Does anyone have one?
I've narrowed my search down to the Garmin brand. They are by far the best out there. My buddy has the one thats like $500. But I don't need something that expensive.
I was looking at the nuvi 200W or the nuvi 250W; they are about the same.
The 260W has the text-to-speech thing, but is a little more expensive.
Looking for some opinions on these if anyone has bought one.
I have the Garmin c340 which is a couple years old, but still available I think. If it is, the price should be very attractive by now. I never leave for a trip without it whether I'm going three towns away where I might not know all the streets or cross country. Traveling for business is a breeze with a GPS as well, since you can plan ahead by searching for hotels, restaurants, sports stadium, etc or just looking for a certain type of food. I honestly don't know how people get by without a GPS in the car.
Yeah, that has been my deciding factor; business.
I drive all day, 5 days a week. From Houston to Port Lavaca to Galveston to Conroe. I don't know this part of the state too well, so having a GPS is almost a necessity. I get tired of looking at Streets and Trips or Mapquest before I go out for the day or printing out maps and directions for my stops. I want to be able to just go wherever I want.
I've seen the c340...I think they are about the same prices as the nuvi 200 and nuvi 250's...I think Garmin is getting ready to launch a new line so the 200's and 250's are on sale. So much to the point that the Best Buy.com doesn't show the 200's and the 250's are on a 2-week back order.
I should have gotten one a few weeks ago.
The prices are about 159-199....not too shabby
My boys 760W or whatever model he has, is awesome. It lists restaurants by name, banks and ATMs by branch, etc.
I used to love driving looking down at 3 print-out copies of Mapquest in my one hand, reversing the directions and start out going SouthSouthWest for 3.4 miles to the first intersection
The I got a TomTom--best GPS on the market
If you get one, put this (http://glagps.vanmiddlesworth.org/) on it.
The biggest problem with GPS units is that whenever the company feels like it, they stop providing map updates for their older models. Your best bet is to get one of the newer ones, even if it has fewer frills.
i belong to consumer reports and just looked up their ratings...these are the top five in each category along with ther "best buy" pick
BASIC NAVIGATORS
Garmin Nuvi 260W $320
Garmin Nuvi 260 $300
Garmin Nuvi 200W $220
Nuvi 250W $300 $220
Jensen Touch & Go NVX430BT $250
**best buy** Garmin Nuvi 200 $150
NAVIGATORS WITH TRAFFIC OPTIONAL
TomTom Go 930 $500
Garmin Nuvi 255W $350
TomTom Go 730 $450
TomTom Go 920 $450
Garmin Nuvi 255 $300
**best buy** TomTom XL 330 $300
TRAFFIC-READY NAVIGATORS
Garmin Nuvi 880 $1000
Nuvi 850 $1000
**best buy** Garmin Nuvi 760 $350
Nuvi 750 $500
Nuvi 770 $700
Quote from: Father Demon on August 12, 2008, 12:39:48 AM
I honestly don't know how people get by without a GPS in the car.
I totally agree. I have a built-in one in my Highlander, and it's gotten me out of quite a few potential jams. It's next to impossible to get lost, and mine ties into the bluetooth system in the car, so I can find restaurants, hotels, and the like, and call them hands-free while driving.
I do wish it had a traffic option, though.
Several of my friends have GPS systems and I'll be damned if it hasn't turned them into farging morons behind the wheel. They don't pay any attention to where they are where they're going they just aim the car forward and wait for the british bitch to tell them when to turn. They can't get anywhere without them and couldn't give directions to a place they just drove to 15 minutes ago.
Having said that I want one.
if they were free they would be a neat thing to have...but ill be damned if im paying someone to give me directions
Quote from: rjs246 on August 12, 2008, 08:12:09 AM
Several of my friends have GPS systems and I'll be damned if it hasn't turned them into farging morons behind the wheel. They don't pay any attention to where they are where they're going they just aim the car forward and wait for the british bitch to tell them when to turn. They can't get anywhere without them and couldn't give directions to a place they just drove to 15 minutes ago.
