Auto GPS

Friday, July 4, 2008

Garmin nüvi 670 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator

Great Gadget

Man what a Gadget-- I've used GPS for years-- but this is unbelievable. The telephone Blue Tooth interface if worth the price in it's self. Haven't tried it in Europe yet, but in the States it's flawless-- p.s. -- be sure and buy the holder off Ebay that mounts on the AC vent-- this is alot better than sticking on windshield-- gets it down where you need it for phone use. enjoy--- you'll love it.

Garmin..Simply the best

I bought this model because it comes preloaded with US, Canada and Europe. My wife and I have been many places where we have put several extra miles on a car and hours on the clock going back and forth trying to narrow down the place we want to be. (we Now joke about it but it wasn't funny at the time) We wonder now, why no one we knew told us about this little device for so long. I don't know how current the maps are I suppose I could find out if I investigated it a bit, but so far we haven't been able to stump her. I plan on buying the expansion map to Mexico and see how that does as well. We call ours Laura and she hasn't got us lost yet. In fact, every place we have been to so far, has been spot on. It's really great to, especially at night, pull up to an unfamiliar place and have her tell you that you have arrived at??? Place on the left and see you are really where you want to be. I really like the way it re-calculates and tells you how to fix yourself if you miss a turn. It has always given enough advance notice on when to turn, but I would sometimes miss the turn on purpose to see what she does. The lighting in the day and the change at night are great. I don't have to squint or stare at it to understand what is being presented to me, It is easily understood and perfectly visible. The suction cup mount works great also, The first time I placed it on the glass I thought surely it would fall right off on the first bump I hit but no deal, Still secure in place and holding fast. I even find myself just using it for fun, even when I know perfectly well where I am and where I'm going, It's interesting to see how things behind the main roads are laid out. I have not had any complaints and I would recommend this to anyone that just wants to play around and suggest that, its a MUST HAVE if you have ever travelled to a place and spent any amount of time frustrated because you don't really know where you are, and aren't sure where to turn. (It could even save an argument with you're existing navigator). Thanks Garmin...

BE WARE- the POI are not correct!!!!!

I just got my 670 couple days ago and had used it but 2, 3 times. One of the perks of having this i thought, was so that i don't have to search for the addresses of museums, because the handy "Point of Interest" that comes preloaded in the unit. Was i wrong! After trusting it fully i end up somewhere in the ghetto where you would never want to venture in Los Angeles. I was lucky that it was still daytime, or else i would be very scared. after double checking the address i found the POI had a wrong zip code, and therefore leaded us astray. But how hard could it be to correct this error if the manufacturer do some double checking?! So from now on i still have to check the addresses of POIs on the computer to make sure they are right, which renders this feature semi-useless. Otherwise it's being an Okay GPS unit in my book. sw

Excellent

Very thorough navigation machine. However, it will divert you from a more established road due to traffic without advising you of the reason. I would rather be given the option.

Great GPS

This was my second GPS in two weeks. The first one, a Gamin that was far cheaper, seemed out of date. I sold that one to my kid sis and bought this one. The radio function does not work brilliantly but everything else does. It gets me out of traffic jams regularly in the NY metropolitan region. Its true test was a Friday before Memorial Day weekend and I was home in less than an hour! I was on roads I had never taken but it worked and worked better than I expected! A few times it has taken me down a ramp only to take me back up the next one but I think they all do that on occasion. I also used it in Europe briefly and it worked great there too!

Keyword : garmin

Magellan Crossover 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Road and Trail Navigator

