New GPS time

[That Crazy Squirrel]

Shopping for a couple of new GPS units. We have three currently, and all of them are getting to the end of their useful lives, so it's time to look for replacements. One of them is only used in conjunction with my ham radios, and won't be replaced at this time (The replacement is super expensive, over $700, and does not include free map updates. Those are $125 each time) but the ones we use for driving are both running into space issues as the map packages get bigger and more detailed.

I like the Garmin brand better than the other brands out there, but I'm no Garmin fanboy. I'd switch to something else in a heartbeat, if I found another brand that met our needs.

So, right now I'm thinking the nuvi 2797LMT for me, and the nuvi 2597LMT for the wife. (Her eyes are better than mine, so I need the bigger screen)

The pair of 'em, with hard cases and 3 year "Drop & Spill" warranty protection would come to just a few cents over $500 through Amazon.

Anyone have any thoughts on these they'd like to share?

LINKS:

For me

For the wife

 

[Zembonez]

We have three. All Garmin. I do map updates using SDHC cards.

I've used Magellan and TomTom in rental cars but didn't like their interface nearly as well as the Garmin. They all use the same basic data, but the Garmin works with the least extra human input.

 

[OldCracker29]

recalculating...

 

[That Crazy Squirrel]

We have three. All Garmin. I do map updates using SDHC cards.

I've used Magellan and TomTom in rental cars but didn't like their interface nearly as well as the Garmin. They all use the same basic data, but the Garmin works with the least extra human input.

I've used Cobra (love theirs but they have crappy customer service and stop supporting things with no advance warning), Mio, Tom-Tom, and Rand McNally, and I have to agree that, except for the Cobra, the Garmins do have the best interface. After my last Cobra though I'll never buy one again. I got it as a birthday (Aug 25) gift from the wife in 2006, updated it when I opened it (lifetime maps and traffic) and immediately fell in love with it. Big screen (6" I think), loud enough to hear (dual front speakers), fast, good maps (NavTeq), accurate traffic reports, outstanding interface, really, just a dream of a GPS unit. Tried to update the maps in January of 2007 and found out they stopped supporting it as of January 1st. Contacted customer service, spent hours on hold (literally), got disconnected, bounced from department to department (some of the departments didn't even know they made GPS units) until I finally reached one guy who could answer my questions. Turns out the unit was introduced in the summer of 2005 (year before I got it), didn't sell very well, so they decided not to waste resources supporting it a year and a half after putting it on the market. I was pissed.

I got hold of NavTeq and asked about getting map updates from them direct and they were willing, at a very reasonable cost (like $25 per year), but needed permission from Cobra. Cobra flat out refused to allow NavTeq to sell me map updates directly and said I had to get them through Cobra customer support. Round and round we went, in a whirlwind of circular logic and emails until I said "**** it" and swore I'd never buy another Cobra product again, and I haven't.

I used that unit for the next three years, laughing when it showed me as being off-road when on new sections of road, and was very sad the day it gave me its version of the blue screen of death.

About a year after that, when looking for paperwork to send a crappy Mio unit back, I came across the 5 year replacement warranty papers for the Cobra (Fair Trade policy) and contacted them, figuring "why the hell not"" They had me try a reset, then ship the unit to them at their expense. 15 days later they issued a refund for the full purchase price. Out-fucking-standing!

Still not gonna ever buy Cobra again though.

 

[Nick The Great]

I still have that power cable for that Mio you sent me several years ago. I haven't used that GPS in 3 or 4 years now.

Actually, I haven't used that one since I got a smartphone. I'm actually pretty happy with Google Navigation. But it doesn't do you a whole lot of good without mobile data coverage

 

[Darth Bama]

We have Garmins and more than likely that's all I'll buy in the future. My wife recently bought the Nuvi 2597. Works like a charm. Mine is an older Nuvi, but the map updates keep it up to date and me from needing to replace it. Mine was a replacement to an old Garmin Street Pilot. That dinosaur still works, I just got tired of the looks of it. It was bulky compared to the newer slim models.


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

 

[That Crazy Squirrel]

I still have that power cable for that Mio you sent me several years ago. I haven't used that GPS in 3 or 4 years now.

Actually, I haven't used that one since I got a smartphone. I'm actually pretty happy with Google Navigation. But it doesn't do you a whole lot of good without mobile data coverage

Yeah, while my smartphone can be used as a sat nav device, I prefer to keep that as my backup, and rely on a dedicated GPS unit in each vehicle. I do have a mobile data plan, but that's only good when you have an actual signal, and there's places I go that have no cell or data signals. Besides, I use my smartphone as a dashcam when I'm in my truck.

 

[mr_bots]

Can't help you much, between my phone and built in nav in the car, I haven't used a stand alone GPS in years. Though my dad has a Nuvi 2597 that he really likes. Also FYI, you can save areas in Google Maps onto your phone so that they're available offline.

 

[OldCracker29]

I wonder if anybody actually knows how to read a map these days.

 

[Kennyray]

I wonder if anybody actually knows how to read a map these days.

I do.....