Good GPS system?

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coder_t2

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Dec 31, 2005
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Hi, I am looking to buy a GPS system for myself soon. I was wondering what I should look for in a GPS system. I've been seeing a lot fo commericials for Garmin and TomTom GPS systems, but I don't know how good they are, or even which model of their systems to buy. If anyone has any knowledge or has a GPS system of their own and want to post their experience, that would be great. Thanks.
 
My boss is an instructor for Geography, Wildland Fire, and GIS. He swears by Garmin GIS units. What's your price range? One he loves that's good for a sub $150 budget is the Garmin eTrex Legend. I'll be getting it soon for myself.

We bought 30 of them to teach a class. I got to screw around with one, very cool. You can pay like $20 to google for a special google earth license and you can download maps straight to it. It hooks up to a serial port on your PC.
 
tomiboy59 said:
Hi, I am looking to buy a GPS system for myself soon. I was wondering what I should look for in a GPS system. I've been seeing a lot fo commericials for Garmin and TomTom GPS systems, but I don't know how good they are, or even which model of their systems to buy. If anyone has any knowledge or has a GPS system of their own and want to post their experience, that would be great. Thanks.
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Because you are talking about TomTom units I'm going to assume you are refering to something for use in a vehicle instead of a handheld device.

For car use, I have experience with the Garmin 330, Magellen 6000t, Garmen 2720, PC based software (delorme and streets and trips 2007).

On the pc based stuff i recommend against it.. Just a lot more hassle then they are worth. The Garmin and the Magellen units I've worked with are all great. Effective, simple and quick. You really can't go wrong with any of them.

I've got a Megellen 6000t right now and I love it... It was a gift from my father in law and I've been thrilled with it. My wife has been able to use it just fine and it helped us to decide that the next vehicle we purchase will have real time traffic monitoring, thats such an incredible feature if you live in a supported area.
 
tomiboy59 said:
Hi, I am looking to buy a GPS system for myself soon. I was wondering what I should look for in a GPS system. I've been seeing a lot fo commericials for Garmin and TomTom GPS systems, but I don't know how good they are, or even which model of their systems to buy. If anyone has any knowledge or has a GPS system of their own and want to post their experience, that would be great. Thanks.
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Garmin 2720 or Garmin c340
 
Cool thanks for the info. And yea I am looking for a GPS for the my car. I am liking the Garmin c330 a lot from the reviews I have been reading. Not sure if I just wanna pick one up now during the holiday season, or wait until the summer when I am really going to have a use for it. Not sure how prices fluctuate on these things.
 
I got the Garmin C330 and its great! Ive owned a few in the past but nothing like this one. The C340 tells you what street/avenue to turn on "turn on belmont avenue" instead of "turn left at next exit" type of thing. The models up from that just add more toys and bluetooth and mp3 crap.

With mine i can add my own waypoints and favorites, photo radar locations, school zones, speed limits

pretty much all the Garmin series runs off the same map software so anything beyond the c340 is a waste of money in my opinion.
 
Saying the name of the street name is a pretty nice feature. One thing came to mind though right now for me. Is there a monthly cost for any of these GPS systems? I'd figure since it has to located where you are at all times there be some monthly cost with it communicating with satellites or whatever it does. Thanks.
 
No charge, its a free service of the american government to the whole world. Just pay your taxes.
 
If you don't mind doing 1-2 hours of setup, the Garmin c320 is usually 2/3 the price of the c330. Only difference being the c320 doesn't have a built in HD with the maps right out of the box - you have to buy a separate SD card and load the maps yourself (maps included on DVD) which takes around 1-2 hours over a USB cable. You can get a 1GB SD card for <$30 and load all of North America. The c330 also has an SD slot, but if you load map data on an SD card, you have to choose which maps to use every time (SD or built in HD) and AFAIK the data on the built in HD is v7 (latest is v8) and is not upgradeable.
 
theelectic said:
AFAIK the data on the built in HD is v7 (latest is v8) and is not upgradeable.
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1. I can't speak if the HD versions have Map Source 8 yet, however since it's been out for a while, I'd say newer batches do.

2. It IS upgradeable and it's a FREE upgrade. If you buy a GPS system from Garmin right now, and it's using Map Source 7, you are entitled to a FREE upgrade to Map Source 8 (normally $75).
 
depends on when you bought/buy the c320. I believe if you buy now it comes with V8. If you have the latest one, dont register or anything yet and wait for V9 to come out before you register so you can get it for free.
 
My suggestion is the TomTom one. Its very small and is very easy to use and the maps are great. Plus tomtom is having a Givegive promotion and you can get $50 off of any products. Hope that helps
 
GPS information should help you make a decision. It really depends what you will be using the unit for and any "special" things you want on it.

I have a Magellan T860 (this is my first GPS unit). It is an awesome unit, but there are some things I really do not like about it. One, it is too quiet inside a car. Two, when you try to exclude a route, it really doesn't seem to calculate an alternate route, it seems you need to stop to do this so it can get the GPS signal and calculate that way. Now what I do like about it is 15 months of "free" traffic reporting (it seems you are paying for it in its price), it automatically re-routes if you miss your turn, tells you which way to turn and the road name and it gives a ding to remind you to turn here. The traffic reporting is only as good as the city that uses it. I drove through Chicago not too long ago and they do not use this feature so I almost got stuck on the Dan Ryan during rush hour (good thing there was an exit before I got stuck). The unit also tried to get me back onto the Dan Ryan even though it was backed up. But check out the site above, it should help you find the one you want.

I do have to say one more thing, a GPS unit is not an end all to your travel needs, but it helps in getting you to the place you want. Paper maps are still the best and knowledge of the area helps cut time down as well.
 
Just wanted to let yall know that the GiveGive promotion has been extended to January 6th as well as the rebate has gone from $50 to $100. Thought i would pass along the holiday savings. Makes buying the ONE so much easier :D
 
The c320 and c330 are both upgradeable. When the new v9 comes out order it from garmin. Then you may need to buy the unlock code (mine came with a free one)

Load up the dvd, hook up the unit and wait 45min-1 hour and presto ;)
 
You can't go wrong with Garmin. Their GPS' rock. My dad has a 396 he uses for driving, flying, and boating. The portable Gramin smokes the GPS systems in the planes as far as functionality. Of course, this thing was like, $2400 or something. But worth every penny when you use it as much as we do.
 
Ditto for Garmin. I use the G-1000 in aviation and it's the cat's ass. I also have a handheld Etrex Vista C for hiking, etc. Garmin is the undisputed leader in GPS technology with models running the entire range from compact handhelds to sophisticated aviation units for jets. Smart software, strong builds, great support.
 
Woot just got the c320 a couple days ago. Now I haven't opened the disk yet for since it is version 8. Someone said that I should wait to open it since v9 is coming out soon, but is there a huge difference between the versions? Also when is v9 supposed to come out, and how much would it cost if I were to just buy it? Thanks. :)
 
well version 8 only came out in late sept so go ahead and install it. You only get a free one if you see a yellow peice of paper inside with the coupon code on it. i think its 12 digits.
 
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