Dear lazyweb: Help me pick a GPS navigation system for my car

[yesthattom]

I want to buy an GPS-based nav system for my car.

-- For my car. Not something I’d walk with.
-- Connects to my Mac for uploads, upgrades, etc.
-- Can replace the voice with a celebrity voice package (optional)
-- Cheap! $300 would be awesome.

I used the Garmin with a rental car last week and I really liked it. However I hear there are more open-source add-ons for the Garmin.

Which should I get: Tom Tom or Garmin or other?

Comments

[beetiger.livejournal.com]

I've got the Garmin c340 and I've been really happy with it. Haven't tried it with a Mac or with third party add-ons though.

[nooks.livejournal.com]

I'm very happy with my TomTom 910; having street names pronounced out loud is very helpful and the 910 is the only model in their lineup that does, I think. I realize it's a little more than your target price (FSVO "little") but I can't recommend it strongly enough.

[dr-memory.livejournal.com]

I bought a refurb TomTom 710 from woot.com. So far I'm pretty happy with it, and I believe it meets all of your criteria. Plus one of the free voice replacements is Eddie Izzard.

[tcb.livejournal.com]

*snarf*

ok, that might be just enough to make me get one.

[la-directora.livejournal.com]

I don't even own a car and that makes me want to get one.

[awfief.livejournal.com]

I was going to buy one for Tony for Christmas, so I'm glad Tom asked. I think that, not only is this what I'm getting, but now I need to have the twin love children of dr_memory and yesthattom.

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

a Prius.

[lothie.livejournal.com]

Well, I have a Garmin and like it fine, but YMMV.

[also-huey.livejournal.com]

Couple months back, Frys was blowin' out Garmin c320s for $200, and I picked one up. For a $200 GPS, it's the cat's ass.

Love my Garmin

[snowboardjoe.livejournal.com]

I've been a Garmin fan for many years, so this is not entirely objective.

Mac support for GPS is rare. Most of the Garmin devices just attach via USB and look like a big flash drive (on any platform) and you can update some things via the filesystem like custom POI's or those you purchase online. However, Garmin does not have any applications that are Mac friendly. :( So, you won't be able to update the base maps, upload/download routes, etc.

I have the nuvi 350 and love it. I really don't need it to attach to my PC for anything significant right now since it's completely pre-loaded with all of the US. Very intuitive touch interface.

Also, having a GPS speak the street names is more valuable than you might expect. With this feature it definitely aids in keeping your eyes on the road and OFF of the GPS--that's a safety feature for me. If you use it a lot, have one that is very portable/easily detachable. Don't leave a GPS unit on the dash as it makes your car a huge target for break in.

Whatever you get, verify what maps come with it and if there are additional costs there to get more maps if needed. Map upgrades can be pricey.

[etler.livejournal.com]

I've got a Nuvi 350 and I love it. I've given one as a gift and know probably 7 or 8 other people who swear by various GPSs in the Nuvi line. It's nice and compact, I carry it everywhere with me. I tried using Tom Tom units before using any Garmins and found the UI to be terrible and unintuitive. The Nuvis are the exact opposite. The line has greatly expanded since I got the 350. You might want to look at the 200 series Nuvis.

As someone mentioned above, the Mac support is minimal. It comes with the North America City Navigator (or Europe, or both depending on the model) so if that's all you want you're good to go. You can update the firmware very easily from a Mac and you can also add custom POI files from a Mac.

The Nuvi units support their other maps. I've got the National Parks 24k Topo and US Topo maps on there. You'd need to use a PC to load them however. If you do any hiking though and want something that works well on the road and in the woods it's perfect. It's *not* water proof, but I've gone backpacking a few times and hiking in some pretty deep wilderness with it dozens of times without a problem.

As far as celebrity voice packages, I don't know anything about that, though the TTS is pretty good.

IMHO (and in most of my friends' opinions) the Nuvis are by far the best out there, but maybe we're all biased. I will say though that after using the iPhone's touch screen the Nuvi's feels old. But that's technology.