Want to buy a Portable GPS system...

[Garland]

So I'm driving around in LA and have never used one of these GPS things before. I borrow a friend's (Mio Standalone 310x GPS mounted on windshield) for a few days:



Despite a few conflicts with Yahoo and Google map directions, it has served me well. I’m thinking since I want to travel a lot for the next few months and rent cars and such, and since I’m really horrible at directions (I have absolutely no sense of direction) this could really save my life.

I know there's some other post on this about a year ago, but I wanted an up-to-date prospective.

Extra things I want:
MP3 player (I believe Mio 310x has it)
Bluetooth capability for my phone (not as important to me since I don’t talk on the phone tons)
Traffic report.
Points of interest, History, preloaded maps and probably lots of stuff already standard.
Anything extras I should be pining for or be alert about?

Any strong recommendations? The one I tried seemed very nice, but I wanted to get a better feel of what’s out there from people in OOT.

Thanks,

Garland

[mpitts]

I have the Garmin Nuvi 660 and it has all of the features that you were interested in.

I tried Magellan, TomTom and Garmin and found Garmin to be the best for me. I'm in the Atlanta area if that matters.

[New001]

My fiancee and I have an older Garmin model that usually works well in the Houston area. She and her parents have brought it all over the country on vacations too (including LA recently) and it's worked well there, too.

[Ikaika]

+1 to the Garmin Nuvi 660...that thing is AWESOME, I used mine to drive about 10k miles cross country right after I got it...it had me avoiding traffic, construction, etc. and helped find anything I wanted with ease. I currently live in San Diego and haven't had any problems with reception here or in LA.

Make sure you go on the Garmin website and update the software when you get it, it makes the touch screen more sensitive and some other minor tweaks that help a lot.

[Apoc]

If you can wait a few months, hold out for a Dash. Dash website

The only Internet-connected device -- real-time traffic updates based on the user community, Yahoo Local search >>>>>> static POIs, ability to get GeoRSS feeds loaded onto your device in real time, plus a bunch of other nifty features in the works.

Apoc

[Garland]

[ QUOTE ]
+1 to the Garmin Nuvi 660...that thing is AWESOME, I used mine to drive about 10k miles cross country right after I got it...it had me avoiding traffic, construction, etc. and helped find anything I wanted with ease. I currently live in San Diego and haven't had any problems with reception here or in LA.

Make sure you go on the Garmin website and update the software when you get it, it makes the touch screen more sensitive and some other minor tweaks that help a lot.

[/ QUOTE ]

I hear ringing endorsements for Garmin Nuvi 660, but I think those things cost $600 or so (doesn't even have external volume control) compared to the Mio model in the OP that costs $150 to $200. I heard that Garmin Nuvi 660 will find "hidden" shortcuts and optimal routes, but what else do you find so impressive that will make you pay 3 to 4x the price of a lower end model? Traffic and construction detours? Better sound quality? More sultry instruction voice? [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Garland

[WiSeIVIaN]

Unfortunately, a mio for ~$150-$200 is not going to have realtime traffic, an MP3 player, or bluetooth, not to mention they are 5x harder to navigate menus compared to garmins.

The nuvi 660 is a nice option. If you wanna save a little cash and don't mind it being a little bulky you can buy a c550 for $450-$500 which has everything that you are looking for.

Also if your gonna buy it from like best buy or circuit city, do not buy the extended warranty on it. The things rarely break, but they will push you for the extended warranty as if its a tv simply because gps systems have almost no margin.

[Kneel B4 Zod]

I love my TomTom One. it has everything you want except for Mp3, but I think the morre $$ models have it

[guids]

Axim 51v


Dell axim, plus the GPS receiver off of the dell website for 85$.


mp3, bluetooth, wifi, etc

[LocustHorde]

[ QUOTE ]
I love my TomTom One. it has everything you want except for Mp3, but I think the morre $$ models have it

[/ QUOTE ]

I have this one also and it has served me well. You should be able to find it for only $200