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Comments
Yesterday was teh first time I really let it navigate for me. I had the kids up at a Chinese circus and it found me a place for pizza and an alternate route back to teh Parkway. I like it.
Probably the first time I let an electronic toy get down in price. Normally I'd have bought it when it was $700 and didn't do as much...
Or take it to an audio store besides the dealership, maybe they can troubleshoot it for you.
Reading the review now...
Loading only half the maps is not good - that's a problem early/cheap Garmins had, nearly a decade ago (not enough internal memory for all of North America). Maps on an external/removeablemedia card would make more sense.
$19 is cheap, but it's $38 if you want the whole country. That's still very cheap, less than a map update ($75) costs with a Garmin.
The lane selection view is actually something some newer Garmins can do, that's neat.
Maps not so good, but this is v1.0, and updates are free. Let's see.
POI search is potentially better since the phone can have internet access.
The "does not do voice routing" part seems like a huge negative. A deal breaker to be honest. One comment from a guy who has both read "the lack of voice guidance is a real turn-off. I'd rather not look down at my phone so much."
Still not prime time.
I think if I had an iPhone I may pay the $19 for the east coast only, just to have a 3rd GPS system (we have 3 cars). Honestly, though, there's no way I'd give up my GPS' voice guidance - that's the best part!
BMW Tests Rapid Delivery of Real-Time Traffic Info Over HD Radio
Laugh along with me, folks.
I mean, c'mon, it's garbage in, garbage out.
These live traffic reports are never really live. It's more like what traffic was 30 minutes ago. What does BMW know that Google Maps and all the local radio and TV stations don't know?
Until someone starts collected real-time data on average travel speed in significant enough sample numbers to matter (Dash tried and failed), traffic is not really advanced, in fact it's the exact opposite - retarded.
Sorry for the harsh words but I'm using the proper definition of the word. Retarded Traffic Information.
Went to my brother's in Pennsylvania last weekend and it taught me a couple of simple shortcuts I didn't know about. Even saved me a toll.
I've had a soft top for nearly a decade, but in winter I think I'm going to enjoy having a pseudo-coupe. Makes it more of a year-round car.
In the winter I'd definitely like the retractable hard top. In the summer when it rains I like the sound of the rain on the cloth top. Sounds like you're driving a tent.
I think I'll miss being able to drop the top in 2 or 3 seconds, though.
12 seconds seems so slow.
Now I gotta figure out how I'm gonna mount the GPS. What do you guys think?
* windshield?
* vent mount
* incognito - small GPS velcro'd to the unused part of the gauge cluster
I'm open for suggestions.
(yeah, I'm jealous and snarky about it
Or a Rear view mirror?
The possibilities are endless.
I'm finding in the Celica I had it windshield mounted but now use the nice dash mount that just happened to be included in this sale. Makes it very easy to pop the thing completely out of sight when I park somewhere. Someone made some comment about someone would cut through teh top to get that thing but i don't know. I mean I leave my iPod in there and it cost more. Cell phone, too.
Some day I'll time my top going down. I'll bet it's close to the 12 seconds you get on your hard top. Funny thing to me on retractable hard tops is who started putting them out - VW, Chrysler - i mean are these the folks that you want to count on a complex piece of elctrical work? Heck, the Eos even has a moon roof in the hard top!
The only issues I've seen with Miatas were user-error (people leave the trunk open or had something in the way).
Of course you could get the old 58 Ford Sunliner...
Love the plastic box that shows where it's safe to put luggage.
I wonder who provides service to Cadillac, and how many places it would actually work.
It's actually my 5th GPS, but I sold the first to a colleague, and one of them was a test/demo unit that I ended up returning to Dash before they went out of business. The other 4 were Garmins.
Any how, got a Nuvi 260W, refurbished.
I'm not sure if I've ever bought anything refurbished, but it worked out because the device was in perfect condition. Probably a return or something. The only catch is it has 2009 maps and 2010 just came out this month, and it's not eligible for the free upgrade. I'm OK with that - even the 2008 maps are still not too outdated, at least not for where I drive.
I couldn't pass up the price - $125 delivered. :shades:
I like it so far. It seems to combine the best features from my c340 and Nuvi 200W. It has text-to-speed like the c340, and more voices to choose from, as well as a few extra features. But it's small like the Nuvi 200W, with the big screen. Best of both worlds.
For the price I'm happy. I thought about one of the FM Traffic models but the price was more than double, and I'm still not convinced that the traffic data is up-to-date enough to be truly useful. I can use Google Maps on the BlackBerry, too.
I also ordered a 2nd vent mount, should be here soon, hopefully today. For Nuvi users the Arkon GN047 was just $5 at Buy.com (delivery cost more than the item itself), and they are adjustable for width, so they will fit just about any A/C vent.
Piece of cake to copy the Faves, it's just one file in the Garmin folder. Copied right over, voila.
Buy.com sent me an RMA and it's on the way back for a full refund.
I don't think I'll buy another refurbished for 2 reasons:
* flaws may not show up right away, I could miss a defect and be stuck with it
* Garmin gives free updates the first 60 days but not on refurb'ed, it must be new
Refurb'ed was $125 and new is $175, and the maps cost more than $50, so I've decided to stick to brand-new units this time.
