price of electronics seems to be going up

I don't believe the price increases are indications of inflation especially given the jobs situation. High unemployment can be deflationary.

The dollar has been weak and that can contribute to the cost increase. The three Garmin devices I have were made in Taiwan not PRC so that may be a contributing factor.

I did notice that the 765T is selling on Amazon.com for $205. This is higher than it was earlier in the spring.

I was about to buy the 780 at $169 when the price skyrocketed. Those are no longer produced, so I figured that maybe supply is low, causing price to go higher. Anyway, the higher price and the reports of problems with Garmins convinced me to keep using my old nuvi 200, which works. I wanted the 780 or 760 because of reports that they are more reliable than the newer units, like the 765.

Obamanomics
You could always get a government union job repairing speed cameras

Well you might think the prices are going up but for gps market they are likely trying to find that price where they can start making money again -- my first street pilot was well over $1000 - I paid about $600 for my 770 and now the 770 replacement is about $300 - the distressing thing about this trend is the removal of functions -

I am looking to replace my 770 now and for what I want I will likely be looking at the 3790T and then add the European Map set - I am disappointed that Garmin has elected to remove the external antenna jack - it really degrades the accuracy - especially in the midst of high rise buildings.

I have done some checking with other vendors but Garmin seems to have the only units that come close to my needs -

It seems the price of just about everything is going up, so the cost of electronics is hardly a big concern.

I'd be more upset if the cost of map updates goes up, really.

I'm not familiar with either unit, so I'm curious as to what features they have that current models don't.

You also say the 770's replacement is half the price. Are there any units that have the same feature set at any price?

it has monthly fee but it is cheaper compared to standalone device.

Spring has navigator included in the package, you may have it in your package already, if not, it should cost about a dollar to add it to your package.

ATT navigator is more expensive, $9.99 per month. but compare to Garmin, it is still cheap.

I believe both navigators are actually from TeleNav, though I have not spend time to confirm it.

in my opinion,
ATT navigator can only compare entry level GPSr carried in my local CVS store, priced $99.

No customized POI.

Supply and demand.

It's surprising that the units are going up, considering the proliferation of smartphones that come with GPS capabilities now...

The price rising on discontinued electronics happens all the time.

When the big sellers that normally carried the item and have priced it aggressively no longer carry the item that just leaves the remaining smaller sources. They still may have discontinued items in stock and cannot price as low because of their lower volume. They know if you want to buy a new but discontinued item you have fewer options.

we'll see how the consumer reponds to this trend. As the old saying goes, "Money Talks".