In-dash GPS units

Windows Mobile and CE 5 are very similar. Have you tried to install it on your CE device?

I would never buy another integrated GPS system in a car. They cost too much and are not very good!

With the portable GPS you can move from car to car and even use them in rental cars on a trip!

That's for sure. Your better off with a hand held gps. That way you can upgrade without bying a new car.

ohwogo nuvi 750

Yeah, I'd def go for a car without the GPS. Garmin upgrades for maps are cheap, car manufacturers want like $300-500 every year for a new map!

Where did you get the chinese gps device from? And it's integrated and not a mobile unit?

In dash unit is large and easy to see. Don't have to take it out when park a the mall.

I recently convoyed with a bunch of company vehicles that had in dash units. I found that the sound levels were too low and more importantly that when any kind of alert or turn was announced that I had to take my eyes off the road to see what was being directed. I MUCH prefer my beanbag unit that I can position as a heads up unit. I will never buy an in dash unless they incorporate a heads up display that is also updatable.

While the average in dash GPS may cost up to 2 grand per vehicle, it also has either a flash card or a nav DVD in the car that needs to be replaced every year if you want to keep the maps up to date.
And dealers sell them which seems the only source unless you get lucky and find a copy of it on eBay.

Although it does have some pro's and cons, I feel it's up to the owner's preferences.

For me, I'd stick to the portable GPS since I switch cars sometimes and use rentals when traveling.
And I like the fact I can keep my portable GPS up to date by downloading updates of new places from here or using the Garmin web updater.

You evidently have never used a good in dash unit...there is no comparison between a good in dash unit and a portable. I have a built in unit in a Lexus and a Garmin 750 for my other car and for vacations. And guess what I just upgraded my Lexus unit for $50 and didn't have to buy a new car. I like my Garmin also but doesn't come close to the built in unit. The built in unit is much more sophisticated and easier to use. Never had to have an update on the built in unit...works perfectly. The Garmin unit has had 13 updates trying to fix issues. Just look at all the problems people are having with the portable units. And I don't have to worry about battery life.

I think it is an individuals preference what they want, but I would never try to persuade someone not to get a built in unit, especially if they have two cars and can afford to have both. My personal opinions of course.

Yes, portable units can't compare. Portable units are very handy, affordable and the major manufacturers do a good job packing them with the right stuff. I loved my Magellan T2200 converted to crossover. That said, it is hard to compare one with in-dash units that have large touch screens, bluetooth, DVD, Satellite radio, i-pod, bla bla bla... I have a Kenwood DNX 8120 that I am very happy with. Bought it for the navigation system (Garmin) and bluetooth. Don't care about the other features. I wouldn't go back to a portable if I had the choice. Again, if you can spring for the bucks, a quality in-dash unit is well worth the investment. By the way, whey I get rid of my Tacoma I will pull the Kenwood out for installation in whatever other car I buy.

Several months ago, I saw something about a TomTom after market in dash unit. I can't find the article again.

Any help would be appreciated.

Now that is a unit I would be interested in!

Thanks

I bought a Chinese aftermarket in dash for my 2009 Jetta TDI. Looks OEM and was $488 shipped.

The GPS runs off a SD card (IGO8) and can be modded to suit your needs for zero cost.

Absolutely, no cost to upgrade maps, custom cars, POI's and other items that I used to have to pay.

Is it a TT unit?

What is the brand name and model number?

Thanks

That sounds good, but color me skeptical. I suppose the "lifetime" map subscription could be included in the price, but $488 seems kinda low to include lifetime maps. Good luck.

I have a DNX8120 and I love it. I bought it to have a nice radio as well - XM Nav, HDRadio, iPod, along with the Garmin and all integrated, able to provide navigation while serving as a handsfree phone while playing your choice of music and the passengers are watching a DVD or iPod video. The DNX9140 also provides navigation voice control and scheduled maintenance reminders. The only other consideration is that DNX9140 supports MSN Direct while the DNX8120 supports only XM Nav. Of course either of these along with the Pioneer units will be quite a bit more expensive than the mobile units. It will only fit in cars with double din openings and if being able to install an aftermarket in-dash is important I would reccomend the opening to be high up on the dash and recessed to minimize washout.

