GPS, Ask Engadget: Best GPS devices on the market?
By Paul Miller 
posted August 9th 2007 5:11PM
posted August 9th 2007 5:11PM
There was no shortage of opinion last week on Ask Engadget, when Ebzy was in search of some guidance in the digital camera market. You can get your own question answered by sending in to ask at engadget dawt com. Today Perry's in search of a GPS unit:"I'm thinking of buying a GPS for my car, and am totally confused with the options. I'm not interested in ones with JPG viewers, MPEG players... I just want the best GPS that I can get. What do you recommend in various price ranges, and if money were no object?"
So Perry isn't exactly into the frills, but can he find a top-shelf unit without them? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
I own a Garmin c330 and couldn't be happier. It is currently $237 at Amazon.com and is a steal at that price. Just look at the Amazon reviews for this product...they are amazing. It doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles (like bluetooth, an mp3 player, etc), but it works very well as a navigation system. The screen is a touch on the small side, but I never have problems seeing where I need to go. It has a 3.5" touch screen, voice prompts, and built-in waypoints (gas stations, restaurants, shopping, airports, etc). Everything comes preloaded (entire US map), so no need to hook it up to a computer before you throw it in your car. It only takes a few seconds to aquire satellites on boot up and takes only a few seconds to calculate (and re-calculate) routes. For someone on a budget, this is a great GPS for the money. Sure, there are better options, but not at this price.
I second the motion, but add a recommendation to spring for the external antenna. Much more reliable at grabbing satellites and holding them even in urban areas (I drive to NYC once or twice a week.)
Nobody's mentioned an in-dash unit. For that application "I'm thinking of buying a GPS for my car", it sounds like a single or dual-DIN application would be best. What about the Panasonic Strada Navigation system? You're looking at a price of $1000 - $1200, but it's fully featured out of the box, and expandible for Bluetooth, backup cameras, etc.
Rather than suggest a specific model, I suggest identify feature that are important to you, then rank them. Look for models that match your criterial. For instance, do you need one that is battery powered? Water proof? Contains alll the US maps in internal memory, etc.
The problem is where do you draw the line on "frills"?
Until my wife got the text-to-speech Nuvi 350, I thought that I didn't want TTS. But the TTS is really helpful when driving in an area where there is a lot of irregular intersections, because you don't have to look at the GPS to know which street to turn to.
Another vote for the Garmin Nuvi. I just got hte 350 model (@ $360 on the web this is a gret value). Yes it has TTS & full USA + Canada maps and you cen add other regions on SD memory.
BUT ... one of my favorite features is the MP3 & Audible book players. I like to download my fave podcasts to a SD card while travellng (no iTunes allowed on corporate laptop) and listen while driving or flying.
My company carries several gps units, but I would buy the Pionner AVICS2. In fact i do own one. It has the other things like mp3 and such, but it is some of the best mapping software on the market. The GUI is very clean and very easy to use.
Second thumbs up for the Garmin StreetPilot C330. Voice prompts are clear and recalculation of routes is fast! We live in Canada so we don't have the privilege of having live traffic reports, but there is no point in purchasing a higher-priced unit than the C330 because it provides all the features standard on the higher models for less. Just my one cent.
All you people recommending the handheld units don't have a clue.
It's for a car so get an indash unit with a nice 7" screen. The handheld units CANNOT compare to an indash unit. If you have a double din it's dead simple. If you have single DIN get a fold out screen.
Everyone raves about the tomtom interface. That is crap as well. I have both the tomtom 910 and an indash eclipse 2454. One simple reason the tomtom sucks. There are no button on the tomtom!!! Want to switch modes... you have to go through a bunch on menu picks to find what you want. While the indash ones have buttons!!! Want to switch to a different mode? Hit a button!!! How simple is that.
What to scroll the map on the eclipse... just point to were you want to look. On the tomtom it brings up the menu so you have to click through a bunch of menus until you find the "browse map" item. Sheesh.
I could go on.
Nuvi 350. Recommended by a family member who is really in-the-know. Good price, pretty full featured. Our requirement is a device that speaks the street names. It hasn't let us down yet.
