough it is a little pricy @ $75.
Click to expand...

Oh, that's easy. You just purchase a new CD every year. They're only about $600. Insane.
 
gibbons said:
I have a Garmin Zumo I bought for the motorcycle but I also use it in the truck. The truck, by the way, has a built in $2,000 navigation unit which sucks compared to the Garmin. I never turn it on.
Click to expand...
Have I been talking to a GPS-dependent driver? :D
 
I've got a Nuvi 7-something just a little under $500. Bought it for a gaggle of Swedes coming in for my wedding in January.

Pretty cool, worth the money. The only thing that doesn't work well is the FM transmitter, POS. Everything else is Garmin quality.

No GPS can find the optimal route, so far that's an intractible problem in computational theory. If you don't know where you are or where you're going it will get you there. If you do it constantly recalculates and shows you a decent map of whats around you.

Joe
 
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bbchien said:
My wife has a NUVI. It's very slick. The daughters say, "Mom, can I have GPS Lady?" We got it for less than $200 at an internet store- Newegg.com, I think IIRC.
Click to expand...

Last time I checked there were half a dozen or more different Nuvi models plus the Street Pilot line. The Nuvis (Nuvae?) contain a battery, are much smaller/lighter, and have a crummy speaker. IIRC, some of them can transmit to your FM radio although I assume that would mean no listening to music while navigating unless you get one of the models with built in MP3.

I have one of the Street Pilot models (2720) and the touch screen quit working 2 months after the warranty expired. So far I haven't bothered to get it fixed and just use the remote to operate it, partly because the repair cost plus a single update is pretty close to the cost of a mid-line Nuvi.

BTW the built-in OEM GPS displays are normally quite a bit larger than the portables making it easier to view a larger area and/or read the text with aging eyes. You can also sometimes get features like a backup camera display that AFaIK haven't made it to the portables yet.
 
lancefisher said:
Last time I checked there were half a dozen or more different Nuvi models plus the Street Pilot line. The Nuvis (Nuvae?) contain a battery, are much smaller/lighter, and have a crummy speaker. IIRC, some of them can transmit to your FM radio although I assume that would mean no listening to music while navigating unless you get one of the models with built in MP3.
.
Click to expand...

Mine also has the FM transmitter. It's as pointless as any. As you say you can listen to the unit, not music. It has the same problem as any FM transmitter There are no free FM frequencies to put it on so you get noise due to interference. It sounds lousy.
 
Adam just buy a Garmin 196,296,396,496. Then you can use it in the plane also. i use my 196 in the plane, in the truck, and on the boat. works well in all of them.
Dave G
 
Adam:

The Nuvi is really nice, and I second the use of finding one that reads the street name as well as the turn direction. I have an old Magellan Roadmate 2000, which ironically I just finished downloading and updating the firmware and 2008 Maps to about 15 minutes ago. This one has a very easy interface and touch screen, and allows you to change the route or use the screen while in motion. A co-worker has one (I don't know what brand) that doesn't allow him to alter the information unless he is no longer moving, I know some built-in car models also have that feature.

Be sure you get one that has an AC power source and USB connection for when you are updating your maps or firmware, otherwise, you have to be sure it is charged from your car before connecting to the PC.

Most units also can accept an SD card, or their maps are stored on a memory card. If this is the case, you can usually backup your saved addresses to this card as well.

I like having the portability of these small units. Makes it nice for me to use for work, or to put in my wife's car when she is going someplace.
 
There's only about 6,000 different Garmin Nuvis. I just got a 680. But like all the other garmin units, there's a lot of "optional" components. Mine has MSN. After a year, it goes to subscription.
I also have a 496. Lots of options on that and you can use it as a street GPS.
The advantage of a portable is you can move it between cars. Try that in a builtin.
 
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Wow such consistent good reviews! Thanks everyone!! The one I used was my mother in laws and it did announce the street names. She got it for $250.00 One more question? Is there any way to turn down the volume or turn it off. The lady's voice can get annoying and the arrows are pretty simple to follow.
 
AdamZ said:
Wow such consistent good reviews! Thanks everyone!! The one I used was my mother in laws and it did announce the street names. She got it for $250.00 One more question? Is there any way to turn down the volume or turn it off. The lady's voice can get annoying and the arrows are pretty simple to follow.
Click to expand...

Yeah, as Barry et. al. can tell you, it's not a simple knob. It's a few clicks down on the touch screen.

Touch the "wrench" then the speaker you get a + - and you see a % and sliding scale.
 
"Tap" the power button to bring up the display brightness and volume adjustments. It's a similar process for the 496.
You can go through the Tools menu also.
Big sale on Nuvis. Garmin must be fixing to bring out a new device.
(Think 495 which, by the way, was announced a week AFTER I bought my 496.)
 
