Best bang for the buck

Also, can I use the current 2008 update disk to upgrade the new unit when I get it?

I got the nuvi 200 last month for under $200 on-line. It came with 2008 the map. I'm happy with it.

nuvi 360

Any reasons why this is the best unit?

I had a nuvi200, but returned it for a nuvi200w
due to my vision and also I wanted TTS but that was in the nuvi260.

Well I managed to get the new nuvi260W at Circuit city. (wide & tts) They are the only ones apparantly carrying this unit in the Houston area. It does NOT show in their web site either. Will have to physically check out stores, or call them, if interested.
Sells for $399 - but I am sure it will begin going on sale after market gets flooded.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H49LXQ/

It has bluetooth, traffic receiver and TTS. This deal will not last!

I am new here and love all the help so I feel that I should share the info that helped me. I just ordered the Nuvi 250W because I needed to keep the cost down. I have a friend that has the Nuvi 660 and it has a lot of bells and whistles that I can live without. I found a link to a gps review and it told that the Nuvi 200 family has the same map and satellite reciever that the higher end Nuvi has. Here is the link, hope it helps.

http://www.gpsmagazine.com/2007/04/garmin_nuvi_250_indepth_r...

But those are the items I said I don't need...lol.

Great deal, though.

Was hoping to get more input on this. Sorry for asking.

Garmin 360 for 259
Garmin 650 agan for 299..Both great Deals on Great GPS

no frills just straight up directions and loud enough speakers for my folks to hear

Regards, Ted

For me (and more critically, my wife who laughs at my love for toys), text to speech is critical. But obviously not for others. I need both European and US maps, but others do not. Since the Nuvi engines are pretty similar, it was fairly easy to go to a variety of websites to figure out which models are acceptable, and then go to a price searching site to get comparative costs. I have no real idea how to choose between Tom Tom and Garmin, but choosing between nuvi models is pretty easy. For me it was 370 vs 770, and issue was size of my shirt pocket, size of my wallet and amount of scorn I was willing to tolerate from my wife (who is really very nice!). Neal

1) Do you know of a good comparsion website with a list of nuvi's (or Garmins) on one side and a list of features on top with dots indicating which GPS's have which features? I saw a site like that once but now can't find it.

2) Do the wide screen models have a larger font size?

The garmin site has quite good comparison tools. I also liked gpsnow. I am sure others have other sites they like.

Screen size is one of those things you have to look at. You pay a bunch for the bigger screen, and it is bigger (and eats more battery). But I use my nuvi handheld a lot, these would be uninteresting issues for car use, where readability might be more critical.

So no best bang for the buck, only best bang for you and your buck.

Neal

Here's where I got my Nuvi 260, best TTS price around at $247 with free (and fast) shipping at actiongps:

http://www.actiongps.com/Shop/Control/Product/fp/SFV/32430/v...

If size is what really matters, yes a nuvi, it a better screen and better sound, get a street pilot. I have had both. I like the basics of the SP, but I love the size of the nuvi and all the little extra (which you don't care about) stuff you get. THat is why I went with the nuvi finally.

I'm real happy with my 200W. You can get them online in the low $220's delivered.

If you don't use bluetooth, save the extra $50-$100 and get the nuvi350.

The nuvi 650 at Costco.com for $300 (from Feb 11th until March 9th) looks like a real good deal - all the features of the 350 plus wide screen. Just got the 200W from Costco.com - like it but am really tempted to return it and get the 650 for the TTS, MP3 and some other features.
I did find one site that says the 650 is discontinued as of Jan 2008 - anyone know the truth in that. Still listed on the Garmin site and don't see that comment at any other site.

If bluetooth isn't needed, go for Nüvi 350. It supports TTS.

Bought a Nuvi 350 and love it. It does not have some of the bells and whistles of others, but it is fast, it it about as accurate as they come and it is the right size to put on a dash.

Plus it runs on battery so you can carry it in your pocket... which I do sometimes and listen to my tunes.

If you are into used, I saw a nuvi 350 go for $210 on ebay a couple of weeks ago. I almost bid on it even though I have one.

I purchased my C530 in January 2008 for $200. It came with the April 2006 map release; the update to 2008 NA NT costs $70 on the Garmin site. Total investment for GPS w/ current map data: $270.

I think Tom Tom offers units that allow you to update / share for free, for latest street names and corrections. On retrospect, I should have bought a Tom Tom One 3rd for my purposes for under $200.

nuvi 350 if you dont need bluetooth. nuvi 350 if you need blue tooth as well as the bluetooth sucks in the 360. Get a jawbone with your 350 if you need bluetooth!

Nuvi 360 has bluetooth, nuvi 350 does not. But those extras sure come in handy.