Looking to Buy First Portable GPS for My First Time Fulltiming Adventure
TopCat said
05:16 PM Feb 6, 2009
I've done some searching here on the forum and it seems like the overall consensus, if you don't mind spending premium dollars, is that the newer Garmin Nuvi's (200,500,700 and 800 series) are the best bets for your money. The higher series have more bells & whistles. Clear visuals, great "trucker" road map options, MP3 & audio book player, JPEG viewer, good voice directions, download POI's, 2D or 3D viewing options, lots of accessories, even an optional FM traffic receiver for traffic alerts. Have I missed anything? lol. Before I go out and purchase one, I just wanted to conduct a non-formal survey and see what the rest of the members thought about their GPS's.
What Makes & Models do you prefer & why?
Thanks,
Tony
-- Edited by Howard at 09:25, 2009-02-10
Luvglass said
10:36 PM Feb 6, 2009
We have a Garmin Nuvi 660 and are very happy with it.
Tim & Robyn said
06:12 AM Feb 7, 2009
I picked up a Nuvi 750 on sale at Sam's Club during the Christmas season while waiting for a couple new tires to be mounted.
I've been very satisfied with it, although I did have to order the beanbag dashboard mount separately (apparently it's illegal in some states to mount devices on your windshield).
I've used it to guide me from Columbus (GA) to Augusta, where my wife is hospitalized recovering from burns, via cross country roads with beautiful scenery instead of taking the interstate to Atlanta (horrible traffic and construction) and then I-20 to Augusta. It's also helped me avoid the even more horrible construction on I-20 in Augusta, find restaurants/hotels there and a Verizon store to get my wife's cellphone repaired, etc.
Even though I've seen mixed opinions on these things here on the forums, I'm glad I bought it.
mktobob said
12:52 PM Feb 7, 2009
Hi Tony: I also have a Garmin Nuvi GPS. The entire Nuvi line is top notch as far as I am concerned. VERY easy to use right out of the box. For many of us guys this thing is perfect..It is so easy to use I did not even have to look at the instructions. I really don't think I could travel without it. Now don't get me wrong, it may not be accurate 100% of the time but after traveling at least 25 states I would say it was spot-on 99.9%. Bob
Speedhitch said
06:45 PM Feb 7, 2009
That sounds like the one for me. I like easy. I hate to ask for directions but if something was to give directions to me...other than the wife...I would concider taking them....TEEE HEEE .
Just kidding dear
Speedy
Judy said
08:53 PM Feb 7, 2009
I am the Garmin (wife) in the family! southwestjudy
Serengeti2001 said
06:01 AM Feb 8, 2009
We are a little different as we have a MH, witha a large area on the dash. We use the DeLorme Street Atlas 2009 on the "puter" and have a GPS pick up pluged into the USB port. We will program our route and turn on the lap top and that is our GPS a very large screen, 15-inch with turn by turn directions, area intrest and phone numbers to any destination we want to go. Lists CG's, Wal-marts, truck stop, resturants etc. This by far works the best for us.
We do have a Garmin 60CSx that we use for geocaching.
-- Edited by Serengeti2001 at 06:02, 2009-02-08
-- Edited by Serengeti2001 at 06:03, 2009-02-08
TXRVr said
09:46 AM Feb 9, 2009
I’m with serengeti2001. I use one of the newer mini-laptops with a 9” screen loaded with Streets and Trips. With an aircard plugged in, I can get real time traffic and weather info to supplement my route. I can look up a specific restaurant location, pull up Google Earth to go with an address and I’m a happy camper.
I haven’t yet found the need for a GPS while traveling in the rig. When on interstates or “red” roads, the old fashion map gives the bigger picture and works just as well.
Being an el cheapo, I figured it worth the $300 to have both a computer and a method for directions all in the same box.
Judy> Finally, a women who can read a map! Please don't tell my wife I wrote that.
TopCat said
12:06 PM Feb 9, 2009
Hi Rick,
what make did you purchase for your 9" mini laptop? I've seen the ACER & the DELL. My only concern was they came pre-loaded with only 1 MG of RAM (I'm not sure if you can upgrade to 2) I did see the ACER on sale for $299.
