<p>I am looking to buy a GPS device, the portable kind. Does anyone have any good advice or tips on what to look for? Any brand name in particular that you would recommend? Your help is greatly appreciated !!</p>
<p>what I did- is use a program on my phone- it works really well- you can adjust it for bike riding or walking routes- and the routes are better than mapquest</p>
<p>We have a Garmin (C?) 330. (I think it’s C-330, I know the 330 part is right) and love it. The best features are you plug it into your cigarette lighter so it can be used in any vehicle you have. Also, all the maps are already installed into it and updates are free.</p>
<p>We’ve had it since March and we’re extremely happy with it.</p>
<p>we have the garmin c-330 as well and it’s great. i saw it in todays best buy sale paper for $220.00 i believe. my only issue with it is that it sometimes comes loose from my windshield. the suction cup seems to be losing its grip from time to time, then it’s fine again for x amount of uses… maybe I just don’t put it on as tight each time… who knows… however i love that all the maps are preloaded and the directions are excellent.</p>
<p>DH and I use a Garmin Quest. DD had a Garmin StreetPilot until her car burned in an accident last fall. She now has a TomTom and misses the Garmin. The TomTom has given incorrect directions on a couple of occasions.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for all the helpful inputs! Come to think of it, a friend of mine had also mentioned “Garmin”, so I think I’ll go with it. Thanks again, everyone!!</p>
<p>We got a Garmin this summer and really like it–haven’t had too many opportunities to use it yet, but very happy to have it!</p>
<p>I bought a Garmin while vacationing this summer. It’s wonderful. DH just got home from Houston where he brought it along. He has GPS on has Blackberry, but found the Garmin to be much clearer. One suggestion I would have is to get the kind that tells you the street names when to turn rather than just “turn right.”</p>
<p>the next model up from the 330 does that… i’m not sure if it’s called the 430 or the 340. i think it would be nice for it to say that however i dont think its worth the extra 100 dollars or so. its not like its hard to look at the screen and see what road it says to turn on, but that’s just my opinion.</p>
<p>We got a Mio over the summer. Their highest end model is much cheaper than Garmin or Tomtom and it does say the street names. Voices are clear and it’s easy to use. Bluetooth and MP3 compatible as well. The best part is that the unit itself is flat, so easily slips into a small case and into my purse when I leave the car. We love it, and have taken many trips with only one minor wrong direction (the street name spoken was wrong, but the take next left direction was correct).</p>
<p>We bought d. a Garmin Nuvi (300 or 330?) for Christmas. She loves it and I find it much better than the GPS that came with our car.</p>
<p>Also check out Magellan. Megellan and Garmin are the 2 most reliable brands of portable GPS.</p>
<p>Have had the Tom Tom One for about two months. It’s been very helpful.</p>
<p>Another vote for Tom Tom. It’s saved my sanity more than a few times. It has US as well as Europe maps.
GL!</p>
<p>My older s bought 2 Garmin Ique’s a few yrs back. I am sure there are newer models, but they really like there. Wel… older s liked his (past tense) 'til it was stolen out of his car this summer… I think he was careless and forgot to put it and his mp3 player away. Both are gone.</p>
<p>We have a Garmin Streetpilot 2720 which was highly recommended by many people on this site a while back. The best part about it is that it sits in a bean bag which sits on the dashboard. There are no suction cups on the dashboard … and it’s easy to transfer from one vehicle to another. There is no temptation for theft as no one would ever know it’s in a car. </p>
<p>The particular model we bought was discontinued but is still available online. It works incredibly well. Our only tiny complaints are that there is no battery (so if you are programming it in the house, you need to use the A/C adapter - not really a big deal) and the microphone is in the plug. Again, if you are programming it inside, there is no voice option. However, the voice is very clear in the car, and there is a choice of male/female with accents; we enjoy the Australian one!</p>
<p>I highly recommend the Garmin brand - and the beanbag!</p>
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Except when you leave the beanbag thing on the dashboard with the Garmin in it, in plain sight. Then, there is, unfortunately, temptation :(</p>
<p>Well, yeah. That wouldn’t be a very smart idea.</p>
<p>However, when you leave the suction cup on the window, most thieves realize that there’s a GPS hidden somewhere in the car. The beanbag is attached to the GPS so there’s no evidence once the GPS is locked in the trunk or glove.</p>
<p>Yeah, twinmom. One of those life lessons for my s., unfortunately. It’s probably being sold on ebay. He could probably buy it back!</p>
<p>My hubby uses a Garmin - ok - but not that portable to carry around - I use my cell phone - Verizon - with the GPS program - which is awesome - I pretty much use it daily cuz of my job - it is easy and convenient to use - and to carry around as well.</p>
<p>It has all the options that my hubbies has - except for the traffic piece - like where is the traffic jam (only good in large metro areas anyways) - but I have actually had great luck with the phone program - finding coffee - gas - hotels - etc… and is great as a walking tool as well - can make and receive calls when in use as well. I have a stand for it on my dashboard - will hold the cell or the Ipod - folds down when not in use, etc…</p>