Saturday, November 20, 2010

Buying ARKON CM012 Magellan, Nextar, HP, Navigon, Garmin, TomTom Friction Dash Mount


This is a great product for my Tomtom 720. I loved it and used it whenever I have my GPS in my car. It's heavy enough so it wouldn't move no matter how you drive your car. Get more detail about ARKON CM012 Magellan, Nextar, HP, Navigon, Garmin, TomTom Friction Dash Mount.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Save Magellan AN0302SWXXX Dashboard Beanbag Mount for GPS Navigators


This is a great idea and is very stable on my dash. I just got the GPS with a 7 inch screen and was concerned about it blocking my view. Using this product and not having it on the windshield makes the size of the screen wonderful and at the same time, no where near to blocking my review.Get more detail about Magellan AN0302SWXXX Dashboard Beanbag Mount for GPS Navigators.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Low Price Gilsson 12V Cigarette Lighter Adapter for Garmin GPS Nuvi 200 250 255 350 660 755 760 785 885 Magellan 1412 4210 4250


Did not work for Nuvi 205. To be fair, 205 was not listed among other Nuvi 200 series in description but I think the power port is the same on all Nuvi 200 models.Get more detail about Gilsson 12V Cigarette Lighter Adapter for Garmin GPS Nuvi 200 250 255 350 660 755 760 785 885 Magellan 1412 4210 4250.

Lowest Price Garmin nüvi 550 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator


The 550 is not bad but seems to be confusing to use while driving. This unit will tell you to turn when you should be going straight. On several occasions I have entered an address on to be led a block away or the wrong side of the highway. At intersections with turning lanes, dividers or anything other than a four way intersection this does not always show all the roads at the intersections only the route. This makes it difficult to navigate as you choose which way to go. The unit will only tell you that you went the wrong way after a 100-feet or so. It will get you close but not the quality I expected.Get more detail about Garmin nüvi 550 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Garmin zumo 660 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Motorcycle Navigator Right now


Just received a nice shiny new 660 to replace my old 550. I like the new wide screen, the lane change feature seems to work pretty good. I live in Atlanta, GA and it has kicked in several times. Most times are very appropriate although once or twice I had already made the lane change and passed the signs when it came up. Also really handy on the 6 and 8 lane interstates as it shows which lanes you should be traveling in which is a great heads up. I like the posted speed limit sign on the screen. Very handy reminder to avoid those costly speeding tickets. I like the configurable left and right positions and it is also handy to have the time on the main screen when on the bike. Not really useful in the car so it would be nice to configure it just for use with the bike and disable when in the car. I usually use my Zumo 90% in the car and 10% on the bike. I agree that the speaker is a bit soft and a little too much bass for some reason making it hard to hear in the car. This is more noticeable with the Bluetooth feature for my cell phone. On the 550 people complained that there was a lot of echo and they seem to not notice it as much with the 660. Like some other reviewers I also am not thrilled with the little door on the back to access the USB connector and the miniSD card. Although I found on the 550 that once I had things going I really did not plug it into the Mac at home very much if at all. Also I had a 2GB card in the 550 and don't think I really ever used it. The door could use a redesign in my opinion, this is where the 550 was definitely better. I really don't like the cheesy plastic cover for the bike mount when the Zumo is not in place. Not being tethered like the one on the 550 I can see it getting lost. Not that it will be on the bike as whenever I am driving I have the Zumo and the rest of the time it is in the garage. But those times when I am on a walkabout it would be nice to have the cover on to protect the mount. I had a hard time getting my favorites over from the 550 as I use a Mac but once I got Roadtrip loaded everything came over fine. I really like the thinner design and I like the fact that the speaker is built in and not in the mount like the 550. I also like the "Where am I?" feature as I travel all over the US and this is super handy. The maps seem a heck of a lot clearer than the 550 and I like the way it kind of zooms in and pans around on its own. I got to see the 3D building view when I was downtown the other day. Also a cool thing when I am traveling in unknown cities (pretty much every week). Overall I think this was a good upgrade from the 550.Get more detail about Garmin zumo 660 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Motorcycle Navigator.

Motorola Motonav TN765T 5.1-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Traffic Decide Now


Ok, I realy wanted to like this unit and in the end I will keep it and get used to it but people should know a few things. The side rear buttons get pressed every time you touch the unit. The touch keyboard is hit or miss as is the voice recognition. I tried asking the unit to find a POI for "coffee" and got crazy responses 50 miles away. I mean they cant program a couple Dunkin Donuts into this thing? Traffic light cams warning is a cool feature as I often drive in DC and NYC and have been caught before. The system showed several on screen warning icons but only verbally warned me once. Strange and dangerous if you start to trust the warning. It looks great. Very iPhone like. The screen is very bright I use it in a convertible with no sunlight issues and the screen is vivid and even shows variances in greens to depict valleys. The advertising popups some people are complaining about is barely noticable. The dialup BING feature is worthless, but I do like the gas buddy connect. Patience is the key with this GPS as it dials through a bluetooth connection to retrieve the info you seek so be patient as it dials connects downloads and then displays. The mount is one of the main reasons I bought this unit as it is one of the only powered mounts which means no plugging and unplugging, just drop in the cradle and go, love that. I will be doing a custome wired mount so this feature is criticle to me. Here's the big issue. I also ordered the TA105 Car Integration Unit and have been waiting for months for delivery. Only Amazon has it and they just wont send it out. Im starting to think its a myth. Amazon if your listening, I WANT MY TA105 NOW!!!!!!! Last thing not so important but if its offered it should work. I tried to sync my iPhone for text messenging and it doesnt work. I called MOTO and they told me to have Apple "change my profile". Apple said my phone needed to be "unlocked", I told them my phone was unlocke ie, jailbroken and they said "oh, well, sorry". So in the end it doesnt work. Would have been a cool feature to have my texts read to me over the car audio. My punishment for not having a MOTO phone I guess.Get more detail about Motorola Motonav TN765T 5.1-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Traffic.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Garmin City Navigator for Detailed Maps of Italy and Greece (microSD/SD Card) Order Now


