Major Price Drop for GPS Units

Garmin 2610 is still a nice unit and can be had for under $300 with a 1 year warranty

and if it doesnt have map source ver8 you should get a free upgrade
 
mixxmstrmike said:
If that's the one thing I enjoyed about borrowing my friend's Nuvi 350, it was the recalculate feature. Anyone want to chime in on how well TomTom's recalc feature works?



Thanks,

Mike
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Honestly Mike when it comes to route-recalculation, all of the top line GPS units are very similar. I would be very surprised if you could tell the difference between a Nuvi 350 and a TomTom ONE even if you did a side by side comparison. The ONE can basically recalculate faster than you can make a u-turn, which is all that should matter. Since recalculation speed is so similar, I think you have to compare these units by other features such as price, mapping, and how user-friendly they are. IMHO the ONE wins in all of those categories at moment. Does anybody have anything else to add? I love talking GPS and this is pretty well informed thread. :heelclick
 
for the FM TMC traffic, you get a 90 day subscription to its service and after that it's $60 to renew for a whole year. My subscription just ran out April 1st and I haven't decided if I want to pay for the service just yet. For me, I don't think I would get my money's worth since I don't drive as much as before. Plus, the info is not as "real time" as I would like it to be.



I can understand if they miss an accident or something of that nature, but on the 22 freeway here in SoCal, there's been some major work being done where some entrances and exits are closed completely, yet it's never updated in the system. These kind of traffic info should be easy to update since they should be getting that info from Caltrans.
 
So any suggestions for a basic portable GPS system? Has to be really user friendly, as this will be my first unit. Broad question I know, hehe.
 
For those interested, Circuit City has a deal going on the TomTom One, this weekend only. Enter coupon code 7UATPXBAGZ at checkout for $50 off, making the One $249, and has free shipping I believe. Best deal I've seen on this unit.



Also, has anyone purchased or looked into the Mio C310x GPS? I have done a lot of reading on that unit, and it seems to get a lot of praise on the net for it's bargain price. For $199 (or less), I might give it a shot also!
 
I have been running with a NUVI for about a year now. Love it! I do a lot of communications work for the State of Michigan, which gets me to a lot of RF towers. I pre-programmed all the co-ord in, and the Nuvi girl tells me where to go :) And she sounds so good telling me too! Great investement!

Stu
 
I have no experience with the Mio, but this past Xmas I tried to get one because it was one of those Black Friday item, which of course was sold out right away. Most people bought that because it was cheap, but it's probably not in the same league as a TomTom or a Garmin Nuvi. For the average person it's probably good enough. IMO Black Friday items tend to just be so so. Price is their main strong point. If it was $150 like during Xmas? I'd consider buying it if I didn't have any GPS at all. But since it's still not cheaper than it's Black Friday price, I would spend extra to get a better unit.
 
Ctowner said:
Honestly Mike when it comes to route-recalculation, all of the top line GPS units are very similar. I would be very surprised if you could tell the difference between a Nuvi 350 and a TomTom ONE even if you did a side by side comparison. The ONE can basically recalculate faster than you can make a u-turn, which is all that should matter. Since recalculation speed is so similar, I think you have to compare these units by other features such as price, mapping, and how user-friendly they are. IMHO the ONE wins in all of those categories at moment. Does anybody have anything else to add? I love talking GPS and this is pretty well informed thread. :heelclick
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Thanks for the info... I eventually went with the Nuvi 360 per BlackElantraGT's eagle eyes on that Fry's ad. I've got a Hawaii trip and I'm inputting "a few" favorite addresses and it's simply a breeze to work with. I used a friend's Nuvi 350 last year and thought it was the coolest thing...



I didn't think I would use the bluetooth feature with my cell phone, but after using it the first time, I was hooked. I put a 4GB SD card in my 360 and it's now my IPOD, if you will. This will get hooked up into our Pilot which has an auxiliary input so I "should" be able to have phone conversations over the stock stereo speakers... at least that's my hypothesis at this point... We'll put that to the test over the weekend.



-Mike
 
mixxmstrmike said:
Thanks for the info... I eventually went with the Nuvi 360 per BlackElantraGT's eagle eyes on that Fry's ad. I've got a Hawaii trip and I'm inputting "a few" favorite addresses and it's simply a breeze to work with. I used a friend's Nuvi 350 last year and thought it was the coolest thing...



I didn't think I would use the bluetooth feature with my cell phone, but after using it the first time, I was hooked. I put a 4GB SD card in my 360 and it's now my IPOD, if you will. This will get hooked up into our Pilot which has an auxiliary input so I "should" be able to have phone conversations over the stock stereo speakers... at least that's my hypothesis at this point... We'll put that to the test over the weekend.



-Mike
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I'm glad you're liking the nuvi 360. I too, never thought I'd find the Bluetooth to be useful, especially since I don't use my cell as much as other users, but I don't think I'd like the unit no where near as much if I didn't have this function. I've been using it through the internal speaker because I live in the greater LA area so it's impossible to find a good weak signal for the FM transmitter. I do wish however that the FM transmitter was better, because I can get better reception with my Belkin unit than with the Nuvi's FM transmitter.



It's gonna come in really handy in Hawaii. I'm glad I ended up keeping it because I would have been lost in Hawaii without it. It was nice to be able to go anywhere I wanted to go in a completely foreign town without having to look at a map, print directions, or stop and ask for directions. Unfortunately, the FM TMC traffic does not have service in Hawaii.



Don't forget to have some shrimp from the shrimp trucks alongside the road!
 
BlackElantraGT said:
Don't forget to have some shrimp from the shrimp trucks alongside the road!
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Uncle Romy's Shrimp Truck in Kahuku kicks butt! Garlic shrimp over rice, please!



