Hello all,

I've been seriously considering a retrofit of the BMW satnav system into the Z4, and while it may be technically possible, it also carries a price tag of ~$5000 for the parts alone. :confused

Meanwhile, the advent of portable GPS nav devices designed for use in cars (as opposed to the hiker/outdoorsy handhelds) has resulted in systems very similar in function to the BMW version - in fact, some use the very same NavTeq maps that BMW does - but at a tenth of the cost or less. :ponder

Of course, electronics stores expect one to make a decision and plunk down cash just by looking at the empty plastic shells tied down to their counters, and would never allow a real-world function test. :shifty

So, after poring over reviews from Cnet to Cirtcuit City, I've narrowed down the choices to four prime candidates: The TomTom One, Magellan Roadmate 2200T, and Lowrance iWay 350c & 500c. If you have any of the above, or closely-comparable models from these manufacturers, feedback on your experiences with them would be most welcome.


Better still, if you'd be willing to meet for a lunch on me, and a Z4 ride to demo your particular GPS gadget, please hit the PM button, and let me know. :redspot

Many thanks in advance, :wavey
DW


:cool

Installs easy into almost any vehicle!
Compact!
Easy to move from one vehicle to another!
Never fails!
CHEAP!!!

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t19/karenE46/compass.jpg


You are more than welcome to borrow it any time

:rofl


Yeah, but the amount of data you get from it is rather limited. :crazya

:rofl


Yeah, but the amount of data you get from it is rather limited. :crazya


Weaksauce!!!


People have sailed across oceans with little more than this!

People have sailed across oceans with little more than this!
I bet they wished they'd had some better directions, though. :D

cough cough Columbus

cough cough Columbus
Exactly! That guy didn't even know where he was going, or where he ended up! :rolleyes


:D

I got a Garmin C330 (street pilot) for xmas. I love it. If you're going to plunk down the change though, i would recommend that you at least get a satnav with traffic information on it. My model is the one below the one with traffic, and that information would be very helpful if you're driving around atlanta.

I've got a friend with a garmin Nuvi and from what i can tell they are very similar in funtion/operating system (street pilot vs. nuvi) but the nuvi is a much smaller unit.

My $.02 on retrofitting a factory system: Not worth the money imo. If you do it, sure it will look nice and clean and you won't have stuff stuck to your windshield, but.....a.)If you have more than one car you can't take it with you b.)If you need to get a software/hardware upgrade you are stuck paying bmw prices c.) if some new GPS technology comes out you can just sell your handheld unit and get a new one. You can't do that with an indash unit. d.) with a hand held unit you can use it outside of the car too (on foot, bike, etc.).

Hope this helps.

My $.02 on retrofitting a factory system: Not worth the money imo. If you do it, sure it will look nice and clean and you won't have stuff stuck to your windshield, but.....a.)If you have more than one car you can't take it with you b.)If you need to get a software/hardware upgrade you are stuck paying bmw prices c.) if some new GPS technology comes out you can just sell your handheld unit and get a new one. You can't do that with an indash unit. d.) with a hand held unit you can use it outside of the car too (on foot, bike, etc.).
Yes, all of the above has occurred to me. The in-dash unit would be good, and from what I've read on other forums, actually has some advantages over the handhelds (processor speed, mainly), but beyond the price tag, I'm not exactly jumping at the chance to go cutting a big hole in the dash, for which there is zero margin for error. If it was just a head unit replacement, I wouldn't think twice. But the hacksaw-and-Dremel factor put the brakes on. :az

Thanks for the input!


:cool

I've got a little Garmn i3 (and I mean its SMALL on the dash) that works as-well-as the one in our H2. The only drawback is the entry for locations is not a nice touch screen and takes a little longer. Directions are perfect, easy to hear, easy to see in the light, and takes up minimal space. (So I leave it in the glovebox when not using). Two AA's will last 8hrs+ in navigation mode.

If you want small, even an I5 is nicer because it already has the maps loaded.

(I am gonna get a C550 this week, looking for a little larger screen for me to see......w/o my glasses). GPS4FUN.com over in
Alabamer has some of the best prices around, and I've purchased a few over the years from them with zero problems!

Excellent, thanks! :wave

In-fact if you're ever up in the Cumming area (I'm just 2miles from X14/Rt400) stop by and we can try it out.

