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My wife really didn't like it. She's used to our Garmin StreetPilot c320, and much prefers her own compared to the Magellan. She said she felt it gave fewer commands and less information overall.
Could be due to the fact that the owner was still a novice, of course. If I find out what model she had, or better yet ride along next time, I'll try to play with it and offer more detailed feedback.
-juice
Has anyone tried out or owns the Plenio VXA-3000 7" GPS device? I'm in the market for a good GPS device between $400-$700 with a 7" screen. I prefer a 7" screen to be sure I can see it without any trouble. Thanks.
Here's 32 pages of reading for you:
http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=71659
Now *that* is cool. I see a variance of 6-20 cents per gallon in my area from one station to the next, so even though it seems like very little, over time this would really add up, and the service would pay for itself.
It's only $50/year, so who's first to try it out and report back?
-juice
Any thoughts about the following three recent postings in the GPS Passion forums:
#1 I had 2 Garmin units in the past for about 4 years, recently moved to Europe and now own a TomTom One for over 2 months. Using extensively both unit, here are some issues I never saw mentioned before:
When you tap the TomTOm screen it will take you the main menu where you have to use several taps to access its functions. The most inconvenient feature here is the lack of panning of the maps. In order to be able to do that in the 'browse map' mode it takes 4 taps. I found this very unpractical because there are situations when i need to check what is around me on the map and navigating through 3-4 screens it very distracting (and slow process) while driving. This is the major complaint about TomTom. They don't have a shortcut on the map to get into browsing mode directly. This way you can't get information about a waypoint onthe map quickly, you have to get into 'browsing' mode forst before you can get the name of the restaurant, bank etc.
At Garmin one tap on the main screen you are in browsing mode, pan the map, zoom in/out, get the waypoint info etc, very quick and practical.
#2 I've not ever used the Tom Tom but I think the text-to-speech feature is a near-must. Often it is difficult to get a quick read on the map's display due to ambient light, but the vocal announcements with street names can partially overcome that.
#3 I was a tomtom go owner/user until it was stolen from my MINI last summer. I am now the happy user of a nuvi 350. I had the option to replace my stolen unit with a new tomtom, but found the features, compactness, and overall user experience much better with the nuvi. Although the tomtom was quite customizable, I really got sick of the canned phrases during navigation, and found the text to speech of the nuvi a welcome change. The fact that I can mount the nuvi down low in one of my cupholders makes the deal even sweeter!
If you know of a free traffic service, please share.
-juice
I manage OK without it, though it wouldn't hurt I guess. I don't have a problem seeing the street names, but I'm 20/20 after LASIK.
I'd probably feel differently if I used the GPS in my Miata, as glare is so bad you can barely see the screen at all in any conditions except night.
Did you read about Garmin being in process of discontinuing the cXXX series? They are bringing a lower cost nüvi 2XX series to market soon.
One neat accessory that I just got is worth mentioning. I really didn't like the suction-cup mounting thing, and found a neart Garmin accessory at one of the online sites. Best way to describe it is a high-tech beanbag. Said beanbag is weighted, and sits anywhere on the dash without sliding. It is customized for whatever Garmin GPS you have. Very easy to just pick up and stow on the floor, wherever, when parked. I think the mount and the bracket to make it work together ran about $50 bucks total. Details if anyone is interested?
I have been through three portable GPS. The latest one is the garmin nuvi. My previous GPS was stolen since the mounting system is very obvious and the theft just looked for the GPS unit inside the car and stole everything.
After that I used a bean bag where you can remove the whole thing from the top of the dasboard out of site when parking.
Lately, I have been lazy and just used a bull cap to cover the thing on the dashboard.
Now I found out that it is less conspicuous by sticking the mounting disc beside the radio tuner knob of my highlander. And then cover the whole thing with a bull cap when parking.
I can see that in the Sonata it is similar to my highlander where there is perfect space for the mounting disc beside the radio tuner knob.
number 1 and 3 seem to be comparing TomTom and Garmin products. I've never used a garmin, but as far as the tomtom goes, I've never had any problems "navigating" around the device. My friends One is the easiest device to use in the world (and I'm no tech genious :-)) #2. I like the text-2-speech, but I don't think its a must. The 910 has it, but the "turn left", "turn right" on the One works fine for me.
So the 2xx series will probably be more comparable to the MIO.
Has anyone tried the MIO? Circuit City was selling them dirt cheap, and what I've heard so far was all good.
-juice
Why? Factory GPS is a real cash cow. They get $2000 or so for these, and I bet the margins are as high as it gets in the auto industry.
It's the same reason we see fewer cars available with a standard double-DIN opening for the stereo. :sick:
Does anyone have any experience with the GMC/Chevy Navi/MP3 Players out in the 2007 trucks?
-mike
Noone here has a MIO 310 model?
-juice
http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=37
http://www.garmin.com/contactUs/techSupport.jsp
Windows market share is 94%. OS X market share is 6%. Enough said.
nüvis are not designed so that you can enter destinations on your computer and copy them to the unit. However, you can create custom points of interest (POI) using Mapsource on your computer and transfer them to your nüvi.
http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=59352
You'll be interested in the new Garmin software download for your C320.
