Hello,

Sr. Citizen now, and after getting lost on a recent trip have finally
decided to break down and purchase a gps. With my eyesight, undoubtedly
a 5" (or larger ?)screen would be best for me.

Around $ 200 or so would be my upper limit.

Will probably have several more questions in the next week or so, but
might I start with these, please.

a. I realize that this is a Garmin site.
Is Garmin considered these days to be ahead of Tom-Tom and Magellian in
build quality ?

Or, should the question of relative quality really be model specific ?

b. I looked at the Garmin site, but surprisingly could find nothing in
the specs of the various models concerning WAAS capability, which I
think I would like to have.

Do they call it something else ? Or, is it just so common these days to
have it built in, that "all" their models now have it ?

c. I do no commuting or long trips anymore. This would just be a
safety/convenience gadget to have.

What would you consider as the "must-have" features ?
Model sugesstions, Garmin or otherwise, would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Bob

On 7/9/11 7:43 AM, Bob wrote:
> Hello,
>
> Sr. Citizen now, and after getting lost on a recent trip have finally
> decided to break down and purchase a gps. With my eyesight, undoubtedly
> a 5" (or larger ?)screen would be best for me.
>
> Around $ 200 or so would be my upper limit.
>
> Will probably have several more questions in the next week or so, but
> might I start with these, please.
>
> a. I realize that this is a Garmin site.
> Is Garmin considered these days to be ahead of Tom-Tom and Magellian in
> build quality ?
>
> Or, should the question of relative quality really be model specific ?
>
> b. I looked at the Garmin site, but surprisingly could find nothing in
> the specs of the various models concerning WAAS capability, which I
> think I would like to have.
>
> Do they call it something else ? Or, is it just so common these days to
> have it built in, that "all" their models now have it ?
>
> c. I do no commuting or long trips anymore. This would just be a
> safety/convenience gadget to have.
>
> What would you consider as the "must-have" features ?
> Model sugesstions, Garmin or otherwise, would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Bob

Just bought a nuvi 1450 LMT for $179.95-- no tax. free shipping-- from
Newegg. Hard to beat it...

Must-have features for me are voice to text (says name of street to turn
onto) along with lifetime map updates and traffic.

Rest of stuff they put on them these days -- blue tooth, music, phones,
etc., are just cramware and a way to raise the price.

"Bob" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:iv9et8$k0r$(E-Mail Removed)...

>
> a. I realize that this is a Garmin site.
> Is Garmin considered these days to be ahead of Tom-Tom and Magellian in
> build quality ?
>
> Or, should the question of relative quality really be model specific ?

Most are pretty much the same as for quality of the build. I've been
happy with Garmin, but cannot give a comparison.


>
> b. I looked at the Garmin site, but surprisingly could find nothing in the
> specs of the various models concerning WAAS capability, which I think I
> would like to have.
>
> Do they call it something else ? Or, is it just so common these days to
> have it built in, that "all" their models now have it ?

I'm pretty sure they all have it now.



>
> What would you consider as the "must-have" features ?
> Model sugesstions, Garmin or otherwise, would be appreciated.

The Nuvi 140 has everything you need for $179. 5" display and speaks street
names. With "Where am I?" you can find hospitals or other important places
nearby.

On 7/9/2011 7:43 AM, Bob wrote:
> Hello,
>
> Sr. Citizen now, and after getting lost on a recent trip have finally
> decided to break down and purchase a gps. With my eyesight, undoubtedly
> a 5" (or larger ?)screen would be best for me.
>
> Around $ 200 or so would be my upper limit.
>
> Will probably have several more questions in the next week or so, but
> might I start with these, please.
>
> a. I realize that this is a Garmin site.
> Is Garmin considered these days to be ahead of Tom-Tom and Magellian in
> build quality ?
>
> Or, should the question of relative quality really be model specific ?
>
> b. I looked at the Garmin site, but surprisingly could find nothing in
> the specs of the various models concerning WAAS capability, which I
> think I would like to have.
>
> Do they call it something else ? Or, is it just so common these days to
> have it built in, that "all" their models now have it ?
>
> c. I do no commuting or long trips anymore. This would just be a
> safety/convenience gadget to have.
>
> What would you consider as the "must-have" features ?
> Model sugesstions, Garmin or otherwise, would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Bob

With my first gps, I quickly learned that you cannot use the screen as
if you were following a map in the car, i.e. you just can't read the gps
and drive at the same time. The spoken instructions are the most
important. One of my sons has a gps built into his Mercedes with voice
controls. It is really great to use as you just tell gps where you want
to go, OTOH, needing repair, if it were not for warranty, I believe he
said: $3,000!

