GPS reviews, news, tips, tricks and deals
UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For current recommendations, please refer to our auto GPS buyers guide or check out our other Magellan auto GPS reviews.
The Magellan RoadMate 3000T
3050T adds Magellan TrafficKit™ (available as an add-on to the 3000T), which provides live traffic incident reports. A subscription is required, of course.
Strategy Analytics has released a report entitled "Portable Navigation: Vendors Face Consolidation and Automotive Fightback." Electronic News has an article on this report about the GPS marketplace that says:
"The firm concludes that investment and competitive pressures are also expected to drive consolidation among portable navigation vendors in the next 12 months."
All Points Blog’s read on the report is that cell phones are going to eat into market share for portable/personal navigation device (PND) manufacturers.
UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For current recommendations, please refer to our TomTom comparison chart.
The TomTom GO 510
Firmware is software that is embedded in hardware. You can update your firmware in most GPS receivers. Firmware updates are frequently issued by the manufacturer to fix bugs and add new capabilities to your unit. For example, here is the change history for the Garmin 60CSx.
I recommend that you always install the most recent non-beta firmware upgrade. Garmin has made the whole process a little easier recently with their WebUpdater feature.
Here are lists of current firmware versions for Garmin and Magellan GPS receivers.
Technorati tags: GPS
Last updated November 23, 2009
In my last post, we looked at automotive GPS receivers. This posts looks at several categories of handhelds, from entry-level models to the cadillacs of the backcountry. I'll make a recommendation in each category, based upon value, feature set and user reviews.
A few caveats first…
Budget handheld GPS receivers
Our choice: Garmin eTrex Venture HC
Other budget units
Last updated November 17, 2009
Quite often, I am asked to recommend a GPS receiver. The answer typically is, it depends — primarily upon the price you can pay and the features you want. So here is an auto GPS buyers guide that runs the gamut, identifying some key features along the way. I'll make a recommendation in each price category, based upon value, feature set and user reviews.
A few notes first:
Budget auto GPS receivers
Our choice:
The Garmin nuvi 200 has maps of the entire U.S., except for Alaska. Like all the nuvis, the 200 has around 6 million points of interest (POIs).
The nuvi 200's retail price is $399.99, but as of this posting it can be found for around $130. Prices are quite variable though, and it’s worth looking at other low end models, such as the ones below. As I’m writing this, the nuvi 250 is available for around $125.
Alternative recommendations:
NOTE: The three budget units listed above have all been discontinued, but will remain fully supported by Garmin. They are great units and I’m very comfortable continuing to recommend them to folks looking for a deal.
UPDATE: Most of the several generations old StreetPilot series, including this model, has been discontinued. For a more current recommendation, check out our Auto GPS buyers guide or go straight to our Garmin nuvi comparison chart.
The Garmin StreetPilot c550
UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For current recommendations, please refer to our auto GPS buyers guide.
Hot on the heels of the announcement of the newest StreetPilot, comes a full Garmin 2820 review
"The easiest way to describe this GPSR would be to say that it is the most competent motorcycle navigator I have ever used.
It is the same form factor as the previous 2xxx series Garmin GPSRs, which means it fits right into the Garmin Motorcycle Bracket, and uses the same power cable and other accessories as all the other 2xxx GPSRs. There are two slight differences with the accessories – the remote control is the newer version (same as the 27xx series), and the 12 volt adapter with the built-in speaker – the one you would use in a car, not on a moto – is also the same newer one with the more sophisticated speaker that was first introduced with the 27xx series. The 27xx and 28xx both feature true ‘text to speech’ – meaning, they pronounce the full street names – and that requires a higher fidelity speaker. The older remote from the 25xx series will work with the newer 27xx and 28xx products, but it doesn’t give you all the control that the new remote does.
The big improvement: A fully integrated Bluetooth system. You can pair your cell phone up to it, and also pair a Bluetooth headset (for example, a BMW System V helmet with the WCS 1 Bluetooth system – see the write-up about it here: BMW System V Helmet with WCS-1 Bluetooth Communication System), and voila, you have directional guidance in your helmet, radar camera audible warning in your helmet, phone audio in your helmet, and full control of your phone, including your phone directory, caller ID, even a reminder of phone battery life remaining on the screen of the GPSR.
If you get bored with all that, you can listen to music using the built in MP3 player, although the quality of the music is not the greatest when you are listening to it via the BMW helmet system. But… the 2820 comes with an audio in connector (and a tiny little clip-on microphone, for use in a car) and an audio out connector. I connected the audio out from 2820 to the 12 channel, 270 watt sound system in my Volkswagen Phaeton, and I was pretty happy with the music quality. Installing a 12 channel sound system in a helmet might take a bit of work, though…
Pairing up phones and headsets with the GPSR is very simple. You put the external device into ‘discoverable’ mode, then tell the GPSR to start looking. Once you have paired a device up, the GPSR automatically recognizes it and hooks up to it every time you go riding in the future – no further actions, button pressing, or attention is needed – it’s that simple. I could talk on the phone via my helmet in a parking lot, as long as I stayed within about 25 feet of the motorcycle. However – this is thoughtful – there is a touchscreen control that allows you to transfer the call from your helmet (or other headset) back to your phone, just in case you get off the moto and want to keep talking as you walk into the office, your home, a restaurant, etc.
Satellite acquisition is very fast, and the GPSR appears to keep a lock on the satellite constellation much better than previous models did. I have done about 1,800 kilometers of riding in the past week – Zurich to Dresden to Wolfsburg and back – and I never saw the ‘Lost Satellite Reception’ message, except for when I was in tunnels."
GPS Information.net has some excellent new pages up on various GPS maps of Mexico. They include a great page on DRG’s that can be used with OziExplorer. A 1:50,000 scale topo map image from that page is shown at left. They also show examples of Baja Expeditioner maps, which are compatible with Garmin GPS units. Finally, the articles also compare BiciMapas Mexico Atlas maps with Garmin City Select Mexico NT maps (available from Amazon
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