Tony
bjoyce said
01:21 PM Feb 9, 2009
We have an Acer Aspire One with 1GB of RAM and it is fine since the machine is running XP. We don't use it with GPS software, but for many other uses. It runs fine and the 1GB of RAM has not been an issue since these are not computers for heavy duty tasks. (I am typing this on my main notebook with 2GB of RAM and a dual-core processor, so I do know the benifits of faster processors and more RAM.) Ours has a real 160GB hard drive, the cheaper XP edition only has an 8GB SSD (solid state drive) while the Linux version has a 16GB SSD. You can get the Linux version for $240 shipped from www.newegg.com and we have seen the 160GB hard drive XP version for $300 at Costco and Wal-Mart now with the 3cell battery (2-3 hours of usage). We have a 6cell battery but paid $400 in October.
If you want to load a mapping program you use another computer and a USB flash drive to copy the CD to the flash drive. Then you use the flash drive like a CD on the netbook (what they call these mini notebooks) and install the software. Or you can buy a $70+ external DVD drive, which is larger than the netbook.
On another comment I will say that we are glad our GPS, a Magellan 4040, has Bluetooth. In many states you can't use your cell phone without a hands free while driving so we use the Bluetooth when only one of us takes the car and have a hands free phone. Different than a headset you have to tell the GPS each time to act as a hands free, it doesn't automatically hook up. Since we only need hands free some of the time we like that we have to choose to use it.
-- Edited by bjoyce at 13:28, 2009-02-09
Speedhitch said
08:08 PM Feb 17, 2009
We finally decided on ours and bought the Garmin 265. It has everything that we need at the price we could afford...actually we got it marked down at Circuit City...going out of business. We have used it several times now and it works great. We got the traffic update which has saved us twice here in the Dallas area! Thanks to all for your advice.
Sherri and Joe
TXRVr said
09:14 AM Feb 18, 2009
TopCat wrote:
Hi Rick,
what make did you purchase for your 9" mini laptop? I've seen the ACER & the DELL. My only concern was they came pre-loaded with only 1 MG of RAM (I'm not sure if you can upgrade to 2) I did see the ACER on sale for $299.
Tony
I have a Lenovo notebook. Most all of the notebooks have 1 GB. I also have an AcerAspire laptop with only 1 GB. So far no issues with that on either machine.
I haven't kept up with them, but I also don't think any have a CD. As was suggested in another post, you can save a program to a USB thumb drive and then load it on the notebook.
Since it is basically used in the RV for mapping and some email, I thought getting two for the price of one (vs a stand alone GPS) was more economical.
Cindy T said
07:51 AM Feb 19, 2009
I have the Garmin Street Pilot & I love it! It's just a bascic unit without lots of bells & whistles, but it gets me to where I need to go. It has saved me from being lost on many occasions.
Jack Mayer said
09:14 AM Feb 19, 2009
Be careful with the netbooks. On some of them to upgrade to an extra gig of memory you have to tear the entire body apart. There is no access door.
The Eee has an easy upgrade. The Acer does not. The Eee has an issue withthe right shift key being non-standard. But if you never use it it is not an issue for you.
My first choice is a Samsung, since it has a great keyboard. But it is premium priced and I don't think worth the premium. The second choice is the Eee. It has a very good keyboard, is easy to upgrade, has lots of forums to get info and help. I can live with the SHift key issue. You can get a nice Eee for about $349 on Amazon. I prefer to buy from them because they have liberal return policies. Make SURE what you are buying has the 6-cell battery. Some of them have 3-cell. ALL the ones at Best Buy are 3-cell.
bjoyce said
10:09 AM Feb 19, 2009
We went with some friends netbook shopping yesterday and they picked the Acer because the screen was much nicer than the Eee screens we saw. I was actually pushing them towards the Eee, even though we have an Acer ourselves, since the Eee runs on 12volt and doesn't need an inverter, but the screen sold the $299 unit. They are taking it on a cruise in a week and have other uses planned.
-- Edited by bjoyce at 10:10, 2009-02-19
Jack Mayer said
08:30 AM Feb 20, 2009
The screen on the Acer IS nicer than the Eee in the store. Try using it in bright light, though. It is mirror-like in those conditions. I have a laptop like that, and you can adapt to it, but it definitely is noticeable. The Eee has an excellent anti-glare screen that works about as well in higher light conditions as any I have seen.
