GPS SYSTEMS..Whats better? tom tom or garmin

[sharky805]

and what brand
I have nerod it down to the garmin street pilot, garmin nuvi 760 or the tom tom G09020.......whats thew best one ,for my buck?

[photogdave]

I recently got a Garvin Nuvi 200W - W for Widescreen. I read lots of user reviews (just google it) that put it ahead of other brands in the same price range.
I'm really happy with it. I especially like how the battery seems to last a long time so I can have the unit sitting on it's window mount without any cables hanging off it while i drive. You can charge it off your laptop with a USB cable too.
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[keithwwalker]

I have TomTom software and maps on my HTC Advantage pda/cell phone (5.0 inch screen)

TomTom works good with trip routing (automatically reroutes when you miss a turn), and there is an option for live traffic services. What I don't like is that it doesn't have trip recording, so that you can see your avg. speed and record your route for posterity's sake....

I did have one TomTom error recently, while going up the NJ Turnpike, it splits into 3 car only, and 2 mixed-truck traffic lanes. I was in the mixed traffic part and TomTom told me to get off at an exit to get back on the car only lanes.

GPS is good, but it is not the last word in routing, still have to use your brain.

[Jon_slider]

I have a Garmin 350. I would buy it again

here is a site that answers the what should I buy questions
http://tinyurl.com/2p56hr

[ChesterKV]

Hey Dude,

A friend of mine just went through this. She first bought a Tom Tom and liked it well enough but ended up trading it in for a Garmin. What she preferred about the Garmin is that it tells you the actual name of the street to turn on rather than saying, "turn right 400 yards ahead." Instead it says, "turn right on Broadway 200 yards ahead." I'm simplifying but I agreed with her that it lets a person keep their eye on the road a bit more and allows traffic signs to help out. All in all a more "natural" experience.

Now I may have switched the two brands out of confusion. One of them reads out the name of the streets/roads/etc, the other doesn't (only visible as text on the screen)..... I would check of course.
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[photogdave]

The features depend on which specific model you buy, not just the brand. My Garmin model doesn't "speak" the street names but names are visible on the screen. If I had spent a couple hundred bucks more there is a Garmin that speaks the names and has live traffic updates, but I don't need those features so I saved some $$. It's probably the same deal with Tom Tom etc.
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89 Syncro GL Westfalia 2.1 WBX/WBXaustSS

My Westy Movies:
photogdave On Vimeo
photogdave On YouTube

Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[Jon_slider]

my garmin nuvi 350 speaks street names.. "turn right on Main street in .2 miles"

if you live or travel through cities like LA, San Diego, and other places that have traffic data transmissions. choose a unit with traffic capability.

my traffic enable nuvi speaks "traffic ahead"
touch the traffic alert icon onscreen, authorize "avoid traffic", and nuvi will detour you around the chaos, using surface roads.

Nuvi knows when traffic has cleared ahead along your route, and when to merge back onto the highway.. like Magic!

note to self, buy Garmin stock
J

[r39o]

Yes, buy by features.

I REALLY like my Garmin 650 speaks the streets. Sometimes the routing is a tad nutty if you try to go a different way than it thinks. But, a LOT has to do with how you configure it too.

I got mine as a Christmas present. It was on sale at Costco for $299. Look for the sales. Use the SEARCH to see what we wrote.

ALSO, find the link to the Vanagon icon for the Garmin. Way cool to see my white van on the screen!

If I wanted more hackable, I would like the Tom-Tom. But we DEPEND on the Garmin so I leave well enough alone.

(FYI: If you have an on board computer, you can always use a cheap GPS (from ebay) and mapping software (like MS Streets and Maps.))

Have fun!
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"Use the SEARCH, Luke" But first visit the Vanagon FAQ!

1990 Multivan EJ 22, Rancho trans 0.82 4th, Small Car front AC, CLKs w/ 215/65-16, homemade big brakes 303mm, Konis, Recaros, etc....

Click to see my ads for Cup holders, Subaru clutch fix and CLK wheels (no wheels currently)

[vwlovr]

well if you get a garmin you can grab the vanagon avatar i made, so that's a plus

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=271100

i like my nuvi 260, i got it as a gift. if i were to buy one i'd spend more money and get one that can do "tracks" which is like breadcrumbing where you've been. which is handy for trails.

other than that i friggin love the 260, they are pretty cheap, and work great. if heard nothing but good things about both tom tom's and garmin's, so either way i think you'll be happy. i've read garmins usually get good reviews on interface, and i believe it. as a mac/tivo lover i appreciate easy to use interfaces and the garmin delivers.

[Jon_slider]

the nuvi 760 has traffic AND Auto sort multiple destinations

that is really really good!

gpsonsale.com has it for $450

thats my next buy

[82WestyMan]

just my 2 cents...
did the research, seemed like they all were kinda high priced and proprietary...
i'm a computer geek and have a great inexpensive laptop...
so i went with this... for $70 with the software and the the GPS hardware...and love it
http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtpItmDspRt...x%253AS%7E
throw in the price of an inverter and you're still way under the starting price of any of the dedicated units...
... and my laptop screen is 17" widescreen

i try to make sure everything in my westy is a 'multi-tasker'...
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82 Westfalia - w/ a Raby 'Camper Special' engine

[floggingmolly]

I'd like to see the windshield mount for that one Westyman!


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'85 Wolfsburg Weekender

[Williamtaylor33]

I have a Nuvi 760 in my van and think its great.
I turn the voice on the German lady and it entertains me while i'm driving.
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89 Bostig powered syncro westy

[larrytrk]

I had a Magellan Roadmate 760 for a few years I liked, but it was bulky. It died and I bought a Garmin 680 at Costco $399, It has Bluetooth, text to speech for street names and Microsoft web for traffic, gas, movies, etc.
I loaded music to a 2gig sd card and I play everything through my Radio.
Next time I would but a 4 Gig card.
You can use the Built in FM modulator, I hard wired my own modulator, and it works great.
I use the custom Blue Van Icon and I like the Australian Girls voice!
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[vwlovr]

[82WestyMan]

[Tomswesty]

I use both the Topo USA and Street Atlas on my Laptop. I have all the campgrounds and other points of interest on there. I even have campround maps linked to each site that I have downloaded from the Parks web sites so I can see the layout and where would the best spot be. Kind of nice pulling in the dark knowing where to go.
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87 Westy
2.2L Suby convert

[sugarloaf]

To tell you the truth, just buy whatever you can afford, be it Tomtom or Garmin. I've used both from high end and low end and they all do the job great. The one i'm using now is a Garmin Streetpilot C340 to replace a unit i had stolen. Factory refurbished with one year warranty cost me $109 plus shipping off eBay. It has text speak which calls out the names of the streets as you drive. You could always spend more but i wouldn't. Functionality is functionality and it doesn't differ too much from brand to brand or with price range. They all work the same.

[Dant]

I have used a TOM TOM once, it found a campground for me perfectly. Awesome!

I will be getting one soon. My one question though: Do you have to check for an odometer feature? My one experience, and I could not find that.
Do some not have it?

My speedometer, (and odometer) quit on the morning I left. I of course wanted to check my gas milage and seemed to be out of luck.

Thanks
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[keithwwalker]

TomTom tells you speed and trip distance, but not odometer (I think).

btw, I just put in a Clarion Reciever that has bluetooth, so all the TomTom commands can be routed through the receiver, as my pda is also bluetooth enabled. Nice!