[noktekniq]

so my question is for those who don't have a indash or bmw built in navigation which do you prefer and why? please give a model too

[AndrewAZ]

I have TomTom Navigator 6 on my PDA and it works great. The only reason I went with TomTom is they sell the software that you can use on various devices and Garmin did not. I have had some Garmin experience and either one is a great system to use.


I think TomTom has a larger market share than Garmin in Europe but is the opposite in the US with Garmin having more market share.

I like the visuals on the TomTom software more than Garmin, but Garmin has better voice directions than TomTom.

I know on some GPS test a while back Garmin usually picked the faster route but the difference was between 2-4 mins. But again the only reason I went with TomTom is because TomTom works on my treo.

I suggest going to Cnet and reading some reviews, I think they also have a shoot out with Garmin vs TomTom.

[Reize]

I've got no experience of the Garmin, but I've gone for the Tomtom 910 as it's got UK, Europe and the USA and Canada maps pre-loaded. Which will be useful when I come over to visit Florida later in the month. (4 visits in 5 years to Orland, you think I'd know my way around now)

It's also got LOADS of pre-installed POIs. Every restaurant, every store, every mall, every theme park etc. I wanted was on there so no messing around with addresses.

[AndrewAZ]

Originally Posted by Reize

I've got no experience of the Garmin, but I've gone for the Tomtom 910 as it's got UK, Europe and the USA and Canada maps pre-loaded. Which will be useful when I come over to visit Florida later in the month. (4 visits in 5 years to Orland, you think I'd know my way around now)

It's also got LOADS of pre-installed POIs. Every restaurant, every store, every mall, every theme park etc. I wanted was on there so no messing around with addresses.

As for POI TomTom has a ton of them I can vouch for that. Even small little business in my city that I wouldnt even think would be known are on TomTom. I have yet to find a POI such as a restaurant ect that is not on my data base.

Compared with OEM navigation like BMW or Mercedes either TomTom or Garmin blow them away in terms of speed and usability. I keep saying if Mercedes or BMW team up with one of them and get a nice touch screen in and just use the TomTom or Garmin software and interface they will have the best in car navigation on the market.

[noktekniq]

i want to know a little more thoughts on those who use the garmins

[X5FX]

I have owned over 10 Garmins including the Original Street Pilot, SP II, SP III, SP 2810, Nuvi 660 (wife still has this) and several handhelds including 60s and eTrexs and have never had problems...customer service is great and they issue very frequent updates. I was always pleased with the Garmins, and they held value well- I would sell the SP models on Ebay when a new model released which explains why I owned so many.

I owned one TomTom (PDA version for Treo 650) and had alot of troubles and suppport sucked.

[ltdorn]

TomTom 910 here. I love mine...


lots of stuff one it....

[mach330]

i love my garmin (nuvi 360). nuvi lines are great as it's quite thin and you can put it in your pocket.

[shipill]

TOmTOm

[danielg]

TomTom! User friendly! + they have cool options too.

[ADHD]

seems to me at stores the tom/tom is the lower model and always cheaper than teh garmins.
So remeber u get what u pay for!

[Ascension]

Originally Posted by noktekniq

so my question is for those who don't have a indash or bmw built in navigation which do you prefer and why? please give a model too

I recently (06/11/07 being shipped) purchased the Garmin Nuvi 660 from Costco (online only special) because they had a special price for it, $499+tax. I'll give you a review as soon as I get it.

[BK]

Originally Posted by noktekniq

i want to know a little more thoughts on those who use the garmins

We have a couple of Garmin units. They are excellent and Garmin customer support is just outstanding.

Two examples (Reader's Digest versions) of good customer support - First, for one very rare bug I had on my hiking GPS, Garmin put me directly in touch (by phone) with the software developer for that part of the program. He was able to find and fix the bug for the next release of the system software. Mind you, this was a bug so rare that I couldn't get anyone to reproduce it on a GPS forum that I used to frequent. I couldn't believe a customer call to the programmer would be the way to fix it. It felt like I was dealing with a Mom & Pop shop... in a good way.

Second, we once had a clip break on a car GPS power cord after about 2 years of hard use. It was our fault, it had been banged up so many times. We called Garmin to order a new cord. They said, "That shouldn't break," and they sent us a new one for free.

As for the units themselves, the Garmin units work great. Garmin caters somewhat to the tech-savvy demographic. They constantly tweak a unit's system software in response to customer requests and concerns, and as a result, it always gets better and better. It's always easy to find and update the units from their website.

What other company would bother updating system software on their website for older GPS units they don't even sell anymore, to add some new functionality or just to add new color schemes or to post some goodies like a program that allows users to create their own icons for the POIs?