If you do not care about adding memory then the Acer is still a good choice. But I have seen what it takes to add a gig to it, and it is a daunting task for most people - and it VOIDS the warranty. Personally, I feel the extra gig is a requirement on these machines. It makes a big difference in performance - but many people would not care.
Th biggest thing with the Eee in my mind is the right SHift. If you use that when you touch type you will HATE the Eee. I just use the left shift for everything. Just the way I learned (incorrectly!)....
The other thing about the Acer is that it's battery life is nowhere near as long as the 6-cell Eee. Does not matter to some people, though.
Any of these is a personal choice...you have to get what "fits" you.
bjoyce said
10:26 AM Feb 20, 2009
I just read that Asus is discontinuing the 9" Eee and will only sell 7' (special markets) and 10" models since the 9" is not selling as well. Grab them while you can.
Our Acer has the 6-cell battery. For what I am doing with it 1GB of RAM works great. My wife, who is a techie, is happy with 1GB of RAM on her Core Duo notebook computer. XP is not the pig that Vista is. My Linux notebook only has 512MB and seems to work fine (it was a bit sluggish on XP).
What I don't believe is HP has a flame red netbook they are pushing at many Sam's Clubs and Costcos for $599 that has the same specs as the Eee and Aspire One. Go figure.
Jack Mayer said
01:21 PM Feb 20, 2009
What Asus is doing makes sense to me.....If I want ultra portable then I want 7". If I'm going up to 9" I might as well go 10", since the size of the netbook is the same...the display just takes up more of the lid space.
XP does not "need" 2gig. But it sure speeds it up. A good investment for $22 and 5 minutes of work (on an Eee).
That red netbook is sure 'purty......but not for the $$$. I like the bronze Eee, too. But not for the $$.
TXRVr said
06:11 PM Feb 20, 2009
So, for all of you who had an input to the notebook issue, which by the way are all valid, please humor me here for a second. Why would one buy a stand alone GPS when having the "two-for-one" deal (GPS program on a notebook) is more economical? That's a semi-retorical question since I already use the notebook for GPS, but I am open to good ideas.
bjoyce said
08:23 PM Feb 20, 2009
TXRVr wrote:
So, for all of you who had an input to the notebook issue, which by the way are all valid, please humor me here for a second. Why would one buy a stand alone GPS when having the "two-for-one" deal (GPS program on a notebook) is more economical? That's a semi-retorical question since I already use the notebook for GPS, but I am open to good ideas.
Economically I am not going to say but we prefer a small stand alone GPS when running around town where we have 6 million points of interest at our command to find restaurants, etc. The points of interest databases in both Microsoft and DeLorme have disappointed me. Not that the one in our GPS is perfect, it just seems better. The unit we have is small and easy to hide while even one of these netbooks is larger, plus it uses less 12volt power. Of course some want a big stand alone GPS, at which point the choice is moot. My Acer Aspire One is much, much larger than my Magellan 4040 GPS. Plus our particular GPS works great as a bluetooth hands free unit.
Luvglass said
09:21 AM Feb 22, 2009
TXRVr wrote:
So, for all of you who had an input to the notebook issue, which by the way are all valid, please humor me here for a second. Why would one buy a stand alone GPS when having the "two-for-one" deal (GPS program on a notebook) is more economical? That's a semi-retorical question since I already use the notebook for GPS, but I am open to good ideas.
Basically, because they are 2 different tools and we use both of them all the time.
We keep the GPS permanently mounted on the dashboard and use it constantly. We seem to always be moving to a new town and have to find our way around, and then back to strange campgrounds. It's invaluable!
With the falling cost of good GPS's, it seems like a minor cost addition, to avoid the constant hasstle of moving the laptop back and forth all the time.
I can't imagine life on the road without both.
RonBoyd said
02:15 PM Feb 22, 2009
My suggestion is to get ether the least expensive version of what ever brand you decide upon or... get the very top of the line. We use a Garmin 785 (we upgraded from the 680).
Once you get a taste of the top-line features, you will absolutely be unable to live without them. (I would like to have the "voice-activated" feature of the 885 but couldn't wait.) For example, we still have the 680 and it is comparable to driving an old Model T Ford beside the 785... and it was top-of-the-line only a couple years ago.
foxriverguy said
01:19 PM Feb 24, 2009
I upgraded the RAM in our two Lenovo computers from 1G to 2G. I have absolutely no computer repair experience and I did it in about 10 minutes per unit.
