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Advice on portable dedicated GPS devices?

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superboyac:
Another quote about the ads from the same amazon product page:
this is a compleate rip off i thought i was buying top of the line GPS unit,but no every time i come to a stop they shoot adds at my map.If I want to get rid of it I have to buy a new cable for life time trafic update. On the website of Garmin they talk about life time trafic, but not a word about adds ge I wonder why?? if you want to look at adds on your new gps buy this one and oh by the way the safty camera that comes on some times as a warning is nice but to get them all its extra as well I have waited for two months for the 2360lmt was told all orders have been cancled for at least another month. I remember when garmin was sate of the art now there in the add business as if i cant see enough adds while driving?
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superboyac:
and yet another:
And right on top of the map was a damn Red Lobster ad, hiding the info I needed. Couldn't make it go away, couldn't see my map underneath. Let loose a stream of profanity. Then the light turned green, I began to move, the ad went away and I found I needed to be in another lane, but my moment in traffic to plan the lane change had passed.

Garmin takes the only safe moment to check your map away from you--the moment you are stopped. So the only times you can check your map are when you are in motion and should have your eyes on the road.

Who is the genius that came up with this garbage?

I knew this problem was going to be bad in NYC traffic. But this POS had me steaming before I even entered the city. Inside the Lincoln Tunnel, once again hoping for lane info to get to my hotel, up comes a great big ad, WHILE THE CAR IS IN MOTION, obscuring the directions I paid my $450 plus tax to have. I damn near caused an accident with the "tourist slowdown" needed to find the right lane in time to get there.

Once in the city, this thing was the very definition of useless, with ads obscuring the map every time I was at a standstill and able to look at it. When I realized I was going to be more of a problem to surrounding traffic with this thing than without it, I put it in my suitcase and went to electronics alley and got the cheapest Tom Tom on the shelf--$79.

The Tom Tom outperformed this POS Garmin in every respect. If you must have the latest and greatest advertising-delivery technology, you can bid on mine on ebay.
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superboyac:
OK...I think I found the one for me:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.22369
It's a no-name Chinese 7" device.  So far, I've read that it is great and is very quick and responsive in all ways.  Since it's not a big name, it sounds like it has a lot of ability to tweak and customize to your needs...I love that.  And i love that I'll avoid any of the bullshit these big companies are always trying to pull.

JavaJones:
As I advocated in the other thread, I do think Android is a great option these days, but I don't actually know how well it would work without a data plan. And buying an unlocked Android device is going to run you the same as a nice GPS anyway, so might as well go for the dedicated GPS. I do think the phone option is the way to go though, if you already have a cell phone and are eligible for an upgrade. You gain so much. I use my Android phone for so much more than a phone, and the GPS/nav functionality is awesome.

- Oshyan

Renegade:
I hope this is helpful for you... I've written a bit about some of my own experiences.

TomTom XXL 540S Review

Garmin nüvi

I am currently using the Garmin 3790T. I like it. But, it plots some stupid routes sometimes.

Now, I must say that in retrospect, I was harsh on the TomTom.

The TomTom actually outperforms the Garmin in several areas. Generally, it plots better routes than the Garmin.

Still, the slowness of the TomTom and it's inability to plot some routes and it's confusing interface make it unsuitable for use by itself for me. I find it dangerous in some situations.

Now that I have several months of usage with both the TomTom XXL 540S and the Garmin 3790T, I can say that I think one of the problems is the actual map data. It seems like it's just far inferior to the map data you get in North America. This kind of makes sense as Australia is a smaller market, so I can see less effort being put in there. I would then forgive the TomTom and the Garmin for some of their idiocy in route planning.

In North America, I used 2 GPS devices: an SUV built in model, and a Garmin. Both were spot on in all navigation with good route planning.

I've used a Garmin in Malaysia with free map data. It was difficult to get used to and difficult to use because the map itself and the layout of Kuala Lumpur are simply complete disasters. If you've ever driven in KL, it's a big spaghetti disaster on the highways and freeways. You end up with 5 turn-offs on the left all within 100 m or so (literally), and can't react in time to read the map properly and look where you are going -- you miss your turn and take the wrong one. I don't really blame the Garmin unit for that.

The 3790T is beautiful. You don't even need to look at it. Its voice instructions are solid and you can navigate by them alone pretty much. With the TomTom XXL 540S if you try that, you'll instantaneously get lost. I mean that literally. You'll get lost immediately. If you listen to it, you'll end up turning all the time far before you need to. It instructs you to turn when the turn is 2 km ahead or 1.2 km ahead (depending on your speed).

I'd say go for the 3790T as it's the best unit available right now, and you're unlikely to find anything that performs better. I would however worry about the ads. You may be able to purchase the service to avoid ads. Not sure. (I was SHOCKED to hear that. It's bloody dangerous!)

Anyways, I hope that helps.

I should stop screwing around now and get back to work! :)

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