GPS navigation system picks?

[cgallery]

I'd like to purchase a GPS navigation system mostly for my 18-YO daughter to use. She will be travelling quite a bit by car this summer, and will be going away to school in the fall. I'd like something that would help her drive across a couple of states but have enough memory for a good map of her final destination?

Is there a primer to read on these things or something? I looked at Amazon and I'm familiar w/ the Garmin name. But I'm not sure which one to get or if there is a gotcha if you get the wrong one without some killer new feature that everyone buying a new unit would want.

Any pointers to get me started would be helpful.

I would like to purchase through Amazon as I have some virtual cash there I can spend.

[crokett]

I got my wife a Garmin Streetpilot c550 for Christmas. I paid a lot less than Amazon is listing it for but I don't see it listed on Newegg any more. My wife loves the bluetooth feature. She talks on her phone in the car a fair bit. I am not sure if your daughter needs this or not though.

not sure what comes standard on them, but my wife's can remember addresses, lets you search by specific address or search for gas stations, food, shopping, etc near whereever you are and announces the turns rather than making you look at the screen. Those are all features I would want. You can also search for a specific business name.

[LCHIEN]

I'd like to purchase a GPS navigation system mostly for my 18-YO daughter to use. She will be travelling quite a bit by car this summer, and will be going away to school in the fall. I'd like something that would help her drive across a couple of states but have enough memory for a good map of her final destination?

Is there a primer to read on these things or something? I looked at Amazon and I'm familiar w/ the Garmin name. But I'm not sure which one to get or if there is a gotcha if you get the wrong one without some killer new feature that everyone buying a new unit would want.

Any pointers to get me started would be helpful.

I would like to purchase through Amazon as I have some virtual cash there I can spend.

THey all provided street names on the screen.
Cheaper models say (e.g speak) turn right in 400 yards turn right in 50 yards, and turn right. More expensive models actually say the street name which I don't miss. More expensive models also have more blue tooth links and capabilities.
Mine readily identities public buildings and facilities and attractios from a list of Points of interest. Entering addresses is quite easy, too, and it saves them. It also can locate ATMs, gas stations, etc. and indicate them on the map.
I didn't want to spend a lot of money. They tend to be a theft liability. I have two Garmin hand-helds but for Street navigators I use the TomTom one XL which is under $150.
The smaller screen tomtom one is available for around $100+
The Tom Toms are very easy to use
The Garmins are good, too, I'm sure.

[LinuxRandal]

You might ask locally, as the TomTom's aren't considered the best here (off quite a bit).

Also, be aware, that leaving the cradle hooked to the dash or winshield is a major steal me (at least currently).

[RayintheUK]

I have a Garmin (nuvi 660), which I bought nearly five years ago. I bought it because I wanted the best around at the time and I've never regretted it. Faultless instructions, very quick re-direction if I make an alternate choice, dynamic traffic information to steer round accidents, snarl-ups, etc., bluetooth for my cell 'phone and an .mp3 player as well.

Regarding theft, be sure to clean the ring marks off the inside of your screen after removing the cradle. Over here, thieves are now spraying the windscreens with de-icer, which apparently brings up an image of an uncleaned cradle ring. If they see this, they'll enter the vehicle on the off-chance that the driver left the satnav in the glovebox!

Ray.

[radhak]

I have a Nuvi 760, bought recently at Amazon for $230. Like it.

Here's a cheat sheet for all features (among Garmin units) :

- you want something Nuvi 260 or more (as in 265/270/ etc). These speak the names of the streets. $130+

- if you want bluetooth, you need Nuvi350 or more. These allow you to use the GPS unit as a 'headset' or 'speaker/mic' for your cell phone. $150+

- If you want FM Transmitter, you need Nuvi 660 or more. These allow you to use the car stereo to hear the GPS instructions, etc. $210+

All 650 and up are 'wide' screen, ie, 3.6" wide; others are 2.6"; I like the wide, but the others are good too, no problem.

