Sony NVU73T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)So I am in the market to get a GPS unit for my car, so after reading some mixed reviews about the Sony NV-U73 I decided to try it out for myself. Now I am a Sony fanboy so I was hoping that this product would do very well for me, especially since it was on sale at the local Radio Shack.
Let me start with the good:
1. Beautiful display, bright with lots of contrast.
2. POI's come up on the GPS as their logo...ie If I was driving past a Citgo, the Citgo logo was displayed on the GPS...very cool.
3. The unit will tell you which lane to be in for complicated exits/turns on the highway. When you approach an exit, it goes split screen and shows you which lane you should be in to take the exit.
4. Fairly accurate to tell you when turns are approaching.
5. Displays your speed.
6. Mount is very stick and can move in 360 degrees.
Now the cons:
1. SLOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW...slow to pick up a signal, super slow to re-calculate a route, and tooth-numbing slow to calculate an initial route.
2. It can't handle hypens, ie if a house number is 28-44, your out of luck cause it can't find that.
3. Minor gripe, but the RDS antenna is not built in.
4. Takes forever to search POI's by name.
5. Mapping alogrithem is good, but not the best out there.
So, if this unit wasn't so slow it would be great. But it was taking about 3-4 minutes to acquire the GPS satellites, and another 2-3 minutes to calculate routes. Not helpful if you're in an unfamiliar location.
There are better units out there for the same price. Get one of those.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Sony NVU73T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

Travel with confidence. The widescreen 4.3" touch-panel display of the nav-u portable navigation system provides turn-by-turn directions to where you want to. Traveling to your favorite destinations has never been this easy. The nav-u portable satellite navigation system has a sleek, 4.3" touch-panel widescreen display and can be easily mounted in almost any vehicle. The brilliant, high-contrast full-color graphical interface is also intuitive and fun to use. Whether it's a trip across town or cross-country road trip, the nav-u satellite navigation system makes the perfect travel companion. The NV-U73T comes pre-loaded with Map Content covering the entire United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Enjoy powerful, portable navigation out of the box! With a touch-screen comes control via simple, on-screen finger movements. Commonly used commands such as ‘take me home' may be accessed by gesturing an inverted ‘V' on the screen versus paging through numerous menu screens. Step away from standard GPS mapping and towards a more complete navigation solution. Real Time Traffic Information radio reception allows the NV-U73T to constantly monitor relevant traffic conditions and automatically re-route you around trouble spots! Dual View capability displays dynamic route information, in addition to the conventional map view, to provide an even clearer view of what's around the bend or in a highway merge scenario, which Junction to take. TTS (Text to Speech) also eliminates second-guessing when making a turn; the device utilizes spoken commands ensuring you are able to follow the directions by street names.

Get 43% OFF

Click here for more information about Sony NVU73T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

Read More...

Garmin GXM 30 Antenna NavTraffic and XM Satellite Radio reception for your Garmin navigation system Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have been using a GXM 30 with my Garmin 2739 for over 2 years now. I am very pleased. I use if for music as well as subscribing to the traffic and weather services from XM. I take the unit wherever I go. The 2730 goes from car to car as well as two motorcycles. The GXM I only use in the cars as I have hard wired a Delphi Sky-Fi II mounting bracket onto both bikes and take the head unit with me as I need it. For those of you who are thinking about buying a car dealer navigation system in the car as well as XM - don't wast your money. The Garmin is a whole lot less (I paid $181 for a refurbished unit), it is more easily updated and for less than the dealer systems, and it is portable. OK, it is not as cosmetically appealing as a in dash screen but I can live with that and the $2000 I saved. I agree with the previous poster, the first person should have researched the product. His complaint is not a valid one.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Garmin GXM 30 Antenna NavTraffic and XM Satellite Radio reception for your Garmin navigation system

Click here for more information about Garmin GXM 30 Antenna NavTraffic and XM Satellite Radio reception for your Garmin navigation system

Read More...

Mio MOOV 300 4.3-Inch Widescreen GPS Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I need a GPS for my daugther, who got her driver license recently and have been calling home asking for direction often :-) After surveying the field I narrowed my choices down to: Garmin 260W, TomTom XL-S, and Mio Moov 300. The main selection criteria are:
1. bigger screen
2. text-to-speech
3. all gps functions, none others (e.g. bluetooth)
Since Moov 300 is fairly new and there aren't a lot reviews it is sort of a risky buy. However, since all 3 are pretty much the same functionality-wise, the tie-breaker came down to price. After a couple of weeks, here are some opinions:
Pros:
1. fairly easy to use (never read the manual).
2. find satellites almost instantly (< 15sec), even inside my house. Note that performance might vary, I can only speak from my experience.
3. Good text-to-speech, announce direction in advance. Again, I read some people complained it announced turns too late, but not yet to me. It usually announces twice, once to remind you beforehand, the other when the turn is near.
4. fast re-route
Cons:
1. Battery is weak, less than 2 hours.
2. Sometimes the route is devious.
Overall, I consider it worth the money if you are not too picky.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Mio MOOV 300 4.3-Inch Widescreen GPS

Turn-by-turn Spoken Street Name Voice Guidance. Never miss a turn with 3D indicators and auto-zoom views. Clear voice guidance lets you hear the directions so you can focus on the road. Stylish Design that fits easily in a pocket or purse makes it easy to take the Moov 300 with you. Preloaded U.S. Map of All 50 States and Puerto Rico. No PC download or SD card required. Preloaded with Over 3.5 Million Points of Interest. No More Waiting for GPS Signal with InstantFixII. Get fast and accurate GPS signal receptionevery time. No extra fees and PC connection required. 4.3 Touchscreen Interface. The bright, anti-glare touchscreen makes it easy to type in your destination and easy to see while youre on the road. SD / MMC Slot for easy additional map loading.

Click here for more information about Mio MOOV 300 4.3-Inch Widescreen GPS

Read More...

Garmin iQue M5 Integrated Pocket PC and GPS Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have had about a week to use the M5. My first impression is WOW. This IS my first GPS and also my first PDA, so take my review for what it's worth. I would love to give this product 5 stars, but I will get right to the point of why I can't do it.
CONS :
No 802.11b/g - Not a huge deal if you don't mind plugging a bluetooth USB adapter in your PC, but honestly it is a little annoying that I can't connect right up to my 802.11g network out of the box. There are SD/MMC 802.11b cards available that are a option, but I have not ordered one yet.
GPS non-responsive - (see *Edit* at bottom of this review) As one other reviewer also noted, I also had a GPS problem where it acted like it was looking for the satellites, but couldn't see any of them. This was outside, and not indoors. I pushed the reset button, and GPS fired up just fine. As with the other reviewer, I also haven't had this problem reoccur after about a week of using it. The initial problem was about an hour after I took it out of the box. Since then I have used it a good 20+ times without any problems. I will report back if this problem comes back!
The leather flip case(?) - It is a little lame, and offers no protection except for maybe screen...and even that's a stretch.
PROS -
Wow, I opened the box, and it was very complete. A nice windshield suction mount, cig adapter with speaker and the other 'standard' PDA items (cradle, USB cable, travel A/C adapter, etc).
It's a nice size, not to bulky. The battery seems to perform as expected. I don't have any exact #'s, but from what I could tell it was at least 4 hours with some GPS usage.
One thing I would like to comment on is the 'cost'. A lot of reviews elsewhere talked about how expensive this device is. Yes, it's not cheap, but try buying a comparable PDA and a GPS add-on. You'll be close to, if not higher than what you would pay for this fully integrated PDA/GPS.
I have taken one trip (74 miles each way). It did a pretty good job getting me to the destination. I did notice that it was a little slow to recalculate the route if you miss a turn (5-10 seconds on average). Not a huge deal, but could be a problem in inner-city driving. It also did a random "Make U-Turn" in the intersection I was turning at. I believe the intersection came up later than the GPS/mapping software was expecting. The estimated time of arrival is nice, and right on target!
GPS performance : The GPS picks up the satellites fine in my car. My house (2 story) it's fine on the second floor, but the first floor it does not pick up the satellites unless I move over to a window.
Storage - I don't own a memory card yet, but even with the built-in memory I was able to get most of middle-TN and North Atlanta. I hear a 2GB memory card will hold all of the US, and 1GB will hold over half the US. I would say that is about right.
That's about all I can think of at this time. I will report back in a few weeks with an update. At this point I am very pleased.
Edit 4/28/05 - I did have one additional lockup of the unit that required a 'reset', so I went to the Garmin website and found out that there was a new firmware revision. I loaded the firmware and so far the unit seems to be performing perfectly. So, for those who are having GPS lockup problems, download the firmware revision. Garmin states that the firmware fixes several lockup issues.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Garmin iQue M5 Integrated Pocket PC and GPS

Click here for more information about Garmin iQue M5 Integrated Pocket PC and GPS

Read More...

