Looking for GPS unit, need help..

[csteph]

Garmin Nuvi 350. You can't go wrong with it. About the size of a deck of cards.

[KGB]

TomTom 5 EU:

EDIT******Please don't post links to warez type software******. Thank you.
Edited by RacerX.

[lordhamster]

Garmin Nuvi 350. You can't go wrong with it. About the size of a deck of cards.

I've been using a Garmin Quest, just placed an order for the Nuvi 350... looks like a great device.

I also have a bluetooth GPS and am running TomTom5 on my treo.

My complaints with that setup are the following:

1. The treo 650 can only talk to one bluetooth device at a time. So I can either use my GPS or my bluetooth headset, not both.

2. When a phone call comes in, the tracking gets interupted.

3. This it the biggest issue: TomTom uses Telatlas maps of the US not NavTech maps like Garmin and Magellan use. The Teleatlas maps are great for Europe, but in the US they suck bigtime. If you move out of the downtown areas, they have many mistakes. For example, in my area, my street is in themap, but it is offset about 1000 feet east of it's actual location, so when I'm going home it actually thinks I'm on the wrong roads all the time!

4. Map Transitions: With TomTom5 (on the Palm, not sure about the TomTomGo units) you can't travel between map zones. I like to drive up to Toronto from Cleveland or drive to Vancouver from Seattle... both of which I can't do with the TomTom, since US and Canada are two separate mapsets. The Tomtom can't route across these map borders, whereas the Garmin lets you seamlessly navigate across map borders.

5. One final thing that drives me nuts with TomTom5 on my Treo is the POIs. There is no way to search for a POI without first selecting it's category. I know this may seem like a minor issue to you, but for me its a major annoyance. Sometimes I'm not sure what category a certain POI might be under, and I can't just do a search by name as I can on my Garmin unit.


I have to say the TomTom raises the bar as far as interface goes. TomTom is the MacIntosh of the GPS world... it is very easy to use and has a beautiful display.

Compared to my garmin Quest I'd say they are both very good setups.. I perfer the Quest for Accuracy etc, but I perfer the TomTom's interface and touchscreen. That why I've purchased a Garmin Nuvi 350, which will hopefully give me the best of both worlds.

[RacerX]

I've been meaning to do a little follow up on the tomtom.

thanks for pointing out the issue with multiple bluetooth devices. i've thought about getting a headset, good to know.

you pretty much summed it all up.
i like it and "overall" it works well, but you're right about the maps. either they work well, or can be way off sometimes.

i do like the interface, but it would be nice if they had a way to overide the maps if they are wrong, or better yet, add an option to "make your own maps".

i used it on the trip to Ohio, and i had to use the "major highways map", which wasn't bad, but it would be nice to be able to transition between maps without changing it.

i think that seemed to be the biggest complaint about them. depending on where you lived, the maps were great, or they sucked.

For me i definately like the portability without having a big unit sitting on top of the dash.
i mainly use the west map, which covers all my usual travels. luckily it's pretty accurate for me, and if i deviate from the route, after realizing i'm going a different way it recalculates another route.

Once you get the Nuvi 350, let us know all about it.
especially if it has better maps and is that small.

[Eddieth3king]

I think the cheapest and most practicle way to go is with a PPC with tom tom on it. it is cheaper...a ppc running about 400 bucks tops and the tom tom software 150 or so. 550...... and you get a ppc, that can be used for other things besides a GPS system. Such as MP3, Planner, Organizer and more...and in my case a cell phone as well.....


However i do advise you make sure the ppc you get is compatile with the software, for example, some ppc's running on WM5 are not compatible with tom tom yet, so wait a few weeks till tom tom comes out, or get other software.

[lordhamster]

I think the cheapest and most practicle way to go is with a PPC with tom tom on it. it is cheaper...a ppc running about 400 bucks tops and the tom tom software 150 or so. 550...... and you get a ppc, that can be used for other things besides a GPS system. Such as MP3, Planner, Organizer and more...and in my case a cell phone as well.....


However i do advise you make sure the ppc you get is compatile with the software, for example, some ppc's running on WM5 are not compatible with tom tom yet, so wait a few weeks till tom tom comes out, or get other software.

What PPC Phone do you use?

[lordhamster]

I've been meaning to do a little follow up on the tomtom.

thanks for pointing out the issue with multiple bluetooth devices. i've thought about getting a headset, good to know.

you pretty much summed it all up.
i like it and "overall" it works well, but you're right about the maps. either they work well, or can be way off sometimes.

i do like the interface, but it would be nice if they had a way to overide the maps if they are wrong, or better yet, add an option to "make your own maps".

i used it on the trip to Ohio, and i had to use the "major highways map", which wasn't bad, but it would be nice to be able to transition between maps without changing it.

i think that seemed to be the biggest complaint about them. depending on where you lived, the maps were great, or they sucked.

For me i definately like the portability without having a big unit sitting on top of the dash.
i mainly use the west map, which covers all my usual travels. luckily it's pretty accurate for me, and if i deviate from the route, after realizing i'm going a different way it recalculates another route.

Once you get the Nuvi 350, let us know all about it.
especially if it has better maps and is that small.

I'll definitely post a review of the Nuvi when I get it. I can tell you already though that the maps will be better. All Garmin products use the same maps for routing, those maps come from a company called NavTeq, who IMO makes the best makes for the US.

I live in Ohio, and have found that in the Cleveland area, the maps as displayed on my current Garmin Quest are damn near perfect. One more the Garmin units can do is tell you which side of the road your destination is on. In metro areas this can be very valuable...

Anyway, more on this as soon as the Nuvi gets here.


--------------

BTW.. you mentioned you used the highway maps on your way to ohio. Did you every try the all USA City maps from TT5? Thats the one I loaded and it works ok for me, except for the issues I mentioned like traveling into canada etc.

Does anyone know if the TomTomGo units have solved the issue of traveling accross map borders?

[RacerX]

I didn't get around to gettting another memory stick before i left, so i didn't have room for that map.

Afaik they haven't solved that yet, but it would be nice.

when you do post, include some pics also, thanks.

[Eddieth3king]

I think the cheapest and most practicle way to go is with a PPC with tom tom on it. it is cheaper...a ppc running about 400 bucks tops and the tom tom software 150 or so. 550...... and you get a ppc, that can be used for other things besides a GPS system. Such as MP3, Planner, Organizer and more...and in my case a cell phone as well.....


However i do advise you make sure the ppc you get is compatile with the software, for example, some ppc's running on WM5 are not compatible with tom tom yet, so wait a few weeks till tom tom comes out, or get other software.

What PPC Phone do you use?

Audiovox xv 6600

on verizon


I plan on switching to the xv 6700 pretty soon.

[edweird]

What PPC Phone do you use?

HP iPaq 6515w on Cingular

I went with the Nav software from HP for this model as well. Phone, GPS, and pocket brain all in one.

Ed