I have a TOMTOM go720 and the Kenwood DNX7100.

The TOTOM has great navigation, its accurate and smoothe, but its really just a nav unit. It has handsfree capability, but its average.

The DNX on the otherhand, is a great sound system, fantastic handsfree, and a huge display. BUT the nav is to say the best average, and mapupdates are really expensive and very late to market.

So if you're just looking for great nav, go mobile. But if you want something more out of the unit, go indash

I have a Chinese aftermarket in-dash for my wife's 2010 Toyota Corolla. The GPS is a SD card (Route66) but it too complicated for her I am her GPS technical support and it's driving up the wall. I am wondering how good id the IGO and where can I get one. Ideally for me would be to get Garmin to work in the in-dash which runs off of windows CE5. Any recommendations for substitute the R66?

I have a 09 Escalade w/nav. My 2 1/2 year old TomTom 720 outperforms the onboard unit in every category that I can think of.

Don't mean to be cruel but think about it....it is a Cadillac Escalade made by General Motors...Must really be a pretty lousy GPS system...Next time try a Lexus...

Mine controls navigation, my music, bluetooth etc. By the way, you can see the navigation on the windshield if you want to. But most importantly, I do not have to move it, hide it or carry it with me.

My in-dash Infiniti unit is connected with the stereo, bluetooth, and is nicely integrated. But it's way more 'dumb' with expensive dvd upgrades compared to my Garmin, which has many more configurable options and hundreds of custom pre-built POIs to download and install. I have a built-in dock for my Garmin in my truck, but can still take it on the road when traveling in rental cars.

IT IS a pretty lousy, very basic system.
BTW, I dumped a Lexus for the Escalade. The Lexus' quality doesn't come close to the Escalade.

My GO 720 does all of the above & more. Moving it is a small price to pay for the many features.

Exactly my point.

In dash, at first blush make look good...but when you look at closer...not so much.
Things included with a new car have always been WAAAAYY overpriced.
Things like gps and cd players..dvd screens can easily be had in the aftermarket for 1/3 of the cost and often of better quality.
I havent met a cheaper after market stereo system that hasnt blown away any factory install.

In terms of Geepussuss? Past factory installs can run up to and over a grand..easily.
And the quality certainly doesnt match the price.
They rarely, if ever, include the easy upgrades, and user-added goodies. Ya think you'll be able to easily add your own icons, voice prompts or even POI's in an easy way?..if at all?
Upgrade costs are always more expensive as well.

Performance? Has anybody found a factory installed GPS system for any car matching the abilities and routing engine of the garmins? (perhaps aside from one person mentioning lexus?)
I havent. (I've only encountered two..both owners said they sucked and they use portables.)

And finally? A portable GPS is...well PORTABLE. Take it with you..slap it in your other car..a friends car..take it on a hike.

What "I" see in Nuvi's is a portable device thats the fraction of the cost of a factory installed unit, includes more options, better performance, and is not nailed into the dashboard.

Imagine the 'fun' when that factory unit dies. There's a huge dent in your wallet.
A portable NUVI? Just buy another one. And when you do, odds are you'll be getting more features and goodies.

Bluetooth hands free? My car(s) dont include an aux connector. But that was easily remedied with a GM-AUX9 unit. Its built for the monsoon systems I have(in both cars), and controllable thru the steering wheel controls. Its far from a 'hack'. Its actually very clean.
With my 660 I have hands free and it pumps thru the car's stereo. It works very well too.

Thats my take on factory gps's vs portable units.

So...for me anyway, I have no intentions of ever buying an overpriced factory GPS built into a car.

