Assuming that my Tom Tom is going to be declared obsolete in this thread:-
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...a-or-nay-62779

I am looking at the Garmin range of GPS. It seems to be extensive with loads of products that have lots of features.
As one example, I have been looking at the Garmin Oregon 200 handheld,
Garmin Oregon 200 Handheld GPS: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

and its' limitations appear to be -
1. No external power supply, running from AA batteries.
2. Battery life from the reviews is far less than claimed by the manuf.
3. No "speaker" capability i.e. it doesn't tell you what to do at road junctions etc if used as a SatNav- not a big deal in my view, but what do others make of this limitation?

Fully realising that this is a very open-ended question (that could well be a good subject for a poll if anyone could be bothered to list all the Garmin products), what is the best value for money Garmin??

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Dave

I guess that question was just a bit open ended and we all know that such questions don't get many, if any (applies in this case), replies!

Since my OP I have been reading earlier posts in here, more or less as far back as where they seem to become dated, and in many respects I am looking for an update on this thread:-

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-car-gps-42910

Anyway, I would still welcome views on what is currently the best value for money GPS on the market; there sure are plenty of them to talk about, but I have discounted the specialist model that gives mapping of golf courses.
(called something like the "approach" but I am trying to put that out of my mind as quickly as possible)

__________________
Dave

IMHO ,, for our purpose ,, Garmin is a POS!
Maps cost arm and a leg.
Like you've said battery life sucks. My 755T ,, battery goes dead in 20 minutes.. have to keep charging with a cigar jack on the bike.
Their A/S non perform. anything goes wrong damn thing has to be shipped back to Taiwan.
80% of the time ,, it says "recalculating" while, enroute.
Openstreet maps not reliable,, I've found.
Internal USB port kaputs a lot,,after certain amount of shake on the bike,, pins get warped,, no charge , no data transfer.
MP3 keeps skipping during the best part of the music.
Their mapsource software sucks,,, never download their webupdate software for 700MB,, it is there to spy on your unit.

I am now using Galaxy S2 Android phone, which we all need,,, with Locus app(pro version for 5 bucks) ,, I have choice of some 8 maps including Vector, Google, Nokia et al... whole world map already installed and new update automatic and free. All the Geocache I want to download. Also for USD 10 a day, from my carrier SK Telecom, in Korea,, I have unlimited data 3G access in 90% of the countries I am traveling, including Russia on MTS.
https://market.android.com/details?i...id.locus&hl=en
You can load KML, GDB or GPX and routes,, from your phone or EM direct ,, so easy to use but complex,, you need to really study it. Try the free version first.

GRMN on Nasdaq ,, is a short ,, they are the new RIMM... RIP peace Garmin. For Android and Iphones will replace you.

I ride a '75 BMW, drive a '92 Saturn and am starting to appreciate older women more and more. Sometimes older stuff just has more to offer. In keeping with that theme, I'm really hooked on the older Garmin Nuvi series: 250, 255 etc. If you can find them, you can usually get them for less than $100 (sometimes way less) and they are quite robust. You just need to make a bit of an effort to keep them reasonably dry but other than that are very usable on a bike. The integral batteries seem to go about 2 hours. For bike use, I gutted a Garmin car adapter, stuck the guts in the headlight shell and run the wire to the handlebars.

You can find replacement batteries on Ebay for the older Nuvi series for not much and the batteries frequently come with special tools for opening the unit. At least the older ones have screws and can be opened. Some of the later Nuvi's units were sealed.

I've also discovered that the older Nuvi's have an undocumented feature whereby you can turn on track recording. They can easily store a week's worth of riding in a GPX file that can then be downloaded. I wish I had known about this feature earlier. Apparently it was a clear option in the menus of even older units, but the feature was "removed" in later firmware upgrades. Well the feature is still there, they just removed the easy access to it. But in this case, the older the firmware the better.

But my main reason not to get the latest and greatest is that OSM maps work great in the 255 that I have. I lurk on the MkGMap developers list (the software to convert OSM data to Garmin GPS use) and there is starting to be a hint of discussion about some difficulties with the new BaseCamp software and OSM. Given the quality and flexibility of the (free) OSM data and the price asked by Garmin for theirs, it wouldn't shock me if Garmin started making some moves to block OSM maps from being used on their units.

I've got two spare 255's in my closet, still in their boxes. Insurance.

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Samuel Longiaru
Kamloops, BC Canada
1975 BMW R60/6
http://thetwilightproject.net

value for money (VFM)

Definition:


A utility derived from every purchase or every sum of money spent. Value for money is based not only on the minimum purchase price (economy) but also on the maximum efficiency and effectiveness of the purchase.

It has to be a purpose built bike unit, that for me means Garmin. £50 gets you map updates for life.

Create your own routes, backtrack, logs everywhere you've been (when it's switched on).... and a host of other features too long to list here.

My understanding is that "Lifetime" maps are tied to the life of the unit... and not to your lifetime. Hopefully a significantly large difference.

