Author Topic: GPS Master Thread.  (Read 84429 times)

Offline sns

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Re: Garmin nuvi 760 4.3" GPS Navigation System w/ Bluetooth $250
« Reply #20 on: February 11, 2009, 08:50:36 AM »
now $199 on amazon!

Offline bhphotoman

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Re: GPS GARMIN 350
« Reply #21 on: March 25, 2009, 11:53:38 AM »
eli dan or any one else for that matter what is hands down by far the best gps all round if price was not a factor bottom line best gps

Offline Mordy

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Re: GPS GARMIN 350
« Reply #22 on: March 25, 2009, 10:10:08 PM »
eli dan or any one else for that matter what is hands down by far the best gps all round if price was not a factor bottom line best gps

Personally, I've found that although some are better than others, there is no all-encompassing clear-cut "best". At least in my opinion- some of these units have fantastic easy to use interfaces, but lousy routing, or fantastic routing, but lack of online features, or online features but no text-to-speech... I've heard from a marketing guru that manufacturers do things like this on purpose, to drive sales to multiple units. For example, Nokia has great small-form factor phones for folks who are into style, and large powerhouse phones (running the open-source Symbian OS), with everything + the kitchen sink thrown in. Why nothing in between? Because that perfect blend would somehow hurt the sales of one market and/or the other.
I don't really understand all the logic to it, nor do I know if it applies to things like GPS-units, but I'm just trying to say that sometimes there is no "best" (that is, you're always compromising something), even if money is no object.

Meanwhile, I personally opted out of purchasing any one GPS unit so that I'm not limited to the pros/cons of a single platform. Instead, I have a bunch of GPS-ready applications on my smartphone which I call up for different needs. For example:
- GarminXT for the best routing, although the interface leaves something to be desired.
- Windows Live Search for the easiest while-you're-driving use (no text input needed- it does voice recognition! Just say any location in the US and it will figure it out! Take that Text-to-Speech junkies!)
- iGo8 for real Text-to-speech spoken turn by turn, when I'm in unfamiliar territory and can't peel my eyes off the road
- Google Maps, because precise GPS location + Google Local Search = WIN. I know that some of the standalone GPS devices have started offering this as well, however I haven't found them as well integrated and seemless an experience as Google Maps on a smartphone (find a kosher restaurant near your current location in Florida, click the number to dial, start talking, go back to the map, plot directions, go!).

As far as I know, no single GPS unit gives you this kind of versatility.
Sorry to hijack this thread, just felt like some of this info may be useful.

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Offline Dan

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Re: GPS GARMIN 350
« Reply #23 on: March 26, 2009, 01:19:22 AM »
Eh, the Nuvi 880 seems to do 99% of what you're saying Mordy.
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Offline Mordy

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Re: GPS GARMIN 350
« Reply #24 on: March 26, 2009, 01:46:41 PM »
Dan,
The 880 does voice recognition, but it doesn't do it as well as Windows Live Search (or the new Google Maps voice beta on some BB devices).
According to Consumer Reports, the voice recognition in the 880 needs to be trained, and each piece said individually in prompts (what state? "New York" Where in NY? "Monsey" What street address? "455 Route 306"), since it is processing using the limited CPU power afforded by a mobile device. The guys testing it on their site shows how he constantly said "Ridgefield" yet the Nuvi persisted with "Fairfeild?". Yes, it HAS the feature. But its very "meh".

MS Live Search relies on a network connection and does server-side processing. In other words, it sends your recorded voice command to their powerful server farm which yeilds a remarkably accurate response in about 5 seconds (as long as there is decent network coverage) without any training at all. And, you can speak the place name conversationally (<beep> "455 Route 306, Monsey NY" <processing...done>) and it just works.
Its like comparing those call center voice recognition services (ala, JetBlue's service number) vs trying to voice dial a contact on your phone. There's no comparison to having a server farm process the voice.

Also, while the Nuvi may get traffic updates, street changes/updated maps must be purchased in sets whenever a new map pack comes out. Server-side mapping apps like Windows Live and Google Maps are updated regularly, and the latest maps are always available. Also nifty to use the Satellite map pic instead of just looking at vector lines of streets as you follow your blue arrow.
However, the server-side apps aren't perfect since they don't support text-to-speech (yet), and they rely on  you having network coverage at the time... the last thing you want is to get lost out in the boonies where you don't even have cell service! That's why its good to have real client-side maps as well.

