Best GPS? And why?

Hi Danielle

You need to decide first wether he needs a Navigator or a more general purpose GPS and some idea of your budget.

If he gets lost going around the block then Nuvi 660 is a good way to go.

For me the descision rested around a screen that you could see in sunlight and
general purpose GPS features so I have a 276c

Both of the above Garmin models have higher resolution screens.

The later has the the highest screen output that I am aware of and is waterproof as well.

Maps of roughly the same quality can be purchased for most GPs'es ($250-$300) whereas navigators tend to have them inbuilt , espically the lower cost items.
Some Navigaotrs like 660 can load alternate maps sets.

Robin Miller

Heres a really stupid question! What is the difference between the Navigator GPS'S and the General Purpose ones? And the one you have is General Purpose?
Do they talk to you? Is that good or more of a irritant? As you can tell I havent yet done any research,so am probably being a bit dense, and asking dumb questions. Sorry! I thought Id start here and then go ask the 15 yr old sales people!!!!

Ms D-T

You have asked one of THE most difficult questions to answer.

As it is a fathers day "surprise" , no doubt you don't want to consult him, however in the best interests, yourself, hubby, sanity, finances and common sense you should very carefully consider the following:

(1) Does he know what a GPS REALLY is and what it can do - if yes continue, if not get him a voucher to the nearest table top dancing club because I bet a dollar he will be able to find that without getting lest.

(2) Assuming yes for (1) does he/you know the difference between a Navigator which has GPS and maps in the one unit and a GPS stand-alone to be combined with maps, laptop, PDA, AUX screen etc etc.

Your question rolls all of these options into one product which doesn't exist to my knowledge.

(3) If yes to (1) & (2) do either of you know how to operate these aparatusi.

If not it is going to a neat pile of $$$$$$ sitting on the mantel piece that will remind you if time you look at it - why! did I buy that thing that no one can use or will use, or wishes to use.

(4) Are you or your hubby IT challenged - be honest with this one.

I'll await your answer/s and see if I can help you.

Regards

Ken R

Ah!

you beat me too it with your next question.

Do you want to use this gadget off road or to navigate arount cities and towns

Ms D-T

Try as you might, I am not going to get sucked into recommending anything. I value my life LOL

I will tell you though what I have experienced over the past 7 years.

My first buy was a Garmin E-Map (GPS) which came with Garmin General Aust Map included.

It was OK sort off map wise and excellent as a hand held GPS.

I then linked it to my Lap top and commenced using the Oziexplorer E-map moving map system.

This raized my navigation by moving map stakes 1,000,000%, but was a cumbersome setup.

I then purchased a GPS mouse (very cheap) which attached outside the vehicle by magnet and plugged into a USB port on the Laptop. Sensational setup for two people. One operating/navigating and one driving.

Highly exciting using it at night when you are the driver/navigator.

Soooooooo! I then bought a HP4700 PDA(pocket pc) and a BT338 GPS (Bluetooth) which connects to the PDA via Bluetooth.

The PDA has Oziexplorer CE on it and is mounted off of the A pillar in front of my face. Absolutely brilliant. Both the PDA mount and the BT338 are 12V powered and stay connected and powered for as long as needed.

I work on the Outback Challenge as a passage controller and they both go non stop for a week or more.

I still use the Laptop setup when SWMBO is in the vehicle as it gives her inclusion, something to do and a chance to issue directions. (still robust arguments over interpretations of what she is seeing though). LOL

Also my new laptop has bluetooth and is compatible with the BT338.

You also require the Laptop to convert the Electronic E-Maps to a version compatible for hand units that operate on Ozie-CE ( hand helds and or PDAs)

Member BONZ has all of the above plus the latest Garmin coloured handheld GPS (gadget man) and swears by them all.

So what fits your purpose is for you to think about, especially how you are going to obtain and use E-Maps.

Hopefully this may point you in the right direction.

Now having said all of that I bought a Navigator type thingy from Aldi when they had a special on same one Thursday about 6 mths ago.

It just sat on the floor in my "mess room" and got kicked around along with - I must try that sucker one day.

Well, just been to the Warraweena soiree and beyond and that setup showed all roads, towns, cities and most things I wanted to know.

Once we got off the surveyed roads and onto Googs Track it still worked by showed no track.

As we left Kingoonya for Glendambo the Stuart Hyway appeared and as we got closer Glendambo lit up.

It has SD card access and upload capacity, so I am going to experiment with it.

at the present moment I use a cheap hand held garmin...that gives UTM ...it can also give mins secs and degrees...but its to hard to plot on a Paper Map!...I have a compass as a back up to the GPS...great for when treking also

no point knowing the longitude /latitude if you dont know where you are on a map,....one needs maps either on the gps, laptop or paper ......but when the gps and or laptop dies you'd wish you had paper maps and a compass

so which GPS ?...one that plugs into a laptop and Ozi explorer? or the nuvi660?...i'm might go the nuvi with maps (portable, albeit a little bulky, but i can trek with it too...i think...need to do more checking but!) ..to save using/taking a lap top...but i will have my paper maps and compass as a backup

Hi Danielle,

After reading your responses to the above, it sounds to me like the Garmin Quest would be the best compromise. It has full auto-routing capability (type in an address and it guides you there) plus has full "off-road" capability ie. you can plan a trip on your laptop and download it, it also has a "cookie crumb" trail so you can follow your way back if lost, plus a whole host of other features.

The Quest has the best of both worlds - simple Navigator and detailed GPS in one unit plus the advantage of being able to be used for bushwalking - it can be used handheld with its internal rechargable battery (and is fully waterproof). Very few navigator type GPS's can do this.

About the only drawback of the Quest is the relatively small screen compared to other units. But it is small so it can still be used hand held easily.

I have the Garmin GPS V (model before the Quest, essentially the same but BW screen) and a Nuvi 660. Around town I much prefer the Nuvi but when going on a camping trip will use the Garmin V. While I have the luxury of being able to choose either, if I only had one GPS, it would be the Quest.

Cheers

Captain

this reminds me why my Yvonne is not allowed to buy me presents.

Owen

Danielle,
I recently upgraded to a Garmin Quest and whilst still learning, I am pretty happy with it.

Regards