MSN Traffic Service vs Free Traffic Service & Auto or Manual Route?

The actual coverage available in YOUR area determines the joy of MSN vs Navteq. So if you're interested in the best Charlotte traffic provider, you'd need to get Charlotte-area user feedback.

Automatic re-routing to avoid slow traffic, incidents or road closures is set in your navigation avoidance preferences (avoid=traffic will auto re-route)

Only models in the 7x5, 8x5 1300 and 1400 series have lane assist. The 255W and 265WT do not.

The lane assist on the 885T works wonderfully.
Concerning the traffic, It is dependent on how fast the info is reported. Different scenarios for areas.
I find that most times the traffic will warn me a couple of miles ahead of a tie up, while at other times if there is an accident, one would not expect the service to download that info right away.
By the way, I have MSN Direct, and the added features combined lead me to believe it is worth paying the lifetime price once my trial period is over, in spite of the fact that MSN is not guarrenteed after 2012.

The MSN One-Time Payment Plan is guaranteed until January 1, 2014. See http://www.msndirect.com/pricing.aspx

Thanks!!! Great Info

What is free traffic? I have a 750 and it can get traffic but I thought you had to pay for all of it.
Where do you get the free traffic?

Thanks!!

Looks like they added One year, because they only guarantee till the last day of 2013. I know it's only a day different from the prior post, however this looks more realistic.

Does that mean the lifetime traffic will not be lifetime after all?

Jeff

"Lifetime" in anything electronics related means less than a year. With new technology being created at an incredible pace, a year is even pushing the envelope!

Where do you get free traffic service? Didn't know it was offered.

I have a 765T, and ads pop up on screen

but they are not a problem at all

they are very small, do not obstruct your view of much of the map at all, and they only pop up if you have been stopped for 10 seconds...they do not appear while you are moving

I take it it is not something offered on the 750.

Thanks

Ther "Free" traffic is offered on the newest nuvi models and have a "t" at the end of the model number.

ie: 765t, 775t etc. And it's the model which use the FM traffic receiver ( GTM20 ). The model which use the MSN receiver ( GDB50 ) have a 3 month trial of the MSN service, after which you have to pay for it either annually or you can buy a MSN Lifetime sub for $130.

The "free" traffic is ad supported meaning that the unit will sometimes show a very small advertisement on the screen which disappeares as soon as you start moving. Most have said it is very unobtrusive.

If you have an older nuvi, you can purchase a GTM20 WITH the "free" traffic for around $90.

Or, if you already have a FM Traffic receiver with your unit, you can purchase a Lifetime Traffic sub for around $60 and it will not have the advertisements which pop up.

Just be sure to check with Garmin to verify it's compatible with that receiver.

I checked and my 750 uses FM. Do I understand you that the GTM20 cable is all I need to get traffic? The traffic is included with the cable?

Yes, I just bought one a month ago for my 750, it is a replacement for the stock 12v power cord, the receiver and antenna are built into the cable assy. Be sure you have run WebUpdater to have all the latest fixes on your 750 and the GTM20 is basically a Plug 'n Play affair. It just shows up and a traffic icon appears in the menu page. You may have to lay the cable out across the dash to get good reception in some areas. You can buy the cable with either the NAVTEQ or the Clear Channel FM lifetime service and then you can optionally add the other FM service at any time (you can have both on the GTM20). Sorry if this complicates things, but if you search other threads for GTM20 you will see that some areas have better service from one or the other provider. If you choose to have both FM providers, it is my understanding that as you enter an area with service from both, it will lock onto the 1st provider it sees and you don't have a choice as to which to use in that area.

The 750 is capable of using either FM (GTM20 receiver) or MSN (GDB50 receiver).

Which traffic service has the best coverage depends on where you're living. I'd suggest searching the forum for comments from other Dallas/Fort Worth users.

With a nuvi 750 and a GTM20 traffic receiver, all you'll need is a lifetime subscription. Assuming you're in the US, the North American subscription will either be $50 or $60:

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=268

I bought my GTM20 on eBay for a tiny fraction of its MSRP.

Y'all are all great. Thanks for all the information.

The extra data presented by the MSN Direct service is useful, especially the gas prices. The area of coverage was large, and similar to the Total Traffic Network (TTN). People have said that MSN Direct uses different subchannels, but the same FM stations as TTN.

On startup, the GDB 50 took a very long time (many minutes) to refill its data. If you don't use it every day, the auxiliary data gets stale. I eventually purchased a higher quality AC to 12V charger for plugging in the GDB50 inside my office when it was not being used in the car so that it could continue acquiring data. Otherwise I would be almost home before the first traffic data showed up. I couldn't use a cheap $4 switching AC to 12V converter as it interfered with the FM signal. [The cheap charger worked fine with a GTM 20].

Supposedly the GDB 50's internal battery will keep the unit active for 3 days, even when not powered up. But if you put it out of sight in a glove box or car trunk, the receiver can't get any signal.

In general I gave up on the MSN Direct and found the TTN (with GTM 20) to be much more useful.