As for buying one, I went to Best Buys to look at units and discuss with
clerk. When I saw I could save $50 by buying at Amazon, that's where I
got it. You should have no problem coming in under $200.

Hi, just my 2 cents worth, I have a Street Pilot C530 with the small
screen and have had zero problems using it while driving. For one
reason if a turn is coming up it alerts me and the best thing I liked
about it I could program it for driving the RV or just the car. I
have tried it using both and there was a difference in routing. I
am in the process now of pondering what to buy and the 465T is up
near the top and another one who I forget thought it was advertized
by Woodall's but not sure.

In your browser just enter in search RV GPS and you will see a lot
listed our RV's require special routing in some areas because of
height weight and of course our turning radius as a lot of us have
found out. (grin) They no longer manufacture mine but when I buy a
new one to replace it, I will still want one with the capability to
do both, RV and auto as I use mine a lot due to a memory shortage.


--
Lee US Army Retired
2004 Georgie Boy Cruise Master
Skype: lee.g.bray and logitech

In article <iv9et8$k0r$(E-Mail Removed)>, Bob <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

> Sr. Citizen now, and after getting lost on a recent trip have finally
> decided to break down and purchase a gps. With my eyesight, undoubtedly
> a 5" (or larger ?)screen would be best for me.
>
> Around $ 200 or so would be my upper limit.

I found a factory refurb Garmin 1690 on Amazon, sold by Amazon, for $110.

Works great.



> What would you consider as the "must-have" features ?

The ONLY one I consider "must-have" is that it must speak street names.
That feature is also called text-to-speech.

On Sat, 09 Jul 2011 09:22:42 -0400, Lee <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>In your browser just enter in search RV GPS and you will see a lot
>listed our RV's require special routing in some areas because of
>height weight and of course our turning radius as a lot of us have
>found out. (grin) They no longer manufacture mine but when I buy a
>new one to replace it, I will still want one with the capability to
>do both, RV and auto as I use mine a lot due to a memory shortage.

The RV/big rig routing also considers clearance height. I don't want to go
anywhere with less than 13'.
--
Carl Heinz
(E-Mail Removed)
(Remove number)

On Sat, 09 Jul 2011 11:02:03 -0400, "Elmo P. Shagnasty"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>I found a factory refurb Garmin 1690 on Amazon, sold by Amazon, for $110.
>
>Works great.

My RV preference continues to be the Streetpilot 7200. They're long
discontinued and I've not checked for refurb availability.
--
Carl Heinz
(E-Mail Removed)
(Remove number)

On 7/9/2011 6:43 AM, Bob wrote:
> Hello,
>
> Sr. Citizen now, and after getting lost on a recent trip have finally
> decided to break down and purchase a gps. With my eyesight, undoubtedly
> a 5" (or larger ?)screen would be best for me.
>


After some quick searches for you and myself, the Garmin 1450 looks like
a winner. It's inexpensive (Amazon) and has all the features that are
truly important (who the Hell needs Bluetooth, jpg viewers, radio, and
the kitchen sink in your unit).

Anyone know of any negatives with the 1450? Lifetime maps and traffic
are hard to beat! Thanks.

EW

Bob wrote:

> What would you consider as the "must-have" features ?

Given the importance of listening for spoken guidance from the
unit, and the loss of the ability to understand higher
frequencies with older age, I suggest that audio quality may be
important to you.

Many recent model units have atrocious tiny speakers which
severely clip the lower frequencies. And these are the
frequencies which we older people hear well. Unfortunately, a
vehicle produces such a high volume of low frequency road noise
that many GPS units may be difficult or impossible to hear
properly in a moving vehicle.

John