Also, for most of Garmin's nav units, the interface and information screens are incredibly customizable. I like that.

All good stuff and they get a huge thumbs up in my book.

[Ascension]

Originally Posted by BK

We have a couple of Garmin units. They are excellent and Garmin customer support is just outstanding.

Two examples (Reader's Digest versions) of good customer support - First, for one very rare bug I had on my hiking GPS, Garmin put me directly in touch (by phone) with the software developer for that part of the program. He was able to find and fix the bug for the next release of the system software. Mind you, this was a bug so rare that I couldn't get anyone to reproduce it on a GPS forum that I used to frequent. I couldn't believe a customer call to the programmer would be the way to fix it. It felt like I was dealing with a Mom & Pop shop... in a good way.

Second, we once had a clip break on a car GPS power cord after about 2 years of hard use. It was our fault, it had been banged up so many times. We called Garmin to order a new cord. They said, "That shouldn't break," and they sent us a new one for free.

As for the units themselves, the Garmin units work great. Garmin caters somewhat to the tech-savvy demographic. They constantly tweak a unit's system software in response to customer requests and concerns, and as a result, it always gets better and better. It's always easy to find and update the units from their website.

What other company would bother updating system software on their website for older GPS units they don't even sell anymore, to add some new functionality or just to add new color schemes or to post some goodies like a program that allows users to create their own icons for the POIs?

Also, for most of Garmin's nav units, the interface and information screens are incredibly customizable. I like that.

All good stuff and they get a huge thumbs up in my book.

If you don't mind me asking, which Garmin model# do you have. I have a 660 on order from Costco.

[noktekniq]

Originally Posted by Ascension

If you don't mind me asking, which Garmin model# do you have. I have a 660 on order from Costco.

no more for the cheap 499

[BK]

Originally Posted by Ascension

If you don't mind me asking, which Garmin model# do you have. I have a 660 on order from Costco.

I have two older navs - a 60CS and a 2610. Both are great and have gotten a lot of use. I've used the 660 and it's awesome.

On the BMW and our Ody, we got built-in nav systems. A portable Garmin or TomTom is better, but I prefer a system built into the car.

[mjh93sa]

Bought a garmin 670 about 3 months ago and couldn't be happier.

Euro 660 doesn't get the FM transmitter so I went for the 670 to get this and just love the ablity to load up with MP3s and blast them and the directions through the radio. Bluetooth works fine, though I have done no more than give it a quick test as the car has it anyway.

Nav has been spot on, though I did have to set the vehicle to use "truck" to stop it trying to send me down all the unclassified roads locally. That done it's perfect to my needs.

You can also get a friction mount for it that is a sort of beanbag afair that sits on the dash and really does work. Best of all there are no tell-tale marks on the screen, it allows you to place the unit within easy reach and can be removed in seconds.

[Dr_Dirt]

I have owned GPS's forever it seems and I am very impressed with the Garmin units, especially the nuvis and the c550 series. Garmin GPS's are of industrial grade quality. I used to have a Garmin Street Pilot with a remote control. The joystick on the remote broke after I stepped on it. I called Garmin and told them I broke it and wanted to buy a new one, they said it shouldn't have broke and sent me a new one free.
As for the newer c500 series GPS's, AVIS offers them with their rentals as well. They are extremely intuitive so they are a joy to use.

[Ascension]

Originally Posted by noktekniq

no more for the cheap 499

The online special at Costco for the Garmin 660 ended 6/12. They still have it onsale for $599. Not sure if youu can get a better deal anywhere else, but for $499, I had to jump on that price

[darkcloud]

TomTom. I have a GO 700, my brother and Dad have GO 510's. They both work great and have never been a pain in the ass or anything like that. The difference between the 2 is the 700(710 now, mines a year older then theirs) is that all the maps are pre-loaded onto an internal HD instead of on a SD card. At the time the 700 had other features like BT, Traffic and Weather stuff, but now the 510's have everything but the HD.

I use my TomTom primarily for work and I drive close to 200 miles a day and have used it everyday for a year and a half. No problems what-so-ever.

[noktekniq]

Originally Posted by Ascension

The online special at Costco for the Garmin 660 ended 6/12. They still have it onsale for $599. Not sure if youu can get a better deal anywhere else, but for $499, I had to jump on that price

569 is the best i can do on ebay

[UncleWede]

So is there any utility to make my own cars for the Nuvi? I was hoping to find some model-specific branded cars, but no luck so far.

Those that get Garmin updates, do the POIs get updated to the device, or do I have to leave the SD card in? My wife bought me a Nuvi 200 for father's day, even though the cig lighter in my truck doesn't work so it will have to stay in her car. . . And can I save some memory space by deleting all teh languages I don't speak?