Having said that I want one.
I turn off the volume on mine. And the people who are card-carrying morons with the GPS are probably closet morons to begin with. That said, I can admit that on one trip, I let the system set my route (Watkins Glen to Harrisburg), and it took me way out of the way (via Binghamton), and the trip took a bit longer than I wanted...but it was still good to know where the eating and fueling spots were along the way.
I just got the Garmin 260W and love it. Don't underestimate the value of hearing the street name when you are driving down town, and streets are close together.
Garmin's maps have been backwards compatible for almost forever. I just retired my Street Pilot III (Vintage 2002) and they still support map updates for it. The bad news is that the updates can be pretty pricey, but it has actually come down recently (it used to be $150/year, now it is $99)
Quote from: ice grillin you on August 12, 2008, 08:05:43 AM
i belong to consumer reports and just looked up their ratings...these are the top five in each category along with ther "best buy" pick
BASIC NAVIGATORS
Garmin Nuvi 260W $320
Garmin Nuvi 260 $300
Garmin Nuvi 200W $220
Nuvi 250W $300 $220
Jensen Touch & Go NVX430BT $250
**best buy** Garmin Nuvi 200 $150
NAVIGATORS WITH TRAFFIC OPTIONAL
TomTom Go 930 $500
Garmin Nuvi 255W $350
TomTom Go 730 $450
TomTom Go 920 $450
Garmin Nuvi 255 $300
**best buy** TomTom XL 330 $300
TRAFFIC-READY NAVIGATORS
Garmin Nuvi 880 $1000
Nuvi 850 $1000
**best buy** Garmin Nuvi 760 $350
Nuvi 750 $500
Nuvi 770 $700
Good stuff, thanks igy.
The 200 is looking like what I'm going to do. I will go to Best Buy this morning and check it out.
Circuit City sells refurbished ones. They have great deals on them and it appears that they are under warranty too. I hesitate to buy one though.
Quote from: rjs246 on August 12, 2008, 08:12:09 AM
Several of my friends have GPS systems and I'll be damned if it hasn't turned them into farging morons behind the wheel. They don't pay any attention to where they are where they're going they just aim the car forward and wait for the british bitch to tell them when to turn. They can't get anywhere without them and couldn't give directions to a place they just drove to 15 minutes ago.
Having said that I want one.
2nd to all of the above.
phreak "best buy" pick is not referring to the store its consumer reports pick for the unit that is the best value for the money
If you want to get the cheaper one that's cool, but get a W version with the bigger screen. You won't regret it.
Quote from: ice grillin you on August 12, 2008, 09:34:09 AM
phreak "best buy" pick is not referring to the store its consumer reports pick for the unit that is the best value for the money
:-D
I know that....but I am going to the store Best Buy to buy one today.
Quote from: Cerevant on August 12, 2008, 09:36:07 AM
If you want to get the cheaper one that's cool, but get a W version with the bigger screen. You won't regret it.
Yes, I forgot to add the the W on there.
I like the wides much better.
I wish they had a massive sale on 260W's though...I want the text to speech but don't want to pay $279.
Have you ever paid $79 for a one-time meal?
If you answered yes, pull out the extra coin for an every day device that tells you the name of the street-- rather than looking at your 3-D screen when driving
or look at a map and find the best directions before you leave for free
like everyone did in the millions of years before these things existed
Quote from: ice grillin you on August 12, 2008, 09:53:04 AM
or look at a map and find the best directions before you leave for free
like everyone did in the millions of years before these things existed
farging exactly.
and while youre at it Phreak..throw out your cell phone before you leave. Use the closest pay phones for now on
TomToms have maps available online for free, you just have to know where to look
Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on August 12, 2008, 10:06:11 AM
TomToms have maps available online for free, you just have to know where to look
haha.
