Recommend me a GPS

smeet · #1 07-10-2010, 06:56 PM

I want to get my wife a car GPS for her birthday, and I am hopelessly confused by the huge variety of models and features out there. The reviews are confusing partly because I can't tell when they were done, so a review that says "the best for the money" might be from 2004, which doesn't mean much now...

So, I want these features:
- easy to use, fast, reliable
- speaks the directions out loud
- knows about jams/accidents
- bluetooth for hands-free phone
- fm broadcast through the car radio
- voice recognition would be nice.
- $200 or lower

I've mostly been looking at Garmin, but even that is about 200 different models...

Help!

hover · #2 07-10-2010, 07:24 PM

I just got the 100 dollar Mio from Radio Shack after testing out and asking many friends...and frankly, this blows away many pricier ones, is accurate, responsive, and has great great ease of use (which was important to me.)

Hey, bonus, it's 10 dollars cheaper now.
http://www.radioshack.com/family/ind...lue=Mio&s=null

Tom Toms are crap, imo. They've done me wrong to many times.

DigMe · #3 07-10-2010, 07:57 PM

The Garmin 255WT is a solid offering that can be had for $150. I bought one for my father and one for my father-in-law last Christmas and they have both loved them. Nice sized screen and does traffic updates. Good bang-for-buck.

bc

guitar ed · #4 07-10-2010, 08:33 PM

For reasons that I don't understand, Garmin is big in the US, but not in Europe. TomTom, big in Europe, but not in the US.

Beyond that I can't say.

edg

hover · #5 07-10-2010, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smeet

I've mostly been looking at Garmin, but even that is about 200 different models...

yeah, most of those end up being specific to certain retailer chains so they don't have to pay out on price-matching schemes...most of the time, they are the exact same with one alpha or numeral difference in model designation...

MakiSupaStar · #6 07-10-2010, 08:59 PM

Get her an iPhone.

hover · #7 07-10-2010, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

Get her an iPhone.

or an Android. Has Google Maps GPS built in freebie, iirc.

**SoComSurfing** · #8 07-10-2010, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DigMe

The Garmin 255WT is a solid offering that can be had for $150. I bought one for my father and one for my father-in-law last Christmas and they have both loved them. Nice sized screen and does traffic updates. Good bang-for-buck.

bc

The 255 is a good model. I bought one for my dad for Father's Day in '09. It doesn't offer Bluetooth, but is on sale right now for $129 on Best Buy's site. My 765 does give Bluetooth, but Garmin has had some problems with the 7xx series and I've honestly NEVER used the Bluetooth in 2 years.

I think for the sub-$200 price range you'll have to give up the voice recognition and FM broadcast, but you should be able to find everything else. If the Bluetooth phone has voice recognition then you wouldn't need it in the GPS for making calls.

tplyons · #9 07-10-2010, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DigMe

The Garmin 255WT is a solid offering that can be had for $150. I bought one for my father and one for my father-in-law last Christmas and they have both loved them. Nice sized screen and does traffic updates. Good bang-for-buck.

bc

I bought one for my father for Christmas as well, and have borrowed it on numerous occasions. If I needed my own GPS, I'd surely buy one of these.

iamlowsound · #10 07-10-2010, 09:38 PM

I have a Garmin Nuvi and it is fantastic, but I don't think that it does traffic updates, at least I have never found that feature. My girlfriend has a Magellian that she loves, it has the best lane selection option that I have seen on one.

lowsound

MJ5150 · #11 07-10-2010, 11:29 PM

What about a cell phone with the GPS feature?

The GPS in my Droid is highly accurate, and it is also very effective on the iPhone.

-Mike

DigMe · #12 07-11-2010, 06:27 AM

Yeah I love my Navigon GPS app for iPhone but it sounds like he wants a standalone.

bc

Phalex · #13 07-11-2010, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DigMe

The Garmin 255WT is a solid offering that can be had for $150. I bought one for my father and one for my father-in-law last Christmas and they have both loved them. Nice sized screen and does traffic updates. Good bang-for-buck.

bc

That's the one I got my wife. It hasn't tried to kill her once!

smeet · #14 07-11-2010, 10:25 AM

Cool, sounds like for standalones the 255WT is a winner.

If I went with an iPhone/Droid, is the GPS app just as good as a standalone? Will it speak the directions out loud and be just as effective and easy to use?

king_biscuit · #15 07-11-2010, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ5150

What about a cell phone with the GPS feature?

The GPS in my Droid is highly accurate, and it is alsop very effective on the iPhone.

-Mike

This. For the Iphone i like Motion X GPS Drive.

Relic · #16 07-11-2010, 11:54 AM

I got the Garmin 225WT also and liked it so much that I bought one for my wife as well.

KeithBMI · #17 07-11-2010, 12:23 PM

Add two more for the Garmin. My sister and I both have one. I like it a lot.

DigMe · #18 07-11-2010, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smeet

Cool, sounds like for standalones the 255WT is a winner.

If I went with an iPhone/Droid, is the GPS app just as good as a standalone? Will it speak the directions out loud and be just as effective and easy to use?

For me the Navigon app is better than standalone because I can also be playing my music off of it and every time it speaks directions it slightly lowers the music volume while the directions come through the stereo. If I get a call (now that there's multitasking) I can continue navigating during the call, etc.. it's just nice to have it all integrated. The quality of the GPS is just as good as standalone. Speaks street names, has awesome lane guidance, it now shows available parking and weather at the destination. The app just keeps getting better and better and so far they have not charged at all for updating the Navteq map info. If you want to update on Garmin you have to pay a fee. Since I've had the GPS app (I got it in December) they have updated it twice I believe and both times it has come with the most recent GPS map info. It has never led me wrong.

It could sometimes be a bit slow on 3G but it is extremely snappy on the iPhone 4 and I expect that it runs very smoothly on 3GS as well.

bc

bassbully · #19 07-11-2010, 10:02 PM

After getting lost in the city a few weeks ago looking for a gig i bought the Magellan Roadmate 2036. Tried it out this weekend looking for another gig an hour away and it worked great...worth every penny .

Skeletomania · #20 07-12-2010, 05:48 AM

I love TomTom. I enjoyed driving an hour to have TomTom telling me it couldn't find a signal because it was raining. Then it took 2 more hours of driving to have TomTom direct me into somebody's driveway. I finally asked a cashier who isn't called TomTom, and the direction was clear, and precise.