Comment on GPS units. Buy only as much GPS as you need.
TXRVr said
06:35 PM Feb 26, 2009
foxriverguy wrote:
I upgraded the RAM in our two Lenovo computers from 1G to 2G. I have absolutely no computer repair experience and I did it in about 10 minutes per unit.
Comment on GPS units. Buy only as much GPS as you need.
Thanks for that post Fox. Both comments appropriate for my situation. If I need more memory in my Lenovo, I'll know it's not rocket science.
I recently could have used a stand alone GPS when I was out in the toad. The return to base feature would have saved me from taking the "long way" back. That's got to be a feature on even the cheapest GPS unit..."buy as much as you need."
What Makes & Models do you prefer & why?
Thanks,
Tony
-- Edited by Howard at 09:25, 2009-02-10
I've been very satisfied with it, although I did have to order the beanbag dashboard mount separately (apparently it's illegal in some states to mount devices on your windshield).
I've used it to guide me from Columbus (GA) to Augusta, where my wife is hospitalized recovering from burns, via cross country roads with beautiful scenery instead of taking the interstate to Atlanta (horrible traffic and construction) and then I-20 to Augusta. It's also helped me avoid the even more horrible construction on I-20 in Augusta, find restaurants/hotels there and a Verizon store to get my wife's cellphone repaired, etc.
Even though I've seen mixed opinions on these things here on the forums, I'm glad I bought it.
Bob
southwestjudy
This by far works the best for us.
We do have a Garmin 60CSx that we use for geocaching.
-- Edited by Serengeti2001 at 06:02, 2009-02-08
-- Edited by Serengeti2001 at 06:03, 2009-02-08
I’m with serengeti2001. I use one of the newer mini-laptops with a 9” screen loaded with Streets and Trips. With an aircard plugged in, I can get real time traffic and weather info to supplement my route. I can look up a specific restaurant location, pull up Google Earth to go with an address and I’m a happy camper.
I haven’t yet found the need for a GPS while traveling in the rig. When on interstates or “red” roads, the old fashion map gives the bigger picture and works just as well.
Being an el cheapo, I figured it worth the $300 to have both a computer and a method for directions all in the same box.
Judy> Finally, a women who can read a map! Please don't tell my wife I wrote that.
what make did you purchase for your 9" mini laptop? I've seen the ACER & the DELL. My only concern was they came pre-loaded with only 1 MG of RAM (I'm not sure if you can upgrade to 2) I did see the ACER on sale for $299.
Tony
If you want to load a mapping program you use another computer and a USB flash drive to copy the CD to the flash drive. Then you use the flash drive like a CD on the netbook (what they call these mini notebooks) and install the software. Or you can buy a $70+ external DVD drive, which is larger than the netbook.
On another comment I will say that we are glad our GPS, a Magellan 4040, has Bluetooth. In many states you can't use your cell phone without a hands free while driving so we use the Bluetooth when only one of us takes the car and have a hands free phone. Different than a headset you have to tell the GPS each time to act as a hands free, it doesn't automatically hook up. Since we only need hands free some of the time we like that we have to choose to use it.
-- Edited by bjoyce at 13:28, 2009-02-09
I have a Lenovo notebook. Most all of the notebooks have 1 GB. I also have an AcerAspire laptop with only 1 GB. So far no issues with that on either machine.
I haven't kept up with them, but I also don't think any have a CD. As was suggested in another post, you can save a program to a USB thumb drive and then load it on the notebook.
Since it is basically used in the RV for mapping and some email, I thought getting two for the price of one (vs a stand alone GPS) was more economical.
-- Edited by bjoyce at 10:10, 2009-02-19
The unit we have is small and easy to hide while even one of these netbooks is larger, plus it uses less 12volt power. Of course some want a big stand alone GPS, at which point the choice is moot. My Acer Aspire One is much, much larger than my Magellan 4040 GPS.
Plus our particular GPS works great as a bluetooth hands free unit.
Comment on GPS units. Buy only as much GPS as you need.
I recently could have used a stand alone GPS when I was out in the toad. The return to base feature would have saved me from taking the "long way" back. That's got to be a feature on even the cheapest GPS unit..."buy as much as you need."