Appologies if this is the wrong place for this post. I am in the market for a portable GPS Navigation system. TomTom, Garmin, Magellan seem to be the leaders.
Has anyone recently purchased any of these and have a recommendation as to brand and model? Price is not a significant issue.

 

I recently purchased the Garmin StreetPilot c530. It is an excellent nav unit that is portable. There was one more increment in that lineup, but the added money bought features I didn't care about (mp3 player, voice annunciation of street names rather than just "turn right onto Rt. 93"). In my limited experience, Garmin makes some of the best units and has a very good user interface. I have been very pleased (I wish Mercedes used a Garmin as an OEM supplier). Tom

 

I've had success with Garmin in the past, but I like TomTom's design. If price is not an issue, why don't you look into an integrated solution and change your stock radio? Pioneer makes great single and double-din products that work much better than the ones that attach to your windshield and give your car a cleaner look.

 

I would also recommend the Garmin units. They are very user friendly (even my wife can use it) and the visual and audio directions are very good.

 

I have the TomTom system for my Treo 650 and it works pretty well as well does 3-D or Topographical. Totally portable and keeps me from having ANOTHER piece of electronics in the car.

 

Price might not be a significant issue, but you can have a lot of fun creating these systems for yourself and using eBay of course and doing it much cheaper.
The image below is an iPAQ 3850 PDA connected to a Tom Tom GPS antenna and using the Destinator 3 navigation system.
I am also working with an iPAQ 3970 and Sony Clie TJ25 with various suites of software such as iPAQ Navigation, Tom Tom and ViaMichelin as well as playing with different accessories such as expansion packs and verious mounting/powering to achieve the best desired result.
I only posted this for general info and to show that there are alternatives to the GPS exclusive systems available on the market especially for those with a budget.
Ciao,
Adrian.

PS: This system is installed into my Alfa 145 winter car. The antenna has a magnetic base so can be used on the roof as well.

 

i rely on my magellan roadmate 700 on a daily basis.
the newer models (i've had mine over a year now) have some nice improvements, but overall i have no complaints.
mine is hardwired into my suburban using a mount from proclipusa.com and an external antenna.

 

I have a Garmin 2610 which works fantastic. It is especially good if you also have a motorcycle as it can be seen in outdoors light and is waterproof. The Garmin is better in many ways than the built in units in my Acura and Audi. However, I am considering installing a double din navigation unit because I want to upgrade the stereo system anyway. I have been looking at the Pioneer units, both the AVIC Z1 and the AVIC D2.

 

I think the new TomTom big screen is on sale. Check the website. Personally, I love my Traffic Pro. Keeps the interior "clean looking"

But I am looking around for something simple for Cindy's 91 Cab.

 

I like my Garmin Quest a lot. Small, can switch between cars easily and works on my bike with a special mount. I bought it at gpsnow.com which had good prices and a lot of ways to compare between models. I think they only carry Garmin though.

 

You could think of an in-dash installed navigation system. Kenwood & Pioneer both make great systems. Having a large 7" touchscreen really makes a difference. The 911 was the first car of mine which had navigation ... and I'll NEVER buy a car without it in the future.

 

I chose Lowrance Way's GPS but you're not interested in those. Here is a forum that covers all GPS companies.

http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/default.asp?Group=2

 

I have a Tom Tom Go and love it. Has other types before and this is by far my preferred to date.

 

I second this, I have the Pioneer D-2 and I love it. Found it brand new for $650 on ebay a month ago. I paid a few bucks to have it installed and the A/c controls moved down but it makes the interior look a lot more updated and it has XM built in which I love. Spend the extra $'s.

 

I can recommend the Garmin C320, C330, and C340 models.
They all have 3.5" (diagonal) touchscreens and are easy to use [most portable GPS units are easy to use...]

The C320 (around $300) does NOT have the maps installed, but is pretty much identical to the C330. The down side is you have to upgrade Flash Memory to hold the all of the US maps (1 Gb just about does it - but I had to omit Montana and N + S Dakota).

The C330 has maps installed (about $400) and operates identically to the C320. I think it's on sale at Wal-Mart right now as well.

The C340 is basically the C330 with a streetname feature. This one is around $500. For example, my C320 says, "turn right 1 mile" and the C340 would say "turn right on Main street in 1 miles."

These are excellent GPS units for long or short trips - but like all units, they aren't perfect. If you need more info, drop me a PM.

-td