I mean...can you hook a brother up if you know something
Quote from: reese125 on August 12, 2008, 10:04:17 AM
and while youre at it Phreak..throw out your cell phone before you leave. Use the closest pay phones for now on
Now you're farging talking. A world without cell phones is a world I would be happy to live in.
google search is clutch. Mostly you'll find them on torrent sites.
one of my biggest pet peeves is the dissapearance of pay phones...ive never had a cell phone and never will and while its rare that i have to make a call it pisses me off to no end when i cant find a effing pay phone to do it
yeah
how long does it take you to make a fire with your rocks every night?
Quote from: ice grillin you on August 12, 2008, 10:22:19 AM
one of my biggest pet peeves is the dissapearance of pay phones...ive never had a cell phone and never will and while its rare that i have to make a call it pisses me off to no end when i cant find a effing pay phone to do it
I think they started dieing when they increased the price from 25cents to 35.
i think it was when brown people starting dealing drugs around them
Quote from: rjs246 on August 12, 2008, 10:09:03 AM
Quote from: reese125 on August 12, 2008, 10:04:17 AM
and while youre at it Phreak..throw out your cell phone before you leave. Use the closest pay phones for now on
Now you're farging talking. A world without cell phones is a world I would be happy to live in.
You love your BlackBerry. Stop acting all tough.
Quote from: ice grillin you on August 12, 2008, 10:31:54 AM
i think it was when brown people starting dealing drugs around them
Im african, i take offense to that
Quote from: FastFreddie on August 12, 2008, 10:33:37 AM
Quote from: rjs246 on August 12, 2008, 10:09:03 AM
Quote from: reese125 on August 12, 2008, 10:04:17 AM
and while youre at it Phreak..throw out your cell phone before you leave. Use the closest pay phones for now on
Now you're farging talking. A world without cell phones is a world I would be happy to live in.
You love your BlackBerry. Stop acting all tough.
If it weren't required for work I'd throw it into the ocean. I have had and will always have a cell phone. I use it regularly. But I hate it. I hate talking on the phone and I hate that people can reach me at any time no matter what I'm doing. farg private time, mommy and daddy want to chat about how great retirement is. farg that.
"Hey rusty, you know you can just turn it off, right?"
Shut up.
Remember the good ol days of a pager
Couple things I didn't mention that others did - so I'll just say what they said.
Hearing the street names is invaluable, especially in city driving. If you're talking about a $100 uptick, suck it up and get it. A necessity.
Widescreen is much better than non-widescreen.
If you're an idiot, you still will be, but you'll get places faster. Still a win, even for the retarded.
back in the days when i was a teenager....before i had status and before i had a pager
One thing i never had was the Gold chain for the pager.
And stop calling me Rusty.
i don't have a GPS, but i'm thinking about getting one. i drive a lot for work, but even for that, i pretty much know where i am going for each site. where they come in nice is if you have to get off of the normal route because of traffic or an accident or something. they are sweet for getting you back on track.
i wished i had one coming back from the beach Sunday. The bridge accident royally farged everyone, as they were directing everyone to go on Rt. 1, all the way up to I95, then back down to baltimore. We tried to stay on Rt. 15, but Lower Slower DE really doesnt know how to keep signs up.
99% of the time even in traffic or an accident its quicker to stay in the mess than to get off (with everyone else) and drive in more traffic all over bumfarg middle america
but im sure its worth paying for a gps for the 1% of the time you get stuck on 95 when all four lanes are blocked by a haz mat accident
i go crazy in bad traffic, and try to find any way i can to get away from it. I dont care if i drive for an extra hour, i just cant stand sitting still or moving a foot at a time
you also dont need anything more than a road atlas ($12.95 at your local gas station)..greatest thing ever and is always on the floor of my back seat
Taking technology advice from a dude who doesn't own a cell phone? Pass.
stop, his girl owns a cell phone and he uses it all the time
i actually use it about 10 times a year....8 eagle games and a couple phillie games...and she might use it less than me...
its sickening that she even has it
and i forever am trying to have her get rid of it
but woman are mentally unstable
and think they have to have one
to save their life if their car breaks down
Quote from: ice grillin you on August 12, 2008, 11:11:53 AM
you also dont need anything more than a road atlas ($12.95 at your local gas station)..greatest thing ever and is always on the floor of my back seat
I just use my compass and sundial.
