Tips on Buying a Portable Navigation Device

[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