http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/ Engadget Comments for Ask Engadget: Best 4.3-inch GPS unit? http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/For under $200 if you look around. It does everything you need and it's rock solid!]]>May 1st 2009 5:53AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 9:30AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 2:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 2:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/
It brings features to the $250 cost area that were only in $500+ GPS units mere months ago.

4.3" screen, built in bluetooth, lifetime traffic through an included FM-TMC receiver, garmin quality all around. There's not much more you could ask for in a GPS. ]]>May 1st 2009 3:29AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/
Free lifetime traffic and I picked up a refurb for under $200 on eBay. 2010 maps just came out, so the upgrade is free.]]>May 1st 2009 4:06AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 9:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/
So, with the spec list as requested, I believe the 265wt is it.]]>May 1st 2009 10:42AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 11:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 3:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 2:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 3:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 3:04AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 3:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 6:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 3:01AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 3:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 3:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 10:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 5:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 3:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 3:38AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/
But this one takes the cake: we bought an almost-top-of-the-line TomTom only to find that it won't take the vast majority of street addresses here in Hawaii. We returned it, of course. Also, it won't take some addresses in New Jersey and elsewhere. Why? The addresses have hyphens or dashes, but there is no hyphen on any TomTom keyboard. So 94-1234 Myhome Lane cannot be entered at all. Periodic emails to TomTom UK (the USA office doesn't bother to reply) elicit a reply that it's not fixed yet. We've known about the problem for at least two years.

A Magellan unit told us to turn when we were in the center lane a few feet from the intersection. Over and over again, it did that. Occasionally we were already in the intersection when it spoke up. So we returned it also. Some of the street names were missing from the map until you got to the streets. Not too good.

So bottom line, do your research.]]>May 1st 2009 4:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 4:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/
the 265 doesn't have the quicjk release mount, doesn;t have the 'find me' feature that creates a temporary waypoint when you remove the device from it's cradle.

Calling the two the same means that you only need basic navigation, possibly traffic services and the speed limit indicators.

There is so much more.]]>May 16th 2009 2:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 5:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 5:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/
Garmin gives out free lifetime traffic now on any xxxT model, ie the 265WT.]]>May 1st 2009 6:42AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 6:41AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/TomTom sucks, it may as well say "Turn left, right back there", and iGo just does whatever wants, maybe you'll end up where you want to go.

Since the hardware was the same, it was really more of a test of the software, and Navigon is the best I've tried.]]>May 1st 2009 7:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/ My only gripe is you can't tell it what route to take, meaning I like going one way, and it will try to take you it's way every time, I just wish it could store routes you use and offer them later, like "Route 1 by way of Main, Route 2 by way of 1St, Route 3 by way of Jackson"

In other words, NAVIGON's new MyRoutes software. (See, someone must have heard you!)]]>May 1st 2009 11:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/What you want is exactly what MyRoutes should be. I hope it is pretty good. I know that one of my only complaints with my Navigon is that there will be a way I want to go, and the Navigon will never realize and recalculate it the exact way that I want to. And, after I drive that specific way a few times, I wish it would just store it as my preferred route. I hope MyRoutes does this.]]>May 1st 2009 6:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/But the iPaq 310 is wonderfully hackable (and cheap).]]>May 1st 2009 7:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/
I had a nuvi 680 earlier but the MSN subscription was the biggest piece of crap ever.]]>May 1st 2009 7:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/
I've been using different GPS units since 1995 (way, way back), and now we've got several nuvi's, very happy with all of them.

This isn't a complaint against any GPS unit, but I've not found the traffic data to be detailed/timely enough to be of much use. That will probably evolve and depend a great deal on the DOT of each area anyway.]]>May 1st 2009 7:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 7:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 8:16AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/
]]>May 1st 2009 8:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/]]>May 1st 2009 8:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 8:55AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/
Overall, I've been very pleased with it. Pros: Very bright, responsive touch screen. I've been using it mostly in the DC and mid atlantic region, and the free traffic updates are generally accurate. It can lag a bit around rush hour (ie: backups start on the beltway and it might take 15 mins to get the info) but still, it's really good since its free. The lane assist is nice when you're at an interchange where it works. I wish there were more. Upgrades are easy on a Mac and PC. I actually use the built in media stuff to store a bunch of music for the road. I plug the audio out into my aux in on the wrangler and use it for music and phone calls. I'm currently just using the internal storage (2GB). I'll probably put an SD card in it at some point.

Cons: Sound volume on calls and music is a bit low. I have to turn the aux jax to 11 to hear things as well as I want. Part of that may be an artifact that I'm in a Jeep and not a proper car. Pulling trip data out of it on a Mac is a bit awkward. I have to grab a file way deep in the filesystem and pull it to my local drive. First gen iPhone was impossible to pair up and get to work properly. This GPS is actually what forced my hand to upgrade to a 3G iPhone (sad, I know).

It was a bit spendy, but it had every feature I wanted. Overall, I'm pleased with it. if I had to grade it, I'd give it 4 eggs out of 5 ;)]]>May 1st 2009 9:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/Anytime I take friends for a ride, and we go eat dinner... everybody is amazed at my continuous updates of traffic conditions, Yahoo Local searches, gas price checker, etc...
Then they wonder why they've never heard of it...
Dash Express +1!]]>May 1st 2009 10:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 9:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 9:40AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 9:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 9:55AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/May 1st 2009 9:53AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/
Both devices charge you for new maps, but at least TomTom has community updates where any TomTom user can add new POIs or make map changes and share them with the rest of the world and this feature works as long as your map is 12months old or less.

This is a point I never see a review bring up, it's overlooked.]]>May 1st 2009 10:01AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/
I did months and months of research. Making myself familiar with what's out there and which features are most important to me. At the end it simply came down to the "best bang for the buck". Found a factory refurbished Magellan Maestro 4250 for $120 at Amazon. 4.3" and text to speech was the two main features I was looking for. This fit my bill at a great price.]]>May 1st 2009 10:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/ask-engadget-best-4-3-inch-gps-unit/
The mapping is great (Navteq), the UI and screen are really fantastic, the internal high-gain antenna is awesome (I get full signal in my basement!) and the routing engine (in North America) really puts other makes of GPSs to shame (coming from someone who's also used TomToms and Magellans frequently). Garmin all the way.]]>May 1st 2009 10:06AM