Comparo on my next post....
$110 Nuvi 250 3.5 most basic model, low cost
$130 260 3.5 add text-to speech, but still very basic
$149 250W 4.3 very basic widescreen
$175 260W 4.3 adds text-to-speech, basic with big screen and reads street names
$176 265W 4.3 not sure what this adds over the 260w
$198 750 4.3 multiple destinations, bluetooth, TTS
with traffic below this line
$190 265T 3.5 small screen, but has TTS and lifetime traffic
$226 265WT 4.3 big screen, TTS, traffic
Supposedly Costco had a coupon for the 260w in stores for $150, can anyone confirm that? Any Costco members out there?
If you aren't a member you can order it online and pay a non-member surcharge. Shipping and tax will get it to you for ~$338.08, depending on where you live.
It's $427.31 at Amazon (all per FatWallet).
I don't need a bluetooth. I got Gold Crowns. :shades:
Maybe a diamond in a front tooth would be cool.
Only if it picks up NPR. Or Rush.
The 855 has voice recognition, that's the gee-whiz feature on that line. That plus lane assist, speed limits, and multiple destinations. No traffic, though. How well does that work? Anyone tried it?
The 265wt gives up those things but gains FM traffic for the life of the unit with no fees. But...from what I've read the FM traffic is not that accurate.
With the 855 at $300 and the 265wt at $224.54 here:
http://just4electronics.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=396
I think I'd lean towards the 265wt.
TigerGPS has a bargain on the 250w - just $149. Pretty basic, but at least it's a big screen and includes Canada maps.
So I got the Nuvi 260W for $149 brand new, and on this one I can get the upgrade to v10 (2010) maps, too. So for $24 more than refurbished I get a unit that doesn't crash plus I get the map updates.
I'm a happy camper!
Costco also has the Nuvi 265wt, which adds Bluetooth and FM Traffic for life, for $229. I was veeeeery close to getting it. I don't think I would use the Bluetooth often, if at all, plus the FM Traffic reviews I've read said the service is still not quite there yet. The info is outdated or even incomplete, supposedly.
So I'm set, hopefully.
I can't believe how cheap these are. My first GPS cost me $404 and had a small screen and no text-to-speech! Now it costs $149 for a big screen with TTS!
Mine came with the dash mount - essentially a really heavy bean bag with a bracket just right for the unit - which made it a great buy. was one of those deal of the day things.
I might have been tempted if I was still using 2 units in 3 cars, but now I have one in each car and thankfully don't need to switch them around all the time.
I got a vent mount, actually that's something I did not return with my order, because they work great and put the device closer to you.
I ran an errand yesterday and decided to use the nav since I hadn't played with it for a while. By the time it found the satellites and I got the destination plugged in (I entered the info at stoplights), I was almost there.
The 260w is good so far, no crashing like the refurbished one.
Also the Nuvi 260w gets a satellite signal a LOT quicker than the 200w does. As in immediately.
Garmin's process to update maps is also much better now - you register on-line and it basically prompts you to download the new maps. It took 6 hours to download a gigantic file but it worked on the first attempt.
Easily worth the extra $25 I spent for new vs. refurb. Well, $34 if I include tax.
I just hope Buy.com works out that credit they still owe me.
Looking forward to making really good use of it Memorial Day weekend.
Honestly I think it tested fine, in fact mine worked fine until I took a longer drive, only then did it freeze up.
It would be hard to troubleshoot something like that because it worked fine for short periods.
Still - refurb was $125 but had 2009 maps with no eligibility for an update.
New was $150 ($157.49 with tax) but I was able to get the 2010 map update.
The 265wt is cheaper at the site gagrice mentions above vs. Costco, once you account for sales tax.
Purchased mine about 11 months ago.. wonder if I can get it updated for free?
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Garmin made the process easier than before (I've registered my 3 prior models and wasn't prompted the way I was this time). It basically told me I'm eligible and gave me a link as soon as I registered.
"In recent years, the Air Force has struggled to successfully build GPS satellites within cost and schedule goals," said the report. "It encountered significant technical problems [and] struggled with a different contractor."
The first replacement GPS satellite was due to launch at the beginning of 2007, but has been delayed several times and is now scheduled to go into orbit in November this year – almost three years late.
The impact on ordinary users could be significant, with millions of satnav users potential victims of bad directions or failed services. There would also be similar side effects on the military, which uses GPS for mapping, reconnaissance and for tracking hostile targets.
Some suggest that it could also have an impact on the proliferation of so-called location applications on mobile handsets – just as applications on the iPhone and other GPS-enabled smartphones are starting to get more popular.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/may/19/gps-close-to-breakdown
http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/19/gps-system-might-begin-to-fail-in-2010-govern- ment-accounting-of/
An excerpt:
"there will be an increased likelihood that... the overall GPS constellation will fall below the number of satellites required to provide the level of GPS service that the U.S. government commits to."
I wonder if there are more satellites than needed for a simple GPS, though I bet the more accurate ones used by the military probably lock in on a large number of them and are more likely to be affected.
I bet this gets extra funding - it will affect the military before it affects us.
Still, it's been a free ride for us and you have to wonder how long that will last.