Q: I've been using the Garmin C330 for a couple years now and wonder if Garmin or TomTom has introduced this feature on any of their models: Saved searches. Everytime I'm on a trip and need to find a Starbucks to hookup to their hotspot I'm entering the name. Any way to save search terms yet?? Only a small gripe, but would be nice to have. Also, many of the POI's are no longer in exsistence on my 2 yr old model, but I'd guess the newer models have updated this.
The Garmin Nuvi line. It's the ipod of GPS.
I have tried Garmin, TomTom and Magellan working in delivery in atlanta and the garmin was the keeper.
The 350 is a solid Nuvi and is $369 on Amazon.
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(or just try all you can out from Wal-Mart)
As a guy that sales these part time on the weekends.. I highly recommend the garmins. The garmin nuvi 350 and spc-340 (which is cheaper but not flat panel) are both great models that have Text to speech. That is a feature that should be standard. The magellans are not that good as of now due to firmware freezing up, Tom tom's maps are outdated compared to the garmins, pionner avic s2 loading is slow, and the lg gps volume is too low.
the garmin spc-340, nuvi 350, and nuvi660 are the only ones that i recommend due to navteq maps (more local roads, and poi), longer battery life, simple interface, and not as many returns as well..
Checkout the Garmin c5xx series... cheaper than the nuvi's but just as good with navigation without the frills of mp3 player etc.
One's first priority should be for a receiver with a SirfIII or similar chip. I compared a SirfIII powered CF card receiver to the previous generation and the improvement is amazing - much quicker fixes especially with less than a perfect view of the sky. The problem is that many self contained car systems don't say what chip they use... possibly because they still use the older chips.
Yes the Sirf chips are good, but not so good to justify not considering other units - there are too many varieties of devices out there for that limitation. Consider the idea of external antenna connection; Sirf won't do any good if you car's windsheild blocks reception without an external antenna (yea, re-broadcasters, but really?).
Rule of thumb for first elimination: Find the map data that you need; that dictates what family of devices you look at next.
In my opinion the Garmin streetpilot c550 is the best BANG for the buck (around $350).. even better than the nuvi series (unless the larger size is an issue).
The BANG:
1. garmin routing engine.. simply the best
2. navteq maps... again the best
3. sirfstar III chipset... what do ya know, the best again
4. test to speech in multiple languages accents
5. lots cool software utils
6. mp3 player with loud stereo speakers
7. traffic receiver "INCLUDED" ...even the nuvi series dont have this. 3 months free and after that $60 for 15 months
8. best anti-glare screen.. most underestimated feature
9. bluetooth.. with phonebook sync, speaker phone, mic, voice dialing
10. garmin reliability and service
Nuvi 660 comes with traffic receiver.
get the tom tom 910, its amazing. i think the best maps ive seen and used. bluetooth, 20gb hd, large screen.
TomTom Go 720 (if you can find one)
If they were out in Canada I'd get one right away...
Check out the specs and the review.
http://www.gpsreview.net/tomtom-720/
With the ability to update and share maps with others this will eventually have the most accurate maps if it doesn't already.
anything garmin, i have experience with the nuvi 350 and the c530. both can speak street names and are resonably priced.
The newly released TomTom ONE XL seems to be a pretty tasty treat. It got some great reviews at several sites.
The Garmin Nuvi 660 got me from LA to Miami and is now getting from Miami back to LA... virtually flawless throughout the USA.
I have used both navteq and teleatlas and 95% of the time both work as good as the other. get a cheap mtk chipset gps puck for 50 bucks on ebay. the qt-818 rocks. 32 hours of batt life. get a ppc and be done with it. you can get an older 2215 for pretty cheap. then you can load iguidance or tomtom or several other software front ends. or get a pda phone from your provider and use it. the nice thing is you can use your laptop as well if you need screen size. the idea of the 770 is very interesting and a good idea as they are cheaper then the pda's dont limit yourself to brand name. mio works great. you pay for a name when it comes to tomtom and garmin. and BTW know why so many refurb garmins on the market?
> BTW know why so many refurb garmins on the market?