I have a Nuvi 350, and I love it. The only regret I have is I wished I'd bought the model that has the blue tooth/phone capability. I don't have the traffic receiver for it (it can be added), but I have a friend who does and she loves the traffic updates it provides, especially in Austin's notoriously terrible traffic!
 
I have the Lowrance 350c, or something like that. It was great...built in MP3 player that ran off an SD card (I have a 2 gig card in there) so you can play music through its FM transmitter if you want to have the oral commands. A big, easy to use screen, and decently cheap updates. It quit working a few months ago...the base maps just stopped loading. I don't know if it's a common problem, or if my box is just a lemon...I haven't bothered to send it back yet, but other than the whole breaking thing it was great!
 
gibbons said:
Oh, that's easy. You just purchase a new CD every year. They're only about $600. Insane.
Click to expand...
The prive for the units in our vehicles (one a CD with a few states, the other a DVD with the ConUS) is about $150/yr. We've only bothered updating once each in the 7 years we've owned the vehicles.

One advantage of the built-ins is that they will revert to inertial navigation if they lose satellite coverage, as is likely in tall buildings. Another is that the antenna, being externally mounted, has a better view of the sky.

98% of our driving is to and from the office, and, if we don't know how to get there by now we have a serious problem. OTOH, when we're going on a trip, to a new store, or a new doctor's office, they're wonderful.
 
ausrere said:
I have a Nuvi 350, and I love it. The only regret I have is I wished I'd bought the model that has the blue tooth/phone capability. I don't have the traffic receiver for it (it can be added), but I have a friend who does and she loves the traffic updates it provides, especially in Austin's notoriously terrible traffic!
Click to expand...
She should visit Atlanta. :)
 
gprellwitz said:
The prive for the units in our vehicles (one a CD with a few states, the other a DVD with the ConUS) is about $150/yr. We've only bothered updating once each in the 7 years we've owned the vehicles.

One advantage of the built-ins is that they will revert to inertial navigation if they lose satellite coverage, as is likely in tall buildings. Another is that the antenna, being externally mounted, has a better view of the sky.

98% of our driving is to and from the office, and, if we don't know how to get there by now we have a serious problem. OTOH, when we're going on a trip, to a new store, or a new doctor's office, they're wonderful.
Click to expand...

The inertial navigation is a good thing- parts of NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, and Boston- no signal due to buildings or tunnels. It seems I always need to make a turn just coming out of the "big dig" and the GPS can't warn me because it doesn't know where it is any more. If I keep the directions displayed, I can at least see the name of the turn & look for it the old-fashioned way.
 
Janet's had a Nuvi 200W since last fall (her employer paid for it). She loves it. My daughter has christened it "Fran". Fran CAN be rather insistent, and we tend to mock her when she talks too much... She can be turned down, IIRC.

It's amazing how much simpler the touch screen GPS is to use than the G496. And the database of hotels, businesses, etc is almost overwhelming. If you have time to search it, you can find just about anything that you want in there.

Fran is NOT perfect, and did try to put us into a lake in Colorado at one point. But she's been pretty good. With my wife's job, which has her travelling every other week or so, all over the US, the datebase has done her well so far.

Jim G
 
smigaldi said:
I saw a commercial last night that said that TomTom was the best selling GPS. From this thread it sure does not seem like it.
Click to expand...

AFAIK, TomTom is #1 in the U.K. and the rest of Europe.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
The inertial navigation is a good thing- parts of NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, and Boston- no signal due to buildings or tunnels. It seems I always need to make a turn just coming out of the "big dig" and the GPS can't warn me because it doesn't know where it is any more. If I keep the directions displayed, I can at least see the name of the turn & look for it the old-fashioned way.
Click to expand...

Some of Garmin's Street Pilot series can do dead reckoning as well...

grattonja said:
Janet's had a Nuvi 200W since last fall (her employer paid for it). She loves it. My daughter has christened it "Fran".
Click to expand...

Haha... One of my trainees named mine "Lucille." :rofl:

It's amazing how much simpler the touch screen GPS is to use than the G496.
Click to expand...

Which is why I haven't bought a 496... Back in the day, the Street Pilot series and the aviation series were very comparable. Street Pilot III plus aviation = Garmin 295. After that, though, they split up and the automotive side of the aviation line has not kept up. :no:

As soon as they do, I'll buy one.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Which is why I haven't bought a 496... Back in the day, the Street Pilot series and the aviation series were very comparable. Street Pilot III plus aviation = Garmin 295. After that, though, they split up and the automotive side of the aviation line has not kept up. :no:

As soon as they do, I'll buy one.
Click to expand...

