Recommendation for a friend.

For only $15 more ($179.99), he could go with the nuvi 755T. This would give him the capability to plan, optimize and save multipoint routes which might be handy in this application.

There are so many models of the Garmin Nuvi line to recommend. However, I would suggest the Garmin Nuvi 255W. It is a wide screen format and will have the latest maps installed or available to download. If he does not need to plan specific routes then this model will be a good affordable choice. I know you will many other suggestions.

http://reviews.cnet.com/car-gps-navigation/garmin-nuvi-255w/...

I second that. It's packed with features, including multiple (up to 10) routes.

You indicated that he will be using the gps in a rural area. So before he spends any money he should check the maps online to ensure there is full coverage in the area. www.navteq.com

As far as a recommended unit, he can just pick up a 255 for around $100.

I have the 765T because I wanted and use the mp3 player

but for this use, you won't need that

and even if the routing and optimization feature does not immediately seem to be of great value, once some experience is gained and it is fully utilized, it is a great feature for now or in the future.

Jim8650 ... not sure if it is what you meant, but your post makes it sound like the 755T doesn't have MP3 while the 765T does. That is not correct. All the 7x5T models have the MP3 media player. The only difference between the 755T and 765T is the Bluetooth feature on the 765T.

i agree about the 255w for price/value.bang for the buck.
mike

Many thanks to all of you. I have passed all your suggestions along. That 255W does indeed seem like an extremely reasonable choice indeed!

I was indeed incorrect in my recollection

Check out Amazon.com they had the 855 for under $200.00 with free shipping.

jck4550 noted in his post that:

If he does not need to plan specific routes then this model will be a good affordable choice. I know you will many other suggestions.

GPS terminology continues to elude me. To me PLANNING a route would mean to plan a route from point a to point b to point c and so forth. Am I correct here?

I know my Nuvi 650 will not allow me to do this. I would have to enter the addresses to which I wanted to drive as Favorites, then drive to #1, make my stop, then go to Where To > Favorites > and tap on my next saved Favorite and so on.

Do I have this straight?

Thanks.

Speed3, your understanding of multipoint routing is basically correct. Note that most of the newer nuvi's allow multipoint routing by inserting multiple via points between your start and stop. However, the lower end models (2xx, 12xx, 13xx) do not allow you to save the route and recall it later, reorder and optimize the via points, etc. The higher end nuvi's (465, 5xx, 7xx, 8xx, 14xx, 1690, 5000) allow you to create or import up to 10 routes and save them. You can then select a saved route from the Where To menu, edit, optimize and recalculate, etc.

Thats pretty much it.You could also make a custom poi file for all your stops and put in a subfolder and call it for example Cross Country Trip.Still would have to do one at a time.The advantage would be when you touch on that category it would display up to the 50 closest to you.I set up a vacation plan for this summer using this method.

Some models you can also do category with favorites and get the same results as the custom poi with subfolder.

If your friend has street addresses of each Census location, he can add 1,000 addresses at a time to http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/geocoder/ and get the geo coordinates to create a POI file.

If your friend does not have street addresses of each Census location, he can post a request at http://www.poi-factory.com/node/14024 (what poi's would you like to see on here.) and request a POI be developed for his rural area of Georgia. It might be possible to get the GEO coordinates of many of the homes in the area via Google Satellite view. I'd be happy to help out.

If you post the rural area of Georgia where he plans to do the census and how he plans to use the GPS to do that, I can check my Garmin 350 to see what kind of map it has for that area and whether it might be usable for the type of work for which he wants this unit (

Power restored after the snowstorm and back online

Many thanks for the three responses to my post about my less-than-perfect grasp of GPS terminology and for the suggestions contained in those answers.

All very helpful and I'll pass the along to my pal.

thanks guys. found this thread VERY useful