Tips on Buying a Portable Navigation Device

I am thinking about buying a GPS-enabled navigation device. I would greatly appreciate Forum member's advice, recommendations, brands, must-have features, and great places to purchase. THANKS!

[2000SoCalBoxsterS]

I have the Magellan Roadmate 700. It is basically the same unit you get if you've ever rented a car from Hertz and had the Hertz Neverlost in the car. It's great. Portables are great. You can obviously take them with you in whatever car you happen to be driving. Better than those $2,000 built in NAV systems.

Now-a-days I believe they all have voice guidance which is key. You don't want to have to constantly be looking at the map screen.

[FrayAdjacent]

If you want to go with a dedicated unit, check out buygpsnow.com. They have many GPS nav systems available. Find what's in your price range, then read some reviews.

I'd probably go with something that has maps on a removable SD (or other) memory card, and that allows you to update maps online (preferably without paying for a subscription).

One common problem with almost every GPS unit/system/software I found is that most map sources are out-of-date in some areas. It's just a fact of life given construction and the like. So whatever you get, don't be upset or surprised if you ever come to an area that isn't on your maps!


Personally, I went with a PDA and Bluetooth GPS receiver. Buygpsnow has bundle deals if you go this route, usually with the receiver and a software package. My plan was/is to wire up the GPS receiver in my storage bin behind the seats and just leave it there. The site had a great mounting device for the PDA I bought (Dell Axim X51), which powers it, and has an auxiliary plugin for the GPS receiver.

I use the PDA for several other things... it comes in handy when I'm traveling (I use my cell phone as a modem for it), as a portable music player, as a system for copying pictures from my camera's memory, and a vehicle information database. I found a neat little piece of software called 'Vehicle Manager' that tracks maintenance and fuel usage, and can give you quick stats on your economy, cost of ownership and cost per 100 miles. There's a desktop version that can be synced with it, too.

For the software, I went with Infogation's Odyssey Mobile. It's a good navigation software that runs great on the PDA and was easy to set up. Maps are divided by state (some whole states, some large states are split, and some small ones grouped together), and are easily added and removed. This software is VERY easy to locate addresses with, and it has a HUGE POI database that is relatively easy to search through. A couple drawbacks, though: It doesn't allow waypoints, and the voice prompts do not speak street names. Infogation is working on improving it, though.


Anyway, I hope I've helped a little bit!

[Jonesy08054]

I got a TomTom G0510 last year. I think that it's a great unit. The thing that did it for me was after going into Best Buy or Circuit City and just mess around with one in the store. Whichever one you think is easiest to use and the easiest to read/understand for you is the one you should go with. Each brand will have it's little things that are special to only that brand. for instance, mine is blue tooth capable with my phone. I've never used that feature, but it's there. I'd recommend the TomTom, but then I've never had much experience with the others. The TomTom just made sense when i was messing around with it.

[NickCats]

Bill,

Check out the September 2006 issue of the Chicago Scene :

http://www.pca-chicago.org/?getpage=9

There is a good article on Page 32 regarding GPS units.


I received the Garmin StreetPilot i5 for Christmas and have been very pleased :

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=164&pID=362

Hope this helps...

Nick

[Frank Patrick]

question- do you use an external antena?

[airboxster]

Originally Posted by 2000SoCalBoxsterS

I have the Magellan Roadmate 700. It is basically the same unit you get if you've ever rented a car from Hertz and had the Hertz Neverlost in the car. It's great. Portables are great. You can obviously take them with you in whatever car you happen to be driving. Better than those $2,000 built in NAV systems.

Now-a-days I believe they all have voice guidance which is key. You don't want to have to constantly be looking at the map screen.

I also have owned the Magellan 700 for two years. I've used in throughout Europe and North America and it has been excellent. We move it around between four family cars. The only problem was the base broke once but it was replaced under warranty. Also the first year the unit did not provide an option for an alternative route when there was a detour required. It would just keep advising to make a legal U turn as soon as possible to continue on the same route. This years model has a software fix that allows you to ask for an alternate route immediately when you are stuck. Great voice commands and directions.

[Soetekouw]

There are so many portable GPS units out there, and they are basically all good.
Things to look for:

1. How does it mount in the car.
2. Does it have voice prompts. (most, if not all, have these now)
3. Does it have Re-routing capabilities.
4. Is the Software upgradable through manufacturer on-line site.
5. Does it have a good size screen.
6. How easy is the menu to use.
7. Manufacturer reputation. (Garmin, Magellan, Tom-Tom).

I have the Garmin 2720 (I think it has been replaced with a newer model). Since most manufacturers have some/most of the things I look for in a GPS, my deciding factor was how the GPS mounted in my car and other cars. The Garmin 2720 can be mounted with included suction cups to the windshield (as most GPSs are mounted), BUT it also comes with a bean bag mount that sits on your dash. This is such a convenient mounting system. I can put it anywhere on my dash - it is rock solid and doesn't move - I put the bean bag and the GPS under the seat when I am done with it. When I go on business trips, I take the GPS and bean bag mount with me and use it in rental cars.

I bought mine on e-bay (new). A few years ago, they went for $1000. Got it for $700. Can now be bought for $300-$400. Other places that sell GPSs are Best Buys and Circuit City (of course you'll be paying retail/tax) and at numerous on-line sites. Google a search.

A couple of features I don't like about this model (although these aren't deal breakers to me):

1. It has an external speaker (speaker is part of the power cord).
2. It does not have an internal battery.

Best purchase I made. I don't get lost anymore.

[sonvolt10]

A very good GPS review/ranking site:

http://gpsmagazine.com