Navigon 7100 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I ordered my Navigon 7100 at the end of August and received it on September 7th. In the last few weeks, I have been all over .... New York City, Washington, Northern Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, San Francisco/Oakland, California, etc. For most of those journeys I have had my Nuvi 660 next to the Navigon 7100. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. Overall, my personal conclusion is that the Navigon 7100 is for me the way to go. I will be packing up my Nuvi 660 in a few days and sending it off to one of my kids.
Below I will list some Pros and Cons of the 7100. The 7100 has not by any means been flawless. But its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses. And most of my complaints are easy software fixes. I feel that Navigon has gotten the message from those of us in the USA and is attempting to address our issues. They won't be here long if they don't. They may believe that they have the superior product but they may go the way of Beta in the Beta / VHS competition, if you remember that from years and years ago.
I have spoken to higher ups at Navigon and they could have brushed me off. Instead, once I got that far, I found someone willing to listen, acknowledge their shortcomings and say they will fix things. So far they have done so with the 4 GB fiasco. The rest remains to be seen. I am hopeful. I believe that they will now do what it takes. The people I have dealt with struck me as sincere and willing to do what it takes.
By the way, while I adjusted the route profile based on recommendations on forums and even from Navigon to the Optimum setting, I have found the Fast profile setting works best for me.
I also have turned off the Menu animation setting which seems to work better for me.
-----------------------------------------
Pros of 7100
Excellent screen and info. I like info and I get all I need with the 7100. I especially like the upcoming turn arrow showing up if it is a close turn to the next turn you are taking.
The 7100 adjusts for your time zone automatically. You need to do this manually on the Nuvi 660. In California my 7100 showed the correct time while my Nuvi was on Eastern time. I was only there a day and didn't bother to change it.
The 7100 makes it easy to engage the night/day mode, as well as 2D/3D mode. Though an auto setting for day/night would be a nice add-on, it is too easy to do manually to make a difference for ME. And I like the color scheme of the night view. Very cool.
Ability to block portions of route and have trip recalculated. Makes life easier if I want to avoid certain roads.
Seems to lock onto 1 or 2 more satellites than 660 when I was able to check, not always though, but a lot of the time which may help explain my next observation.
Its position in relation to the road in my observations was a bit more accurate than the 660. I would be just about passed the exit ramp when the 660 would show me just entering it.
I found the refresh rate to be a bit more frequent than the 660. While it may be an optical illusion, it seemed to be moving more often than the 660. Again, this is my personal observation and might help explain the above observation.
Reality View is excellent. It has helped me on countless highways. Once though it showed one more lane than the highway had. But it helped me navigate the right way anyway. This is probably the number one feature for me.
Lane Assist is not visible when Reality View is on, but if you hit the screen to disable Reality View (quick feature and easy to do) I often see the Lane Assist present there. Helped me getting to Oakland, Ca. airport as I exited and needed to turn left by showing me both lanes were left turn lanes way ahead of the pavement markings showing me that. Helped me to decide what lane to use for the upcoming turn.
Speed warning (caution) has helped me keep my speed where I want it to be. Though I got used to it and needed to remind myself that it isn't always there, especially on the local streets.
Time of arrival is more accurate for ME than 660. The 7100 would on short trips show 5 to 10 minutes longer to get there but ended up being closer to the actual time of arrival than the 660. On a 5 hour trip the 7100 showed arrival to be 35 minutes longer than 660 at the start. Ended up being closer to actual arrival time than 660. Nuvi kept adding time, even though trip was going smoothly. Much prefer a more conservative approach. Again this is what I experienced in my journeys.
Fairly fast recalculation of route when turn not taken (I did that intentionally at times to test it out). Though once it seemed to take forever.
Traffic info reception is excellent. External antenna not needed in major cities, but helps in outlying areas.
Windshield mount is easy to put on and take off. Stable and secure. Wobbles on occasion but not noticeably an issue for ME. Brings the 7100 closer to you than any other system I have used that I mounted on the windshield. And I found it has lots of adjustment options to get the view I wanted. Had my doubts at first, but love how it just floats near you. My Nuvi mount would fall off until I started using water on the rubber mount before attaching. Even then once or twice it came off.
Easy to spot a McDonald's on your route and by turning in its direction get to it fairly easily rather than search the POI database.
----------------------------
Cons of 7100
No feature to avoid HOV roads/lanes. I have an entrance ramp near me to a major highway that is open only during morning rush hours and is only for HOV use. The 7100 always wants to take me to that highway that way. I can never use it since it is only me in the car. And the times it tells me to go that way it is closed anyway.
I enabled the feature to avoid U-Turns, but the 7100 tells me to make them anyway, even if I could easily go around the block. I could understand it doing so if I am at a dead end but that hasn't been the case. There has been a clear view of the sky and good reception at the time.
My saved destinations do not show up on the map. It would be nice to see them as I go near them. The Nuvi shows all my destinations on the map as I go by them.
Text to speech needs improvement. While I have found that most streets are named, the pronunciation is awkward. If not spelled in a conventional way it is mispronounced. Centre becomes Cen-tray. Marble is Mar-blay. Stonefield becomes Stoney-field.
Toll roads are labeled as TOL for some reason. Even though there is plenty of space for it to be TOLL. As a result the text to speech says, turn onto xx "tall"... for TOL.
Battery life is not as good as I expected. It has a nice warning though to tell you that the battery is almost gone. Maybe Navigon should check with Apple and its iPhone for a better approach. '
Finding a Point of Interest if you don't know the city it is in is difficult. The Nuvi will tell you all the POIs close to you, though you have a long wait as it loads them to get to the next screen. If I want a gas station nearby it doesn't tell me if it is ahead of me or behind me. The Nuvi would give me arrows to help me see where it was. Not knowing could mean circling back to get to it rather than hit something along the way. Its POIs on the route don't give you a lot of options. I would much prefer getting a list to choose from than the ones the unit selects to position on the route I am taking.
Long start up time. Though it is a breeze when I stop for gas and get going again. It took seconds for the 7100 to crank up the times I bought gas or had a quick lunch. My Nuvi was still loading as I headed on my way. Blocks away it joined the 7100. Most of the time though (other than the quick stop routine), the Nuvi was the winner here.
----------------------------------------------
Again, these are all MY PERSONAL observations. I know others have had different experiences on many of these observations.
All in all I find the Navigon 7100 to be an excellent GPS for MY needs. And even though I paid a higher price for it when I bought it than it sells for today, I think I got my money's worth.
Is it perfect? Not at all. It has many things that could be better. Is it the best GPS I have come across and owned? Yes, I can honestly say that it is FOR ME. I have owned the Tom Tom GO, the StreetPilot III, the Nuvi 350, 360 and 660. For now, this is the one for me. I change GPS units often. Buying the newer maps was not worth it for me since if I added to that price what I could sell my GPS on ebay for it would come close or fairly close to buying a newer model. And I need the latest maps, which are outdated when they are released.
All in all, I am sold on the Navigon 7100. For ME it is a clear winner!
---------
10-18-07
In the last few days I have been to Memphis and Boston. I must say I am happy to report that the start up time when I get into my rental car seems to be quicker. Also, while I didn't expect to get traffic info in Memphis and almost didn't hook up the external antenna to pull in traffic, when I did I got an alert quickly about a 2 mile congestion spot on a highway on my route. I hit avoid and got diverted to side streets which got me to the hotel fairly quickly. I passed over the highway I was to go on and sure enough it was stop and go traffic. Really saved me time and aggravation.
In Boston I noticed a few things.... one is that in the underground tunnels the 7100 kept...Read more›

Click Here to see more reviews about: Navigon 7100 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

In the U.S., German-based Navigon may be the biggest name in gps you'venever heard. Navigon has long been a major provider of navigation software to automotive manufacturers for in-dash gps navigation devices, but only recently did they introduce portable navigation devices under their own name. What they offer up, however, demonstrates immediately that this is a company that knows navigation inside and out.
More about Navigon
Navigon...James Navigon The first thing you notice about the Navigon 7100 GPS Navigator is, well, the Navigon 7100 GPS Navigator. It's beautiful. It's the kind of device you'd expect an international spy to have in their rocket car. It's less than an inch thick, and its shiny black casing will go well with just about any car interior. Paying the same attention to every detail, Navigon's included car mount raises the bar even higher, with a design that is not only easy to use, but echoes the 7100's in a way that makes device and accessory become one, adding a touch of style and elegance to any vehicle's interior.