It was great to have a GPS in Italy and the price of the SD card was fine. I was using a Garmin 760 GPS unit that works very well in the US. Nevertheless, I discovered that you should not expect it to work as well as it does with your US map. Too often, I found myself passing the exit before I could identify it from the GPS instructions. Probably, that was sometimes my own fault in trying to understand the mispronounced Italian street names that were identified with too much information--sort of like trying to read the overhead route directions that contained directions to several places, all in a foreign language.
The quirkiness of the guidance was annoying. For example, on one occasion I was on on a major road (comparable to an interstate road in the US) and the GPS said to drive on it for 60 miles. I knew that to be correct, having been on the road before. I drove about 10 miles at about 80 miles an hour (yet being passed by the other drivers). Suddenly, the GPS started telling me to "go 500 yards and make a legal U-turn." I knew I had another 50 miles to go so I ignored that instruction (and it was a physical impossibility to make a U-turn on such a road). For another 5 minutes, it kept telling me to make that U-turn, after which it stopped doing so and reflected the fact that I had another 45 miles to go to my destination.
Despite these issues, I recommend the SD card for anyone driving in Italy. Overall, it did its job, and if you realize it is quirky, you will be OK. It is not perfect, but it is better than trying to read foreign maps and asking for directions when there is a language barrier. If nothing else, its pronunciation of Italian street names will keep you amused.Get more detail about Garmin City Navigator for Detailed Maps of Italy and Greece (microSD/SD Card).

TomTom GO 630 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator Buy Now


Pros : Compact, Large Screen, Acquires Satellites Quickly
Cons : Poor Web Interface, Unreliable Performance, Difficult Menus


I had to return the first unit as it removed the maps instead of updating them once I connected through my computer to TomTom. The second unit updated the maps correctly (It took over 4 hours with DSL.) but stopped connecting to my bluetooth capable phone after only one day. I am returning this unit also and going to pick out a Garmin.Get more detail about TomTom GO 630 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator.

Monday, November 15, 2010

TomTom XL 330-S 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator (Box Version) Get it now!


I bought this new tomtom xl 330-s from costco. I opted to have this GPS after comparing it to the Magellan 1445t
I like the 3 dimensional look of the Tomtom especially when I am approaching the entrance of the tunnel it gives
me a large overview of how its like to navigate in the tunnel as well even the signal is off.
I have only two negative feed back. First when after crossing the 59th bridge of NYC it does not know where to direct me to the most quickest route but instead route to a further route.

Second after I try to update it with the home tomtom for free map update. My tomtom gps map has completely disappeared
in other words Tomtom hijacked my map from the Gps and they try to let me download another updated map for certain
amount of fee for a brand new gps. hell no!I was really disappointed. As of this writing I am returning this back to Costco.
I tried for several hours to connect and reboot my gps but it always says no map found. So don't try to go and
update your map because you find out your map in your Tomtom gps will completely disappear.Get more detail about TomTom XL 330-S 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator (Box Version).

Pioneer AVIC-X920BT 6.1-Inch In-Dash Double-Din Navigation A/V Receiver with DVD Playback, Built-In Bluetooth and Widescreen Display Best Quality


For the new flagship from Pioneer, I'm very disappointed in the navigation. The deck has great sound quality, and great iPod integration, complete with album art and the ability to quickly browse artists or songs, even with 6000 plus songs on your iPod. The NAV system is useless and a real disappointment. A 2 year old $100 Garmin stand alone GPS performs light years ahead of this. I actually just came back from a 3 state road trip using both a $100 Garmin and this Pioneer. Four times on the trip, the Garmin said turn left, and the Pioneer said "turn right". The Garmin was correct with the short and faster path all 4 times. Every trip I've used the Pioneer with has the estimated arrival time about two hours later than actual arrival time, and it doesn't adjust until the final few miles of the trip. Completely inaccurate, bad directions, no speedometer. I could go on, but suffice it to say it's BAD BAD BAD. I'll probably be selling this one on eBay when someone finally comes out with a good iPOD interface AND good nav systems.
Get more detail about Pioneer AVIC-X920BT 6.1-Inch In-Dash Double-Din Navigation A/V Receiver with DVD Playback, Built-In Bluetooth and Widescreen Display.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

TomTom Carrying Case and Strap for the GO 720 and 730 GPS Immediately


Just a quick note.... this case is ONLY for the GPS unit itself. There is NO ability to store the cable or the mounting bracket. Why would I want a 'case' that only allows for PART of the device and have to carry the other pieces separately??
I am returning this item.
Get more detail about TomTom Carrying Case and Strap for the GO 720 and 730 GPS.

Garmin nüvi 1200 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator This instant


Small enough to fit in your pocket, screen large enough to see your way just fine. Quick route recalculation, I had my new route set before I reached the next street. Address programming is very quick too! The only downside I see is the cigarette lighter adapter, the adapter is pretty long and sticks out far enough to interfere with my shifter and the mini USB plug is turned down from the unit so it can create problems for mounting.Get more detail about Garmin nüvi 1200 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator.