GPS - TomTom or Garmin?

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chuckerants

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I'm looking for my first GPS unit for the car. I've never used one so all I know is that these two are top brands.

I think I'd like text to speech and street names read aloud and auto recalc if I make a wrong turn. Oh and I'm rather hard of hearing so it would help if the volume could be turned up on the loud side.

And price is very important too. Let's say with the mount and a car power plug $150?

What would you recommend?
 
I like the TomTom better with their Mapshare/update feature. When run side by side with wife's Garmin, we had way fewer bogus routes on a recent cross-country trip.

If you ever want to update your maps with a Garmin, the price of the new maps is nearly as much a sale-priced new TomTom with Mapshare!

I would suggest that you do a search for a bonafide gps review website and read their comments and findings. Some models of each will most likely have some bugs, so this will inform you on the ones to avoid in either brand. In my second car, I have a new Magellan and it is quite good as well, although I am more used to the TomTom interface since I have had it so long.
 
I've had great success with my bottom of the line Garmin that I have. While it has led me astray (from either roads no longer existing, or being confused from my GPS ignoring detours), it has been fantastic. I haven't chosen to update my maps, and haven't found it to be that detrimental. When I plan to update my maps, I'll be buying a new unit.

The only faults I've had is a few roads that no longer exists (one is a bridge that re-opened recently), and the unit once got confused through my turns to go around construction. It told me to do a U-turn on a 4 lane highway, then switched itself out of guidance mode. Simple enough to reset onto the right track. Other than that, the unit has functioned flawlessly. Further promoting towards Garmin is its use in industry, which is quite heavy. Their units tend to be extremely good.
 
Hmm. I thought it was the TT usits that charged for updated maps, but it's the Garmins?
Originally Posted By: bmwtechguy
I like the TomTom better with their Mapshare/update feature. When run side by side with wife's Garmin, we had way fewer bogus routes on a recent cross-country trip.

If you ever want to update your maps with a Garmin, the price of the new maps is nearly as much a sale-priced new TomTom with Mapshare!

I would suggest that you do a search for a bonafide gps review website and read their comments and findings. Some models of each will most likely have some bugs, so this will inform you on the ones to avoid in either brand. In my second car, I have a new Magellan and it is quite good as well, although I am more used to the TomTom interface since I have had it so long.
 
I got a Garmin 285W ($119 shipped - amazon) with blue tooth, TTS with street names spoken, and wide screen - functions really well, and no problems; blue tooth quality is pretty decent, and locks really fast onto satellites...I like it a lot so far:

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/garmin-gps-test-drive.127021/

you get a free map update if you do it within 60 days of purchase with Garmins...
 
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Garmin uses NavTeq map and Tomtom uses TeleAltas. Most of the time in the US NavTeq map is better. So my pick would be Garmin.

In the Europe, TeleAltas map is better, so my pick will be Tomtom.
 
The 285W isn't much more than the 260W that I first looked at and it has BT.

Anyone use the traffic function on a GPS? How reliable /accurate is it?

Originally Posted By: 97tbird
I got a Garmin 285W ($119 shipped - amazon) with blue tooth, TTS with street names spoken, and wide screen - functions really well, and no problems; blue tooth quality is pretty decent, and locks really fast onto satellites...I like it a lot so far:

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/garmin-gps-test-drive.127021/

you get a free map update if you do it within 60 days of purchase with Garmins...
 
A friend was telling me about his Garmin Nuvi 350 (?) having the same problem with his outdated map. But I think he recently "found" a new 2010 map as an update costs as much as a new GPS now.
Originally Posted By: rudolphna
We have a 5,6 year old Garmin and it sitll works great. Needs a map update but other than that....
 
Quote:
Garmin uses NavTeq map and Tomtom uses TeleAltas. Most of the time in the US NavTeq map is better. So my pick would be Garmin.


This.

I have never been impressed with TeleAtlas maps.
 
Either would be fine. I have a TomTom myself and I do prefer it to my sister's Garmin. The menu on the TomTom just seems more intuitive to me. The Garmin does feel nicer made. My TomTom feels very utilitarian and plasticky. The Garmin does work well I guess since it was able to get my non English parents home one time from Orlando. One neat feature for the TomTom is that there are many free downloadable languages for the directions. Doesn't seem to be the case for the Garmin.
 
I was just thinking that I thought all GPS's had other languages, but I guess Garmin does not. That's not an issue for me, but I was thinking about getting one for my mom who only has 7000 miles on her bought new Civic because she not like to drive far or to unfamiliar places.
Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
Either would be fine. I have a TomTom myself and I do prefer it to my sister's Garmin. The menu on the TomTom just seems more intuitive to me. The Garmin does feel nicer made. My TomTom feels very utilitarian and plasticky. The Garmin does work well I guess since it was able to get my non English parents home one time from Orlando. One neat feature for the TomTom is that there are many free downloadable languages for the directions. Doesn't seem to be the case for the Garmin.
 
Originally Posted By: chuckerants
So what's the deal with the maps? How much different could maps be?


The difference is when they don't have the exact information in the map and how do they "guess" where the place you want is at. If you are going within major cities with well established location, you're probably ok. NavTeq's algorithm tends to land you in a better proximity than TeleAltas in the US.
 
I prefer the Tomtom.I have had Garmins but TomTom had so many FREE add-ons etc. that are great & being able to share map corrections in Your area & correct them free via a download is also great.
Garmin is too money hungry & charges for everything.
 
I have TomTom 1 Special Edition (3 years old). I love it. Maps are fine. We had only one real problem with it, but found out that most GPS make the same mistake (try to use a non-existent road by Getty Center in LA). I corrected the map, and now all TT users can benefit from my correction. TT recalculates routes very, very fast (not all GPS are that fast). It came in handy when driving in crazy LA traffic. Miss the turn---new route will be mapped out in less than 5 seconds.

Latest TeleAtlas maps are just as good as Navteg, from what I heard on the GPS boards. I am still using a 3 year old map. I can upgrade for $50, but so far have not needed to.
 
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http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/default.asp?group=2
an international forum.
Home page has reviews and articles.
Do not just look at the name brands, look at the chipsets they use as well. SiRFstarIII is the most sensitive of the bunch.
Garmin makes good GPS, so does TomTom. Figure out what features you want and find the model that most closely fits that criteria. You, probably, will not not know what you want until you read up on what is out there.

For example some of the lower-end GPS will lead to an address, but won't tell you what side of the street the house is one, some do. Is it important to you? Different manufacturers have different prices for the map updates. If you use GPS pretty heavily, you'll need to update maps at least every two or three years. Add that to the final cost. International maps, directions in other languages, is it important? How easy is it to program a route with multiple stops? How fast is TTIF (Time To Initial Fix) after a boot?
Does it work at walking speeds (with some you need to move at least 10 mph to get a location fix)? I like to walk around with my TT1 when I visit a different city. Makes finding restaurants and places to see much easier.
Does it have a built-in battery? How long does it last?
How well designed is the mounting system? Can you connect an external antennae to receive traffic blockage info or a stronger GPS antennae?
Can you load topo maps, if you plan on taking it hiking? How water resistant is it?
How easy/intuitive is menu navigation? Can you use thumbs or do you have to use a stylus? Can you pair it with your bluetooth phone?
 
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