<p>We finally got a settlement for our stolen items from when our vehicle was broken into in late June. They gave us $300 for a GPS, which is pretty good since ours was a couple of years old and the prices have come down. I would like to stick with Garmin and am leaning for the nuvi 275. Good reviews at Amazon and same price at Costco, which is where I would buy it. suggestions?</p>
<p>We have a Megellan Roadmate which we got on sale at Staples for $150. It speaks the street names and has the larger screen. I love it. The only thing is that it ONLY charges in the car. It does not have an AC charger for in the house (the unit cannot be charged that way). </p>
<p>The folks we know who have Garmins love theirs too. The only thing I would strongly suggest is get one that does say the street names. So many times, there are several roads going in a direction and it is ever so much easier when that inanimate object tells you which road to take!!</p>
<p>This may not be an option for you, but I gave up on the stand-alone GPS devices and wouldn’t be without my Navigator from Verizon on my cell phone. It is updated constantly and knows real-time traffic, restaurants, museums,etc and was a life saver during those college visits!</p>
<p>I have an Iphone with the maps ap but really cannot use it while driving. This new Garmin has free real time traffic up dates too. I miss our Garmin.</p>
<p>Not to change the focus of the thread but I’d like to know more about the Verizon Navigator - do you pay an extra fee per month? How much? Does it announce your directions? I currently have OnStar navigation (free for the time being with my newer car) and it’s totally wonderful!</p>
<p>We have 2 different models, both Garmin. They are very similar but the newer fancier one is bluetooth enabled, so it can be used as a speakerphone with your cellphone. Also, if you search for any establishment (restaurant, hotel, anything…) in its database you can touch the phone number and it will dial it. This is a fancy cool feature that I almost never use! </p>
<p>I bought the 2nd one from a TV shopping channel, something I rarely do (Not QVC, I think it was shopNBC). I checked the model # against online sellers including Amazon and the shopNBC price was actually great.</p>
<p>We recently bought Garmin and are very happy with it. We got text-to-speech thing. It is great. The only problem is the American lady’s voice. She talks in very stern and scolding voice. If I had to do it again, I would get the one that has lane change info. as well. I think it would be very useful when you take an exit and the exit has a fork with one fork going to where you want to go and other going to never never land (I always take the later one).</p>
<p>I research the hell out of electronic purchases.</p>
<p>I bought the Garmin 360. It does everything you want including “Text to Speech” AND it comes with all the accessories you need. (With the others you have to pay extra for these items.) It also comes with a a “current map” upgrade. Which is something others will charge you an extra $75 to get! </p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-3-5-Inch-Bluetooth-Portable-Navigator/dp/B000EXS1BS]Link[/url”>http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-3-5-Inch-Bluetooth-Portable-Navigator/dp/B000EXS1BS]Link[/url</a>]</p>
<p>GARMIN Nuvi 255W. It speaks the street names. You can find it for less than $200. It’s on sale now at Radio Shack for $179. We have one and it’s great. We have to get another one because our younger son will be using it when he brings a car back to school for his sophomore year. It has a 4.3" widescreen display.</p>
<p>I just recently researched this and boiled it down to…</p>
<ul>
<li>Garmin 265W</li>
<li>4.3" wide screen </li>
<li>Speaks street names</li>
<li>FREE Real time traffic update that it receives via an integrated FM receiver</li>
<li>Bluetooth for hands-free calling (works woth your BT cell phone)</li>
<li>Small form factor (for 4.3") with rechargeable battery and integrated antenna so it can be used while walking</li>
</ul>
<p>This one is around $209 on Amazon</p>
<p>Note - The 255W is similar to the above but doesn’t have the real time traffic updates or bluetooth but is about $40 cheaper</p>
<p>Anyone know if the Bluetooth works with iphone’s? So far ucsd Dad’s Garmin has the features I like, especially the free traffic updates. My husband would really appreciate fast uploading satellites, that was his major complaint with our old Garmin.</p>
<p>BT in general works with the iPhone and the 265W supports BT so it seems that they should work together but since I don’t actually have the GPS (was researching for the D), I haven’t tried it.</p>
<p>abasket:
verizon navigator is great…I like not having an extra piece of equipment.
It DOES talk to you…nice female voice. Very specific on road names.
Sometimes, (very rarely), the lady gets confused if I keep ignoring her instructions and making different turns. The a loud screech comes through the phone and it needs to be reset. As I said, it’s rare and only when I get defiant.
It’s a bit difficult to turn off on my particular phone. A few times, the lady has been chiming from my purse as I walk down the hall. Weird.
It’s 10 bucks per month extra. I love it.</p>
<p>When I first saw the title to this thread I forgot I wasn’t still on my running message board and I thought, “Why is someone asking this? The answer is Garmin 305.” That doesn’t help you much in the car, though.</p>
<p>We have had very good luck with Garmin.</p>
<p>Garmin Nuvi 255 (or 255w) is a great inexpensive (under $200) choice.</p>
<p>I’m running in circles looking at all the different models that just Garmin makes. They don’t number their products from lowest number means oldest or cheapest to highest number is more expensive and newer. The 360 and the 255w or 265WT all look good and then I went to LLbean and they have a 1260, which is slimmer and also has public transportation and all the other bells and whistles, but not as good reviews. There are probably a dozen Garmin GPS’s between $179 and $299 with very little differences. I’m hoping I’ll get some new Costco coupons before Tuesday (when I’ll go to the store) and it will have the perfect GPS on sale.</p>
<p>I’m coming to this discussion late but want to add to the previous suggestions that you make sure the Garmin Nuvi model you buy says the street names out loud instead of just telling you to turn left in a quarter mile or whatever without naming the road on which you should turn (although that information does show up on the map on screen). I purchased the model that doesn’t say street names out loud several months and have been pleased with it in general; it works well if you have a passenger who can look at the screen and tell you the street name but much less useful when you are driving alone and are dependent upon the voice without the screen. I have listened to that patient Garmin voice say “recalculating route” a number of times as a result of making the turn on the wrong street.</p>
<p>Used a Garmin 250 on our last college road trip (last year). Bonus - the nearby attractions feature includes colleges (educational institutions)!</p>
<p>I have the Magellan 1412. We tried several models from Costco & consistently preferred it over all the other models. It was priced very reasonably as well (under $200). I have read & heard that other folks like Garmin but for us Magellan has worked better in terms of warning us which lane to be in, especially for LA freeway driving. The one thing we wish is that it had faster processing time when we make changes. It’s otherwise a great device.</p>
<p>kathiep:</p>
<p>I’ve found very good prices on things like this (and most other things) from Amazon - usually better than Costco. If you order from them try to make sure it’s sold by ‘Amazon.com’ (it’s indicated when viewing the item) rather than one of their vendors in order to not have to pay shipping but I’ve ordered things both ways and have never had a problem. Allow a week or so for it to arrive if you choose free shipping or you could pay some shipping and get it faster.</p>
<p>Just go to Amazon.com, search for ‘gps’ or ‘garmin gps’ or something and click on the one you want. They also have a chart that compares many of the models and also indicate the best sellers.</p>