GPS for my sister's vehicle

[milje]

Looks like my sister is most likely getting hired into some kind of travel nurse thing (goes to different hospitals and works for a few months at a time), anyways, she'll be on the road a lot, and is most likely going to need some kind of navigation device.

Right now I'm looking at a Garmin Nuvi and a Tom Tom. What she needs is something EASY to use (do they have voice control?), and something that has the entire US on it so she doesn't need to download different maps. What do you guys like? I've only used my GPSmap 76 and that would probably be too much for her, she needs something simpler.

 

[grey ghost]

i have a Garmin and find it easy to use .. maybe you can teach her how to use map-quest if she has a lap top?...my $.02

 

[exbass94]

Garmin Nuvi 350. I have one and it's super easy to use. Borrowed my uncle's TomTom for a while and didn't like it. The good thing about the Garmin is you enter the state your destination is in first. So when you're selecting the city, it already has it narrowed down to every city in that state. As a result, you usually only have to type in the first 4 letters or so of the city before it knows which city you want. With the TomTom, it just asks for the city first, so you have to type in the entire name of the city, and gives a list of every state that has that city. For example:

Garmin: 1. "Connecticut" (default since I live in CT) or "Select other state"
2. "Select city" (me typing in "Clinton") C-L-I.....and "Clinton" already pops up on the screen. Now look at the TomTom:

TomTom: "Select city" (Me typing Clinton) C-L-I-N-T-O-N...
It shows a list like this:
Clinton, AZ
Clinton, AR
Clinton, CT
Clinton, TX

Very annoying especially when typing in cities with long names. The Garmin is super easy to use, much more intuitive, even my mom can figure out how to use it.

 

[MAKG]

If she's only in cities and on interstates, get an I-Phone. Seriously. They triangulate cell towers, and therefore only work when you get a cell signal, but you get continuously updated maps, for instance. AND you can get Google Maps simultaneously, which means "street views" and traffic. And it's a phone. And if you need a spirit level or a metronome or an electronic tuner, it can be that as well.

User interface for TomTom is light years better than Garmin. Map quality is better with Garmin. But TomTom has a user community and the possibility of actually correcting maps (and it's not hard at all to find errors).

But mine (Nuvi 370) has broken AGAIN so I'm more than a bit peeved.

Virtually everything has at least the lower 48 states included. Some have Canada and Alaska as well (mine worked just fine in Quebec).

I disagree on the finding stuff. Tell a Garmin you want to find a POI in San Jose and it will give you a list of some 50+ cities named San Jose, sorted randomly, and most of which are in Latin America. When they are all 4000 miles away except for one which is 25 miles away, you would think the behavior would be obvious.... It's only when giving it an ADDRESS that it does that sensibly. And the order they ask for things is kinda strange. Compare it to Magellans for a much better idea.

 

[milje]

And if you need a spirit level or a metronome or an electronic tuner, it can be that as well.

Now you're making me want an iPhone, except I don't quite understand spirit level, is that like 80 proof, 101 proof, etc?

Are there any other good brands I should be looking at? Or are the Garmin and TomTom pretty much the two best?


Mike what broke on your Garmin?

 

[LearjetMinako]

I personally use a Garmin GPSMap60cs (older model with only 56mb internal memory). I have it loaded with the entire maps of Oklahoma. Its been with me through thick and thin. Hunting, dirt biking, hiking, boating, motorcycling, paintballing, etc. Works great every time and is water resistance (to a certain depth). Their new one now has a external memory chip which allows to you load much bigger maps (like the whole US).

Best bet is to get a Garmin Nuvi. I've seen them in customers cars and seem to be user friendly. And portable to carry along. But with Garmin, like all good things, maps will probably need to be updated every so few years. But will find adresses just fine.