Not all have maps of Europe; you need to check if you want these.

[4estgump]

My son-i-law is a wildlife officer here in Kentucky, and most of the officers use the Tom-Tom. He told me it works great in the deep forest. This may help.
4est

[herb fellows]

In contrast to Loring, I wish I had the 'speech to text' feature. I have a tomtom one 3rd edition, and there are definitely times when that would have come in more handy than not, especially when you have 2 possible turns really close together.

They come with every possible gadget attached to them in their most expensive configurations, so you first need to figure out if she needs a mp3 player, phone or whatever. If it's just a gps you want, that alone will narrow your search quite a bit. GOOD LUCK!

[Ed62]

I have a Garmin nuvi 350, which I bought last year. It speaks street names. For instance, it might say "Turn left in 1/4 mile on Sunset Drive." Don't remember the actual price, but it was around $150.00 from Amazon. But you have to watch their prices because one day it might be $148.00, then the next day it's $213.00.

You mentioned having a map of the destination. There are ways you can make the unit think you're at your destination, and you can get pretty detailed maps, including points of interest. You have the ability to zoom in and out. When you're zoomed out, you get less detail because you will be viewing a larger area of the map. Here's a link to a site that gives a lot of info http://home.comcast.net/~ghayman3/ga...tm#pagepoitext .

Ed

[LCHIEN]

[quote=herb fellows;403550]In contrast to Loring, I wish I had the 'speech to text' feature. I have a tomtom one 3rd edition, and there are definitely times when that would have come in more handy than not, especially when you have 2 possible turns really close together.

...quote]

I guess its nice, but i don't think its a necessity. The tomtom GPS always lists in big letters at the bottom of the screen the distance to the next turn, the next turn street name and direction of the turn way in advance (on the highway this can be displayed for 150 miles before the turn). I can always glance and see what street is next.
if

[LCHIEN]

[quote=herb fellows;403550]In contrast to Loring, I wish I had the 'speech to text' feature. I have a tomtom one 3rd edition, and there are definitely times when that would have come in more handy than not, especially when you have 2 possible turns really close together.

...quote]

I guess its nice, but i don't think its a necessity. The tomtom GPS always lists in big letters at the bottom of the screen the distance to the next turn, the next turn street name and direction of the turn way in advance (on the highway this can be displayed for 150 miles before the turn). I can always glance and see what street is next.

if you like the spoken street name, then pay for it.

[radhak]

hmmm...funny, I thought duplicate posts are filtered by the forum software. it slipped up this time, methinks.

[OpaDC]

I borrowed my Son's when I visited him in Denver. Don't know the brand but his only gave distance to the next turn. Now I'm pretty good with distances, but more than once the "100 feet" came up on me pretty quickly while trying to keep an eye on traffic. I think it would have been nice to know the street name without having to look down at the unit (read: take eyes of traffic) (think: 18 Year old in car) . The fewer distractions the better I would think, especially for a young driver.

[Hellrazor]

I have a Garmin Nuvi 750 $198.76 from SamsClub. It doesn't have bluetooth, so that is the only drawback for some people.

[BerniePA]

I have a Garmin, I forget the model, but it does not matter since it is not on the market any longer. It does have the street name feature and I have found that I like it, especially a couple of times when I have had like a five way intersection and was not sure where the right turn in 40 ft was, but the right turn on Elm street in 40 ft made it a lot clearer!!! If I had to buy another one today to replace mine, that WOULD be a feature I would look for, phone features on the other hand, aren't that important to me.

True story -- just this weekend, my family was meeting some friends at a bowling alley in the Pittsburgh area for Special Olympics Bowling. They were coming in on a bus from out of town and we drove the 50 + miles to meet them since we don't get to see them except once in a blue moon. Point is, I programmed the GPS with the shortest distance. It had me on so many small back streets in the Mt. Lebanon suburb of Pittsburgh that I was so lost, I told my wife it the thing broke, we would have to buy another one just to find our way back home!!!!