Packed with Features When you stop ogling the outside and really start using the 7100, what you notice is that Navigon has decided to avoid media support and instead has focused on navigation-based features. This means the 7100 is packed, offering an array of features that are, at the time of this writing, unmatched at this price point. It provides you with turn-by-turn directions, including actual road names via text-to-speech. It includes built-in Bluetooth technology that enables hands-free mobile phone integration, which not only increases driver safety, but is fast becoming a necessity as states pass laws against talking on a cell phone hand set while driving. It warns you when you are exceeding the speed limit. It offers 2D and 3D map views with incredibly precise road visualizations (more on that below). Its Navteq data contains millions Points of Interest (POIs) such as restaurants, hotels, golf courses, gas stations, banks, etc.

Reality View and Lane Assistant The 7100 has two features that are a great help in negotiating unfamiliar or complicated road systems. Lane Assistant recommends the best lane for you to be in relative to the proposed route, so you won't find yourself trying to move over three lanes when the freeway splits. Reality view guides you with photo-realistic 3D images of junctions, complete with actual sign text and exit ramp guidance. This makes translating what the navigator is telling you to what you see on the road instantaneous.

Free Traffic for Life This is a biggie. The Navigon 7100 comes is the first GPS device to offer subscription-free, real-time traffic information via the integrated traffic receiver with no additional fees or setup for the life of the product. Be advised on traffic flow and incidents, as well as the best alternate routes. The traffic info starts working as soon as you get the 7100 out of the box.

Zagat Ratings and Branded Icons for POIs All of Navigon's gps navigators offer Zagat ratings and reviews for their POIs, so while this device may not get you a beer, it can tell you where to find the best one. Branded icons displayed on your map make it easier to navigate to a familiar location of your choice.

Superior Software and Hardware The features and functions of the Navigon 7100 are controlled via intuitive, easy-to-use animated menus that use predictive text input to quickly and easily select your city, state and address. Maps and menus appear on its extra-large and elegant, high-contrast 4.3-inch, full-color touch-screen display with an easy-to-read 16:9 aspect ratio for an exceptional view of the road. The Navigon 7100 includes a powerful Samsung 400 MHz processor, a fully integrated SiRF Star III GPS chip, 64 MBs of both RAM and ROM built in, and a rechargeable 1,200 mAh lithium ion battery that is rated for 4.5 hours of continuous use. All this is housed in an ultra-thin, sleek piano black housing that weighs only seven ounces, and measures just 5.1 x 3.5 x 0.9 inches (W x H x D). The Navigon 7100 even comes pre-loaded with complete maps of the U.S. and Canada, providing you with superbly accurate, seamless door-to-door directions wherever your vehicular travels might take you.

Note that the 7100 runs on the Microsoft Windows CD Net 5.0 operating system. A PC is required to use additional map data, and in such cases users require Windows 2000, ME, XP or higher, as well as a CD ROM drive and a USB port. An SD/MMC card reader is recommended as the 7100 not only uses SD cards, but also comes with a 2 GB SD card in the package.

What's in the Box The Navigon 7100 preloaded with North American maps, 2 GB SD card, car charger, wall charger, car mount, USB cable, CD and user manual on DVD, quick installation guide, and warranty information.

About Navigon NAVIGON has been a leader of GPS navigation since 1991, and has a long history of industry innovations. NAVIGON created the world's first dynamic personal GPS product in 1996, launched the industry's first navigation software for the Pocket PC in 2000, and unveiled the first Traffic Message Channel-based (TMC) avoidance feature on mobile navigation product in 2002. NAVIGON has helped revolutionize how consumers get from place to place with software products for practically any navigation-ready hardware. Personal navigation devices (PND), smartphones, and in-dash navigation systems directed by NAVIGON's award-winning MobileNavigator (MN) software delivers reliable information on millions of destinations in an intuitive, easy to use format. NAVIGON is a valued partner to the automotive industry, and in 2006 strengthened its category competency by acquiring NAVTEQ's navigation software business. NAVIGON is a privately-held software company based in Hamburg, Germany, with NAVIGON USA headquarters in Chicago, IL.

Get 54% OFF

Click here for more information about Navigon 7100 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

Read More...

TomTom GO 740 Live 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable Live Internet Connected GPS Navigator Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have used multiple generations of the TomTom, and I have been a fan for a while. TomTom has always had the best user interface, but the rubber meets the road on directions and map accuracy, and here the new GO 740 Live shows solid improvement.
I drive in the Washington DC area, and occassionally commute up I-95 to New York and Long Island. In other words, it's traffic, traffic everywhere.
I depend on the TomTom GO 740 Live. The traffic updates are frequent, and almost always match what I am seeing in the real world. And IQ Routes are clearly having a positive impact on route selection. IQ Routes is the feature than anonymously gathers actual driving experiences from all TomTom users and then factors that history into its route computation. I suppose it works best in metro areas where there are many users.
Why this matters: Anyone who drives north out of DC knows that 16th Street is much, much better than Georgia Ave. They both appear as normal city streets, and though Georgia appears more direct, it has more untimed lights and more local traffic. Before IQ Routes, TomTom would suggest Georgia, and I would ignore it. Now, TomTom suggests 16th. With IQ Routes, TomTom is gathering the experience that only local drivers have.
After second-guessing TomTom for a few months, and usually being wrong, I now let it automatically route around traffic. Between the traffic reports and the IQ routes, I am getting the right routes and very accurate estimates of arrival times.
My previous TomTom was the 930, which reached its traffic service through a bluetooth connection to my phone. The connection was flaky (I blame Verizon, not TomTom.) and did not work if I was on a call. The new LIVE series has it's own cell circuitry built in. I stopped paying $15/month to Verizon for "broadband access connect", and I will gladly pay $10/month to TomTom for the LIVE services, which include traffic, fuel prices, speed cameras, Google searches, etc.
Final note: In addition to the LIVE services, I subscribe to TomTom's map update service, and I dock the unit to my PC often to download map corrections. I depend on my GPS, so these update services are a positive feature for me, and my review assumes use of all these services.

Click Here to see more reviews about: TomTom GO 740 Live 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable Live Internet Connected GPS Navigator

Amazon.com Product DescriptionTomTom GO 740 LIVE is navigation and so much more. Real-time information saves you time, money, and stress. GO LIVE automatically accesses traffic feeds, updated fuel prices, Local Search powered by Google, Weather, and Buddies--so you can stay in the know on the go. Real-time services work right out of the box via a built-in wireless data connection.* Three months of service included.


TomTom's award-winning software means the ultimate driving experience. Switch on and go right out of the box. Just enter your destination address with voice recognition or on the touchscreen and start driving anywhere in the US and Canada. TomTom GO 740 LIVE guides you door to door with turn-by-turn spoken instructions, including street names.

The GO 740 LIVE features IQ Routes Technology, which gives you the fastest route every time by using actual average speeds of travel on your route to calculate your trip time rather than posted speed limits. You'll always travel the smartest route.

TomTom has the most accurate maps, and with TomTom Map Share technology, you instantly can modify street names, street direction, POIs, and more on your own device.

The TomTom GO 740 LIVE is the ultimate connected car navigator.

*Services available in the United States only.

GO 740 LIVE Features
LIVE Services
TomTom Traffic
Fuel Prices
Local Search powered by Google
Weather and more

Maps of United States and Canada with TomTom Map Share
IQ Routes Technology
Voice Recognition
Advanced Lane Guidance
Bluetooth Hands-Free Calling
Spoken Street Names

All TomToms Feature
Plug & Go--Works right out of the box.

Preloaded Points of Interest--Easily find millions of gas stations, restaurants, hotels, and more on your route.

30-Day Latest Map Guarantee--Up to date, off the shelf.

TomTom Map Share--Modify your own map and benefit from others' verified changes with TomTom Map Share.

Help Me! Emergency Menu--Easily access local emergency providers, such as police, fire stations, and hospitals.

TomTom HOME--Always up to date.

Traffic Ready--Optional RDS-TMC traffic receiver accessory keeps you up-to-date on traffic events to minimize potential delays.

Fuel Price Service (optional)--Know more, pay less.

Why TomTom? TomTom believes that personal navigation should be as easy and safe as possible. TomTom develops smart technology that gives you straightforward solutions, innovations to make life easy.
Easy to Use

Award-winning navigation software
Plug & go

Best Maps

30-Day Latest Map Guarantee
Modify your own map and benefit from others' verified changes with TomTom Map Share

Best Routing

QuickGPSfix
Traffic ready

Leader in Safety

Help Me! emergency resources menu
Safety preferences menu

What's in the Box GO 740 Live device, windshield mount, USB cable, adhesive disk, car charger, and user guide
About TomTom Founded in Amsterdam in 1991, TomTom has established itself as a global leader in navigation by being an innovative company with a strong brand, clear customer focus, and high-quality products and services.
TomTom is a leading navigation solutions provider with navigation products sold in 30 countries and in over 20 languages. To further its commitment to car navigation, TomTom acquired Tele Atlas maps in 2008 so that the company can continually provide the most up-to-date maps and intelligent routing.