Also, some of the other client-side apps offer more graphically-intensive and easy to follow routing screens, with your choice of celebrity voices for shtick (Tom Tom) and best of all, you can find an interface that suits your taste instead of making yourself deal with the interface that comes with it (Garmin's interface is admittedly OK, but arguably not necessarily the best. A smartphone solution gives you the choice of interfaces).

The 880 may also support bluetooth dialing on your phone for the local search stuff I mentioned before, but its still not as well integrated or effortless as an all-in-one device. Searching by your contacts, saving a found local address into a contact, etc... sure you can do all that over BT, but it needs to be synced and your contact list transferred, etc...

I'd say the Nuvi 880 may do most of what I'm talking about, but only 50% as well.
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Offline whYME

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Re: GPS GARMIN 350
« Reply #25 on: March 29, 2009, 10:00:06 PM »
I have the Nuvi 360 and it takes forever for it to lock on to the satellites.

Unfortunately the Centro doesn't have have GPS so I can't take full advantage of Google maps...

Offline gozalim

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Re: GPS GARMIN 350
« Reply #26 on: March 30, 2009, 10:51:04 PM »


Meanwhile, I personally opted out of purchasing any one GPS unit so that I'm not limited to the pros/cons of a single platform. Instead, I have a bunch of GPS-ready applications on my smartphone which I call up for different needs. For example:
- GarminXT for the best routing, although the interface leaves something to be desired.





RE: Garmin TX
where can u get it?
does it work with smartphones (non-touch-screen)?
does it work without a data plan?

Offline Mordy

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Re: GPS GARMIN 350
« Reply #27 on: April 06, 2009, 04:40:00 PM »
You can get it directly from Garmin's site, or Garmin certified GPS resellers.
Or you can hit up ebay- just be careful not to buy a pirated copy. There's TONs of those out there- easier to find than the legit stuff, unfortunately.

I'm fairly certain I've seen it running on Smartphone edition as well (a samsung blackjack, to be specific), however as far as I know, there aren't that many WM smartphone edition devices that include standalone GPS chips. So, unless you have an external GPS receiver, you're probably better off with a full-blown recent WM touchscreen device.

I also am fairly certain it does NOT require a data plan, however having one will help with some of the features.
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Offline gozalim

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Re: GPS GARMIN 350
« Reply #28 on: April 07, 2009, 02:40:19 PM »
the blackjack has a standalone GPS receiver? i have  the Moto Q9c -very similar to the blackjack, i thought it needed data just to be able to 'read' the GPS location...
you know anything about that?

Offline Mordy

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Re: GPS GARMIN 350
« Reply #29 on: April 08, 2009, 01:28:54 AM »
No, the BlackJack does not have the standalone mode GPS receiver built in, however I didn't say that it did... originally, all these GPS apps (Garmin XT, mapopolis, tom tom navigator, etc)- remember, only in the last couple of years did built-in GPS become a standard (some apps actually had trouble working with integrated GPS since they weren't looking for it).
I've heard of people using Garmin XT on a Blackjack, but I believe they also had an external GPS receiver.

As far as data use... what you're talking about is the difference between GPS, aGPS and triangulation.
Plain old standard GPS is what you find in your average dashboard nav unit. It relies on line-of-site to satellites in the sky, and determines your position by timing the responses, etc (an oversimplification, but you get the point). The problem with standard GPS is that it has a very noticeable cold-boot start up lag while it tries to figure out where all the satellites currently exist in the sky. Once you've got that fix, it will update every second or so, but if you need to know where you are in a hurry, just switching the thing on usually won't give you an instant response.
When cell phones originally wanted to be "location aware" as a casual-use application, they came up with a much quicker way to approximate your position: Triangulate your position based on the position of cell phone towers around you. In other words, the handset can request the physical coordinates of the towers nearby, and then based on the responses make a reasonable guess as to where you are approximately. This system gives you a response almost instantly, however it is NOT very accurate (usually accurate within a circle of 1-5 miles). In other words, great for looking up local info such as weather or nearby POIs, however not for turn-by-turn plotting.

aGPS is the best of both worlds. Instead of waiting for that cold fix as the GPS analyzes the data from the satellites (which could take up to 8 min if the device has been off for a while), it grabs triangulation info from the towers to get an approximate location. Then, using that data, it can instantly pinpoint your location using dead-on GPS accuracy in seconds rather than minutes.

