Garmin "crossover"?

[+HaLiJuSaPa]

My supervisor has an old TomTom. He finds it great for car navigation, but lately he has a lot of meetings in Manhattan where he takes the train and then walks to the meeting. He doesn't find the TomTom useful for "walking navigation" since it directs you as if you were a car (i.e. one-way streets, etc.). It also has the older "SiRF II" receiver which doesn't work as well in the "concrete canyons" as SiRF III.

 

He's looking for a "car unit" that has a "walking mode". He doesn't geocache, and he wouldn't be using it "off street" at all (i.e. for hiking, boating, etc.), but he'd like it to help him navigate walking around the big city.

 

He didn't find a TomTom that would do this (if anyone here knows otherwise, please let me know, thanks, I looked and couldn't find one either). He looked at the Magellan Crossover and didn't like it. I suggested the Mio DigiWalker series (my mom has a c230 so I have some familiarity and know it does this) but he's heard of and likes the reputation of Garmin.

 

I went on their website and didn't see the Quest series anymore, is it discontinued?

 

I looked at the Nuvi series, it seems only the Nuvi 500 series has a true "walking" mode. But he also wants it to speak out street names, which some Nuvis do, but not the 500s. Some other articles I've seen consider all the Nuvis to be "crossovers", but Garmin's own comparison site considers only the 500s to be "multi-modal" and "geocaching friendly" (again, he's not going off road though).

 

Does anyone here think any of the other Nuvis would work for him in this regard without complicated procedures and tricks? Please let me know, thanks!

[+Red90]

All Nuvis can be set to Automotive, Pedestrian or Bicycle routing. Most other Garmin units have a bunch of other choices as well.

[+HaLiJuSaPa]

All Nuvis can be set to Automotive, Pedestrian or Bicycle routing. Most other Garmin units have a bunch of other choices as well.

 

That's what I thought, thanks. So what's special about the 500 series in that regard per Garmin's website?

[reimero]

All Nuvis can be set to Automotive, Pedestrian or Bicycle routing. Most other Garmin units have a bunch of other choices as well.

 

That's what I thought, thanks. So what's special about the 500 series in that regard per Garmin's website?

 

The 500 doesn't automatically keep you on-road when you're on foot, and it includes topo maps.

 

I did a fair amount of research and bought a 500 for myself. The main selling points for me:

• The battery can be replaced by the user
  
• It supports multi-point routing, something otherwise only the 7XX series supports
  
• It has a "next turn" indicator at the top left of the screen, indicating what your next turn is going to look like so you can make sure you're in the right lane. This is the only nuvi I'm aware of with this feature.
  
• It can go off-road
  

[+storm180]

The tomtom x30 series has pedestrian mode and so does the tomtom 920

[+Night Stalker]

Maybe what he needs is a handheld unit that can navigate like a car unit. I use a Garmin 60CSX. This unit does not speak to you when giving driving directions. It will beep and at the point you glance at the unit to see what it wants you to do. It will give a 2nd audio signal when it is time to perform the move. I prefer this to the voice unit myself.

 

He would have to buy the auto navigation software which runs about $115 (City Navigator). One added bonus is that the 60CSX holds satellite signal very well amongst tall buildings. Something that not all GPS units are able to do.

[+Rubberhead]

I've got a GPSmap 60CS with detailed autorouting maps, Bluecharts, Topo 2008, and Recreational Lakes. I also have a Nuvi 760 and a GPSmap 440s.

 

Because of the reflective TFT display, I still believe that the 60CS(x) or better a 76CS(x) is the most versatile unit Garmin makes. Unlike the Colorados and Oregons, the 60C(S) and 76C(S) look great in the direct sun without a backlight, autoroute, provide tide tables, and take 12VDC without a converter. Does the Nuvi 760 have features that I appreciate when driving – yeap. Does the GPSmap 440s work wonders when I’m on the boat – totally. If I have to use one unit for driving, hiking, on the boat – it would still be a 60CS or 76CS.