TomTom has its own mapping company!

Did you know that every year, roads change by up to 40% in high-growth areas? Tele Atlas manages this by using the world's most comprehensive systems to identify and incorporate these changes into our maps with unprecedented levels of speed and accuracy. All TomTom devices benefit from the Tele Atlas advantage--more coverage, more points of interest, and more freshness and accuracy.

Click here for more information about TomTom GO 740 Live 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable Live Internet Connected GPS Navigator

Read More...

nüvi 765T 4.3" GPS Navigator - North America Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This GPS has been around the block for a little while. What hasn't been around the block for a while is the 4.0 software update for this GPS which came out spring 2010. This major software update resolves tons of bugs and issues i was originally having with my 765T. The inaccurate touch screen and near impossibility to type accurately on the keyboard has been resolved with the 4.0 update. The 4.0 update has also resolved an issue where searching for POI's takes MUCH longer than should be expected. Overall, the 4.0 update makes this GPS a SOLID and WELL ROUNDED device. In my opinion, this GPS is fantastic! It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the latest and greatest models but for me it does one thing, which is what i bought it for, and it does it very well and that's navigation and re-routing. If i wanted a computer on my dashboard i would use my iPhone, but i don't. I just wanted a simple, easy to use, and reliable GPS device that would get me from point a-b or from point a to b to c without a hassle and do so with the smartest routes available, which the 765T has been doing. THe traffic feature has worked flawlessly for me after the 4.0 update as well as the update to the 2011 maps. I never question the GPS and always get to the destination within 5 minutes of the arrival time. THe bluetooth and FM transmitter are worthless features to me since the underpowered FM transmitter is basically useless and i don't need bluetooth on my GPS to talk hands free because i use a bluetooth headset with my mobile phone. I did pair my iPhone with the 765T and it worked flawlessly. The 765T automatically imported my phones contacts and gave them to me in a nice touch screen accessible list so that i could just touch to dial a number. It definately works, and works well but it's a feature i will rarely, if ever use. Overall, i have almost no complaints with this GPS. I had a couple of gripes before the 4.0 update but the 4.0 update and the latest version of the maps,2011, have given me a rock solid, bullet proof GPS that i have no worries about relying on when i'm on the road. I would highly recommend this GPS, especially with the free traffic, to anyone looking for a BASIC GPS, with excellent satellite acquisition, fast re-routing, ad-supported yet not intrusive traffic updates, and an easy to use non complicated interface. Just make sure to UPDATE TO THE LATEST 4.0 SOFTWARE FOR THE MOST RELIABLE AND ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE WITH THIS GPS and if you can also update the maps to 2011 and this thing will be rock solid for you like it is for me for years to come.

Click Here to see more reviews about: nüvi 765T 4.3" GPS Navigator - North America

Get 40% OFF

Click here for more information about nüvi 765T 4.3" GPS Navigator - North America

Read More...

Mio C520 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)==== UPDATE October 2, 2007 ====
I bought a Nav-Mat Portable GPS Dash Mount for use in trips to California, where it is illegal to attach a GPS to your windshield. The Nav-Mat bean bag mount simply works great with the Mio C520 and is very stable. Check out the picture under customer images.
==== UPDATE August 21, 2007 ====
The following statement was in my original review and has been removed: "If you plan to use it in Europe, just Google "MioMap V3.3 Western Europe for Mio C220 - C320 - C520" and you should find some UK vendors who sell the SD card."
The fact is that although there are vendors in UK who sell the Europe map, the current Europe maps cannot be used in US/Canada models of C520 due to a license issue. Sorry if this caused confusion. Please read the forums at mionav dot com for updates on this issue.
==== UPDATE August 16, 2007 ====
I updated MioMap to the July 5, 2007 version, still v3.3, following the directions in MioNav dot com, which is linked to the Mio topics in the gpspassion dot com forums. (Search for the topic "Updates for miomap V3.3 are available" and you will find a link to download "MioMap V3 Updater for C320 and C520" from Mio's European website).
This update cures the stuttering problem reported in some earlier versions of MioMap. It also adds a Mute button on the map screen under the Bluetooth button. It does not update the maps or POI data, and leaves the History intact.
==== END UPDATES ====
OVERVIEW:
After doing tons of research to find a competent GPS navigation system under $350, I narrowed down my choice to two models - the Magellan Maestro 3140 and the Mio Digiwalker C520. I would have also considered the Garmin Nuvi 250, but it lacks both text-to-speech and Bluetooth capability which I wanted. If ease of use is most important, I would say the Magellan Maestro 3140, which is a huge improvement over its predecessor, the Maestro 3100, would have been an excellent choice. But since I was not gadget shy, the Mio Digiwalker C520, with its widescreen form factor and advanced capabilities was the unit for me.
The Mio C520 packs in US and Canadian maps with text-to-speech routing instructions, Bluetooth, an MP3 player, a video player, a picture viewer and a contact manager that synchronizes with MS Outlook. The installation is pretty painless. The suction cup holder, which is precision made in Germany, works very well and easily installs onto the windscreen of any car (contrary to what the previous reviewer claims). The Mio works right out of the box with instructions in the tiny manual. If you are willing read the full manual located in the supplied CDROM, and go through a very minor learning curve, you will find the user interface most satisfying and will profit from its awesome capabilities.
It has some cool features, like the ability to display map coordinates and altitude, and has the ability to automatically synchronize time and date with the satellite. It's signal pickup is lightening fast due to the state-of-the-art 20-channel SirfStarIII receiver. It actually picks up the satellite signal from inside my house. If you are further geek-inclined, visit the forums in gpspassion dot com - which show you how to unlock the GPS operating system (Windows CE 5.0) and install custom applications and utilities.
Now consider that the street price of the equivalent widescreen Garmin (the Nuvi 660) is $300 more than the Mio C520, and you can understand why the Mio tops MobilePlanet dot com's current popularity list. The Mio is perhaps among the best GPS' out there at any price!
EXPERIENCE:
On a recent trip to San Francisco with my wife, the Mio turned out to be a real trip saver. It listed our hotel in its point of interest (POI) database and got us to all our destinations without ever getting us lost. Needless to say, it saved us about a couple of hours each day on the trip, even though we were pretty familiar with the Bay Area. Not once did we have to stop for (or argue over) directions! The POI database listed all the major and minor points of interest, including museums, concert halls, gas stations, car rental agencies, seven-elevens, hospitals, etc. It also included hard to find, hole-in-the-wall restaurants. It has restaurants categorized by cuisine, which includes "Japanese", "Greek", "Indian" and so on.
While the routing capability is excellent, it is not 100% perfect. (None of the portable GPS models are perfect). While driving on 101 southbound to SFO airport, it asked us to "bear left on Bayshore freeway southbound" seconds before asking us to take the San Bruno exit to the airport on the right. While this was not a navigational glitch per se, it did have the potential for causing confusion. (Of course, I later understood that "bear left" meant the freeway bears left, not "get on the left lane", duh!). A couple of times it asked us to take left turns in downtown San Francisco that were not allowed. When we ignored it, it recalculated the routes in a matter of seconds, without forcing us to take U turns (which some other GPS models make you do).
Now lets put that in perspective and take, for example, a day trip to Monterey, Pebble Beach, Carmel and back to San Francisco (consisting of, say, 100 routing manoeuvers). On such a trip, the Mio would give confusing instructions perhaps two or three times in total, which meant it was perfect approximately 97% of the time. This is excellent performance in my book. I am perhaps looking at this with a more critical eye than warranted. The important thing is that Mio C520 recalculated the route the moment it realized we were off route, and always got us to our destination quickly.
By considerably reducing the planning chores, the Mio immensely improved the satisfaction of our holiday. We will never go on another trip without it!
TEXT TO SPEECH
The text-to-speech (TTS) feature, which causes the Mio to speak the street names, turns out to be valuable, especially when there are a lot of quick turns to make. The TTS ("Samantha") voice on the Mio C520 is perhaps a bit brusque but pleasant enough. There is a chime before each voice instruction, which alerts you to an upcoming manoeuver. (The TTS voice is in no way "HORRIBLE" or "VERY" chatty as described in the previous review. With all due respect to the previous reviewer, his review is pretty opinionated and unfair). The TTS voice did not stutter even once. The version of Mio Map on my unit is dated May 18, 2007. Note that some earlier versions are reported to have a TTS voice stuttering problem.
SCREEN:
The the 4.3-inch touch screen with 480x272-pixel resolution is vivid and sharp. (The screen is not washed out, as the previous reviewer claims). And it goes without saying you can easily adjust the brightness to your desired level. The touch-screen keyboard is in QUERTY format and has a predictive function, making it easy to enter an address quickly. The automatic night mode feature is pretty neat and wow inducing. It switches to night mode based on time of sunset for the current date, time zone, latitude and logitude!
NAVIGATION PERFORMANCE:
On the subject of navigation mapping data, the conventional wisdom is that in North America, Navteq data is more accurate than Tele Atlas - which the Mio uses. However, the recent buzz is that Tele Atlas has significantly narrowed the gap with Navteq, especially with its latest map versions released after the fall of 2006. A recent comparison of Navteq versus Tele Atlas in gpsreview dot net actually shows the Tele Atlas' mapping data to be slightly more accurate than Navteq's, while another study in gpsmagazine dot com has the results the other way around.
In my own tests, which included comparing the Mio C520's routing with online maps by Yahoo, Google and Mapquest, showed that none of the routing engines were perfect, with Google coming out perhaps slightly better than the others. To my delight, I found that the routes chosen by the Mio C520, which uses the latest Tele Atlas data, is pretty close to those chosen by Yahoo. Rest assured, the navigation performace of the Mio C520 is indeed excellent.
ROUTING FEATURES:
Typically you would enter an address or POI around the current city. Or you can change the destination city, state or country and enter an address or select a POI for that destination. The Mio also has the ability to route to a contact (an address you entered in the contact manager, under Tools->Contacts).
There is a peculiar way you need to enter North American addresses into the contact manager in order for the "Route to Contact" feature to work. For example, consider the address: 111 FIRST STREET, APT# 101, FREMONT, CA 94533. You have to enter 'CA, 94533' in the 'State:' field, 'FREMONT' in the 'City/Postcode:', 'FIRST STREET' in the 'Street:' field and 'Apt 101, 111' in the 'House number:' field. (Note that you need to enter the state and zip code separated by a comma in the 'State:' field). Once you enter the contact address as the Mio expects it, it creates the route to the contact address super fast (usually in less than 10 seconds).
The Mio has a decent job of position error filtering, which attempts to accurately estimate your car's position on the map. Even when driving at 70MPH on a freeway, the Mio is off by no more than 10 yards. It also estimates the car's speed within 2MPH of my car's odometer reading. When driving on regular streets at around 30MPH, the display of the car position is spot on. There are several split-screen views which you can cycle through, giving you the distance to the next manoeuver, the current time, the estimated time...Read more›

