Thread: Best portable GPS?

I'm looking to buy a portable GPS system for around $150. I've been reading up on the Garmin Nuvi 350 which fits my budget and seems like it will do the job fine. I'm not all that worried about voice instructions. I just something that is accurate on my exact location.

I plan on traveling a bit over the summer and I'd like a GPS for when I hit the streets in a big city. So does anyone have any experience with Garmins or are the Tom Toms the way to go? It's my understanding that Magellan sucks hard. Thanks.

I just bought a Tom Tom a few months ago. It has the voice instructions, which are actually quite handy in city driving. Basically it costs $50 extra for that feature, but it is well worth it, especially in cities where there are sometimes a bunch of streets in a row. With the voice instructions, it makes it much easier to find the street that you are looking for. I think my model is the 130S, but I don't have it with me at the moment so I can't be sure. As far as I remember, it is close to $150 so check it out.

I've had my nuvi 250 for over a year now. It's ugly but with pretty good build quality. I've dropped it many times and it still works fine. I should mention that I dropped it not out of clumsiness (except for once when it was raining and I slipped with it in my pocket), but because the rubber mount loses its grip on glass over time. It occasionally falls off under hard acceleration.

Other than that it works fine. I wouldn't give it any awards but it hasn't failed me yet and the maps are very accurate. Which is just what one needs in a GPS system.

Well both your inputs are nice both recommend the two brands I can't decide upon so I guess I shall wait for more opinions. Thanks though

http://www.casualdiscourse.com/forum...ead.php?t=1035

Originally Posted by ephekt

http://www.casualdiscourse.com/forum...ead.php?t=1035

Looked at that thread awhile back. His price range is a bit higher than what I'm willing to pay. Don't know if that will change which one is the best bang for the buck. I'll go through and see if there was a general consensus on a particular brand.

You can get the lower end TomTom units for around $120, $90ish during sales. You don't get all the neat tts stuff, but they're nice, albeit basic, units.

I have a Nuvi 200, which I bought last summer for like $180 but I'm sure is probably cheaper now. Haven't had a problem with it. It doesn't have a ton of features, but I wasn't looking for a ton of features, I wanted something that would get me where I needed to go reliably and this does it. For about $20 or so more I think you can get the next model up with a few more bells and whistles.

Before that I had a Magellen 220T or something like that, total piece of shit. It was nice on the features angle, but one day after I'd only had it for 5 months it wouldn't turn on anymore.

Originally Posted by wodke

but because the rubber mount loses its grip on glass over time. It occasionally falls off under hard acceleration.

The new Tom Toms come with a new mounting system. You put the suction cup on the windshield and then twist a locking mechanism to anchor it on the glass. It literally feels like you could rip the windshield out of your car before the suction cup releases itself if you don't unlock it before you try to pull it off.