Good GPS, bad service

Internally this unit is known as Magellan Roadmate 2500T. This is important because if you want to purchase extra SD memory, vendors will typically tell you whether their memory is supported or not. The maximum SD card this GPS can handle is 2 GB even though the documentation says it it is "unlimited". It is very much limited, it also can not handle newer SDHC card. I have had luck with SanDisk 2GB *regular* SD flash memory. T in '2500T' stands for Traffic, meaning it can be extended with a traffic updater if so desired. Now the review: -- The good: Crossover has a really good satellite visibility, it can see the satellites from the house, from the tunnels, from inside the 27 story high office building, in fact from inside the elevator shaft of that building. The automotive navigation logic is fine, it will get you from place to place, but it seems to recalculate things very often. The prompter voice is Ok, you can't change it though, On the other GPS (Tomtom) I was able to set up Kim Cattrall's voice, this one is just one voice that sounds like airport lady. -- Marine functionality: You need to get so-called BlueNav maps, they come in 2 varieties, downloadable and preloaded into secure SD card. Both varieties are expensive, if you want those it is better wait for some sort of a deal, I was able to get mine on AAA sale event at a 25% discount. Downloadable maps are more expensive, you get a single region but you can transfer it into as many SD cards as you want, as long as they are being used on the original device. You can obviously mix and match the regions as you go. The regions themselves are quite small, typically a state or sometime half the state. For example, Massachusetts region is from Ipswich Bay to Cape Cod Canal. SecureSD maps are a better deal, the regions included are multi-state but: a) they don't have tide information and b) if you lost them you lost them, you can't burn the maps into a new SD media. Once you purchase them they are tied up not only to the GPS device but also to the SD card (that's why it is called secure) you can't make a backup. --- The bad: The software that came with the unit is useless. Compared to Garmin or Fugawi it is like stone age. Their better software (VantagePoint) can't work with Crossover GPS at all. --- The ugly: The unit comes with the automotive maps from 2006. Why are there maps from 2006 when it is 2008 ? Because they want you to buy the updated maps, they cost $80 and it is a download. This is just plain wrong. Tomtom allows you do upgrade everything the moment you connect it to the computer. Also, customer support is in India, I had to call about the discount on maps. Weren't helpful at all. Overall, mixed bag. The unit itself is quite good, but the services around it (software, support, pricing, company friendliness) aren't.

Old maps are a deal killer

Not a bad unit, read the other reviews, but the deal killer for anyone should be that the maps included are from August 2006, hopelessly out-of-date, and Magellan has the extremely anti-consumer policy on not providing free updates even with a recent purchase of this unit. You ask, you get a polite e-mail from India telling you you can pay $80 to buy an upgrade disk for the GPS you just bought. Neither Garmin nor TomTom "screw" their customers like this. Bottom line, stay away from Magellan.

does everything but nothing good.

very disappointed with their maps. I called Tech support (India) and they told me they were 2006 maps. My home subdivision was established in 2003, yet none of it is included. Another friend lives in an older part of town (built in the late 70's early 80's) The Crossover cannot find him or any of his direct neighbors. I had issues with on-ramps listed where they are not, also a change done by our city many years ago. They say a new update is coming in 08 yet i will have to pay for it!!! I had an old Magellan from the late 90's with road maps and I would venture to say this one is not any better. Calculating trip times are not even close to realistic. The time was calculated off traveling 45 MPH when the speed limit on this highway was 65 MPH. I cannot recommend anyone buying this unit. I thought i could have a good all around unit but this does nothing good, I would have been better off buying separate units.

Save your money

The concept of the unit is ok, and overall the device does work. Where things break down is with Magellan itself: Out of the box the maps on my crossover where out of date, and didn't show roads in my area that have been in place for 5-7 years. Garmin units showed the roads fine, and even other magellan's seem to know the road existed. Contacted Magellan tech support (they are out of India) and was informed that a map update was available. BUT, was informed I would have to pay $80 to purchase the updated maps. Unlike other vendors magellan doesn't give you the first update free or updates free the first year for the maps. If you buy it you are stuff with the maps on the unit unless you pay them for the new maps. As is the unit does work well, the topo maps are neat and the navigation works. But my unit is getting returned. There might be units out there with the latest firmware and maps on the shelves, but am not going to play russian roulette ordering units till I find one. Am horribly disappointed with Magellan's customer support. Save your money and get a unit that will be supported by the manufacturer. Buying a unit and then having to turn around and buy an $80 upgrade for it within the first 30 days to just bring it up to par with newer releases of same exact model that are on store shelves is absurd.