In-fact if you're ever up in the Cumming area (I'm just 2miles from X14/Rt400) stop by and we can try it out.
Thanks! :thumbup:

I would look at the Garmin's. I think the Tom-Tom's suck. They don't have even have P.O.I. (point of Interest). if you wanted to eat "italian food" while on vacation somewhere you can put it Food--> Italian and the garmin will bring up italian rest in the area. The TOM-TOM doesn't do that. It's not just for food but for any poi that you are looking for. I have the I2, C320 and the Nuvi 350. My recommendation is the Nuvi 350 or the Garmin C320. The Nuvi 350 is around $350 from Costco.com if you have a membership and the C320 is around $240-270 from Frys depending if they are having a sale. Menu wise the Nuvi and the C320/330 look the same. The Nuvi has a faster GPS chip so it can lock on to the satellites a lot faster/stronger than the other older Garmin Models. It can route the maps faster. It has text to speech. The Nuvi has a lot of cool features you might or might not care about vs the C320/330 models. It has a .jpg picture viewer if you stick a SD card in the side to view pics, it can play MP3's, and audio books. The Nuvi is real slim. The thickness of a deck of cards. The Nuvi has a lot of cool features like currency and measurement converters, and a calculator. You can also load travel and language guides. It has a better and brighter screen vs the C320/330 model. The garmin's are really easy to use. You can easily hit the detour button if you run into a traffic jam. It will quickly route you around a street if it is jammed or blocked. Both have trip computers. It shows you your current speed, eta and how many miles you drove and how long it took. It tracks moving time, stopping time and total time. It also tracks and save the fastest you ever went on the unit. You can erase/clear the speed out of the trip computer screen. Garmin uses Navteq. I believe the tom-tom doesn't. I think only one model uses Navteq and it's the motorcycle model.

My bro had a Tom-Tom unit. It was a high end $450 model with bluetooth etc.. He hated it. He sold it on craigslist and got the Garmin Nuvi. When it comes to GPS's, I think Garmin is the leader.

I would look at the Garmin's. I think the Tom-Tom's suck. They don't have even have P.O.I. (point of Interest). if you wanted to eat "italian food" while on vacation somewhere you can put it Food--> Italian and the garmin will bring up italian rest in the area. The TOM-TOM doesn't do that. It's not just for food but for any poi that you are looking for. I have the I2, C320 and the Nuvi 350. My recommendation is the Nuvi 350 or the Garmin C320. The Nuvi 350 is around $350 from Costco.com if you have a membership and the C320 is around $240-270 from Frys depending if they are having a sale. Menu wise the Nuvi and the C320/330 look the same. The Nuvi has a faster GPS chip so it can lock on to the satellites a lot faster/stronger than the other older Garmin Models. It can route the maps faster. It has text to speech. The Nuvi has a lot of cool features you might or might not care about vs the C320/330 models. It has a .jpg picture viewer if you stick a SD card in the side to view pics, it can play MP3's, and audio books. The Nuvi is real slim. The thickness of a deck of cards. The Nuvi has a lot of cool features like currency and measurement converters, and a calculator. You can also load travel and language guides. It has a better and brighter screen vs the C320/330 model. The garmin's are really easy to use. You can easily hit the detour button if you run into a traffic jam. It will quickly route you around a street if it is jammed or blocked. Both have trip computers. It shows you your current speed, eta and how many miles you drove and how long it took. It tracks moving time, stopping time and total time. It also tracks and save the fastest you ever went on the unit. You can erase/clear the speed out of the trip computer screen. Garmin uses Navteq. I believe the tom-tom doesn't. I think only one model uses Navteq and it's the motorcycle model.

My bro had a Tom-Tom unit. It was a high end $450 model with bluetooth etc.. He hated it. He sold it on craigslist and got the Garmin Nuvi.


Holy crap....!!!! A real substantive response by Dean! What is wrong with you, Dean? :eek: :eek: :eek:

Holy crap....!!!! A real substantive response by Dean! What is wrong with you, Dean? :eek: :eek: :eek:


Wha hit a sensitive spot.

Very interesting.

The only reason I was thinking about the TomTom One was that they made a point with it not to bother with the frills (pics, mp3, etc.). I really didn't want to pay for extraneous use of memory and sotrage that I would likely never bother with. Magellan has been iffy in my experience before, but the new boxes were reviewed well, so I figured I'd give them the benefit of the doubt, at least during "evaluation."

