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Saturday, June 18, 2011
Garmin nьvi 260 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
Garmin nьvi 260 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
I can't make any comparisons, since this is my first GPS. I purchased it from Amazon, which was a good experience. I ordered it on Sat and received it yesterday (Tues) I've probably read about 1,000 GPS reviews in the past 6 months, and I picked this model because of its price and TTS feature. I almost purchased the C550, because some comments said the Streetpilot is sturdier, but the Nuvi 260 isn't flimsy at all, and I don't need the Bluetooth or MP3 features. Actually, many of the reviews frightened me, but this is so easy to use, I can't imagine being able to operate a vehicle legally and needing instructions. Seriously, I am mechanically and technically challenged, but this is a touch & go product. For example, one review mentioned the lack of an external volume control and another said the voice was too soft or too loud. Changing the volume takes 2 seconds by tapping on the speaker icon. Another said there were no custom POIs and the first day I entered my home address, the supermarket, my bank, and more. One person wrote that it doesn't announce street names, but you just need to select a language/voice that indicates TTS next to it for that feature. None of this requires a manual, just common sense and a little patience. I'm sure there are many features I haven't yet discovered but will in time.
The signal - as soon as I plugged in the power it received a signal within a few seconds, not minutes. The TTS voice (English Jill) pronounces the street names clearly. Keep in mind this is not a human, so every pronunciation isn't perfect and neither are the directions, but they're close enough. For example, I asked how to get to Publix from my house. Although the directions were correct, I would have driven a little out of my way in the wrong direction and made a U-turn had I not known where to turn. So it apparently doesn't recognize traffic light turns into a mall or shopping center, maybe because there's no street name. (just guessing) Still, it's much better than using a paper map if you are in an unfamiliar area, and it will automatically recalculate the directions if you make a wrong turn. Sometimes that feature takes a few seconds. I tried to fool it by taking a back road, but it quickly found my location and recalculated the route. She even sounded annoyed at me!
This is my one BIG complaint. Maybe it's my ignorance, but the power cord is in such an awkward place that it's nearly impossible to place the unit in a good position without using a mount. Otherwise it would be very simple to put it in my cupholder or even sit it in the little change tray. For some reason, I thought a GPS needed to be facing the sky, but I can get a good signal when it's on the passenger seat or sitting in my center console. Last night I even had a signal inside my concrete block house! If the power cord was a little higher, it wouldn't bend so much and I'd be able to use it without a mount. Even with the included cradle & mount, it still bends and is always in the way!
Another minor complaint is that, although it seems inexpensive at $242 plus shipping, it doesn't even come with a cheap case - nothing! It also doesn't include an A/C cord or a decent instruction manual. I knew all of this before I bought it, but accessories add up quickly. So before you run out and spend more money, look around your house. I found at least 2 zippered cases in which the 260 fits comfortably. One held my mini binoculars which I haven't used in years and another is a small, zippered cosmetic case. Just make sure there are no rough edges that might scratch the touch screen. I lined the case with a microfiber cloth and it's perfect to stick in my pocketbook when I leave the car. I was going to spend another $30 on a bean bag mount, but last night I stuck the dashboard adhesive disk to the plastic cover that flips over the cup holder in my Camry. It's very secure and the suction cup sticks to it so tightly I have to pry it off. Since it's plastic, I "assume" any residue will come off with goo-gone.
I know this is already a long review, but I hope it will help by adding that I went a little crazy trying to get the plastic ball into the cradle. Just press firmly and don't worry about breaking it. I'm not strong and I was ready to give up. Now I can attach and remove it easily. I think it was just my fear of breaking it at first. Also, it's a lot easier to simply remove the cradle from the GPS when you take it with you than to take the mount apart.
The reason I was able to finally decide on spending the extra money for the 260 over the 200 or 250 model was by listening to a couple of demos on YouTube. People actually were nutty enough to drive around filming their GPS experiences, and I'm grateful to them! You can hear how much easier it is to follow instructions when street names are announced. Still, if you are on a tight budget, the GPS always shows the street name in large print at the top of the map, so it's easy to glance at it quickly. I feel the TTS is not only convenient, but adds a safety feature, since you're less likely to take your eyes off the road. Even if it's mounted in front of you on the dash or windshield, you still aren't concentrating on the road if you're reading a map.
In short, this seems to be a great little unit that's user friendly. So far it hasn't disappointed me, although it's only my 2nd day. I posted quickly so newbies like me would know that you don't have to be an expert or a gadget geek to use a GPS.
