Question About Those Gps Things

[jesusluvsu2005]

Okay, I don't know anything about those things but I remember seeing them discussed here before. My mom is thinking of getting one for my sister. However, she doesn't know anything about it either. So could anyone give me any pointers on what to look for or what kind of price would be a good deal? I told my mom that I'd try to find out something about them for her. Thanks so much!
God bless,
Amanda

 

[lisa717]

I have a Garmin nuvi 350...love it...we used it on vacation in Florida...put in an address and it took us there...push HOME and it took us back to our hotel....wonderful!

 

[Fluffy215]

I am a huge Tom Tom fan. I have the third generation and does the same as Lisa's. You can program home to be where ever you choose. Also it comes with a program to update your maps online. My girlfriend saw another friends and told her husband she wanted one but when she saw mine she told him she liked mine better. I don't know what kind the other friend has so I can not say wether she was comparing apples to oranges or not just that she liked mine better.

 

[kam]

DH needed one last year. Didn't want to spend a lot.

I am pretty sure the lowest price models don't speak to you. The next level up will say things like "turn right in 1/4 mile", but it doesn't give street names. The next level up will speak street names "turn right in 1/4 mile onto Mian Street". They go up fron there with all kinds of bells and whistles!

DH insisted having the street names, so we were at that level and we got the lowest model that had the spoken street names. That is where we stopped. We did not look at any higher models.

They also come in "normal" and widescreen. Since DH shouldn't be looking at it anyway (just listening) we did not get the widescreen.

We ended up with the Garmin 260. He loves it.

 

[pcchefjane]

My Recruit's DH took his Tom Tom with us last night to get us to our Team Christmas Party. It was about 50 miles away. The only problem we had was that it had not been updated so the street we were going to "didn't exist" as far as it was concerned. It was a big help when we made a wrong turn on the way home and all he had to do was hit "Home" and it got us back on our route.

 

[Karen]

The one that I have is a Nextar. I'm sure it's an "off" brand compared to Tom Tom, Magellan, etc. I got it for a steal right after Christmas last year. It was regular $300, on sale for $150, with a $50 mail-in rebate, and I had a $75 gift card so I paid a whopping $25 once it was all said and done. I LOVE MINE! It has got me where I want to go and back again without any problems. We live on a dirt road that isn't usually on our county maps and my Nextar was able to pick my road up. The only thing that mine does not have are maps for Canada, but I haven't had to use it when we've gone to Canada. Definitely worth the money!

 

[PamperChefCarol]

Husband and I both have Garmin Nuvi's.. his has bluetooth capabilities, mine doesn't. Both speak the streets, tell you when the turns are coming up, and then after you turn tell you in advance when then next turn is. Love it!! Mine has an Australian accent, I call him Duncan.

 

[chefann]

DH just did a bunch of research on GPSs, since we got them for both sets of parents for Christmas. If you go to http://www.gpsreview.net, there are a LOT of reviews of systems.His suggestion is to find one with the features you want (we wanted "text to speech" which is the spoken street names and widescreen), and then shop by price. They're available EVERYWHERE for Christmas, and frequently on sale. Although if the price seems too good to be true, check the manufacturer's website to see when the model was introduced - it may be a couple of years old and have older maps loaded. We played with one that we got for the 'rents, and one thing I'd insist on is a QWERTY key layout. We bought a Magellan model that has an ABC layout. It was hard for me (since I type) to find letters without searching when typing in addresses.

 

[NooraK]

Also check to see if you have to pay for map updates, and if so, how much. I was thinking about updating my maps, until I checked the price. $80! that's almost as much as a brand new GPS (though a cheap kind).

 

[janezapchef]

Love my Garmin Nuvi. Just got it over the weekend for my birthday (which was in June, by the way). The only thing I would make sure to look for is that you can attach it to the windshield. Mine apparently doesn't have that feature, and it's a little annoying. Other than that, I'm in love!

 

[pampchefsarah]

I have a Garmin nuvi 350...love it...we used it on vacation in Florida...put in an address and it took us there...push HOME and it took us back to our hotel....wonderful!

Amanda, I ordered this one from walmart.com for $125 (includng tax - free shipping to the store), for my mom's Christmas present. Just waiting for notification from the store that's it's ready to be picked up.

I finally (FINALLY) decided on this one because it got the best reviews out of all the different makes and models I researched. The price didn't hurt, either!! The walmart one is pink, so I don't know if that's a problem for you. You can get it in other colors, though, just not for this price (by the way, at the Garmin website the MSRP is $200).

 

[Kodeysmom]

I alos went with the garmin nuvi 350 due to all the great reviews on it. Back in August at walmart it was $249 but on line through walmart it was on $119 so thats how how ordered mine as well. I love it-it also does the street names.

Amanda, I ordered this one from walmart.com for $125 (includng tax - free shipping to the store), for my mom's Christmas present. Just waiting for notification from the store that's it's ready to be picked up.

I finally (FINALLY) decided on this one because it got the best reviews out of all the different makes and models I researched. The price didn't hurt, either!! The walmart one is pink, so I don't know if that's a problem for you. You can get it in other colors, though, just not for this price (by the way, at the Garmin website the MSRP is $200).

 

[PChefPEI]

I'm a TomTom gal! LOVE my GPS unit!!!! The best purchase I ever made. It's very easy to use and love it for going to my host's homes. Don't need to get directions anymore!!