Leslie uses her 496 now when traveling and seems to like it. Yeah, maybe not as easy to use as the auto-only models, but hey, they can't show you what your position is relative to the Class B, either! :rofl:
 
gprellwitz said:
Leslie uses her 496 now when traveling and seems to like it. Yeah, maybe not as easy to use as the auto-only models, but hey, they can't show you what your position is relative to the Class B, either! :rofl:
Click to expand...

Yeah... I'd love to have one, but for the price, it'd better do EVERYTHING I want it to. :(
 
Avoid cheap GPS:
http://xkcd.com/407/
cheap_gps.png
 
lancefisher said:
Last time I checked there were half a dozen or more different Nuvi models plus the Street Pilot line. The Nuvis (Nuvae?) contain a battery, are much smaller/lighter, and have a crummy speaker. IIRC, some of them can transmit to your FM radio although I assume that would mean no listening to music while navigating unless you get one of the models with built in MP3.

I have one of the Street Pilot models (2720) and the touch screen quit working 2 months after the warranty expired. So far I haven't bothered to get it fixed and just use the remote to operate it, partly because the repair cost plus a single update is pretty close to the cost of a mid-line Nuvi.

BTW the built-in OEM GPS displays are normally quite a bit larger than the portables making it easier to view a larger area and/or read the text with aging eyes. You can also sometimes get features like a backup camera display that AFaIK haven't made it to the portables yet.
Click to expand...

I recently rode with Lance and his remote controlled GPS (as if a remote for TV wasn't enough) <g>. Pretty macho stuff to click that remote while driving and change from the drive route to the nearest place to eat and back with only a couple--how'd I do that's and -- that isn't what it's supposed to dos!!

My observation is Lance also needs a GPS to tell him how to turn after the exit sign while is passenger is talking where they are multiple choices <g>. We turned off, but missed the optional exit on the ramp and got to take the toll road instead of riding free.

On my Nuvi, my biggest complaint is how difficult it is to put something in if you don't have an actual street address. For instance, going to the Subway for lunch to meet someone twenty miles away. If you put in restaurants and that type food you have to scroll through 25 Subways to get the one you want. Can't enter Subway in Addison for instance. It's worse in the big city area if you don't know what city it's in.

Tried to enter 'North Dallas Tollway' which is a major north/south artery form us here, and it wouldn't take it.

Still, it's great most of the time.

Best,

Dave
 
Greebo said:
Avoid cheap GPS:
http://xkcd.com/407/
cheap_gps.png
Click to expand...

That's how my new digital thermostat works, if I let it. It has an auto mode to chose itself whether to turn on the heat or the A/C. I think the default swing range is 2 degrees so it does that,

It's cold! Give me HEAT!!! :lightning: WHIRRERRRR BRAPPPPPP!!!
....minutes later....
Oh NO! It's hot! COOL! :target: FWUMMMPPP!
:dunno:

I don't let it stay in auto mode.

I need to change the swing range. It would be nice during times like now where I have the heat turned down in the day with solar heating and open windows and forget to reset it at night until I'm throughly frozen in bed.
 
Dave Siciliano said:
On my Nuvi, my biggest complaint is how difficult it is to put something in if you don't have an actual street address. For instance, going to the Subway for lunch to meet someone twenty miles away. If you put in restaurants and that type food you have to scroll through 25 Subways to get the one you want. Can't enter Subway in Addison for instance. It's worse in the big city area if you don't know what city it's in.
Click to expand...

That's one advantage of the Street Pilot series (and I don't know if this applies to the newer, lower-end Street Pilots like the c series, but it does for the 2xxx ones): You can choose to find a Subway "Near Other..." and choose a point on the map for it to search from rather than your current location. It'll also allow you to search near your destination.

One possible workaround: Does the Nuvi have an "indoor" mode? If so, you could activate indoor mode (which turns the GPS receiver off), tell it you're in Addison, find Subway, let it calculate a route, and then turn indoor mode off. It should recalculate a route from where you actually are once the GPS receiver is back on. I don't know if the Nuvi has an indoor mode, though. :dunno:
 
flyingcheesehead said:
That's one advantage of the Street Pilot series (and I don't know if this applies to the newer, lower-end Street Pilots like the c series, but it does for the 2xxx ones): You can choose to find a Subway "Near Other..." and choose a point on the map for it to search from rather than your current location. It'll also allow you to search near your destination.

One possible workaround: Does the Nuvi have an "indoor" mode? If so, you could activate indoor mode (which turns the GPS receiver off), tell it you're in Addison, find Subway, let it calculate a route, and then turn indoor mode off. It should recalculate a route from where you actually are once the GPS receiver is back on. I don't know if the Nuvi has an indoor mode, though. :dunno:
Click to expand...

Yeah, it does have a simulator mode. You just lower the antenna.
 
I guess a 17" HP laptop with internet access and GPS tracking, mounted on a stand, attached to the floorboard is... overkill? :)
 
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