Garmin nьvi 260 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
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Garmin nьvi 255 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
Garmin nьvi 255 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
I literally hooked this product up in my car right as I got in for a 6 day trip visiting new and old accounts in Salt Lake City/Ogden/Provo/Logan (I live in the Denver area). I had NEVER used a GPS before. Once I got used to how I needed to input adresses (took about 2 minutes with the funky grid system SLC uses inputting E/W/N/S for streets)I was guided to all the new accoutns by voice/map without a problem.....I will never travel to new places without one of these again. This was way easy to use, just glanced at the quick start and was on my way.
Garmin nьvi 255 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
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Garmin Portable Friction Mount (Electronics)
Garmin Portable Friction Mount (Electronics)
I found this bean bag type mount very useful and igenious, though it does kind of remind you of War of the World (the non-Tom Cruise movie version) of the alien spaceship doesn't it? But seriously, it works great with the 4 bean bag ends that helps weight it down, plus the base material bottom is tacky as well so that helps to keep it from sliding off. I use it to hold my Nuvi 650 quite nicely. It looks somewhat big when you hold it in your hand out of the packaging/card it comes on, but once you place it on your dashboard, you hardly think anymore that its big. Realize it only comes with that ball joint end, you still have to pop easily on, the other part that comes with your Garmin windshield mount to it. When you leave your car, just put it on the passenger floor board out of sight to keep folks from breaking into your car to take your GPS as the windshield mount is a dead giveaway that the car has one. The only other concern you might have is, you probably need a bigger carrier to hold it if you are the type that takes it with you when you lock your car. I use those insulated plastic lunch bags with a carry strap, you know the type you see in the office break room refrigerator, for it with my garmin gps unit to carry it around as well at times. It fits quite nicely in that size carrier.
Garmin Portable Friction Mount (Electronics)
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Cobra Nav One 4500 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
Cobra Nav One 4500 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
This is my first GPS system so I did a lot of research online before I went ahead purchase it in March 2007. I wanted a large screen one and traffic system. 4500 seems to be the perfect match.
Pro: large screen, real-time traffic system saved me many times, and reasonable routing suggestions. I don't have the rerouting adaptation problem as the other reviewers and if I get into a side road, it'll recalculate immediately. Maybe they fixed it in the most current software batch. Their customer service is superb.
Cons: I had this unit for 5 months and have to return it now. As many reviewers said, this unit has slower routing calculation and I didn't realize it would be a problem until I was driving on a highway waiting for the exit.
Even though I have the most current database batch, I would see some not-so-new highways disappeared suddenly during the drive. It would come back eventually but it doesn't feel good to see yourself driving on a blank space for several miles, especially if you travel to a unknown place at night.
Road side of a destination seems to be wrong 80% of the time. We all know after 1 month of usage to ignore the final destination instruction.
After 2 months, the address book, all travel location information, and user settings were wiped out automatically and I have to reset everything. After it happened so many times, I called Cobra and they gave me another software patch. It seemed to fix the problem.
When used in big cities with a lot of traffics, its routing instruction can be so wrong. It usually gives me the worst routing suggestion, i.e. chose the busiest road, or a longer route, or use local highways with a lot of construction going on instead of an interstate highways that are much less congested, etc. This unit's routing logic seems to work better with mid-size to small-size towns.
The mounting is cumbersome. After taking it off and putting it back on whenever I have to park somewhere, the V12 cord connected to the car broke. I had to call the customer service and they sent me another cord immediately. Did I mention that their customer service is very good?
The final flaw which makes me wanted to return it is, one day the beautiful female voice was gone. Never come back again.
I feel sorry to have to put a bad review on a product. I hope it would help others to avoid the frustrations I have gone through.
Cobra Nav One 4500 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
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Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx Handheld GPS Navigator (Electronics)
Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx Handheld GPS Navigator (Electronics)
I cut my GPS teeth on an eTrex Vista (a great little handheld in its own right) for a couple of years before stepping up to the 60CSx. After five months of use, I have only positive things to say about my latest purchase. I was aware of some owners' early concerns about "wandering" and the seeming inability to enable WAAS, but figured Garmin would eventually address such firmware issues, and so decided to take the plunge. The first thing I did (the first thing any purchaser should do) was to download all of the available updates from Garmin's website, and my 60CSx performed flawlessly from the get-go. So yes, I can enable WAAS, but I don't bother to use it because for me the slight increase in accuracy isn't enough to justify the additional battery drain. Consistently getting within ten feet or less of a waypoint is good enough for me. I'm not doing cadastral surveys, after all.
I replaced the supplied 64mb micro SD with a 1 gb card and have installed selected maps from both City Navigator and US Topo 24K Western National Parks (both relatively pricey extras). I recently used the former to navigate a familiar route all the way from western Colorado to Cincinnati and back, and the directions it generated differed from the route I've long been accustomed to in only one minor way: it chose a different bridge (the MLK) across the Mississippi River at St. Louis than I usually use. That switch obliged me to exit the interstate and wait at one traffic light for a minute or so, but also saved me a couple of miles, so I guess the net effect was zero. On the return trip, I was unable to make a necessary lane change due to heavy rush hour traffic and was forced onto an exit from the Interstate at Louisville. The 60CSx and City Navigator automatically recalculated and got me back on course in a jiffy via a route through the downtown area that would otherwise have been anything but intuitive. The I-70 route through the Colorado Rockies features numerous tunnels, and only in the longest of them did I lose my satellite signal. In those few instances, the unit promptly reacquired the signal upon exiting the tunnels.
