Sat nav/GPS?

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Hi all,

I'm in the market for a budget Sat Nav. Anyone had any experience with this one - Garmin Nuvi 255W ? Are Garmin reputable?

Thanks!

 

I don't have that model, but I do have a Garmin (205 or sthg). They are quite reputable, yes (one of the 'majors,' I think, along with Magellan, etc.), and the unit I have works just fine. I imagine the one you're looking at is much the same.

 

I picked up a Garmin nuvi 1300T while I was in NY. Of the 3 GPS units I have, it's by far the best! The best part, it comes with free map updates for life!

It's selling for $200 to $250 online. I don't know if you think that's "budget" but the free map updates are worth it. You can buy a cheap GPS unit now, and in a year or so when it's time to get new maps for it, you'll find that the map update is about 50% to 75% of the original price you paid for the unit.

 

I have a Garmin Forerunner 305. Not sure if that is what you're talking about. It's not really for navigation, more for tracking the speed and distance that I run and for uploading it to my PC along with heart rate. It's awesome.

 

My Sat Nav is built into my car and it's deficient! Every time I drive through London it waits until I go past the turning I need and then informs me I should have turned!

 

Are you sure that isn't Rob?

 

Does it talk down to you in a snotty tone? I hate when they do that. Almost as much as when they tell you to drive into fields or rivers or over washed out bridges.

 

My wife tells me where to go ... besides real men don't need GPS. From a Jokey Posties from a few years back....

"Primarily, it's a pride thing: we're out there in our own vehicles, burning gas, got the sunglasses on, looking good. People seeing us going by would have no idea we don't know where we are. And we're not really excited about sharing that information. A man does not embrace the concept of going up to total strangers and saying, 'You may not know this, but I'm a moron,' whereas the woman he's with is only too happy to share that information. I think that helps ease her burden a little. See, to a woman, getting lost on a trip is just a blameless act of nature. But to a man, it's a sign of personal failure. He knew where he was when left; he doesn't know where he is now. Somewhere along the way, he crossed the line between the world he knows and the world he doesn't know. And that's exactly how he felt about when he got married, and when he had kids. So if he admits he's lost in his car, he's gonna have to admit he's lost in those other areas as well. That's way too much to ask. So just sit there, bite your tongue, circle the block a couple of times. Men aren't lost, they just take the long way."

Red Green ​

 

Nice one T2.


In-car GPS units are always sub-par units. They usually run off a DVD image, they're not upgradable by nature, and generally feature-less. I hated the in-car GPS in the ex's Mini Cooper, and the one in my brother's Acura wasn't much better.

As for voices, I've currently got the Australian English-Karen voice on both of my units. The little vehicle icon on one unit is a tank, and a skeleton hand pointing forward on my new one.

If you get a GPS unit, don't forget to customize it! The manufacturer's website usually has downloadable stuff for their units, and then there are community based sites like the POI-Factory where people upload their own custom Point of Interest (POI) files. I personally made a POI file that lists every single branch and ATM location of my credit union in UT and two in NV.

 

I can't open the link so I don't know the specific model but I have a Garmin and I'm perfectly happy with it.

The general advice I've usually seen is to get a good brand which you know has good maps. The actual model doesn't matter so much as each brand should offer the same maps on their different models. Garmin and Tom Tom are the ones people seem to swear by here (Ireland/UK) but that could be different elsewhere.

 

So...vanderlyle... what did you end up getting?

 

Check google, vanderlyle is a bot. The new wave in generating product awareness is to pretend that you're a genuine person with a genuine interest in a product. I think that the simplest solution here is to buy something other than Garmin when you need a decent sat nav. When they realize that these frauds only hurt their income, they'll do something else. Perhaps they'll discover another way to shove their products down your throats.

Edit:
I think DotW is actually a very complex bot working for HTC.