What's this got to do with anything?
Well, when you're using aGPS, generally you will see the data icon being accessed as it requests information regarding the physical location of the nearby towers. The thing is, technically this is not counted as "data" since you are not accessing information off the network, rather you are receiving a response from the tower.
I'm not sure how you would be billed for that (if at all), however I'm fairly certain you can use the GPS without it. In fact, I heard of someone using an old HTC Titan or Touch without any service on it as a GPS device. You just don't get the instant-2-second startup, but rather have to wait for it to aquire a fix like a boring old GPS.

Anyway, sorry this reply is long winded. Hope it answered your question without being too wordy.
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Offline gozalim

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Re: GPS GARMIN 350
« Reply #30 on: April 12, 2009, 11:22:36 PM »
if i understand correctly;
using any 3rd party app (garmin xt, google maps, windows live search, etc.) i should be able to get my location even with a data block? just keep retrying for 5-7 minutes?

i have a data block for cell data and use wifi/bluetooth to get actual data, but once maps are loaded it couldn't find location.
if i understand you correctly, it will eventually find it?

Offline Mordy

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Re: GPS GARMIN 350
« Reply #31 on: April 27, 2009, 12:11:06 PM »
It depends on how the GPS chip in the Q works. If it is capable of operating in standalone mode, it should work. If not, you'll either need to hack it to be accessible to the system (doable, you're on your own for that part), or get a BT GPS puck. I used to use a puck in my car for years until they started offering GPS chips built into my phones. The last two devices I owned didn't need it anymore, and now it just sits in my glovebox.
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Offline Mendy1

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Re: GPS GARMIN 350
« Reply #32 on: June 23, 2009, 07:51:24 PM »
B"H

 Does anyone have a list of all the nuvis which have Junction View?

Offline just me

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My dad needs a GPS, he's an old timer so he doesn't want to type anything in. He wants it to have voice address input, traffic updates, voice command and up to date maps. He's looking to spend less than $250. Anybody know of a good GPS fitting that criteria?

Offline Dan

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Offline just me

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Thanks for the suggestion! Do you know of any place that has it for cheaper than $250? (that's how much it costs at Costco.com) Or do you know how I ca purchase it at Costco w/out having to pay the 5% non-member fee?

Offline Eli

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Re: GPS GARMIN 350
« Reply #36 on: July 08, 2009, 11:19:09 AM »
I must say that I have been very happy with the Nuvi 265WT, which is the one I ended up buying. Picks up a signal relatively quickly and is always accurate with directions.

My only gripe is that sometimes when it redirects you around traffic, you are better off staying in traffic rather than taking the side streets with lights and its own traffic.
-Eli

Offline yudel

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I want to get one for my dad too. I see that Wal-Mart has the nuvi 265t for $179 and I saw the nuvi 855 for about $255 on amazon.

the differences I noticed were: voice commands and lane assist for the 855 and lifetime traffic included on the 265.

anyone have any experience with how useful or important lane assist and voice commands are?
Thanks
 

Offline just me

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I bought the nuvi 855, and it doesn't have lane assist and the voice commands aren't that great since you can only say phrases that are displayed on the screen. I'm surprised they don't have the option to create your own commands. Though it does come in handy if you don't want to stop to type in an address, which is pretty useless for me since I usually program the route before I go. I think traffic updates would be more useful. Definitely get the 265t, especially since it's cheaper.

Offline thegoodspy

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Garmin Nuvi 265WT for $130
« Reply #39 on: May 05, 2010, 11:48:26 AM »
Hey Dan,

Today only Staples has a $20 off any GPS coupon.
http://www.staples.com/sbd/cre/products/100502/merch6988/index.html

Also, they currently have the NUVI 265WT for 149.99.
http://www.staples.com/Garmin-reg-nuvi-reg-265WT-Portable-GPS/product_778966&cmArea=Promos

So that would be $130 total!! (I'm not certain that they are stackable, but if yes it's a good deal!)