I am a retired National Park Service ranger and now volunteer at Colorado National Monument, where I spend a lot of time in the backcountry identifying and plotting the location of cultural sites. The 60CSx and US Topo 24K are incredibly useful for that. I particularly like the unit's ability to average satellite fixes for increased accuracy over whatever interval I choose. I'm regularly able to mark waypoints to within 3 meters, even in forested areas and in the depths of the area's many canyons. The MapSource software that came with the 60CSx lets me print topo maps of the Monument with those waypoints clearly delineated and labeled.
In the early fall, I carried my 60CSx on a recreational climb to the summit of 14,048-foot Handies Peak in Colorado's San Juan Range. Once on top, I photographed the display to document the precise location and elevation of the summit for my records. Since then, I've learned that it's also possible to transfer a bitmap image of any 60CSx display screen directly to my computer using the xImage application available as a free download on Garmin's website. That's a neat way to build a file of memorable waypoints and to share them graphically with others.
I've found the Garmin 60CSx to be a most capable unit. Teamed with an accesssory 12V cable and City Navigator software, it works well as a vehicle navigator at relatively low cost. Used by itself, with or without US Topo 24K, it's a great hiking companion. It has a great color display, commendable acquisition and refresh speeds, myriad useful functions, a long battery life (months, if you don't leave it on continuously to mark tracks), decent ergonomics and superb accuracy. Finally, the additional storage afforded by removable memory cards is a definite plus with this sophisticated unit. The only change I'd urge Garmin to consider would be to add a temperature sensor.
If you can afford it, and even if you can't, get a Garmin 60CSx.
Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx Handheld GPS Navigator (Electronics)
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Cobra Nav One 4500 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
Cobra Nav One 4500 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
I bought this but I have found several flaws. First let me mention that the unit that made me decide I needed GPS was an option in the 2006 Honda Odyssey that happens to be made by alpine.
My first problem with it was the altimeter; although most won't use it, it was a feature that I liked. Unfortunately it was completely worthless, my parking space in front of my house ranged from 120Ft one day to 0 feet 2 days later. I know my house or parking space did not move so that fault is on the unit. Also when driving the unit would claim you climbed 200 feet when you drove less than 50 feet forward sometimes.
My next problem was direction; it would take me on back roads rather than highways even though I said I prefer highways. And as you drove the screen did not flow, instead it would reload taking a second or two to reload the map and the icons. Both the Honda and my friends G35 flowed without this, and the graphics between the 3 the cobra clearly loses out. The graphics are substandard. Also the unit only calls out numbers for roads, if the road is not a road with numbers (IE a highway) it just says turn left or right, which when driving in the city can be frustrating as you cannot be looking at it constantly. Finally the house number portion was off quite a bit (1/10 of a mile or so).
Next was traffic, this was rarely right, not sure if any other GPS units are right, but this would say there was an accident at one place and it would end up being off 1 or 2 miles (This was in the Baltimore/Washington area), I ended up using the radio traffic people more times than not.
Next was the Points of interest function. On the Honda it showed signs for an Exxon, or BP. The Cobra does not, it shows an icon for Gas or Food, and while trying to drive you have to touch the area on the screen you are looking at, than press the screen at the top to get a listing of what was there. While driving in the city, and looking for a McDonalds this is not an option.
Last was the suction cup mounting bracket, for a unit of this weight it is under engineered to hold it. The first 5 minutes I drove with it, it fell. Agreeable it was right after I cleaned the windshield so it was not completely dry. The next time was the last time I did not take it off before leaving my vehicle. It was after a snow storm came through and the condensation that occurred between the windshield and the suction cup was enough to make it lose contact and fall again. For a unit that costs 800+ bucks this is unacceptable, if it were to break it would be on me due to a poor design. And I am not the only one who had problems like this, I have read of others with the same issue.
Needless to say I took it back, it's not a horrible unit but for the price there are better answers.
Cobra Nav One 4500 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
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Mio C230 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
Mio C230 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
Great price. Easy to use. Very accurate directions. Can't find anything in this price range that speaks the street names. Have used it in CA and TX and works fine. The only reason this gets a 4star is because the user manual sucks. There are bunch of icons that could be explained upfront rather than finding out by trial and error. Overall a great value for money.
Mio C230 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
BUY Now Mio C230 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)
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