I've had no firsthand experience with the Garmins, but it's defintely interesting that they use NavTeq. I may well have to look at them again. :ponder


Thanks!

:cool

Holy crap....!!!! A real substantive response by Dean! What is wrong with you, Dean? :eek: :eek: :eek:

I'm on a boring ass All hands Conference call meeting. I'd figure I can do one good post. Out of all the units he listed, they don't touch the Garmin Nuvi 350.

Out of all the units he listed, they don't touch the Garmin Nuvi 350.
Ah, just looked up the review, and recall seeing it yesterday. It may be good, but it comes at a premium: ~900 bucks. That may have been what got it dropped from the short list. :az

Of course, that's still cheaper than the in-dash retrofit. :ponder

I had a Garmin GPS system for hiking, etc. and I absolutely loved it. Not really on point, but I wanted to add to this conversation.

For what it's worth, I looked into this topic two years ago when I had my previous M3 without Nav. Instead of buying a separate Nav system, I opted to get a new M3 with Nav. Maybe you could try that path?

:D

For what it's worth, I looked into this topic two years ago when I had my previous M3 without Nav. Instead of buying a separate Nav system, I opted to get a new M3 with Nav. Maybe you could try that path?
:rofl :rofl :rofl

That conversation has been held already. :biglaughb


If BMW hadn't bunged up the Z4 with their "facelift" I may well have looked into doing just that. :az


:cool

If BMW hadn't bunged up the Z4 with their "facelift" I may well have looked into doing just that. :az



:az :az :az :az

:az :az :az :az

That smilie looks like a windshield wiper smacked his mouth off.

That smilie looks like a windshield wiper smacked his mouth off.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Ah, just looked up the review, and recall seeing it yesterday. It may be good, but it comes at a premium: ~900 bucks. That may have been what got it dropped from the short list. :az

Of course, that's still cheaper than the in-dash retrofit. :ponder

It's not $900. Maybe when it came out a yr or two ago. It's $350 from Costco.com or $398 from walmart.com $399 from amazon.com w/free ship. I am a GPS expert. I make a living at getting lost. I would go with the Garmin and forget the rest. You will not be disappointed. My wife even loves it. It's easy to use. And having the calculator functions come in handy. I use it when I go into Home Depot to figure stuff out when I am buying wood supplies.

:az :az :az :az
Ah, it's all right. I got the first oil report back from Blackstone on it, and I lucked out: The engine is in phenomenal shape. That, and on delivery, it had a new roof put on, inside & out.

Nav gadgetry can be figured out & remedied a lot easier than either of those, so I figure I'll hang onto it. :D

It's not $900. Maybe when it came out a yr or two ago. It's $350 from Costco.com or $398 from walmart.com $399 from amazon.com w/free ship.
Hm. I'll have to double-check the date of Cnet's price listing. :conf That's quite a difference.

EDIT: February of '06. An eternity in the digital age, so that makes sense now.

I am a GPS expert. I make a living at getting lost.
:rofl :rofl :rofl

I had a friend like that. She got lost on the way to her own wedding, I kid you not. :eyecrazy

I would go with the Garmin and forget the rest. You will not be disappointed. My wife even loves it. It's easy to use. And having the calculator functions come in handy. I use it when I go into Home Depot to figure stuff out when I am buying wood supplies.
Cool, I'll have a look at them. :buttrock

So today, armed with feedback from here and elsewhere, I drove my BMW through parts of Georgia to a Circuit City to look at GPS gadgets. As I was standing at the display rack, poking around on various touch screens, running demos, etc. a young woman approached, asking if she could help me (irony forthcoming), or if I had any questions. I mentioned that I was looking at SatNav goodies in the real world, and narrowing down my choices. Lo and behold, she happened to be a rep for TomTom! Complete with logo-embroidered polo shirt, clipboard, and everything.

We discussed the various models of GPS gadgetry, UIs, screen sizes, etc. I noted that the TomTom One is having a hard time looking up my chosen test address, my old office downtown.

"Well," she said reassuringly, "these units have been on display a long time, so it may have been a while since the maps were updated." :)

"Interesting," I said, "considering that the building has been there for the last 60 years." :confused

"Yeah, but these maps may not be up to date," replied the rep.