Click Here to see more reviews about: Mio C520 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator

Item #: C520.Customers also search for: Discount GPS, Portable Car Navigation System, Buy GPS, Portable Car Navigation System, Wholesale GPS, Portable Car Navigation System, 841881002437, GPS and Portable Navigators Devices

Click here for more information about Mio C520 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator

Read More...

Magellan Maestro 4250 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator (Factory Refurbished) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)So after reading a ton of reviews on Amazon, I realized that a lot of the reasons people rated something positive or negative was because they were comparing their new GPS to an older one. So to be fair, this is my first GPS, so I have nothing to compare it to. First off, it arrived from Amazon in three days using their free standard shipping, which was great. It looked brand new and included every accessory you would need, AC and DC chargers, USB cable, travel case, window mount and dash mount adapter, along with some software to help get you started.
Like some of the other reviewers, the first thing I did was upgrade the firmware to v.4.60. It took me about 10 minutes which included registering the unit with Magellan, which is required to download the upgrade. Since I didn't use it before the upgrade, I can't really speak to the benefits, but I haven't had any issues with the unit freezing up or crashing. I also signed up for the 3 month Traffic Service trial online.
Overall, the menus are very intuitive and easy to use and for the price, really can't be beat. Comparable Garmins seem about twice as much. The unit starts up fast and is quick to determine routes and re-routes. The only negative thing I've noticed is it does take longer to start up after parking the vehicle in a garage as opposed to on the street, either way, 30 to 45 seconds vs. 10 to 15. The traffic service is surprisingly accurate and updates constantly. The accuracy of the maps and POI's seems to be about 2 to 3 years off, which from what others say is about average for units of this price. Mine came loaded with S/W version 29. Magellan is selling an upgrade to version 31 on their website for $80 and calls it their 2008/2009 map. So I'm guessing this is the 2006/2007 map.
The Bluetooth syncs up fairly easily to make and receive calls, but I could not get it to sync up my phonebook or text messages with either of two different Motorola cell phones. The volume is pretty weak and call clarity is about what you could expect, but in a pinch, it makes a decent hands-free device. Can't really be used with the windows down. Overall, for $129 with free shipping, I think this is a great little device and have had no issues with getting it refurbished, although be aware it does only come with a 90 day warranty. Hope this helps.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Magellan Maestro 4250 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator (Factory Refurbished)

Click here for more information about Magellan Maestro 4250 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator (Factory Refurbished)

Read More...

Garmin nüvi 2300 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought the Garmin as a gift for my wife and was thrilled about the lifetime updates for traffic and maps.
Setup and navigation is good. We like the big screen and the way the information is provided.
The lifetime map updates sounds like a great feature. Maps can be updated four times a year and the access using the web page was easy. But I have to wonder what Garmin considers "useful life" of the device. But even if they are only available for three years, then it is still cheaper than buying the maps.
The conditions of lifetime traffic updates are definitely not what I expected and the reason that I am thinking of returning the device. The ads that finance the lifetime traffic pop up on the screen and disrupt the navigation. This is obnoxious! This should be mentioned in the product description! I couldn't even find information about the ad financed traffic on the Garmin web page!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Garmin nüvi 2300 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator


The very easy to use widescreen nuvi 2300 speaks street names and includes maps for the lower 48 states, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. It features myTrends predictive routing, and ecoRoute to help calculate a more fuel-efficient route. Enhance its pedestrian capabilities with optional cityXplorer maps for mass transit information.

Experience nuRoute Technology with myTrends With myTrends, nuvi 2300 recognizes your favorite destinations and over time predicts where you're going and provides estimated travel time to your destination. So whether you're driving to and from work or a regularly scheduled weekly event, your 2300 will help you get there on time. No subscription or added cost required.

Select Fuel-efficient Routes nuvi 2300 saves you gas and money with ecoRoute--a green feature that calculates a more fuel-efficient route, tracks fuel usage and more. With ecoRoute, you have a "less fuel" option as a routing preference. When selected, nuvi will determine if a more fuel efficient route exists based upon road speed data and vehicle acceleration data for a given route.

Navigate City Transit With its enhanced pedestrian navigation capabilities, nuvi 2300 is the perfect travel companion for getting around town. Download optional cityXplorer content to help you navigate city public transit. Know where to walk, where to catch the bus, subway, tram or other transportation and how long it will take to get there. cityXplorer maps are available for select cities throughout North America and Europe. And with prices as low as $9.99, you'll have money left over to spend in the big city.

See More With nuvi 2300's widescreen display, you'll always get the big picture. View map detail, driving directions, photos and more in bright, brilliant color. Its sunlight-readable, 4.3 (10.92 cm) display is easy to read--from any direction.

Get Turn-by-Turn Directions nuvi 2300 has an intuitive interface that greets you with two simple questions: Where To? and View Map. Touch the color screen to easily look up addresses and services and get voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions that speak street names to your destination. It comes preloaded with detailed City Navigator NT street maps for the continental U.S., Hawaii and Puerto Rico with nearly 6 million points of interest (POIs) such as stores, restaurants, hotels, entertainment venues, gas stations, ATMs and more, and speed limits for most major roads.

Go Beyond Navigation Navigation is just the beginning. nuvi 2300 saves you gas and money with ecoRoute--a green feature that calculates the most fuel-efficient route, tracks fuel usage and more. The 2300 includes many travel tools, including JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. With photo navigation, you can download pictures from Garmin Connect Photos and navigate to them. It's also compatible with lifetime traffic alerts (receiver purchase required). With its Where Am I? emergency locator, you always know your location. Simply tap the screen to get your exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and fuel stations. The 2300 features Garmin Lock, an anti-theft feature, and is compatible with our free Garmin Garage where you can download custom custom voices and vehicles. Enhance your travel experience with optional plug-in microSD cards.

Compare the nuvi 2300 Series Features

Get 11% OFF

Click here for more information about Garmin nüvi 2300 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

Read More...

Garmin nüvi 2350 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought the Garmin as a gift for my wife and was thrilled about the lifetime updates for traffic and maps.
Setup and navigation is good. We like the big screen and the way the information is provided.
The lifetime map updates sounds like a great feature. Maps can be updated four times a year and the access using the web page was easy. But I have to wonder what Garmin considers "useful life" of the device. But even if they are only available for three years, then it is still cheaper than buying the maps.
The conditions of lifetime traffic updates are definitely not what I expected and the reason that I am thinking of returning the device. The ads that finance the lifetime traffic pop up on the screen and disrupt the navigation. This is obnoxious! This should be mentioned in the product description! I couldn't even find information about the ad financed traffic on the Garmin web page!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Garmin nüvi 2350 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator


The widescreen nuvi 2350 includes maps for the U.S., Canada and Mexico and features lane assist with junction view*, trafficTrends historical traffic, myTrends predictive routing, and ecoRoute to help calculate a more fuel-efficient route. Pedestrian capabilities can be enhanced with optional cityXplorer maps for mass transit information.