As suggested above, they are basically the iPod of the GPS market. Garmin owns ~55% of the U.S. GPS market, near 3x as much as its next closest competitor. The Garmin Nuvi is now the standard GPS used by Avis, Alamo, Budget, Dollar Rent-A-Car, Enterprise, Thrifty Car Rental, and almost every other national rental chain outside of Hertz. It also has a lock on the commercial U.S. GPS market.
If you haven't tried the Garmin Nuvi 660/680, you don't know what you are missing.
I had the Nuvi 350 which was awesome. The greatest feature is the text to speech, which tells you the street name to turn. It is a nice size and fast. You can also look at the c550 which is the same but with bluetooth and traffic data. Both were $349 at FRYS.com. Which and got 2 weeks ago and was then stolen by an employee in my buliding's garage.
I work as an ultrasound field service engineer. My territory is the whole United States. Needless to say, GPS's are one of my most valuable tools! I have used the Garmin Streetpilot c550 many times with rental cars. The company I work for stopped letting me expense them, so I got a Holux 271 gps receiver for my Dell Axim x5 and ran Tomtom Navigator 5 on it. It was freaking horrible! I had five service calls and three hotels to find in Austin and San Antonio and Tomtom could only find ONE of the addresses I needed to find! I could not even find the cross streets for the locations needed. It would not even tell you if you need to go east or west or whatever on whichever hiway or interstate you were turning onto. This sucks when you have the entrances for both directions for an interstate right next to each other. I ended up buying a Magellan Roadmate 3000t and I love it. Its maps are very accurate and it has some cool features like truevue and it will also offer an alternate route if you drop below 15 mph on an interstate or hiway. If money is no object, go with a Garmin Nuvi or Streetpilot with text to speech. If you want a budget model, I would get the Magellan Roadmate 3000t. Hope this helps.
I recommend the Garmin GPSMap 60Cx.
It is great as an outdoor handheld (as evidenced by its popularity with Soldiers). I use mine in vehicles, at training sites and for matching with military maps. It does a great job with all the newest Garmin street and topographical maps (I have Iraq, Middle East and US maps). The only discernable downside, when compared to other vehicle-specific units, is that the screen is small, though it can be attached to an exterior screen (laptop). It handles the same software as other, more expensive, Garmin units. There are no picture or music frills.
I recommend the Garmin GPSMap 60Cx.
It is great as an outdoor handheld (as evidenced by its popularity with Soldiers). I use mine in vehicles, at training sites and for matching with military maps. It does a great job with all the newest Garmin street and topographical maps (I have Iraq, Middle East and US maps). The only discernable downside, when compared to other vehicle-specific units, is that the screen is small, though it can be attached to an exterior screen (laptop). It handles the same software as other, more expensive, Garmin units. There are no picture or music frills.
best GPS? Not the iPhone! Hah! I made a iPhone joke!
I've been using GPS units in cars and planes since the late nineties and have used TomTom, Magellan, Garmin and LG in portable car units.
By far the one that stands out in build quality, screen, maps and especially user interface is Garmin Nuvi. It's so far ahead of the others here in North America that I would have to be kidding to recommend any other.
For a basic unit that's small yet extremely usable I would strongly recommend Garmin Nuvi 2xx series (I have the 250 and looking forward to the release of the 260 in two weeks).
Garmin is by far the favorite for North American users, due in no small part to the amazing NavTeq maps, and you only have to visit the top three online GPS forums to ascertain that.
If you are in Europe then Nokia 6110 Navigator can clearly be recommended. Altough the screen is not an 3.5" it is sufficient for navigation when driving and can also be used for sports activities with the free nokiasportstracker application.
My favorite GPS receiver is the Garmin GPSmap 60CSx. Why? Because it can be used for all sorts of navigation, both offroad, on the road and at sea. I use the old model 60CS. Good price and service at netshop http://www.gpsdiscount.com
Regards from Otto at http://www.navigate3d.com
Another vote for Garmin Nuvi Series. I like the 350.
Garmin was one of the first companies to use GPS technology
and claim to have supplied U.S. armed forces during the first
gulf war.
With other systems, you might get a shinier box or some new
perks, but in my opinion, there is no confusion or debate.
They are the industry standard. Period.