"The building," I said slowly, "was there before any map of this sort was ever made." :confused


It suddenly dawned on her why this was significant.


"Oh! Uh... um...let's try looking again!" :paranoid:

She punched away at the keyboard, and eventually found an address similar to it, but on the wrong side of the street. She confidently declared victory, and informed me I must have been mistaken about the address where I spent every day of a half-dozen years. :rolleyes


But that wasn't the funniest bit. At one point, while steering me away from a lower-priced model, and expounding on the virtues of the $850 model that has maps of Europe pre-loaded (no less!), I mentioned that I don't particularly care for maps of Europe, and don't know why I would bother with them.


"Oh," she explained, "well, we're a European company, and have been doing nothing but GPS for the last 15 years." :)

"Yes," I said, "I've been doing some reading about these products. You're based in the Netherlands, right?"

"No," she corrected me, "in Amsterdam." :)


:shifty


"Which is..." I said, pausing to give her time.

The rep looked remarkably like this: :ponder


"...in..."


:ponder


"...the..."


:ponder


"...Netherlands." :shifty


Quoth the rep: "Um... okay?" :dunno



:icon15


I haven't yet bought one of the gadgets, but it's always interesting to see what sort of employees various companies hire to represent them.

In other words, a typical day in American retail. :crazya


:cool

In other words, a typical day in American retail. :crazya


:cool

At least you got to have lunch with a beautiful young lady...

:dunno

At least you got to have lunch with a beautiful young lady...
This is true! And my wife didn't even mind! :alright

This is true! And my wife didn't even mind! :alright

You have officially seen my girlfriend more than I have this week...

:(

You have officially seen my girlfriend more than I have this week...
And with her hair blowing around in the spring air, as we zipped along empty side roads in the open-topped Z4, the warm spring sunlight shining off her soft shoulders, wafts of blooming flowers mixing with her perfume... :devillook


Not that I'd torture you or anything. :D

And with her hair blowing around in the spring air, as we zipped along empty side roads in the open-topped Z4, the warm spring sunlight shining off her soft shoulders, wafts of blooming flowers mixing with her perfume... :devillook


Not that I'd torture you or anything. :D

Not funny.

Not funny.
Jealousy isn't cool. :crazya


:D

Wow, Wha! Sounds like an interesting trip to CC!


I say get the one with the Europe maps! You never know when you might make a wrong turn and find yourself in the Dutch countryside...and not know how to get home!


That lady was trying to save your life!!!


jason

Wow, Wha! Sounds like an interesting trip to CC!
Parts of it, yes; other parts, not so much. ;)

I say get the one with the Europe maps! You never know when you might make a wrong turn and find yourself in the Dutch countryside...and not know how to get home!
Hm. You may have a point. Have the opened the US-Eruo expressway yet? :redspot

That lady was trying to save your life!!!
Which lady are we talking about here? :ponder



:D

Which lady are we talking about here? :ponder



:D


Yes! :D

:rofl

Well, the one who worked for TomTom certainly succeded in demonstrating that sometimes, the machines are smarter than people. :freak


As for the second...


Her hazel eyes glinted with the chimes of her laughter, bright enough to shine through the dark lenses of my sunglasses. When she smiled, it was never half-way; always a wide, brilliant display of lips and teeth, living purely in the joy of the moment, relishing her escape from the workday. She was fully alive, absorbing and reflecting the renewal of the lush green grass and and pale pink cherry trees that sped past us in a blur...

:suave





And Bill posts a " :shifty " in 5... 4... 3...


:paranoid:

2....


:paranoid:

:rofl



Fortunately, Bill knows I'm even better at superfluous verbosity than photoshop. :D



Oh crap, he's offline. He's probably on his way over here. :paranoid:

FYI, the Man Code clearly dictates that prior to going to lunch with another man's woman, you acquire consent from such man.

You violated such rule... :nono :nono

There will be consequences.

:rofl

Quite a change of tune from earlier! :ponder



But a "man's woman?" You would reduce women to being treated as property? In this day and age?? Shocking... absolutely shocking. :eek:


Anyway, may it please the Court...


