Garmin Nuvi or TomTom

[Spag]

Originally Posted by Va_Sky

Who do I need to contact at Garmin, Product Support or Maps & Charts???

Product support. Just let them know that you really want to have the ability to use all of the features of the product that you have already purchased.

[IKenn]

I have the , Magellan Maestro 4250
ultra-slim, 4.3" toucscreen, Bluetooth handsfree calling, voice command&control

[Va_Sky]

Originally Posted by Spag

Product support. Just let them know that you really want to have the ability to use all of the features of the product that you have already purchased.

E-mailed them singing the praises of there product and told them that I would like to ues the full features my product so we will see what happens..

[Kustomkaps]

I'm for anything that will let me stay in the car and not have to ask for directions... I always have the option to pull over and have my wife get out and ask for a better route.

[Animator]

What about onstar...anyone ever use the neverlost thing. I have to make a couple of trips in the next few weeks and was thinking about getting neverlost for 1 month.

Any help appreciated.
Mike

[moparscot]

The Tom Tom easier to use and cheaper but Garmin is top of the line in most cases.
You can't go wrong with either one. I use lots of GPS units boating,auto,laptops and
Land surveying.

[reedred]

Originally Posted by Animator

What about onstar...anyone ever use the neverlost thing. I have to make a couple of trips in the next few weeks and was thinking about getting neverlost for 1 month.

Any help appreciated.
Mike

It's better than nothing, but that's about it. If you're used to using a nav at all, the lack of a screen will probably be a major issue for you.

BTW- TomTom SuckSucks.

[Rail Jockey]

I haven't tried the Tom-Tom but my Garmin Nuvi 360 is easy to use.

[Animator]

I upgraded the onstar with a single month of turn by turn. It was 10 bucks for 1 month of unlimited use. I have to drive from Fort Laud to Tampa this weekend and then I am driving to Woodstock Georgia in 2 weeks. I'll give you guys a report when I try it.
Mike

[Luv2BGrrl]

I have the Garmin Nuvi 660 and love it. Bluetooth in to my cell phone too, and you can output the audio in to the moonson system! woohoo! MUCH cheaper than the in car phone!

I got my dad (78 years young!) a Nuvi 200 and he loves it! He is ALL over DC now!

[Celt03]

We have been considering buying a GPS for hubby and looking at them.

I have talked to a lot of people that have a GPS, I inquired about how they liked them, ease of use, & if they had owned other units in the past.
Garmin - 1/2 the Garmin owners loved them & 1/2 hated them.
TomTom - 2/3 the TomTom owners loved them & 1/3 hated them
Magellan - Almost all the owners loved them - only talked to one who was ready to trash it.

Now granted - the majority had Garmin or TomTom. But we discovered that the Magellan owners had mostly owned other brands prior and would not switch back.

We witnessed one Garmin owner having thier unit show them a long way from where they were - it made for a hmm moment.

I still have not decided but am looking much harder at the Magellan line.

[solli4me]

I borrowed Antonio's nuvi last Saturday and ended up at Best Buy on Monday. The 350 I wanted was out of stock.

[Rick Tinley Park]

Uniden MapTrax 420 -- My first experience -- so nothing to compare it to. So far It works very well.

[Rail Jockey]

Originally Posted by solli4me

I borrowed Antonio's nuvi last Saturday and ended up at Best Buy on Monday. The 350 I wanted was out of stock.

My bother has the Nuvi 350 and it is identical to my Nuvi 360 in appearance. I think the only difference is that the 360 has blue tooth to connect to my phone.
My brother in-law has a Magellan an he said mine is less complicated to use.

[lorennerol]

Originally Posted by Celt03

We have been considering buying a GPS for hubby and looking at them.

I have talked to a lot of people that have a GPS, I inquired about how they liked them, ease of use, & if they had owned other units in the past.
Garmin - 1/2 the Garmin owners loved them & 1/2 hated them.
TomTom - 2/3 the TomTom owners loved them & 1/3 hated them
Magellan - Almost all the owners loved them - only talked to one who was ready to trash it.

Now granted - the majority had Garmin or TomTom. But we discovered that the Magellan owners had mostly owned other brands prior and would not switch back.

We witnessed one Garmin owner having thier unit show them a long way from where they were - it made for a hmm moment.

