First Time Buyer

[bhatchet]

I am getting ready to purchase a portable GPS unit for my car, would sure like some feedback is at all possible. I would like to buy one i can plug and play, never have owned one and dont want to have top load info into one if i can get away from it, there is so much information out there that for a first time buyer it gets confusing, i have read abouit the Magellan Roadmatae 700 and the Garmin 2720. Would sure appreciate any feedback i can get

thanks bob

[WH]

1st lesson in GPS buying:

 

Garmin = good

Magellan = bad

 

[+Sputnik 57]

1st lesson in GPS buying:

 

Garmin = good

Magellan = bad

 

Or, depending upon who you ask,

 

Megellan = good

Garmin = bad

 

 

Actually, either of those units are pretty good (but not really suitable for geocaching since neither is really well suited to being hand held).

 

Even with a unit that has lots of built-in maps, you are going to want to be able to update those maps. New roads get added, ATM's and Starbucks come and go, etc.

 

There is a good independent review of the roadmate 700 here.

The same folks review the garmin 2620 here.

[+briansnat]

Consider the Garmin Quest or Quest 2. Made for automobile use, but can also be used as a handheld. THe price for the Quest these days is particularly attractive.

[+JohnnyVegas]

First off, the Magellan road mate can not be used for geocaching, because you can not enter coordinates into it, Besides the roadmate and the Garmin 2720 are going to be to big to carry anyway.

 

Any hand held GPS from Magellan, Garmin or Lowarance is going to work for geocaching,

 

If you want automatic turn by turn navigation in a hand held there are quite a few the choose from. Magellan offers the Meridian Gold, Platinum and Marine and the Explorist 600, 500 or 400 with work and also the Sport track color or sport trak pro.

 

From Garmin as Briansnat mentioned the Quest or quest 2 as well as one of the GPS 60 series or GPS 76 series with detailed the Mapping option will work. On of the nest deal around if you can still find it is the Garmin GPS V

 

I have use some of the Garmin products but now I use the Magellan Explorist 500, Magellan Meridian gold and the Magellan sport track color. I like the Magellan topo software more than the Garmin Topo Software.

 

I have not used any of the Lowrance products so I will leave those for one of the Lowarance users to comment on. But I understand they also work quite well.

 

BTW, I would not give much weight to anyone who may post a childish statement recommending avoiding any GPS because of it's brand name. It just shows a lack of knowledge and a lack of maturity.

Edited August 6, 2005 by JohnnyVegas

[+IVxIV]

If you want a portable GPS that excels in autorouting check out the Lowrance iWay 100m it is the ONLY model GPS on the market that is rugged, portable, and has voice prompting capability which is a fantastic safety feature. With it you don't need to look away from the road and down onto a tiny screen to see your next turn. This GPS tells you by voice when & where your next turn is!

 

If portability isn't important and you're looking instead for a dedicated in-car GPS navigation system then look at the Lowrance iWay 500c it is a very powerful unit, and has won numerous awards for it's design.

[+TeamAO]

Portable? For car?

 

60CS

[WH]

Portable? For car?

 

60CS

A-Freakin-MEN