Garmin Street Pilot 2720 – The cost of avoiding traffic jams

Garmin made a big splash recently when they unveiled the Street Pilot 2720, which has an option to link to a satellite network that monitors traffic in major metropolitan areas around the U.S. This all comes with quite a price though. The Street Pilot 2720 retails for around $1184.60 (how does Garmin come up with such weird pricing anyway?), though Amazon currently has it discounted to $999.99. But the optional traffic services require a special FM receiver that runs another $200 or so. Then you get hit with subscription fees – no word yet on how much that costs. But time is money, and I suppose there are plenty of people willing to pay the price. The list of cities/regions where these traffic services are availlable can be found here (scroll down).

The Garmin folks showed me the 2720 at Outdoor Retailer, and it is pretty cool. It color codes traffic conditions, and suggests alternative routes when a traffic jam lies ahead. In addition to voice prompts, the text-to-speech feature allows the unit to announce upcoming street names and points of interest. Garmin’s City Navigator North America software comes pre-loaded. This looks like an excellent unit, but it is way out of my price range. I’ll stick with my trusty combo – a Garmin GPSmap 60CS, windshield suction mount, power adapter, and City Select software. I suggest trying to find the more current City Select version 7  though, should you wish to replicate this setup.

This combo works great for me. I’m out this week promoting my book, GPS Mapping – Make Your Own Maps, and my GPS is guiding me at every turn along the way.