Magellan Crossover -

Pros - Great Battery life, very intuitive to use, quite fast in tracking location, good street by street voice directions, ability to turn off touch screen is great (saves battery & means can leave in pocket etc without accidentally touching screen. Cons - No ability to save tracks, offload tracks (to Computer/mapping program), no ability to pre plan an exact route (on computer or mapping program) and upload to unit Summary - I am using the unit on a motocycle, in my pocket, using the voice directions via headphones. I wish I had known this infomration before purchase. Maybe I would have chosen the Garmin? This lack of feature means really difficult to pre route a specific trip, with every turn pre planned. However, this unit is great if using in a car to find out WHERE AM I? and HOW DO I GET TO <address> FROM HERE. POIs are very good. From a strange place, I could easily find the nearest Chevron, Super 8 Motel, Chinese restaruant etc. If I could upload a pre planned route, and save & offload tracks, this would be the perfect GPS

Keyword : magellan

Garmin nüvi 200W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

Grarmon GPS

I am very pleased. I have only had a few problems with getting it to accept addresses, I used an intersection and then looked up Hotels and plugged it in and it worked great.

Great product and great value

Much better than spending a couple of thousand dollars for a built in navigation device. Garmin's updates via the Web, can't be beat. We have driven cross country with this device. It takes you right to you destination regardless of daylight or night. It makes driving a new experience. No need to look at maps, just follow the vocal directions. Another great feature for travelers is that based on your current location, it will tell you the location of restaurants, and service stations.

Great simple GPS

A good price for a great and simple GPS. No bells and whistles, but who needs them. In very good condition for an "open box" item and hopefully there won't be any problems with it down the road.

Great for the money!

Somewhat impressed but not totally satisfied. I have to agree with the few, and I mean VERY FEW less than five star ratings which pointed out the time factor required for finding the satellites. We're on the MS Gulf Coast and SHOULD be able to find them easily......but......it does take about five minutes or more sometimes. We can actually view the Space Shuttle on it's last pass by prior to landing in Florida, so........satellites should be plentiful in the area. A couple of locations are on the incorrect side of the street but, I guess it's close enough to find with a little looking. Friends of ours have a lesser expensive unit and it out performs this one. Oh well, too late to cry over spilled milk. It's just not quiet what we expected from Garmin.

Excellent Unit

The Nuvi 200w has been a perfect GPS unit. If you need basic GPS to get from Point A to Point B this is the unit for you. The only complaint is that the performance is slightly sluggish.

Keyword : garmin

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Garmin StreetPilot c580 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with MSN Direct

Great GPS at a great price!

This GPS is far superior to my previous Garmin, one of the original street pilots. It grabs the satelite signal almost immediately and has yet to send me the wrong way. I travel around the USA hauling boats and sometimes you get onto the little back roads and assume you are lost, not with this unit. This gets me where I need to go and that's all I need.

Get 'there' not 'near there'!

I am very happy with my Garmin GPS. I work in real estate and have spent too many embarassing moments looking for streets in unfamiliar neighborhoods with customers in the car. Mapquest and Google are substandard 'make do' options so I am happy and relieved to be a GPS owner now. Also, traveled last weekend to a city I'm unfamiliar with and got everywhere painlessly!

Great GPS for the price

I have had this unit for a little over a month now and I thoroughly enjoy it. The interface is easy to use, the maps are clear, and the MSN Direct is a great add on. My old GPS took a while to connect to the satellite, but the Garmin is pretty fast. The only real complaint I have is that the screen could stand to be a little brighter. I would recommend this unit to anyone.

great GPS

The Garmin StreetPilot c580 is well worth the money spent. The bluetooth is great and hooks everything from your phone, MSN hook up is free for 1 year and great, sound is good, size is perfect, color of screen is excellent, and the cost was amazon low. A great buy for my use and very easy to use and troubleshoot.

not good

This is a very thick gps. I didn't expect it to be so big and the direction is sometimes confusing. What makes things worse is that the auto charger broke down only after one month's use. I have to contact Garmin to replace it. And that is really annoying.

Keyword : garmin