I made a simple and cheap mount for my bicycle using a few pieces of plywood, cut to match my NUVI plus a couple of hose clamps. Couldn't do that with an in dash unit.

Also try using an in dash in pedestrian mode.

I guess that is why Lexus has been rated the number one car for quality the last 10 years...

Lexus is just an overpriced toyota....

Ask anyone other than yourself if they would want a Cadillac or a Lexus and see what the answer is you get. The average age for Cadillac and Buick owners is over 60...

Garmin, Tom Tom, etc. are far better than any in-dash GPS bar none. The portables are much more "user friendly" that the in-dash models. As far as I know, the in-dash ones disable many functions unless the car is in park, or shut off while the portables allow user adjustments whenever you want. I know, this is a "safety feature" to prevent drivers from being distracted, but what are you to do if you have a passenger? Doesn't matter as you are out of luck unless you pull over. I have both, and basically leave the in-dash one alone in favor of my Garmin. (also as already pointed out, you get many more add-on features with the portables.... Just my two cents...)
Besides, what is wrong with being over 60 and driving a Cadillac? I do on a regular basis, so..... And yes, Lexus is just a high priced Toyota that begins with the letter "L"...LOL

I have a friend who recently bought a Lexus ES350 with built-in GPS. We spent a week with him in LA back in June and we were in his car much of the time. The unit appeared to be fairly easy to use and very accurate. The traffic function really impressed me. Much more detailed and accurate than the free traffic services Garmin offers. Of course the proof will come when his maps get old and he tries to update the unit. My guess is it will be pretty expensive. I took my 1390T along because of the pedestrian mode and the CityXplorer map of LA. On occasion, it would take him a little time to enter data into his unit. I got it into the Nuvi much faster and in every case where we were both searching for the same place, the Nuvi found it faster than the built-in unit. I recently bought a brand new Ford Taurus and declined the GPS option. After the trip to LA, I'm convinced the Garmin Nuvis are the better choice and much less expensive.

The Kenwood in dash units use the Garmin interface for both navigation and traffic providers and have more features and functions plus the same simple operation of the newest Nuvi models.

I have one in my Vette and love it and really like the 7" touch screen. Believe me bigger is better.

You update the Garmin firmware that is down-loadable from the Garmin site, custom POI's from this site and maps using s SD card instead of a direct connection to the computer. I love the unit and navigation prompts are very clear because they come through the car audio system. It operates faster and acquires sats faster than any hand held unit I have owned. What I really like is it is always ready to go with no messing with mounting and cords.

I have the new 295w for when I need a portable for use in another car or a walk around unit. That unit also gives me Wi-Fi, email, web browsing and live Google search so between the two units I have the best features of both types always available. The 295w cost me less than $150 dollars total and is a high quality unit with a lot of very nice features.

The GPS in my Mercedes SLK works fine, but it cost $2200 initially and the DVD upgrade disks are $495 each. Compare this with a few hundred for my Garmin and the lifetime map updates. 'nuff said.

There is no way you can compare the quality and workability of a portable unit to a good built in unit. I am sorry but let's be realistic about this. Of course you can carry around the portable and not the built in unit... duh!!!!...They both have their places in the market...I wouldn't have a new luxury car with wires, holders, mounts on my windshield, having to take it out every time I parked, etc. etc etc. My in dash unit works great and so does my portable....like them both...

Sounds like you are getting ripped off...my Lexus disc is $199 retail and you can get them for a little over $100...I update mine every couple years and am happy as a lark...Most will say updating every quarter is a waste of time and effort but my 1490T has lifetime map updates also.

But Kenwood/Garmin doesn't really qualify as a factory unit. This is aftermarket, right? I've seen some really cool units sold for dash installation, and I'll pick any of them over a factory _overpriced_ unit. Good to know about your unit, care to share the model?
Besides the Lexus owner above, I haven't heard anyone I know talk good about the factory installed units. They all start describing them with "expensive"...