Experience nuRoute Technology with trafficTrends and myTrends nuvi 2350 includes nuRoute technology with trafficTrends historical traffic and myTrends predictive routing. With trafficTrends, your nuvi 2350 automatically learns daytime trends for traffic flow to improve your routes and better predict your estimated time of arrival based on time of day and day of week. With myTrends, when you save your regular destinations in your "Favorites," your nuvi 2350 will, over time, begin to figure out where you're going even without your telling it! So whether you're driving to and from work or a regularly scheduled weekly event, your nuvi 2350 will help you get there on time. No subscription or additional cost required.

Select Fuel-efficient Routes nuvi 2350 saves you gas and money with ecoRoute--a green feature that calculates a more fuel-efficient route, tracks fuel usage and more. With ecoRoute, you have a "less fuel" option as a routing preference. When selected, nuvi will determine if a more fuel efficient route exists based upon road speed data and vehicle acceleration data for a given route.

Know the Lane Before It's Too Late No more guessing which lane you need to be in to make an upcoming turn. Lane assist with junction view guides you to the correct lane for an approaching turn or exit, making unfamiliar intersections and exits easy to navigate. It realistically displays road signs and junctions on your route along with arrows that indicate the proper lane for navigation.

See More With nuvi 2350's widescreen display, you'll always get the big picture. View map detail, driving directions, photos and more in bright, brilliant color. Its sunlight-readable, 4.3" (10.92 cm) display is easy to read--from any direction.

Navigate City Transit With its enhanced pedestrian navigation capabilities, nuvi 2350 is the perfect travel companion for getting around town. Download optional cityXplorer content to help you navigate city public transit. Know where to walk, where to catch the bus, subway, tram or other transportation and how long it will take to get there. cityXplorer maps are available for select cities throughout North America and Europe. And with prices as low as $9.99, you'll have money left over to spend in the big city.

Get Turn-by-Turn Directions nuvi 2350 has an intuitive interface that greets you with two simple questions: "Where To?" and "View Map." Touch the color screen to easily look up addresses and services and get voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions that speak street names to your destination. It comes preloaded with detailed City Navigator NT street maps for the U.S, Canada and Mexico with nearly 6 million points of interest (POIs) such as stores, restaurants, hotels, entertainment venues, gas stations, ATMs and more, and speed limits for most major roads.

Go Beyond Navigation Navigation is just the beginning. The 2350 includes many travel tools, including JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. With photo navigation, you can download pictures from Garmin Connect Photos and navigate to them. It's also compatible with lifetime traffic alerts (receiver purchase required). With its "Where Am I?" emergency locator, you always know your location. Simply tap the screen to get your exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and fuel stations. The 2350 features Garmin Lock, an anti-theft feature, and is compatible with our free Garmin Garage where you can download custom custom voices and vehicles. Enhance your travel experience with optional plug-in microSD cards.

*Not available at all intersections/interchanges in all areas.

Compare the nuvi 2300 Series Features

Get 11% OFF

Click here for more information about Garmin nüvi 2350 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

Read More...

Garmin nüvi 885/885T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Speech Recognition Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Excellent features and very good GPS. It gets a satellite lock inside my house!!! The voice recognition is the gem in this thing. It really works and once you start using it, it is very useful and functional. You don't have to push buttons.
Positives: Voice recognitions, lots of POIs, on-line sites like POI-Factory to add custom POIs (easy to do), and a very good set of features. I have tried (it works) but not extensively used the bluetooth hands free and mp3 player yet (8GB microSD card ordered) but I think it will be useful. MSN Direct is the way to go and works very well. I am getting helpful traffic updates in Louisville.
Negatives: I have to say the volume on the unit should be higher. I realize the FM radio option is there, but sometimes you are listening to the radio or a CD and it is hard to hear the Garmin. On a trip do they expect you to only listen to the Garmin? I figure if I use the mp3 option on an FM channel that maybe that is a way around the CD because I assume it will give voice prompts through the music audio (have not tried). Also the few hands-free calls I have taken have given very poor sound on the Garmin speakers making it not useful (maybe a software update? Not sure they are using the A2DP or a good profile.). They must fixe these two issues. They should already have this perfected. One other small potential issue. The band for the voice recognition button barely fits my steering wheel (last notch), on some others that are larger it could be an issue (but I think this may be minor)?
I will post more as I use it. I should give it 4 starts because of the sound issues. I will come back and re-review as I use it. It is worth buying. My brother and siter have Tom-Tom and another Garmin (780) and this is definitely better. The voice command and satellite lock really distinguishes it. When you are driving you don't want to have to reach and push buttons on it. Garmin, please improve the audio ASAP.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Garmin nüvi 885/885T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Speech Recognition

Get 38% OFF

Click here for more information about Garmin nüvi 885/885T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Speech Recognition

Read More...

TomTom VIA 1405M 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Maps Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this to replace my 2-year-old TomTom XL 340S, mainly because I wanted lifetime map updates which were not available when I bought my XL. I hooked both units up in my car and drove around for an hour to compare them. A couple obvious differences are that the VIA units are slightly thinner and lighter than the XL series, and the VIAs have a slightly better screen, although honestly I could barely tell the difference. Diagonal lines are a little less jaggy on the VIA if you look closely, but the increased resolution does not make much difference. The font size is slightly different as well. The font for the current street is a little larger on the VIA, but the font for the next street to turn onto is slightly smaller, which you can see in the screen image on this site. The street name is green and white and meant to look like a highway sign. The fonts were perfectly fine on my XL, and they are fine on the VIA as well. One thing that they changed, and I think this is new for the VIA line, is that when you are approaching your destination it will tell you if it's on the right or the left. With previous generation TomToms you could see which side of the street your destination was on by looking at the screen, but it didn't announce it audibly. It's a slight improvement, but not a big deal in my opinion.
As far as navigation, the two units were pretty similar when giving directions. I noticed that in some places the Lane Guidance screen would kick in on the XL while it did not on the VIA. I think they have tweaked the software a little after realizing that there were times when Lane Guidance was coming on when it wasn't really needed. Also, I noticed at one exit that the XL said to exit and "go straight on," (although the screen showed a left turn with an arrow) when in fact it should have said exit and turn left. The XL got it wrong, the VIA got it right. Again, that was probably just the result of improvements that have been made to the software in the last two years. Also, the XL would say "take the exit toward Erie, PA" (spoken as "pa" as in "papa"), whereas the VIA just said take the exit toward Erie, and didn't mention the state. It's kind of pointless to say the state in that instance, so just saying a city and leaving it at that is fine.
And now for the best feature. The reason I would not consider any other brand of PND right now is because TomTom is the only brand with the excellent EasyPort Mount. I only use my PND when I travel by air and then rent a vehicle. In my opinion, having the mount built-in to the unit is great. It is much easier to pack and carry than it would otherwise be if the mount was a seperate piece of hardware. I've had no problems with the EasyPort Mounts on both of my TomToms. They work great!
I didn't want the traffic or Bluetooth options, so I went with the "M" instead of the "TM" and the 1405 instead of the 1435.
Overall this is a great PND. I highly recommend it to anyone who takes along a PND for use in rental cars. The EasyPort Mount is excellent and makes for a compact and easy to transport device, and TomTom is the only company that offers it.

Click Here to see more reviews about: TomTom VIA 1405M 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Maps

Get 16% OFF

Click here for more information about TomTom VIA 1405M 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Maps

Read More...