There is a known precedent for exemption from that rule for men with long-standing, secure marital commitments from which they have neither need nor want of release, and a record of gentlemanly conduct in the company of women in general. Women categorize such men as "Safe," and barring marital commitments of their own, Single Women are guaranteed the right to accept, decline, or indeed, even make such platonic invitations of their own accord.

Further, Safe men who participate in such platonic meetings, in public, free of ill intent, and for relatively brief duration, are held harmless from the insecurity of the woman's prospective male companion(s). Indeed, the agreement of the Single Woman can be regarded by the Safe Man as implied and/or prior consent of the prospective male companion(s) with whom she may or may not be involved.


In summary, no intent, no harm, no foul. :wave



(All in good, clean, harmless, platonic fun here!) :D


:cool

I don't see any Safe Men asking me to lunch... :shifty

I don't see any Safe Men asking me to lunch...
Maybe I'm the only Safe Man here. :rofl



(Besides, we've gone to lunch a lot!) :D

Oh, wait...I'm covered by Married Woman Rules. They're different. :az

Gee, must be rough... " :az ?"



;)

Naaah.

Naaah.
;)

Hey.....I got my new(er) GarminC550 yesterday. (from that gps4fun.com place). Amazing how much they do now. This one has bluetooth (but I didnt pair my cell to it yet).....plus the power source (if you choose to use) has a built-in fm receiver that keeps your online maps updated with traffic info.......so, it will suggest a detour.

The touch screen seems to be nice, and I've not found anything I did not like yet about it. (Also like the ability to drag the map around to just point to a map spot and navigate there.

One thing I've heard about the Garmins is that the motion of the screen isn't constant or smooth-scrolling (as with BMW systems, for example), but rather, refreshes with still frames every second or two. Would you say that's an accurate description of the display? :ponder

I looked at the Garmin model they had, but the UI just didn't seem as straighforward as the TomToms (ditzy rep aside). The Garmin, while it had larger keys, didn't seem to read the entries as accurately, while the TomToms, with smaller keys (and a QWERTY layout), never gave me one typo or missed command.

Try as I might, I just didn't come away with a good impression of the Garmin UI. :dunno

FYI, the Man Code clearly dictates that prior to going to lunch with another man's woman, you acquire consent from such man.

You violated such rule... :nono :nono

There will be consequences.

Why is all the responsibility on the man???

:rofl

Quite a change of tune from earlier! :ponder



But a "man's woman?" You would reduce women to being treated as property? In this day and age?? Shocking... absolutely shocking. :eek:


Anyway, may it please the Court...


blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

In summary, no intent, no harm, no foul. :wave



(All in good, clean, harmless, platonic fun here!) :D


:cool

fixed

I don't see any Safe Men asking me to lunch... :shifty

Hey! Wanna do lunch?

It's ok! My wife called DW a "Magical Man"! hehehe

Why is all the responsibility on the man???
It's a testosterone thing...


You wouldn't understand. :devillook


:D

fixed
Yeah, but my version was funnier to lawyer-types. :stickoutt

Hey! Wanna do lunch?
It's ok! My wife called DW a "Magical Man"! hehehe
:lol :lol :lol

Well, so you say... I didn't actually hear her say it. :ponder


Tell her to give me a call, will ya? Thanks. :alright




:rofl

It's a testosterone thing...


You wouldn't understand. :devillook


:D



Here I am trying to help you out...and this is what I get in return??? I honestly do not even know why I try!


Yeah, but my version blah blah blah blah blah blah :stickoutt

Fixed




:lol :lol :lol

Well, so you say... I didn't actually hear her say it. :ponder


Tell her to give me a call, will ya? Thanks. :alright




:rofl


Yeah...I'll get right on that!

:rofl :rofl :rofl :rofl :rofl

:lol

I didnt have any wrong entries at all.......and was actually suprised at the light touch and accuracy. (There is an option, if you hold power-on for 1min that will let you calibrate the screen which a bunch of touch points on it)..... as for the motion you could be right. (and they may have the update modes less on units that have/use batteries because that runs them down quicker).

I know on my older portable boat gps, they specifically said that if you increase the update rate, the battery life goes downwards.

But it does not seem to be a bother or something I notice. (Plus it depends on your zoom range). ALthough I could be just used to it. (Needless to say I'd not spend that much $$$ if it was junk)

One other item on the Garmins, is their support site is excellent. They will email you on unit software upgrades (like DST) or any blips they have corrected over time. Uploads and install are fast.