I second the thought that it's a life saver on trips to foreign/unfamiliar places. You would think I was a local by the way I was taking side roads to get to where we were going. That's why I stress so much on the "recalculation" feature...



Often times, when I hit freeway traffic in Hawaii, I would take my nearest exit, and not the "pre-planned" route suggested by the Nuvi. Sure enough, the Nuvi is pluggin' away trying to figure out your next "move."



We'll be island hopping this trip so it'll come in handy not just in Oahu, but also in Hilo and Maui! :heelclick



-Mike
 
TigerMike said:
For those interested, Circuit City has a deal going on the TomTom One, this weekend only. Enter coupon code 7UATPXBAGZ at checkout for $50 off, making the One $249, and has free shipping I believe. Best deal I've seen on this unit.



Also, has anyone purchased or looked into the Mio C310x GPS? I have done a lot of reading on that unit, and it seems to get a lot of praise on the net for it's bargain price. For $199 (or less), I might give it a shot also!
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Wow $249 is a great price for the TomTom ONE good find! I don't know that much about Mio's but I have heard they have great maps!



Also wanted to add that I am happy to hear everyone is satisfied with their gps purchases! I don't see how anyone can live without a unit these days it definitely transforms your driving experience...and only a few short years ago they were considered a rarity… jeez
 
Does anyone have a favorite GPS that comes with traffic updates? Also, what level of updates are provided. Just highways? All major streets?
 
I'm intrigued with the Nuvi 360, and the tomtom, but I really like the Bluetooth feature on the Nuvi.



Is there an audio output on the Nuvi that allows it to be plugged into an auxillary jack if the vehicle is so equipped? My question is whether or not I can be playing MP3's through my truck's speadkers using the Nuvi, then it would interrupt itself when voice prompts are given, or a phone call comes in, and will it let me hear a phone conversation on the trucks speakers if hooked up through an audio jack.



Sorry for the complicated question, but if I know a unit will do this, I'm buying one immediately.



Thanks
 
Krodad said:
I'm intrigued with the Nuvi 360, and the tomtom, but I really like the Bluetooth feature on the Nuvi.



Is there an audio output on the Nuvi that allows it to be plugged into an auxillary jack if the vehicle is so equipped? My question is whether or not I can be playing MP3's through my truck's speadkers using the Nuvi, then it would interrupt itself when voice prompts are given, or a phone call comes in, and will it let me hear a phone conversation on the trucks speakers if hooked up through an audio jack.



Sorry for the complicated question, but if I know a unit will do this, I'm buying one immediately.



Thanks
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There's a standard headphone jack on the Nuvi. This can be used as an audio output. This worked like a charm for me over the weekend. I added an auxiliary port on our '04 Honda Pilot to accept an mp3 player and it works perfectly. I was able to play my mp3s from my Nuvi (added a 4GB SD card) and made/received phone calls via the bluetooth function. All the calls were routed onto the stereo speakers. At least for my scenario, it really helped maxing out the volume on the Nuvi and then controlling the volume of my car stereo. (Low volume from the Nuvi's headphone jack provided less than stellar results through my car speakers.)



Hope this helps,

Mike
 
Looks like another strong contender is about to hit the market for budget minded GPS shoppers. LG, with its LN735, looks to offer a pretty nice set of tools at a price of $350. I read it will have the famed SiRF Star III chip, specific street name voice guidance in the directions, and a photo viewer and music player.



I can't wait for reviews to start pouring in on this one. At $50 more than the Tomtom One, it offers the ability to pronounce street names in the directions, which the One does not. I had my heart set on getting the One next month, but if reviews cite strong directional capabilities and a nice list of POIs, then I may jump ship on the One and strongly consider the LG.



As the street price drops on the LG (could be immediate) to around $299, I think TomTom could be in big trouble with the One, if they don't pony up the advanced features (street level speech) at the same price. I know I'll be watching closely!
 
TigerMike said:
Yeah, I think the Tomtom One will be just right for me. I will probably pick one up next month for my b-day, and it will come in very handy for our family trip to Disney in June. Garmin's Nuvi line looks nice too, but personally, I think they are overpriced for what they offer. Garmin needs to be more price competitive, IMO.



Crutchfield is the only retailer so far that I have seen getting ready to sell the One XL... TomTom ONE XL Portable car navigator at Crutchfield.com
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Well played TigerMIke you were about a week ahead of the official announcement. The ONE XL looks legit! It has a bigger screen which is great but what I'm really excited about is this model has TTS (text-to-speech) and Bluetooth capability. Also The ONE XL has traffic updates, which is something I haven't used, but appears some of you guys are keen on this feature. I definitely could see how these updates could come in handy.

TomTom ONE XL
 
TigerMike said:
Looks like another strong contender is about to hit the market for budget minded GPS shoppers. LG, with its LN735, looks to offer a pretty nice set of tools at a price of $350. I read it will have the famed SiRF Star III chip, specific street name voice guidance in the directions, and a photo viewer and music player.
Click to expand...





LG LN735 GPS Review



This is one of the first reviews of the LN735 that I've seen and it isn't good. I had high hopes for this model, with a really nice feature set on paper that apparently fails to deliver in reality. Looks like I will be getting the TT One after all!





Ctowner, about the TT One XL, I don't think it has text to speech (speaking actual road names). I keep reading about it and can't find that it has that feature. I think basically all the XL is offering over the regular One is a bigger screen really. It would be really nice if TT would go ahead and add that feature to the One and One XL without a significant increase in price. Then Garmin would really be in trouble with its popular, but very pricey $500 Nuvi 350.
 
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