Magellan RoadMate 5045-LM 5-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Maps and Traffic Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I had really high hopes for this GPS. I shopped for quite awhile and owned a Garmin that was due to be updated but decided to replace the unit rather than pay to upgrade. After reading a lot of reviews of the Garmins with quality control issues I opted to give Magellan a try. I have owned the unit around 2 months. I took a trip from Indianapolis to Santa Fe, NM and used the unit the entire time. Last weekend I drove from Indy to Chicago and back again. I guess I have used it about 3000 miles and here is my impression.
First the bad points:
1. The unit will power down occasionally. It has happened to me 4 times so far.
2. The spoken directions ie.."Turn right" are crystal clear. The problem is when it says the street names. The street names are muffled. Usually I can understand what it says but other times I have to look at the screen to figure out what street it is talking about.
3. I put in a route to take me home from a casino near Chicago. It said there were roads that were closed in my route. A road closed icon even came up on the screen. I thought OK it will just route me around the closed road. Well I got up to where I could see the barricades and it told me to turn on the road it knew was closed. I went on past the closed road of course and it recalculated a different route it took a lot longer to go that way. It would have been quicker to go back the way I came in which would have been back tracking a little bit but the unit was not smart enough to realize this.
4. I was almost home the other night and knew what exit I needed to take on I-65. It was telling me to go 1.3 miles further then take that exit. I didn't even think there was an exit 1.3 miles further on the interstate so I took the exit that I knew was right and I checked when I got home and there wasn't another exit for around 10 miles. This makes me wonder how often it sends me on a wild goose chase in areas that I am not familiar with. Ignorance is bliss I guess.
5. Sometimes the auto zoom will zoom out so far it looks like a satellite view. And to top it off this happens when you are in a really congested areas where you really need a lot of detail. It happened to me once in Oklahoma City and Chicago.
6. When typing on the keyboard the unit pauses and hangs up causing you to have to press the same key a several times before it registers. This makes entering an address frustrating and time consuming.
7. Adds show up on the screen while you are driving. I understand that the Garmin adds only show up when you are stopped. I didn't find the traffic alerts helpful. It has an icon on the screen that turns red when there is trouble ahead. Instead of just automatically rerouting you it requires you to click on the icon and then it will give you alternate routes. You select the one you want and then it will take you on your new route. You have to do this while barreling down the interstate at 75mph. Kind of defeats the purpose if I kill myself in the process. I just wished it knew which route was the least congested and route you to that one automatically.

The only good point for me is the screen is big and easy to read.
I am going on another trip next week. I am going to take it to Las Vegas and drive to Tucson, AZ then to San Diego and then up to LA then back to Vegas. If it performs any better I will update my review.

All of the other reviews were so positive but I am really disappointed in it's performance. Perhaps the others just haven't used it as extensively as I have. I am probably going to replace it with a Garmin. Even my old Garmin is light years ahead of this unit.Update 11-16-10
Just got back from another long trip. I had my mother along and she is around 70 years old and not very tech savvy. By the end of the trip she was making fun of the GPS unit wondering how bad it was going to screw up every time I turned it on. This unit is not able to do basic routing about half of the time. I don't understand all of the positive reviews. The phrase I hear in my sleep at night is "When possible make a legal U turn." because that is what it says more often than anything else. I wish I could return to Amazon but its been too long. Save your money and buy something else. You have been warned.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Magellan RoadMate 5045-LM 5-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Maps and Traffic


The RoadMate 5045-LM is a 5-inch GPS navigator perfect for any size vehicle. The huge 5-inch screen is 35% larger than a standard 4.3-inch screen.No need to worry about finding your way, since you get lifetime map updates included with the RoadMate 5045-LM.

Get free lifetime map updates! The RoadMate 5045-LM includes free map updates for the life of the navigator. Never again worry about finding the restaurant in a new part of town or locating the new parking garage.You will always have the latest available maps.

Premium features include lifetime traffic alerts, highway lane assist, OneTouch favorites, highway exit POI, Built-in AAA TourBook and maps of the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

Magellan has partnered with the most trusted name in travel--AAA.Only Magellan products include the exclusive, built-in AAA TourBook with Diamond ratings and descriptions on AAA-approved places to stay, play, dine, and save.

Personalize your travel experience with the OneTouch menu of your favorite places and searches. Bookmark your favorite coffee shop, restaurant, gas station, or bank to find the nearest location, anywhere you travel!

Perfect for any size vehicle, the Magellan RoadMate 5045-LM is a premium navigator packed with features!

RoadMate 5045-LM Features
What's in the Box Magellan RoadMate 5045 GPS Receiver; Pre-Loaded Maps of the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico; Windshield Mount; Vehicle Power Adapter; USB Cable; User Manual

Get 30% OFF

Click here for more information about Magellan RoadMate 5045-LM 5-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Maps and Traffic

Read More...

Garmin nüvi 2350LMT 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Traffic & Map Updates Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought the Garmin as a gift for my wife and was thrilled about the lifetime updates for traffic and maps.
Setup and navigation is good. We like the big screen and the way the information is provided.
The lifetime map updates sounds like a great feature. Maps can be updated four times a year and the access using the web page was easy. But I have to wonder what Garmin considers "useful life" of the device. But even if they are only available for three years, then it is still cheaper than buying the maps.
The conditions of lifetime traffic updates are definitely not what I expected and the reason that I am thinking of returning the device. The ads that finance the lifetime traffic pop up on the screen and disrupt the navigation. This is obnoxious! This should be mentioned in the product description! I couldn't even find information about the ad financed traffic on the Garmin web page!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Garmin nüvi 2350LMT 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Traffic & Map Updates


The widescreen nuvi 2350LMT comes with free lifetime traffic and maps for the U.S., Canada and Mexico. It also includes lane assist with junction view*, trafficTrends historical traffic, myTrends predictive routing and ecoRoute. Pedestrian capabilities can be enhanced with optional cityXplorer maps for mass transit information.

Experience nuRoute Technology with trafficTrends and myTrends nuvi 2350LMT includes nuRoute technology with trafficTrends historical traffic and myTrends predictive routing. With trafficTrends, your nuvi 2350LMT automatically learns daytime trends for traffic flow to improve your routes and better predict your estimated time of arrival based on time of day and day of week. With myTrends, when you save your regular destinations in your "Favorites," your nuvi 2350LMT will, over time, begin to figure out where you're going even without your telling it! It provides time of arrival and relevant traffic information. So whether you're driving to and from work or a regularly scheduled weekly event, your nuvi 2350LMT will help you get there on time. No subscription or additional cost required.

Know the Lane Before It's Too Late No more guessing which lane you need to be in to make an upcoming turn. Lane assist with junction view guides you to the correct lane for an approaching turn or exit, making unfamiliar intersections and exits easy to navigate. It realistically displays road signs and junctions on your route along with arrows that indicate the proper lane for navigation.

Receive Free Lifetime Map and Traffic Updates With free Lifetime Map** and Traffic*** updates, you always have the most up-to-date maps, points of interest and navigation information available at your fingertips. Traffic information is updated constantly, and map updates are available for download up to 4 times a year. Both features are ready to go, right out of the box, with no subscription or update fees and no expiration dates.

Select Fuel-efficient Routes nuvi 2350LMT saves you gas and money with ecoRoute--a green feature that calculates a more fuel-efficient route, tracks fuel usage and more. With ecoRoute, you have a "less fuel" option as a routing preference. When selected, nuvi will determine if a more fuel efficient route exists based upon road speed data and vehicle acceleration data for a given route.

Navigate City Transit With its enhanced pedestrian navigation capabilities, nuvi 2350LMT is the perfect travel companion for getting around town. Download optional cityXplorer content to help you navigate city public transit. Know where to walk, where to catch the bus, subway, tram or other transportation and how long it will take to get there. cityXplorer maps are available for select cities throughout North America and Europe. And with prices as low as $9.99, you'll have money left over to spend in the big city.

See More With nuvi 2350LMT's widescreen display, you'll always get the big picture. View map detail, driving directions, photos and more in bright, brilliant color. Its sunlight-readable, 4.3" (10.92 cm) display is easy to read--from any direction.

Get Turn-by-Turn Directions nuvi 2350LMT has an intuitive interface that greets you with two simple questions: "Where To?" and "View Map." Touch the color screen to easily look up addresses and services and get voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions that speak street names to your destination. It comes preloaded with detailed City Navigator NT street maps for the U.S, Canada and Mexico with nearly 6 million points of interest (POIs) such as stores, restaurants, hotels, entertainment venues, gas stations, ATMs and more, and speed limits for most major roads.

Go Beyond Navigation Navigation is just the beginning. The 2350LMT includes many travel tools, including JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. With photo navigation, you can download pictures from Garmin Connect Photos and navigate to them. With its "Where Am I?" emergency locator, you always know your location. Simply tap the screen to get your exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and fuel stations. The 2350LMT features Garmin Lock, an anti-theft feature, and is compatible with our free Garmin Garage where you can download custom custom voices and vehicles. Enhance your travel experience with optional plug-in microSD cards.

*Not available at all intersections/interchanges in all areas.

**Free Lifetime Map Updates entitle you to receive up to 4 map data updates per year, when and as such updates are made available on the Garmin website, for this specific Garmin product only until this product's useful life expires or Garmin no longer receives map data from its third party supplier, whichever is shorter. The updates you receive will be updates to the same geographic map data originally included with your Garmin product when originally purchased. Garmin may terminate your Lifetime Map Updates at any time if you violate any of the terms of the End User License Agreement accompanying your nuvi product.

