Going on a road trip this summer and would like to know of the 2 GPS devices which one is the best? Thanks

 

i sell both of these at work and they're both pretty good. the biggest complaint i hear from customers on the TOM TOM is that the maps need to be updated or are inaccurate. and in the TOM TOM Go700 they have problems pairing it with their phone. Garmin has been in the US a lot longer and has more detailed maps. some of the newer garmins even let you scroll through the map which allows you to find something even when its a new area that may not be in its map yet. they are easy to use and customers seem to like them the most. which streetpilot were you looking at?

 

Garmin is the best IMO. I've had the Streetpilot III and the 2610. Great detail, ease of use and accuracy. I purchased a Magellan Roadmate to replace the Streetpilot and promptly returned it because the maps looked like crap and there was no practical way of mounting it. With the Streetpilot and 2610, I simply stuck the unit on that flat area right above the radio.

 

I was looking at the GARMIN STREETPILOT c320 or the i3 GPS.
Thanks for the input guys

 

I have Magellan 760 and it works just fine.

 

go with the garmin, i've heard a few complaints with the tom tom

 

I purchased the Garmin 330 last August. No complaints at all. You can only save one location ( plus 'home') but I have not yet needed to save a location.
I was big on the Magellan that were about 700-800 (they look like a man's device or tool) but this Garmin is neater, cleaner looking against the dash and works well. Works out the box, even before I got to the car. No downloads needed.

 

I had Garmin streetpilot for a year but sold it with the previous car. I had great experience with it. No problems and very accurate. The sounds were not annoying either... My vote is to the Garmin.

I also just ordered the mini garmin (since Garmin headquarters in my city ) - etrex legend c two nights ago. Can't wait to see it. Its about $199 but seems to be able to do pretty much all. I have not used TomTom so I can't really say much.

My buddy uses the TomTom GPS navigator unit (non-lcd just the satellite unit) plugged into his IPAQ and it works great. He downloads maps for each state to state visit as they take up more space than his 512mb stick. He hasn't had any problems with it or their software at any weather condition either. Just my $.02c

 

Check out the lowrance products here.

 

My entire family uses Garmins, but I had to be different and get a Magellan. Big mistake. Accuracy and interface were terrible. When I was returning it, the guy in front of me mentioned that Garmin controls the consumer end of the GPS satellite data, so they skew the accuracy of the signals to prevent terrorism. Therefore, every consumer-grade navigation unit on the market will always be off by quite a bit. However, he also said that Garmin uses a special algorithm in their own consumer units to correct for the skew. Therefore, he's always found Garmin products to be the most accurate. Frankly, it sounds to me like Garmin is less interested in preventing terrorism than in giving themselves a market advantage. Anyway, I wasn't convinced, so I tried TomTom and a couple others. Same story. All were off when compared with one of my family's Garmins. I eventually settled on Mapopolis (a handheld-based program) because of its simplicity. I haven't had the chance to run it next to a Garmin yet, but so far, the accuracy is among the best of the ones I have tried because both the software and hardware have correction algorithms. So if you want an all-in-one, go with Garmin. If you already have a portable device (PDA, cell phone, laptop), give Mapopolis a try. They have free demo software on their website. It's the cheapest and most accurate way to go.

 

I think a good old fashion map works great. Get one of those road atlas and plan your trip accordingly. I've been doing it for quite a while and works everytime.

 

I actually just ordered myself a Garmin C340 yesterday. Buddy of mine has a C330 and he let me borrow it and I fell in love with it, so easy to use and the few times I used it it was very accurate. I've heard mostly great reviews on the Garmins. Go with either the C330 or C340 tho, as I don't believe the C320 has preloaded maps. I was going to buy the C330 but it was only another $60 for the C340 so just went with that one even though its only got a couple upgraded features.

 

Thanks for the great input.....looks like I will go with the c340