GPS...Which one?

[VroomVroomLightning]

I am trying to buy my girlfriend a GPS for Christmas and have waited until the last minute. I see that Target has a Garmin that is $89.00 this week and was originally $200. I also see that Best Buy has the same one but it has an added traffic feature of some sort? Does anyone know anything about GPS systems and know if these are good deals? And if not then which would you suggest? Are Garmin and TomTom generally the same?

Target:

http://www.target.com/Garmin-Portab...om_size-bin,target_com_brand-bin&frombrowse=0


Best Buy:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Garmin+...54.p?id=1218068797020&skuId=9252854&st=garmin 255&cp=1&lp=1

 

[sam_gordon]

About a month ago (just before BF) I was shopping for a GPS. My employer lets me pick out my anniversary gift (just hit 20 years), on a budget of course, and I wanted a GPS.

As far as which is better between TomTom and Garmin (the two top brands), that's like asking whether the Contemporary or the Poly is a better resort. You'll get answers promoting both and criticizing both.

As far as the two you posted, I'd go with the Best Buy one. They're the same GPS, but the one at BB has the 'traffic feature' (more on that later) for $10 less. Even without the traffic feature, why would you not get one for $10 less (provided shipping doesn't eat up that cost).

On the traffic feature... many GPS have this as an option. Some need an external antenna, some have the antenna built in. It's supposed to be able to tell you if there are traffic issues (accidents, construction, etc) on your planned route and direct you around the backup if necessary. One thing to keep in mind is the traffic feature isn't country wide. You might want to check and see if your normal driving locations support it (but again, for $10 less, I'd get the traffic option).

The Garmin 255W ('W' means wide screen) is a 'base' model of Garmin. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it, it's just an older model and doesn't have as many bells & whistles. I borrowed one from a friend for a trip and it did rather well (there were a couple directions that didn't make sense to me, but I might not have had the choice set up correctly).

For what it's worth, I asked the company for the Garmin 265WT. I wanted the Bluetooth capability (supposedly I can answer calls through the GPS) and 'Text to Speech' (the GPS will say 'in 1 mile, turn right onto Taylor stree' instead of 'in 1 mile, turn right').

I hope this helps.

 

[VroomVroomLightning]

That helps a lot! I was also thinking that I should go with Best Buy. Simply because it is 10 dollars less and has that added traffic feature. Shipping doesn't matter because I plan on going to the store today to get them. And they are right across the street from each other so driving/shipping wouldn't be a price breaker on either.

Thank you so much for your help! I am going to go ahead and order the Best Buy one now and have it ready to pick up when I get there!

 

[gshumaker]

Make sure to look for ones with lifetime map updates (add LMU to the model on a Garmin) and lifetime traffic if you get a model that has traffic since some want to charge extra for that after a set period of time.

I prefer the ones that have the posted speed limit on them since many roads you drive on for miles before seeing a speed limit sign.

Dealnews is a great site to find specific deals on items - http://dealnews.com/Electronics/GPS-Deals-357.html?match=gps - new deals posted throughout the day.

Good luck!!

 

[rusty4]

I had read some complaints on the one with traffic. I went with the 255w for our sons. Afterwards they had the 265w on sale for about the same price. I still have the receipt and may have them not open them if they want the one with the bluetooth. That is the only feature I would think that they would care about.

Here is a link to a GPS forum that might help in your choice.

http://forums.gpsreview.net/

 

[joxer1014]

FWIW if you are AAA members I would recommend a Magellan. I have a 1424 for about a year now and it works great. What sold me is that if you are a AAA member then they extend the 1 year warranty to 2 years. All you have to do is when you register your GPS, there is a link if you are a member, it verifies your membership number and it comes back and tells you your warranty is now 2 years.

I have seen the 1424 as low as $79. Cant remember where. Most of the Magellans give you the extra warranty (there are exceptions though) since they are approved by AAA. The only thing about my unit is that I cant use custom POI files like the ones on Mousesavers.com. Probably some of the other Magellans let you add custom files.

Good luck!

 

[lovemygoofy]

I have the garmin with traffic updates and the bluetooth through the gps which I love.

The traffic updates is not free. We had to pay a one time fee, something like $75 and this doesn't guarantee all major cities but has certainly came in handy in DC. There is a list on the garmin website of participating cities before you subscribe to the service.


Once you get the gps you get one free map update and then you have to pay for the updates or get a lifetime of updates.

I suggest if you do get a gps to get the bean bag holder and not the suction cup holder. I hated my suction cup holder and I didn't want to advertise that I keep a gps in the car.

 

[S. C.]

Garmin has great customer service. I have no idea about the others.