 

[chittybangbang]

Garmin Nuvi 350. I have one and it's super easy to use. Borrowed my uncle's TomTom for a while and didn't like it. The good thing about the Garmin is you enter the state your destination is in first. So when you're selecting the city, it already has it narrowed down to every city in that state. As a result, you usually only have to type in the first 4 letters or so of the city before it knows which city you want. With the TomTom, it just asks for the city first, so you have to type in the entire name of the city, and gives a list of every state that has that city. For example:

Garmin: 1. "Connecticut" (default since I live in CT) or "Select other state"
2. "Select city" (me typing in "Clinton") C-L-I.....and "Clinton" already pops up on the screen. Now look at the TomTom:

TomTom: "Select city" (Me typing Clinton) C-L-I-N-T-O-N...
It shows a list like this:
Clinton, AZ
Clinton, AR
Clinton, CT
Clinton, TX

Very annoying especially when typing in cities with long names. The Garmin is super easy to use, much more intuitive, even my mom can figure out how to use it.

My first TT 510 was like that.I now have TT720 and thank GOD they changed that feature. The TT's do have their issues of locking up.
Best bet is to go to a local Circuit City/Bestbuy or big box store and play around with the units.Most of the higher end units have a lot of stuff that I can say is a total waste.Blue tooth,traffic updates or even where red light cameras are located.You will need wireless access from your cell phone for those features.

 

[MAKG]

Mike what broke on your Garmin?

The first time, the power button broke.

Now, the bluetooth isn't working.

 

[mjonesjr]

User interface for TomTom is light years better than Garmin. Map quality is better with Garmin. But TomTom has a user community and the possibility of actually correcting maps (and it's not hard at all to find errors).

That is personal prefrence. I personally think the Garmin has a better user interface and maps than TomTom; yes I have had both recently.


I love my Garmin Nuvi 200W.

No matter what you get her or what she gets, get it from www.tigerdirect.com. They are a ton cheaper, you can get referbs with factory warranty for less than 1/2 price, and Tiger's customer service is far better than anywhere else.

 

[smokey]

I have a Magellan RoadMate and really dislike it because of if you are in townships in some states you have to know the township and not the town are royal PITA in unfamiliar places.
I also a garmin and I really like it. The garmin would be my pick. My cuz has a tom tom seems OK but I like the garmin Nuvi way better.

 

[martin]

I should state first that I have not used either of these in the states. I mention this as I believe their usefullness is dependant on how the device interprets the map information. To clarify, when I was in England earlier this year I tried them and the tom tom was definately better over there and also cheaper. Over here however the tom tom could not find my friends house, it would not even recognise the address. The garmin had no such issues and over the last few months has found everything asked of it. Reading the other posts it sounds like many guys are fond of the garmin.

 

[COPPERHEAD85]

i really like the nuvi!

 

[snake]

Right off the bat, consumer reports will tell you NONE of them works perfectly. With that said, I've got an old garmin street pilot III with a million miles on it. I've updated the maps every few years. Still works fine.

The newer ones are really cheap (pricewise) now so the deals are there. If it were me, I'd get the garmin 205W. With their newer models, the "W" stands for wide screen so no matter which model you decide on, get the W for sure. I've seen 'em for $150 and if you look around on the net a bit cheaper. The best thing about the newer garmins is they have 1000 "waypoints", places you've been and marked for next time. My old one only has 500 and it's been full for 4 years.

A friend of mine has the 205w and says sometimes the screen is hard to see in the daytime in direct sunlight. There is a plastic cover that goes over the top to alleviate this, I'd splurge and get that option for her too.

Another friend has a new tom tom. He couldn't get it to take him to the sams club in san antonio until he changed the name of the town to live oak. The damn store is in san antonio NOT live oak. If you were from out of town you would NEVER get there using that POS.

 

[Shotokan1509]

I am looking at Garmin's.

Tom Tom's have given us some REALLY stupid directions in the past... like 25 miles round about on back roads for something that was 10 miles on a highway

 

[chittybangbang]

Garmin's NavTech database is supposed to be one of the best and better than the TelAtlas that Tom Tom uses. No data base is perfect.
Regardless who you pick,99 times out of 100 they will get you there.It might not be the quickest sometimes but it does remap the destination when you blow past a turn.
Once again.Go to a big box store and try one out.