I still have not decided but am looking much harder at the Magellan line.

I have a NUVI 680 that I got from Costco in Issaquah. It works pretty well, but the route choices are sometimes unwise at best. Often on the way into Seattle on I-90 it tells me to take the West Lake Sammamish off-ramp, and then take the on-ramp: I think they have some kinks to work out of the traffic avoidance algorithms.

They on-screen keyboard isn't QWERTY and there is no way to change it.

This thread reminded me to update it, which I'm doing now. Maybe the update will fix the meandering routes it sometimes chooses.

Anyway, Costco has a Magellan and the Garmin, so you can get one, try it, and return it if you don't like it.



Loren

[Spag]

Originally Posted by Celt03

We have been considering buying a GPS for hubby and looking at them.

I have talked to a lot of people that have a GPS, I inquired about how they liked them, ease of use, & if they had owned other units in the past.
Garmin - 1/2 the Garmin owners loved them & 1/2 hated them.
TomTom - 2/3 the TomTom owners loved them & 1/3 hated them
Magellan - Almost all the owners loved them - only talked to one who was ready to trash it.

Now granted - the majority had Garmin or TomTom. But we discovered that the Magellan owners had mostly owned other brands prior and would not switch back.

We witnessed one Garmin owner having thier unit show them a long way from where they were - it made for a hmm moment.

I still have not decided but am looking much harder at the Magellan line.

I believe that what is most important is that you should pick your GPS based on the features YOU are interested in.

All of the GPS's are basically the same - it is really the specific features that set them apart. The thing to remember is that each manufacturer has different ways of setting route preferences and avoidances. Don't plan on any GPS predicting what you prefer fresh out of the box. All you need to do is spend a minute or two setting your driving preferences before you first use it and you are ready to go.

I am a die-hard Garmin person myself. My nuvi does have a QWERTY keyboard. It also accepts any type of route you wish - as complicated as you can create or find and download (without the need to set any waypoints). As soon as I get the route for any of the group rides, I import it into the GPS and never think about it again. I rarely use it to get from point A to point B. I have my nuvi set so it warns me of speed traps, traffic lights and if I'm driving too far above the speed limit. It even plays a little tone to let me know whenever I am in the vicinity of a coffee house.

As for ease of operation, that is also dependent on the model you choose. Garmin has completely different types of GUI that are model dependent.

I looked at Tom-Tom and didn't even consider it since I couldn't find one with the features that I wanted. Who knows though, maybe they have released a model that I would have liked by now... I have set my parents up with a very simple version of the nuvi and they love it. They even call garmin with quick questions and are always treated with great respect from their customer service.



(PS - I've never met a person who went from Garmin to Tom-Tom, but know a lot of people who went the other way... so don't base your decision on what you have heard - check them out!)

[Darkwing]

I bought my Tom Tom One in December for around $100.00 with a couple of rebates. It doesn't have many of the features such as MP3 and phone capabilities, but the car already has those. I used this GPS for travelling over 7,000 miles so far and I have no complaints about its ability to get me there and find to whatever I'm looking for along the way.

[solli4me]

I just bought the Garmin 760. I justified the expense by telling myself I deserved to have it because:

1. I'm 31 years with the Highway Authority and I'm still looking at traffic.
2. It was recently Mother's Day.
3. I won't have to call my son anymore to google me out of being lost.
4. I like British accents.
5. Bluetooth capability means I can now get a new Voyager or Blackberry.
6. I can download Spag's Dupont runs.
7. I'm going out to Colorado for the 4th Annual NASSM next June.
8. I won't have to worry about my paper maps blowing out the back of the car.
9. It's fun to be able to find whatever you need at the tip of your finger.
10. It's a big world and somebody has to drive it.

[Animator]

Here is my update...

I used the Onstar to drive from East to West Coast Florida. It worked pretty well, and that was ok. The volume was tough when we had the roof off, and it was weird resetting the radio to get the fav screen back.

I purchased a NUVI 650 for 270 at Compusa. Used it driving around. The volume sucks...

Anyone know of a really loud GPS !! I can't used the FM feature because I usually have the sat radio on and not the regular one.

So the NUVI is "OK" but not much better than that. I am driving to Atlanta next week so any help appreciated before that.

Mike