The Garmin Nuvi’s are in my opinion the best GPS system out there today. They are always very highly ranked by the various rating agencies.
I personally tried out many GPS systems before settling on the Nuvi series, and have never looked back…
Some people have a misconception that GPS navigators require a subscription. This is not true. All standalone GPS units work out of the box without any subscriptions thanks to US government satellites. Your tax dollars at work.
Nuvi’s:
-Are all very compact and lightweight.
-Have an internal battery, allowing you to set it on pedestrian mode and get walking directions with it.
-Are much quicker to lock onto satellites than other GPS units.
-Are very intuitive and easy to use.
-Have excellent points of interest.
-When buying a GPS, make sure that it has text-to-speech, meaning that it will speak the actual street names that you will need to turn onto. This is a critical feature to look for when you’re buying a GPS unit!
-Bluetooth is a nice feature to have on your GPS unit. The Nuvi easily syncs with any bluetooth phone. It will automatically have your entire phone’s phonebook and voice-dialing capabilities. Any outgoing or incoming phone calls will be routed through the Nuvi’s speaker and microphone while you’re driving. The incoming caller’s information will be displayed on the Nuvi, and you will have the option of accepting or rejecting the phone call.
These are general guidelines, there may be exceptions:
Models ending in “50″ do not have bluetooth or traffic.
Models ending in “60″ have bluetooth and traffic. (Nuvi 260 is an exception and has neither, Nuvi 360 does not come with traffic)
Models ending in “70″ and the same as models ending in 60, but add maps for Europe.
Models ending in “80″ and the same as models ending in 60, but add MSN Direct.
200 Series: Ultra-compact (2.8 x 2.1), 3.5″ Touchscreen LCD, internal antenna. Beware of the Nuvi’s numbered from 200-250 as they lack text-to-speech!
300 Series: Ultra-compact (2.8 x 2.1), 3.5″ Touchscreen LCD, external antenna, plays MP3’s.
600 series: Compact (3.8 x 2.25), 4.3″ Touchscreen LCD, external antenna, plays MP3’s, FM Transmitter
700 series: Compact (3.8 x 2.25), 4.3″ Touchscreen LCD, internal antenna, plays MP3’s, FM Transmitter
New features in 700 series:
-The 700 series adds multi-destination planning, you enter in multiple destinations and the nuvi figures out the fastest overall route.
-The 700 series also adds “where’s my car” and “where am I”
“With a click, Drivers can display their exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and gas stations. And to help drivers find their car in an unfamiliar spot or vast parking lot, all nüvi 700s automatically mark the position in which they were last removed from the mount.”
Here is a sampling of some of Amazon’s Nuvi’s on sale (Prices subject to change at anytime!):
Garmin Nuvi 260-$254.57
Garmin Nuvi 350-$249.95
Garmin Nuvi 360-$275.99
Garmin Nuvi 660-$369.99
Garmin Nuvi 760-$480.73