Changes made from version 5.30 to 5.40:
Added Brazilian Portuguese voice language support
Updated for United States Daylight Saving Time change
http://www.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=829
Thank you!
I don't have it with me today, but I figured I was overdue for the DST time fix (noticed that a while ago).
Brazilian Portuguese, nice! :shades:
For those not familiar with the language, Brazilians speak a softer version with fewer verb conjugations (no 2nd person for instance), and a different pronunciation as well.
I could barely understand the Portuguese (from Portugal) on the unit now.
I probably won't use it, but my dad will. My brother got an identical unit and my dad leaves for a road trip to Florida on Sunday. I'll make sure they install that update and later ask him how he liked it. :shades:
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gps/garmin-launches-even-more-nvis-%5Bverdict-ill-sti- - ck-with-tomtom-thanks%5D-244707.php
IMO- the new TomToms are showing a lot of promise. The One is getting a lot of press these days for its low price and easy use. I've had nothing but positive experiences with it myself. Just thought I'd share...
The gizmodo link that you provided is interesting since of the follow-up comments, five posters preferred Garmin while only two preferred TT.
I was also interested in the quote: "the 20GB-hard drive equipped TomTom GO 910". A spinning hard drive in a portable unit? Possibly bouncing over rough terrain? No thanks. I'll stick with the solid-state Garmins for security, peace of mind and longevity.
If memory serves, I couldn't get Mapsource to work, since it couldn't find any maps. Is there a way to get the maps from the Nuvi to the computer?
I first tried the Garmin Nuvi 660, which was probably a mistake. It is a very slick. So compact, yet the screen is huge. Such a nice design. Interface is like the c series that I'm used to only better. A+. I want one. $900 at that store but that store is not price-competitive.
Then I tried the big-screen Tom Tom, not sure which model, might have been the 910 I guess. In comparison it was bulky and a little clumsy in its design. It was bigger outside but had a slightly smaller screen. Price was $700 IIRC.
I'm not used to Tom Tom's interfact, but to be fair, I figured it out on the spot. Very simple to use, not unlike my Garmin. They make the same mistake of not using a QWERTY keyboard, even.
They had an older Magellan model that wasn't even worth a thorough look so I passed.
I did take a quick peek at the small/cheap Tom Tom model, though, and the 3.5" screen and low price make it attractive. I think it was $299, though Staples advertised it for less in the circulars from the Sunday paper, I think it's $200.
I think I'd cross-shop all the $200 models, the other one is the Mio 310x, if I wanted a 3.5" screen. But if I were to pay more the Nuvi model is just a lot better designed than the Tom Tom that I saw, at least.
What Garmin needs to do is get an entry in the $200 class pronto.
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9697837-1.html
http://www.garmin.com/products/nuvi200/
Not $200, but...
I wouldn't expect them to meet the $200 price point of Lowrance and Mio, but maybe the $300 price point of the Tom Tom One.
Lemme do a quick street price search on Froogle...
$305 and up, $318 from a seller with multiple ratings.
That's about what I expected.
I think I'd pick that over a Tom Tom One just to stay with a Garmin, since I could transfer my Favorites easily to the new device, plus I already know how to use it (and the POIs, updates, etc.).
The $200 models are tempting, though.
-juice
He already had the PDA, so the maps were $150 or so, and the BT antennae was another $60.
So that's $210 for that option, plus the cost of the PDA, unless you already have it.
The screen was a tad small. I'm used to a 3.5" screen, so I felt the keyboard was a bit harder to use at this size. One neat thing was he could change the orientation, portrait or landscape.
His even had the traffic subscription, though he isn't finding it that useful and will likely not renew at the end of the free trial period.
Interesting option, especially if you don't want a seperate device. But I think I prefer a dedicated unit, especially when you can get one for the $210 he spent, and with a bigger screen.
Cheaper than a Tom Tom One, though, if you like their interface.
and the Rider dropped by $200. So the TT ONE is now just $299 that is insanely cheap!
link title
Are there some new chips in the pipeline or something?
The regular Garmin nüvi 3xx lines and the slightly larger form factor nüvi 6xx lines use the SiRFstarIII chipset. The latest, lower cost, nüvi 2xx lines use the less expensive MTK chipset.
As always, regardless of brand, you get what you pay for. That's a factor in snapcracklepop's earlier link today to a February 16th TT advertisement.
So it sounds like Tom Tom and Garmin, the volume leaders, have their entry level units starting around $300. While smaller players like Lowrance and Mio have theirs for $200.
I'd love to see a comparo of these budget buys.
The concept of using other drivers to give real time traffic info sounds unique.
Mark
steve_, "Auto Parts Bargains and Coupons" #72, 9 Apr 2007 10:15 pm
I didn't apply either since my annual mileage is in the 5,000 range.
The '97 would be a full 1,000 miles less but I don't have nav and I easily get lost driving around (how's that for sticking to the topic, LOL).
I gotta see if my next vehicle will have factory GPS. One thing I do want is a backup cam, unfortunately most of these budget priced portables don't have a video input. I don't trust the Plenio.
If you want a 4.3" diagonal screen with Bluetooth, choose the nüvi 660.
TT510 does NOT have Text-To-Speech. The nüvi 350 and 360 DO.