Nokia N95! FTW
My personal vote (in Europe anyway) is for the TomTom system. I've got a One XL installed in the car, and a Rider v2 on the bike - both of which do a sterling job. I've had two instances of it not having brand new roads mapped, but really, that is to be expected now and then. They do a great job of re-routing and avoiding roads that you tell it to.
Plus, the One XL is really quite cheap at the moment.
Hi.
I have just purchased a TomTom Go 910 and used it for a month. It retails for $500 but you can get it around $400 now. I did my research by going to www.gpsreview.net....just click the options you want and it will filter out the results for you. You can then do a side by side comparison.
Overall, the 910 has tons of features I haven't touched yet and it is worth the $400 I paid. The second choice was the Magellan Maestro 4050 for the same price.
If I were to do it all over again, I would suggest keeping the price at no more than $400.
Hope this helps you.
Dzan
The Garmin Nuvi line (specifically the 350 or 360) is a great unit.
Sure it has all the other stuff you really don't need (MP3, audiobook, JPEG) BUT it comes in a REALLY small form factor. - pocket size, in fact.
You can use it walking or driving, and the interface is among the best I've seen. Plus you can upgrade it with additional travel information although it comes with everything I've needed.
The 360 is the same as the 350 with the addition of blue-tooth (including handsfree for your cellular).
Great information! I'm looking into getting a GPS soon too.
I like the NUVI's for what they are, but am REALLY excited about the NAVIGON units, long available in Europe are now coming to the USA. They have a "reality" view 3D mode, and navteq maps.
Garmin Nuvi 350 is really the best GPS out there. Has a silly MP3 player, but I ner use it. The GPS functionality is superb.
Garmin has the best interface out there, best support, and is the simplest to use. I'd suggest the soon to be released Garmin nuvi 260. If you just can't wait, get the nuvi 350 or 650, and don't use the MP3 player. I'm recommending these units because they all have text-to-speech, so it will say "turn left on main Street" instead of "turn left in 200 feet." This chart will help sort out nuvi features...
http://gpstracklog.typepad.com/gps_tracklog/2007/03/garmin_nuvi_com.html
OK, so how about a nice recap for you complete infotainment needs. Mindshare by brand mentions:
Garmin 58%
TomTom 28%
Magellan 13%
Mio 3%
Try this one--- HTC 3300 mobile and GPS all in one device. PDA/MOB/GPS
thin and handy...TOMTOM GPS inside function like real GPS last surf III chip...and so
I am very happy with it.
http://www.htc.com/product/03-product_p3300.htm
I'm a use what you've got person. With a flex-mount I hang my old Dell Axim X5 w/ Belkin Bluetooth card, BTS-359 GPS receiver and Mapopolis Navigator maps and I am good to go! Too bad Mapopolis has discontinued consumer sales.
Does anyone have any experience with the devices from FALK? They may only be available in Germany, and I've been wanting to get a GPS device for a while now. The FALK devices seem to have a good interface, but their featureset seems a little on the low side. In general, are the European Garmin devices as good as their North American counterparts seem to be?
Just got the Magellan Crossover ($350 - Costco) and am able to use it right out of the box. I wanted a unit that uses topographical as well as road/street maps. The unit is water resistant, comes pre-loaded with topo maps of the lower 48, works as JPEG viewer (via MicroSD card) and an MP3 player. Those extras don't impress me but are useful if you're traveling light (as in backpacking). I've no experience with GPS units and am interested in hearing from anyone who has this unit and has an opinion.
Thanks
There is a new free GPS software for mobile phones. It appears to be ad-funded with very wide mapping and satellite imagery coverage.
See: www.amazegps.com
I'd go with the majority and get a Garmin Nuvi 350. We currently have 2 in our family and are great for getting around places you don't know.
The screen is easy to read and the map can be as detailed as you would ever need, the voice street directions makes it easy to navigation even without looking for one, Plus on another good side for the Nuvi 350 because Garmin have brought out so many models since this one in the last year or two the price has come down hugely.
Depending on where you are you can pick one up for a bargain price around $346 in the US and around £210 for the UK if you look hard enough.
The US version has full US and Canada maps and the UK one has Full UK & European maps included. All models come with the added option of buy separate SD cards that contains the maps of your choice from $114.