No matter which you choose....(any other brand)....I do though suggest that gps4fun site for their price and delivery. (Had 4 from them over the past few years). 1 day to here for ground delivery.

If you wanna live-drive, I probably here 2day until 330pm (before a car show) @ 678-521-4643 (Cumming 2miles off X14/GA400)

It's a testosterone thing...


You wouldn't understand. :devillook

:rofl :rofl :rofl

I'm using Tom Tom v6 on my Windows Mobile Phone (T-mobile MDA). It's nice because I usually always carry my phone with me so I can do navigation anywhere no matter what car I'm in. (I didn't want to have the hassle of moving a portable GPS "only" unit from car to car etc etc)

I've looked at all the software for Navigation for Windows Mobile 5, and Tom Tom is hands down the best. I think someone said that Tom Tom doesn't have POI's, but it does. You can look up pretty much anything. I have already downloaded the Traffic Cameras for the Atlanta area and get an alert when one is nearby.

I'm using a $50 Bluetooth GPS. It works great, and I have also used it in other cities when walking (New York or Chicago). The Tom Tom software has a "walking" mode where it disregards one-way streets etc.

If you really wanted to do Navigation on the Cheap, you can also look at Google Maps mobile. It's Free, will run on most phones, and will do GPS navigation. The nice thing that it has is traffic updates. Tom Tom has traffic updates, but it's a monthly fee. Google Maps is free, even for traffic.

Didnt read the whole post but will offer my comments:)

Garmin and then there are the rest trying to get up to the level of Garmin. Check the motorcycle forums and see what is used, as they tend to be diehard GPS users. Garmin is king.

I have owned 4 Garmin units and must say they rock. The latest is the Zumo 550 that I use in my car and on the bike.

While one might think they dont want a GPS with any frills, now that I have used XM and Bluetooth with the Zumo, I could not live without those items on a GPS. The bluetooth basically turns any car into a nice hands free phone system that works quite well. It displays call id info on the screen, allows you to search for a rest. and then dial while in route etc. VERY nice when in a different city and calling ahead for reservations, check crowds, still exist? etc. XM is great since it is XM of course but they also add weather info and forecasts, one can also get traffic for $4 a month but in the Atlanta area it is basically worthless, very slow to update traffic information on the map.

Cant go wrong with the best Garmin you can afford.

Also check out Advernture riders website for more GPS info, lots of useful data on handheld, small units used for bikes etc.

Costco is selling the Garmin 2730 for $499 which comes with the GXM-30 XM antenna which is usually a $200-300 extra on other units. I had that unit until a crack head stole it, worked great and highly recommend. It does NOT have a windshield mount though and in a Z4 that might be an issue.

I would also recommend spending $50-75 on a remote antenna and mount the GPS on the dash or console out of sight, as insurance typically doesnt cover them and they are very popular with crack heads.

Also dont program your exact home address in case it is stolen, crack heads will know where to find you.

Yea..... the one thing I liked about this unit was the traffic updates w/15mths free.......so for the $495 it was complete.

Thanks for the continued comments, folks! :thumbup:

I have to say, I am leaning towards the Garmins for their reputation, the feedback here, and the fact that they use Navteq maps. I recalled the TomTom chick saying they use Navteq also, but I knew they used TeleAtlas. :crazya

My PalmPilot screens always had calibration modes, so I figured there'd have to be something like that for these gadgets as well. The display unit could well have simply been abused half to death. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt on that.


Kaamacat, thanks for your offer. This weekend is pretty full for us, but I may just take you up on that when I have a free day next week, if that's all right.


Thanks again, everybody! :wavey

:cool

Anytime. (And I work from the house so I'm pretty available if needed)...just call anytime...


Bob

Fry's is having a sell today on the 2 Garmin units. The C320 is only $198 and the C330 is $270. You can't beat the C320 for $198. I would jump all over that. The only diff between the two is one has a 128mg SD card and the 330 model has the maps preloaded on its own 1gig internal flash card. You can pick up a 1 gig SD card for $5-10 at Fry's.

Fry's is having a sell today on the 2 Garmin units. The C320 is only $198 and the C330 is $270. You can't beat the C320 for $198. I would jump all over that. The only diff between the two is one has a 128mg SD card and the 330 model has the maps preloaded on its own 1gig internal flash card. You can pick up a 1 gig SD card for $5-10 at Fry's.

