rusnak

You don't have to pay for the GPS satellite system. If you subscribe to road conditions or notices about detours and wrecks, then that usually costs a little bit. In the case of the 780, they are referring to MSN Direct, which must be some sort of web access, I don't know.

All of the GPS kits come with everything you need to set them up in the car. Most nowdays will let you use them cord-free. That is, they have internal batteries that you can charge up so you can take the unit with you and use it on a bus, taxi, or on the go.

When I got mine several years ago, the 3.5" screen units were over $300. The Garmin Nuvee was the big thing. Now you get way more functionality for half the price. Unreal.

geoz

i'm waiting for my iphone do get real turn by turn navigation & will go with that eventually. pros are the phone is with me anyway all the time, and the screen is big enough. why should i spend money on a gps i already have & paid for (built into the phone).

only my 2 cents

Ed Hughes

No way would I buy that unit, or a new car with built-in nav. With the increased in technology constantly occurring, buy a $150 unit every two years and stay up to date.

theiceman

porsche already does not support it's old nav systems and you can not get updated cd's

salukijac

There was a study about a year ago that most cars that came with built in Navigation did not hold their value at the time of resale, not only that, their resale value was lower than a car that didn't have it. It has to do with keeping up with technology and updating the maps. Updating the maps is also a consideration with the Garmins as it costs $75 for the update. I don't know about the other manufacturers.

For my model (760) it came with a 3-month subscription to the traffic alert which only works if you have the cigarette adapter connected (the fm receiver is built in to the charger). It's pretty handy and I think you can get a lifetime subscription for about $69.