Help me find a GPS

[PascalT]

I'm looking to buy my dad a GPS device for father's day. I was looking mostly at Garmin ones since I used one before and loved it. However, there's so many models and options that I am a bit lost.

I'm looking at something below $200 and I don't need MSN Direct or bluetooth. My dad isn't super tech savvy. I mostly want to get him one so he can find his way around easily when he travels (which isn't too often). I guess the basic needs would be text-to-speech and something with newish maps.

I looked at the 360, 205, 255w models... but if anyone has suggestions i'd appreciate it. I'm open to other brands too.

thanks

 

[zerocool84]

Do you want something with traffic updates as well???

 

[PascalT]

no need for that. I think I've settled on the Nuvi 255w. It's affordable and has good features. Any other ideas?

 

[Phynaz]

Good choice.

 

[TimeKeeper]

I happened to have one for sale at Sales forum.

 

[imported_Imp]

Originally posted by: PascalT
no need for that. I think I've settled on the Nuvi 255w. It's affordable and has good features. Any other ideas?

I'm looking into getting one soon and also settled on the 255w. Reasonably priced, and good all around. This or the 205w if I wanted to save a couple more bucks.

 

[saltyvinegar]

I use the Garmin 205 for my travels and it works really well. I also didn't need any features, just wanted something inexpensive. The 205 would be a great father's day gift. Make sure you update to the latest firmware from Garmin's site before or after you give it to him, this way he'll have the best results using it.

 

[zylander]

I have a Magellan 4370 and I love it. I get good reception, it updates fast, easy to use and has a very nice screen. I do have two complaints though, they are minor however;

1. It has the option to connect to a cell phone via bluetooth and make/receive calls. This is a great feature but the on board mic and speaker and crap and it really doesnt work every well when you are in a car.

2. When you take it on a long trip, not use it to drive a long trip but turn it off, get on an airplane and then use it in your rental car 1000 miles away. It takes quite a while to update to its new location. Not a huge problem but can be irritating.

 

[imported_Dunnomuch]

Best Buy has the Garmin Nuvi 255wt on sale for $180 this week. They have the Magellan RoadMate 1440 (4.3", TTS and no traffic, bluetooth, media player) for $144.

 

[bjlockie]

does the 255 have text to speech?

 

[bjlockie]

http://www.gpsreview.net/

 

[tjaisv]

So what GPS has the best navigation performance? IE in terms of finding the best routes, auto-routing speed, and traffic update effectiveness, etc...

I'm still checking out the reviews on that site, gpsreview.net,...

And on a side note I wish more people on amazon who give 1 star reviews would recommend something. Don't just blast a product and leave everybody hanging as to what's actually better out there. At least come back later and tell us what you've tried that works best....because giving a balanced review helps everybody learn better and quicker, u know? END RANT

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

265WT is one of the best price performance ones... the 255 is really low priced now, but I'd still opt for the 265WT. gpsreview.net gave it one of the top marks...

 

[tjaisv]

Yeah i'm kind of leaning towards the 265WT as well. Seems like some people don't like its navigating though; they complain of being taken on longer routes and whatnot. Is this a common problem with most GPS navigators in general?

 

[Ksyder]

Yeah i'm kind of leaning towards the 265WT as well. Seems like some people don't like its navigating though; they complain of being taken on longer routes and whatnot. Is this a common problem with most GPS navigators in general?

These may be of interest to you:

http://www.gpsreview.net/comparing-gps-route-quality/

http://www.gpsreview.net/navteq-vs-tele-atlas/