I rub my penis and go whichever way it points me.
I stop every half mile and ask directions.
I don't care for these things...I mean farg, I feel like a sell out for having a goddamn EZ Pass.
I'm simply not going to send out markers to the world saying where and when I am in a given place, etc. Its the kind of data cops can easily get their hands on and god knows Dick Cheney loves the farging things.
So far we have 2 fugitives in this forum..anyone else running scared?
Nothing wrong with the EZ Pass, Dio. They actually save you money because you get the breaks on the tolls and they lessen gas consumption by eliminating slowdowns, stops and starts at the toll plazas.
farg GPS bullshtein, though. My work phone has one so they can track me wherever I go. If I need to go somewhere without them knowing it, I conveniently leave it at the office on the charger by "mistake".
I'll have all you rebels know that the one thing I have rebelled against and will continue to do so is the farging bluetooth ear piece. I know how much easier they make talking and driving and the laws are starting to come around to force you to have one, but until they do...I will not get one. And if I have to get one, I will not be that faggy guy walking around with the damn thing blinking in my ear. Maybe, just maybe, I can accept those legit business types who need one. But the people chillin at Wal-Mart? I want to murder them.
As for the GPS...I resisted this a long time too. The idea was presented to me when I first started the job. No, I said. I'll just use Streets and Trips and make maps and directions. But after almost a year of driving 5 days a week all over SE Texas, I need one. Houston is huge and I have so many customers (about 200 accounts) that I see or need to see, I don't have time to print maps. It also helps when I have to detour from my plan and go somewhere else. Plus...farg a road atlas or key map while driving in this city. And I am not pulling over into gas station after gas station to read maps. I'll spend the money to type it in and let the rotten tooth brit chick tell me where to roll.
I went to BB this morning. Every goddamn store in Houston is out of the 200W and 250W. I think I will upgrade to the 260W. They were on sale for $279....
I tried getting my company to pay for it. MY boss laughed. He also laughed when I asked for them to pay for the toll tag. Although I am happy he refused that in hindsight. Because I do not want to be tracked because I slack off from time to time.
The toll system blows in Houston. $1.50 per trip through the booths on the Beltway. And the Hardy Toll Road, Westpark Tollway...and the soon to be ready Katy Tollway...all a buck fitty. I only go on the Beltway when I have to. shtein adds up quick.
I hate the earpieces, too. I refuse to use one. But my car has handsfree built in, which is one of the best uses of bluetooth technology.
i paid 110 bucks for some cheap ass brand gps and it works fine....says the names of the streets, lets you search for nearby restaurants, gas stations, & all that other crap. i rarely need it but it came in handy when i was on vacation.
no need to pay $300 for all that extra crap you'll never use.
Buy a map you farging lazy jackasses.
I can see needing one if you have a job like Preak does but for the average Joe like me what's the point really. Google maps or mapquest have never let me down.
My new car stereo has the ability to install a blue tooth hands free unit and I'm really considering it.
I bought a Garmin nuvi 260 today.
I went to Best Buy and they had it for $299 (260W for $319). Circuit City had the 260 for $239 so I had Best Buy match it. I really wanted the wide screen, but this one will do well enough.
i forgot to post this phreak
http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/GPS-Navigation/2716/subcat.html
http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/Garmin-StreetPilot-c550-Automotive-GPS-System/2216607/product.html?
Garman c550 for 239.99
Yeah they're actually $10 more than I paid yesterday for the 260.
The c models are the older ones, right? They are kind of big and bulky compared to the nuvi's I think.
Yeah, the c550 has more features than the one you bought, but it's bound for retirement soon IMO.