Help me pick a GPS

[sam_gordon]

I borrowed a friends Garmin 205 for a trip last month. While I don't exactly NEED one, it would come in handy every once in a while. So, can anyone sell me on a certain GPS?

Here are my needs/wants...
Budget: <$125 (incl. tax/shipping/etc)
Spoken Street Names
Good directions. While the 205 got me where I wanted to go, one time it had me get off an interstate, drive ~5 miles w/traffic lights to get on another interstate (if I would have gone one more exit on the original interstate, there was a direct connection to the 2nd one). On the way back, it was interstate to interstate.
Bluetooth to sync to my phone for handsfree
Display of ETA & speed limit
Free map updates would be good, as well as free traffic (although I understand that's in limited areas, not mine).
Ability to load "custom" POIs would be good too.

Thoughts?

 

[lucyem]

GPS's are so hard as there are a million and one of each brand and each one has slightly different options. There are also a few websites that review GPS products as well so it is worth your time to google GPS reviews and buyers guides.

I personally like Garmin. My husband has one and I just bought one for myself. Their website is very handy because you pick from a list of what options you want and they show you what products have those options.

 

[brernick]

We use Garmin chart plotters on our boats and they are easy to use even for the novice.

When it came time to buy for the cars we purchased Garmin. Love it. We travel to Europe so we purchased one that had maps of Europe.

Bought it from The GPS Store.

 

[vicki_c]

We always liked our Garmin but we replaced it this year with an app for our iPhones - we chose the Navigon app. I really like it - it's working great and it's always with us, since we always have our phones. So don't discount that approach if you have a smart phone.

 

[Chelley00]

Here are my needs/wants...
Budget: <$125 (incl. tax/shipping/etc)
Spoken Street Names
Good directions. While the 205 got me where I wanted to go, one time it had me get off an interstate, drive ~5 miles w/traffic lights to get on another interstate (if I would have gone one more exit on the original interstate, there was a direct connection to the 2nd one). On the way back, it was interstate to interstate.
Bluetooth to sync to my phone for handsfree
Display of ETA & speed limit
Free map updates would be good, as well as free traffic (although I understand that's in limited areas, not mine).
Ability to load "custom" POIs would be good too.

Thoughts?

You might have to bump up your budget some. I just bought DH a new one for his birthday. We wanted the free map updates and spoken street names, (it has bluetooth but we never use it) and the cheapest I could fine was $169 on sale at Best Buy. I got a Maggellan, just because that is what we had previously (that was stolen out of my van)

 

[Hoosier37]

Garmin Nuvi 1300 - it's awesome, we love ours. It costs around $230 BUT if you buy it from Walmart online you get it for $118 and free shipping. We bought one last summer for the same price and my sister, who has a Garmin Nuvi 205, says ours is so much better than hers.

So my answer is the Garmin Nuvi 1300 purchased from walmart's online site. Amazing price, and I just checked and they still have it for that price.

 

[H.E. Pennypacker]

Maybe reconsider the traffic and bluetooth options. In my experience, neither works that well. Eliminating those two options will lower the price a bit. From what I've read in reviews and experienced myself, bluetooth doesn't work very well in any brands/models and it's pretty useless in the Garmin I bought, which was actually kind of an expensive model near the top of their product line. The usefulness of the traffic feature varies by area. For where I live, not so useful because where the traffic info would really help me, it's not provided. If you do go for one with the traffic option, check to see if it comes with the receiver or not. Some models are traffic capable but you have to buy an accessory cable to receive traffic. For example, the Garmin Nuvi 1200 (around $125) is traffic capable, but you have to buy an additional cable accessory to receive the "free" lifetime traffic, about $75 on Amazon.

If you belong to Costco, Sam's or BJ's, check there. They usually have pretty good prices on GPS's and sometimes include some of the accessories you'd want anyway already bundled in the package.

 

[solfan68]

We've been very happy with our Nuvi 260w. Selling for $100 at Amazon for the moment.

 

[cranbiz]

I have had several Garmins, a Magellan and currently have a TomTom.

I liked the Magellan the best for user friendliness but there have been no map updates available for this model and there are no plans for updates, free or paid. The Garmin's were a Streetpilot Colormap (really Old but still works) and a Nuvi 205 (stolen). Both worked pretty good and both could be updated at a cost but IMHO were harder to use than some other brands.

The Tom Tom has worked well, after a small learning curve (as it just didn't work like any of the others) has been great and came with a year of free updates.

So, which one to pick, Hard to say. See if you can find a small mom & pop electronics store (A marine electronics store at a local marina or even a West Marine store carries multiple brands most times) where you can take a little time to play with the available units. This way you can see what you like about them, dislike about them, etc.

 

[sam_gordon]

Thanks for the tips... keep them coming. Unfortunately, upping the budget isn't possible. I get to pick my 20th anniversary gift from work, so they set the budget.

The traffic and bluetooth are "wants" as opposed to "needs". I don't travel outside my area often, but if the company's paying for it... lol

This is probably one of those things I'll be happy with whatever I get, but of course will want more after I get it. lol