***Lifetime traffic extends for the useful life of your Garmin traffic receiver (as long as you own a compatible Garmin GPS) or as long as Garmin receives traffic data from its traffic supplier, whichever is shorter. Traffic content not available for all areas. See www.navteq.com/rdstraffic for traffic coverage areas and www.garmin.com/traffic/fm/navteq.html for program License Agreement containing complete terms and conditions.

Compare the nuvi 2300 Series Features

Get 22% OFF

Click here for more information about Garmin nüvi 2350LMT 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Traffic & Map Updates

Read More...

Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Having been a Garmin owner for about 5 years I had no doubt what brand I was going to buy, my old Garmin served me well but it was time for a new one and the wide screen was a key feature I wanted in my new one.
The screen is impressive, while going from 4.3" to 5" does not sound like much it is really amazing how much more map and information that fits well on the screen. The screen itself is anti-glare that works, and very bright if you want it, I have the brightness at 60% and that is fine even in bright sunlight. The images are very crisp and clear, street names and such are auto-sized to not obstruct the map but big enough to read easily. The volume when it is reading out direction is also outstanding, so loud I have it also on 60%. So a solid 5 Stars on the screen and voice volume, as well as the pronunciation of the street names!
Quirk: When I first got it I was in my office and opened it, plugged it in to just power and fired it up, it kept asking for me to agree to the license terms and no matter how I answered it rebooted itself, did this like 4 times and then was ok. This would happen each time I turned it on. Not a big issue really, as soon as it "sees" the sats it stops doing it and is fine. Little off for the scare factor, it has never done it again.
The update process is very easy but long, likely very long on a slower PC and/or slow internet connection, the map data is huge. That said it is the nature of the beast and Garmin makes it as painless as possible, the registration and update process was very slick.
Once all updated and ready to go it is time to go through the options, you don't have to, out of the box it picks everything, but I think most will find it worth it, there are a lot of options on how you want it to find routes, deal with traffic (comes with lifetime traffic info), how you want the maps to look in many aspects, 2D, 3D, Track top to your direction or top to always north, and all kinds of additional information that can optionally be on the map screen. Out of the box Garmin has every bell and whistle turned on which I guess I understand but this is why I say it is worth getting it where you like. From the factory you will only see 4.3" of map on route as it has 4 tabs of optional information along the right side. I wanted 5" of map so I disabled the side tabs in settings, very nice option, you can also pick what tab is showing what information from a good selection of options.
Quirk: If you are using the traffic information and have the traffic avoidance enabled you can get some really odd routes, since I was just trying mine out around town and to work and back I knew it was telling me wrong turns, a little time in the manual and I found out why, it was automatically altering the route around traffic alerts, while this may sound like a good thing and would be if it told you it was doing that, in my case it was not, no other route is going to help and I did not know what in the heck it was doing :) I found you can have the best of both worlds, keep trafic information turned on but disable traffic in the avoidances setting tab. Then it warns you of traffic on your route, lets you see where, and gives you a detour option at that point you can take or ignore. It would be better during the route calc process if it said it had added detours, and when it does it on the fly it should also, minor quirk once you know. This is a 3 star feature in the auto mode. 5 star would be to tell you and offer y/n detour options for each point.
Junction View to me was one of the most impressive features, I go through one very complex set of interchanges for 3 freeways with express lanes to bybass interchanges and local lane to pick up any direction to or from any free way, many a folks have left on the wrong path... When I was aproaching it the garmin flipped to junction view and wow, it had a clearly marked path through the maze, and nailed every lane on the money, and the optimum lane for the follwing turn if there was more than one lane leading into it. Very nice! Another 5 star feature, this would have made my first time through that a lost safer than the old garmin with just a yellow line through it.
The routes it comes up with are 4.5 star, it hits most very very well but will toss a few more odd ones out than my old Garmin did, they all do some, I think this could do better, the good news is these are not horrible routes, just not the better or best always.
The next 4 star item is the power cord/FM Traffic radio, it is like having jumper cables going up your dash, why it is not in the unit is beyond me, I am stumped so far as to how to route the cables a lot more cleaner than this and have traffic info.
Another option is to skip the traffic radio and run on battery, with the right settings you can get 3 hours, but with my settings I can get just over 2 hours on battery before the warning. The final power option is just power, that is an optional cord you have to buy that is a lot less bulky than the powered traffic cord. So battery life and traffic radio/power cord is 3 star.
Bluetooth phone paring was very easy and works great, the noise cancelling is pretty good also on its mic, so your caller can hear you and not road noise. 5 Star
Another nice feature is the speed limit that shows up in a little speed limit sign icon by your actual speed, if you are going over the limit for the road, the actual speed turns red in the display. (I will not say how I know but it is a relaible source!) 5 Star, speed limit signs on a lot of our local town roads is a problem.
I was also impressed that I could pick maximum map detail and it keeps up even in the city, during fast turns in very high street density it will occaisionally repaint the screen instead of smooth scrolling with your motion but it does it so fast, unlike my prior Garmin, they it is not distracting or leave you hanging with a partial map. This is 5 star all the way.
Overall I have to say I am very happy with the Garmin 1490LMT, I could not give it a full 5 for the things it fell just a little short on to me, but if I was to make the decision on a model again with what I know, I would buy it again, I think it would be hard to beat.Garmin nuvi 1490LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map Updates and Traffic



Click Here to see more reviews about: Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates


See the big, wide world with the large screen nuvi 1450LMT. It offers free Lifetime Maps and Traffic, multiple-point routing, lane assist with junction view to guide you through busy highway interchanges, pedestrian routing options and ecoRoute to find the most fuel-efficient route.

Extra-Wide, Feature-Rich GPS Navigator Lifetime Maps and Traffic
Includes Free Lifetime Map Updates With free Lifetime Map and Traffic updates, you always have the most up-to-date maps, points of interest and navigation information available at your fingertips. Traffic information is updated constantly, and map updates are available for download up to 4 times a year. Both features are ready to go, right out of the box, with no subscription or update fees and no expiration dates.

See Even More It's easy to see where you're going on nuvi 1450LMT's 5-inch touchscreen display. View map detail, driving directions, photos and more in bright, brilliant color. With its big, bold display, you won't miss a thing.

Navigate City Transit With its enhanced pedestrian navigation capabilities, nuvi 1450LMT is the perfect travel companion for getting around town. Download optional cityXplorer content to help you navigate city public transit. Know where to walk, where to catch the bus, subway, tram or other transportation and how long it will take to get there. cityXplorer maps are available for select cities throughout North America and Europe. And with prices as low as $9.99, you'll have money left over to spend in the big city.

Know the Lane Before It's Too Late No more guessing which lane you need to be in to make an upcoming turn. Lane assist with junction view guides you to the correct lane for an approaching turn or exit, making unfamiliar intersections and exits easy to navigate. It realistically displays road signs and junctions on your route along with arrows that indicate the proper lane for navigation.

Plan Ahead nuvi 1450LMT includes advanced navigation features to take the worry out of traveling. With route planning you can save 10 routes, specify via points and preview simulated turns on the 1450LMT's large screen. In addition, nuvi 1450LMT automatically sorts multiple destinations to provide an efficient route for errands, deliveries or sales calls. A trip log provides an electronic bread crumb trail of up to 10,000 points, so you can see where you've been on the map.

Get Turn-by-Turn Directions nuvi 1450LMT's intuitive interface greets you with two simple questions: "Where To?" and "View Map." Touch the color screen to easily look up addresses and services and get voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions that speak street names to your destination. It comes preloaded with detailed City Navigator NT street maps, nearly 6 million points of interest (POIs), 2-D or 3-D maps and the speed limit for most major roads in the U.S. and Europe. Its digital elevation maps show you shaded contours at higher zoom levels, giving you a big picture of the surrounding terrain. With the 1450LMT's enhanced user interface, you can slide your finger to conveniently scroll between screens. You can also upload custom POIs. And with HotFix satellite prediction, nuvi calculates your position faster to get you there quicker.

Go Beyond Navigation Navigation is just the beginning. nuvi 1450LMT saves you gas and money with ecoRoute--a green feature that calculates the most fuel-efficient route, tracks fuel usage and more. The 1450LMT includes many travel tools including JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. With photo navigation, you can download pictures from Garmin Connect Photos and navigate to them. With its "Where Am I?" emergency locator, you always know your location. Simply tap the screen to get your exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and fuel stations. The 1450LMT features Garmin Lock, an anti-theft feature, and is compatible with our free Garmin Garage where you can download custom voices and vehicles. Enhance your travel experience with optional plug-in microSD cards.

What's in the Box
nuvi 1450; Preloaded City Navigator NT North America (U.S, Canada and Mexico); Lifetime Maps and Traffic; FM Traffic Receiver With Vehicle Power Cable; Vehicle Suction Cup Mount; USB cable; Dashboard Disc; Quick Start Manual

Get 44% OFF

Click here for more information about Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates

Read More...