GPS unit

[Jerry Lozier]

You guys gave such rave reviews on the panasonic DMC-TZ5 cameras...I bought one and HAVE NOT been disappointed, great camera, easy to use, great macro....thanks

Now, upgrade time for my gps...I've used a Garmin for 4 years, the (2 @$50 each) upgrades I purchased (they want yearly) has never showed new roads,(at least in our area of WA state) and some of those roads and neighborhoods are 5+ years old... accuracy has been good but w/o new roads I end up having to call the local fire dept business office for directions....

Soooo anybody got suggestions for gps with current roads, or upgrades that actually upgrade other than something other than NYC or LA

[Terence McCann]

I have a Garmin 2160 and have had it for quite a few years. Bought a Magellan Maestro 3250 for my wife a year or so ago and I like that one more than the Garmin. Entering addresses is much easier and more intuitive with the Magellan. Can run off internal battery as well.

[SonOfSwamp]

You guys gave such rave reviews on the panasonic DMC-TZ5 cameras...I bought one and HAVE NOT been disappointed, great camera, easy to use, great macro....thanks

Now, upgrade time for my gps...I've used a Garmin for 4 years, the (2 @$50 each) upgrades I purchased (they want yearly) has never showed new roads,(at least in our area of WA state) and some of those roads and neighborhoods are 5+ years old... accuracy has been good but w/o new roads I end up having to call the local fire dept business office for directions....

Soooo anybody got suggestions for gps with current roads, or upgrades that actually upgrade other than something other than NYC or LA

I bought a Garmin 755T from Amazon. I've used it all over the Southeast, following my daughter's college softball team. Look it up. Read the reviews. IMHO, the thing is heaven-sent.

WJ

[Chris Bernhardt]

I've got a sony GPS mounted in the inspection mobile that I got from last Christmas. I don't know how I would live without it anymore. One of my most favorite features is that it gives you an ETA, that way when I am running behind I can give them a pretty accurate ETA or decide which short cuts to take or how fast to drive to get to the inspection on time.

Chris, Oregon

[Tom Raymond]

I've got a Garmin Nuvi, just about the cheapest unit on the market. It's pretty accurate for the most part although there are some very rural areas around here where the roads don't match the maps, usually the same areas where my cell phone doesn't work. I have done the free upgrade once, and the maps are better. The biggest shortcoming is that I do not have nav support for Canada. The map data is there but I can't program a destination in Canada, and turn by turn directions only work on major routes (I don't always get a voice prompt on city streets). I can get turn by turn directions home from Toronto but not vice versa. If Canadian maps are important to you, the next model up includes them and it's cheaper than buying the map upgrade online.

My only nasty experience with accuracy was while hauling my camper. The coordinates for the rural campground were off by nine miles, sending me to the opposite end of a less than optimum trailering road. That was a pretty big deal considering you can measure my proximity to maximum payload in 12 packs.

Tom

[inspector57]

I tried the budget TomTom unit for my wife and she returned it. I thought it was pretty decent but she has less patience and decided she could find her own way better for the $139.

For me, I use google, mapquest or yahoo for free since I always plan my day before I leave home. I have never had need for the wife or anybody else to tell me where to go although several have offered that advice without my request![:-censore

[Brad Manor]

I have been using the Microsoft Streets 'n' Trips setup for a few years. It comes with a GPS receiver that plugs into a USB port and turns your laptop into a nav unit. It has been a good setup for me (15 inch screen on laptop vs. 3 inch on other units) and has only missed one turn that I can recall.

-Brad

[randynavarro]

I've only had Garmin. Rarely disappointed.

Now, I've got the Nuvi from Costco. $149.00

My only beef: the Nuvi's dashboard/windshield mounting cradle does NOT have a live DC connection. The DC connector plugs in to the back of the Nuvi itself.

In my older Garmin, the DC cable plugged into the cradle. This made it easy because you merely had to dock the GPS and it would automatically be powered and charged.

With the Nuvi, you have to cradle it, then plug the DC cord in. Or, as I use it, just run it on the battery 'til it dies and then plug it to let it charge overnight.

P.S. GPS has been some of the best money I've ever spent. We use it frequently when out of town to navigate our way to stores, gas stations, restaurants, etc. in strange lands.