I have a Kenwood DNX 6960 in my Mustang. It's terrific. The Garmin interface is nearly the same as my Nuvi 755T. I wouldn't want to trade the Kenwood for a factory in-dash unit. Aftermarket is the way to go. Bluetooth for my phone, and complete iPod control is great, too.

One of the things I like most about the Kenwood over a portable unit is the fact that the music on the unit is muted whenever navigation instructions are given. Sometimes when we're using my wife's car with the portable, it's easy to miss what the navigation unit is telling me if we're playing music.

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!!! Sure they are expensive but do you think they have all the problems that are discussed on this website.

The Kenwood units are definitely a "In-dash GPS units" as the OP titled this thread so they would qualify. They offer a wide variety of in dash units in both single and double din so will fit nearly any car. If you go to Kenwood's web site you can see all the models, features and even download the owner's manuals if you want to.

They are way cheaper than a factory nav system and far superior. They offer additional options such as bluetooth, back up camera, sat radio, HD radio and mine plays DVD movies, jpg photos and has a USB connection that I plug a 4GB thumb drive into and that gives me a 100+ disc CD changer capability.

Let's see here. $2000-$2200 for a very basic in-dash unit, and $200 for a portable with many features not included in the in-dash. One of the big draws to POI Factory are the weekly updates to the speed & redlight camera files. How do you load them into your in-dash unit?? Seems like a no-brainer to me.

First of all I have one of each and the other thing is if someone wants to pay $2000 for a built in unit...big deal...Personally I don't need to load red light camera files period. Don't even load them in my Garmin. Why do you need something to tell you there is a redlight camera? There are signs blocks ahead about them. And how many times do you need to be advised of the same cameras over and over again? Pay attention and don't run red lights and you won't have a problem. Boy do you need to be shown how a good built in unit works...Sorry I like my Garmin but love my indash unit...Never have to worry about bugs, fixes, batteries, cords, mounts, theft, forgetting it, losing it,etc. etc. etc. Both have their places in our world and to each his own...

I know quite well how both a limited feature in-dash & full feature portable work.

I can certainly agree with your last statement above.

Have a great weekend.

Did someone mention backup cameras work better with an in dash built in GPS system?

One of the major reasons I would buy a built in dash GPS is so I could get the backup camera (a great feature to have).

Please explain to me what you mean --- "limited in-dash feature".My built in unit has all the features my 1490T has except for the traffic feature which I deem useless...plus several more...

You have a nice weekend also...

Thats why I like my flip up tray in my Frontier. Best of both worlds, built in and pop out to take the 750 with you if you want.

Anyone know of this?

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks

I have to STRONGLY Disagree with you here. I'm not going to get into the whole Lexus vs Cadillac debate, Lexus would kill Caddy hands down, but that's not what we are talking about here... anyways...

I've got a 2009 RX350 and the built in GPS is OK at best. That's why I use my Nuvi AS WELL as my onboard GPS Unit. If I were to divide up 100% of the features, and perks, it would add up to be about Garmin 80% and Lexus 20%. Having both came in really handy last week when I traveled from Toronto to DC and back. If I had to pick 1 unit, I'd keep the Garmin.

My $0.02 Canadian.

By the way that is an old post. Since then I have gotten a 1490T. What features does your Garmin have the Lexus doesn't have...My Lexus unit has all the features except Traffic which I don't use anyway plus others...It had all of the features four years ago that Garmin is just now coming out with. I am not questioning the Garmin units as being good...all I am saying is when I drive the Lexus I don't need the Garmin for any reason...I would say if you need the Garmin when driving your Lexus take it with you...I don't like using all the mounts and cables if I don't have to...The Garmin works great in my Subaru Forester and rental cars...

I must have missed the first part, but you are right.

I like my Garmin so, from your comment, i guess Kenwood is the way to go since it has a Garmin interface. I like the fact that they mute the music when they are giving directions. Can you add custom POIs and vehicles? (update maps, etc)