Thanks!!! I've been wanting one for a while. I think this might be the deal to get me off my arse.

Dean, you mentioned that the C330 has preloaded maps. Does that mean that the C230 doesn't and how difficult (and $) is it to download?

Thanks!!! I've been wanting one for a while. I think this might be the deal to get me off my arse.

Dean, you mentioned that the C330 has preloaded maps. Does that mean that the C230 doesn't and how difficult (and $) is it to download?

The 320 has the Garmin software on DVD. You just install it and transfer whatever states with the supplied usb cable via the your pc/laptop. The unit is nice. I love it.

The 320 has the Garmin software on DVD. You just install it and transfer whatever states with the supplied usb cable via the your pc/laptop. The unit is nice. I love it.

:buttrock Wife is on the way to pick one up right now!

:buttrock Wife is on the way to pick one up right now!

She just left my house and should be up there shortly. I hate that she is always lost coming over. :(

She just left my house and should be up there shortly. I hate that she is always lost coming over. :(

:lol :lol :lol

She just left my house and should be up there shortly. I hate that she is always lost coming over. :(

We've got a sort of sexual treasure hunt thing we're doing. "Sexually repressed midget" was just scratched off the list. Thanks!

We've got a sort of sexual treasure hunt thing we're doing. "Sexually repressed midget" was just scratched off the list. Thanks!

Poor guy. Your wife is still lying to you.Your wife got the treasure hunt wrong. My penis is the size of a midget. My advice, stop drinking limpy.

Poor guy. Your wife is still lying to you.Your wife got the treasure hunt wrong. My penis is the size of a midget. My advice, stop drinking limpy.


The ultimate showdown: the tall fat guy versus the short fat guy.

:rofl

Sorry to drag this back to the boring topic of GPS systems, but does anyone know somewhere local that would have the Garmin 7200 in stock and/or on display? :ponder

Sorry to drag this back to the boring topic of GPS systems, but does anyone know somewhere local that would have the Garmin 7200 in stock and/or on display? :ponder

Jesus! Do you have bad eyes? That thing is huge. Why in gods name do you want that one? That's
way too big for a windshield on the Z4 and forget the stupid beanbag, unless you got an RV we don't know about. I would try West Marine. They carry a lot of the bigger GPS units for the car and boats. I know there is one on Cobb pkwy next to the Best Buy.

Jesus! Do you have bad eyes? That thing is huge. Why in gods name do you want that one? That's
way too big for a windshield on the Z4 and forget the stupid beanbag, unless you got an RV we don't know about.
:rofl :rofl :rofl :rofl :rofl

LearJet, actually. :suave


:rofl

Nah, I just wanted to see one to compare it to the BMW's ~6" screen. The pics on all the review sites can't give any real sense of scale, so I just wanted to see one in person.

RVs are fun, though. Wouldn't mind having one. :ponder

I would try West Marine. They carry a lot of the bigger GPS units for the car and boats. I know there is one on Cobb pkwy next to the Best Buy.
Cool, thanks. :thumbup:

I'm using Tom Tom v6 on my Windows Mobile Phone (T-mobile MDA). It's nice because I usually always carry my phone with me so I can do navigation anywhere no matter what car I'm in. (I didn't want to have the hassle of moving a portable GPS "only" unit from car to car etc etc)

I've looked at all the software for Navigation for Windows Mobile 5, and Tom Tom is hands down the best. I think someone said that Tom Tom doesn't have POI's, but it does. You can look up pretty much anything. I have already downloaded the Traffic Cameras for the Atlanta area and get an alert when one is nearby.

I'm using a $50 Bluetooth GPS. It works great, and I have also used it in other cities when walking (New York or Chicago). The Tom Tom software has a "walking" mode where it disregards one-way streets etc.

If you really wanted to do Navigation on the Cheap, you can also look at Google Maps mobile. It's Free, will run on most phones, and will do GPS navigation. The nice thing that it has is traffic updates. Tom Tom has traffic updates, but it's a monthly fee. Google Maps is free, even for traffic.
thanks for this info, this is the way I am going to go . . . .

thanks for this info, this is the way I am going to go . . . .

You cant go wrong with this setup, for it's useability and cost. PM me if you have questions...