[carle3]

I have a Garmin Nuvi 750 with the traffic service. This has been great as I typically have to get through Milwaukee rush hour traffic. It has save my a** on a number of occasions by re-routing me around traffic jams and accidents. Not much help in Chicago because everything is at a stand still there. Garmin has a subscription option on map updates. This does help keep you up to date. My fall back is my phone. The mapping service on my phone uses a internet based map which typicaly will have a new subdivision in its data base before it ever makes it to the Garmin data base.

[Jim Morrison]

I'm a troglodytic map user still, but I admit that I am gradually becoming more dependent on my Garmin Nuvi 750. I use it to find places, but never to get home.

But I'm also not a "shortest distance between two points" kind of guy, either. I'll almost always take a secondary road over a highway, and frankly I don't mind getting a little lost every now and then. Sometimes that's when you run into the things that make life so cool and interesting. I don't see much that's cool or interesting on the interstate.

[hausdok]

Hi,

I got a cheapo NavMan for my birthday last fall. On about 98% of the jobs, when it says, "Destination on your left (or right)" I can look out the window and see the house number - it's that accurate. However, it does not always take me the "smartest" route and sometimes it send me up a road that's closed off but looks like it's open on a map. It isn't very up-to-date; I'd guess it's about two years behind in its mapping, but it usually puts me in the neighborhood where it's easy to find the rest of the way from there.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[AHI in AR]

Jerry--

I have a Garmin Nuvi 680 that was literally used for one car trip. I bought it for my wife who is always calling me from her car asking how to get to some place she's headed. It's damned hard for me to do that when she can't tell me where she IS when she calls. It's very easy to use but very full featured. She, however, is such a technophobe that she refuses to learn anything new.

So it's been sitting in the box since I got it almost a year ago. It has the 2009 maps. I never even activated the MSN subscription so I assume you could do that and get the year of service free. Here's a link to the product: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=8579#nuvi680

I'll sell it for $100 plus shipping since I have a different model.

If anyone's interested, let me know.

[Les]

I am with Jim M. My wife left home to go down to the supermarket, around noon on 1-24-09 equipped with a needle, cork and a pan of water and specific instructions from me. She must have spilled the water 'cause she is still gone.

[Brad Manor]

I am with Jim M. My wife left home to go down to the supermarket, around noon on 1-24-09 equipped with a needle, cork and a pan of water and specific instructions from me. She must have spilled the water 'cause she is still gone.

Some guys have all the luck.[]

-Brad

[Scottpat]

I have a Garmin Nuvi as well. I'm not sure what model number, but it came from Costco and has the free traffic service. I think it was around $249. I'm very pleased with it. It replaced a Garmin Quest that was about five years old.

[resqman]

Another Garmin Nuvi owner. Model 680 (out of production)

I was not sure if the normal speaker would be loud enough for me so I got a model that can actually play through the car radio. Used that option once. The normal speaker is loud enough for my poor hearing and too loud for the family.

I signed up for the update notification. Live in metro area and it seems to be acurate except for my home address? Always thinks my house is two doors down? Otherwise as noted, it is usually right on. Mine has a feature that tells you the accuracy level and it is normally around 11-14 feet.

The arrival time feature is a HUGE stress reducer when enroute to the job. Used the detour feature once and it took me some back roads but got me to the job ontime.

[davidlord]

Ditto on the nuvi 750/755. I don't even think about where I'm going.

[Michael Carson]

I have used a Garmin 550 for several years. Subdivisions have to be several years old in order for the update discs to be effective. Overall it is a reliable accurate unit. I got a blackberry from sprint, it comes with sprint navagation. It is pretty accurate and comes with turn by turn as well as checks traffic and redirects. I am comparing the Garmin and Blackberry and if the Blackberry proves to be as accurate I will probably make the switch.

Hope this helps.

[SonOfSwamp]

Possibly little-known fact: A Garmin Nuvi 755T user doesn't need to know anything about maps. A driving unit can find anything. Just go to Google Earth, find the building you're looking for, then put the latitude/longitude info (bottom left corner of the computer screen) into the GPS, and the voice (I use Australia Karen) will take you right to the spot.

Using this method, I found ballfields and hotels all spring...

WJ