__________________
Samuel Longiaru
Kamloops, BC Canada
1975 BMW R60/6
http://thetwilightproject.net

I like your line of thinking gentlemen and there is some excellent food for thought herein - I am almost tempted to break my longtime rule of "one tool per job" and get a smart phone with GPS capability; I can see a lot of logic in what has been said about Garmin etc being superceded by such technology.

I can also see the logic in stocking up with technology that works for you, when that technology is not going to be around for ever/long.
This may be why Garmin has such a massive range of products - basically a marketing technique to encourage everyone to think that this is "must have technology"?
Seriously, there is a Garmin product for use on golf courses; jeeeez.

__________________
Dave

Yes you're right it is for the life of the unit..... but.... when I sent my broken 550 to Garmin for repair, they sent me (for a fee) a brand new 660, and swapped over my numaps to the new unit... very good service I thought..

Dave - the "one-tool for everything" approach to which you are being drawn sounds great in theory (heck, it's even got a camera built in )... but the problem is that if something happens to it then you've got no phone, no GPS and depending what else you have, no browser, no SMS, no ..., no ...

Guess it depends a lot on where you travel and just how replaceable stuff is. I like the "one-and-a-half tools, one job" approach myself. Lose my phone? I can Skype on my EEE PC. Lose my computer? I can SMS on the phone, etc., etc. Oh well... hope you see my point. Given the longevity of electronic items in the field, a bit of redundancy is nice.

__________________
Samuel Longiaru
Kamloops, BC Canada
1975 BMW R60/6
http://thetwilightproject.net

I can see a lot of logic in this now that I have read into this subject a bit more.
The first few posts in here:-
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...d-europe-62789
contain information about freely available routes for iPhones and Androids = very interesting indeed.
There is another thread somewhere in here that points toward Welcome To Osmand

Yep, for electronic items it all makes sense. Cheap basic mobile phones are also available so it would be feasible to carry a smart phone as a "do all" capability and a cheapie as a back up - that would also provide flexible use of SIM cards.

I am still looking and the range of Garmin products still staggers me.

__________________
Dave

They will ask you to download "webupdater" easy ,, no individual download ,, we will do it all for you.

DL files is only 7MB ,, and after expanding it becomes 16MB ,,, then here is the kicker ,,, once you execute the program ,, it will create a directory under application data ,, talking windows now ,, and will install,, precisely ,, 777MB of unwanted file with out your permission.

Now let say ,, you are enamoured with Android , and want Garmin out of your PC ,,

So you go to the control panel , you delete ,,, mapsource,,usb driver,,garmin maps ,, all garmin names.

So your PC is clean of Garmin?

Now on your desktop ,, launch search ,, file or folders ,, garmin ,, you will find some 12 ,, hidden files ,, some you can not delete what so ever ,, most of dll files ,,

Ok ,,, so you give up ,, then you go to start ,, right click on the mouse ,,, explore ,, go to program files ,, application data ,, WHAM ,, there is this 777 MB files from garmin ,, which you've launched by opening that 16MB file ,,,

They want to know ,, what maps,,from whom,,what system ,,
And it all goes back to Taiwan,, head office of Garmin.

This is my humble opinion.
get a smart phone ,, android ,, get a free gps ,, google navi ,, locus.com

Please do not send me 10 PMs

Thank you.

Yea, that is crap!
The best tip I have seen on here about PMs is just to let them stack up in your inbox - when they hit 50 you won't receive any more; neat.

Anyway, if a question is worth asking, or a point is worth making, then it should be on here in the HUBB to inform everyone.

Thanks also.

__________________
Dave

I ran another file search today. to make sure that I did rid of all Garmin extensions.
Nothing came up.
Hmmmm...
So I ran this time with hidden files mode.
Voilla ,, Sure enough there were 6 files again !

I deleted one by one ,, I hope I am rid of Garmin for ever.

Give 'em to me, apart from Basecamp, I love Garmin, especially Mapsource... but then I now how to use it...

As for phone based GPS, forget it... only any good as a very basic device, no custom route capability..

Please take a look at this Locus.com
You can custom route,,,in all format GDB GPX KML ,, no translation needed. Also you get "FREE" mapsouce, google, nokia, vector,mapquest,osm,osm regional, sho,navigisi,freemap,turacap,Nztopomap,osmapsPolan d,nokia,yahoo,bing uk, yandex, eniro, mytopo, statkart norway, nearmap australia,aero usa, amudanan israel MAPS all for free,, you can track in the Himalayas ,,or use it on the water on a sail boat at Palawan. No download of maps,,done automatic.

While listening to your music ,, sms with friends ,, talk to loved ones,,

If it goes kaput or loose it ,, buy a new phone and use the back up off a SD card you will keep as an emergency.

Yes,, phones cost 400 - 800 USD vs garmin USD 100 - 400 + individual maps ,,, kicker is,, garmin goes bad ,, you are out,, when you are traveling ,,
mp3 on old or few models. Short battery life,, terrible service.

Galaxy S 1-2 phones in every major village in the world.

I know how to use the garmin as well... quality sucks IMHO ,,

Let me know your findings on Locus APP