So as I have come to the realization of getting lost is no longer a meir 'oh well' due to gas prices increasing....time to make sure I know where Im going and the first time. plus if I go up to Berkeley I will need to know how to get around, (I live in SoCal so NorCal is totally new to me)

SO it comes down to what system do you use? Have you tried previous manufacturers and now reccommend one over the other?...Let's start the thread for why you have the system you do, and the honest truth and review of it. Pics would be nice as well for reference along with where you bought it and how much!

 

eh....anyone using nav?...bump

 

Youll have better luck in the XB Ice & Interior section man.

 

I have the Eclipse 5435 head unit with navigation and it works great.

 

or using the search button

 

ah of course the infamous "search" saying....I have and since this is the off-topic cafe, I would like to bring or at least start a thread for future members to look for as well. BTW I should have made it more clear, but I wasn't looking for a flipout or doubin din hu that has navi, but an external portable unit. Like tom-tom, garmin...etc.

 

The Garmin NUVI 350 is a good value although I currently do not own one. The 350 received excellent reviews from CNET and other sources. The NUVI 360 is the same as the 350 but with bluetooth and cost hundreds more. I don't like the in-dash NAV systems since it's not portable.

 

I picked up a Garmin Streetpilot i330 on sale at Amazon for under $250. It is a tiny unit, and doesn't have a touch-screen, but you can't beat the price.

It fits great on that flat area above the stereo and infront of the instrument cluster:


I have the power cable hard-wired so it looks pretty clean and it can be operated by driver or passanger and is quickly removable if need be.

 

garmin c330

 

^^x2!

Nice GPS. I have two small velcro dots on my dash...mine sits perfectly on top of the dash in front of the driver. Easily removeable-not hard wired...yet.

I like the new widescreen Nuvi, but don't need two GPS.

 

Map 2006. Next year I am upgrading to Map 2007. They are cheap and you can move them from one car to another with very little trouble.

 

eclipse avn5435. fantastic item. had it for over 2 years and no problems what so ever.

 

im stuck on liking tomtom or not now....My family has used garmin, but this tomtom navi seems pretty good? any experience on that please chime in! id like to know if tom tom is a go go or no no

 

loving my Kenwood P-NAV6019 DVD/NAV combo http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_6838.html

A pic of it installed:




Here in Atlanta real time traffic data is very good so I also purchased an XM Radio/TrafficNav subscription. Dude it rocks when you are just driving along with the map showing and you see red highlight along the route you "USED TO BE" heading too (red highlight means traffic is very slow or stopped on that route...usually seen in association of a symbol saying what the reason is for the slowdown an uside down car in a warning diamond means a crash at that location for example). Yellow highlights mean moderate slowing. The screen display while playing DVD's is way sharper than my big screen at home The NAV has voice guidance and auto rerouting built in as well. I am using it to power my Bi-Amped JL Audio speaker system. The unit has 3 sets of audio preouts with on HU subwoofer channel control, crossover frequencies for all channels can be set in the HU tho I am using my amps adjustments instead. It also has 1 RCA AV in and 1 RCA AV out, as well as a video in for optional rear view camera, and a RGB input used for NAV. The radio is Sirius ready and the G510 NAV Unit is XM ready so you get to choose your poison

All nav units can show you maps...but if you are in a metro area covered by FM or XM traffic nav data and don't mind spending a few $$ a month for the service... I highly recommend a unit that has the cabability to receive and manipulate Traffic nav data.

GPS units that don't talk to you if you really need the directions are Good but distracting (about the same as printing map quest before you go but better because you can see where you are on that map). Maps that tell you through your speakers that you just screwed up and missed a turn...and then tell you where to turn next to get back on track (and your eyes never left the road)...Priceless :D In this system Jill (the computer guidance voice) says "recalculating " to indicate you just left the programmed route. I swear that the programmers have put a semi-disgusted tone on the voice for this word When "she" says this I can picture a woman whose guy just missed like the 3rd turn in 30 mins...she has that kind of "oh not again tone" I find it very amusing. You can turn Jill off of course if you dont want your music interupted

 

ted, awesome man! thanks for the great write-up....I really do like the double din and may just be the way to go instead of a portible external unit. On your system, were you able to bypass the DVD so it can be played while in motion?

 

^ That nav unit can be used with other 2din kenwood screens and can be bought separately.

I find a GPS that talks WAAAYY distracting. Glancing at the screen is in no way comparable to printing out a page from Mapquest.

"Turn right in a half mile" blah blah blah. I'd rather listen to my music or be able to carry on a conversation.

I have an in dash Kenwood too. I don't know how other people use those tiny cell phone sized portable nav units.

Oh, and wire it so the brake wire is grounded and you'll be able to set directions or view DVDs while you are on the road.

 

Yeah but you can turn "Jill" off any time you want. Then it just displays the turns on the map .

Bypassing the DVD to play in motion is generally easy. Most units have you hook to a park brake or other switch that ground when you set it. Simply hooking the wire to ground instead of the switch works on Kenwoods and most others. (Disclaimer: watching DVD's while driving may be illegal and dangerous. This post in no way suggests that this is a good thing to do but it is possible )

 

I'm thinking about getting this,
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Mio-D...oductDetail.do

Anyone ever use it?

 

tomtom ftw

 

I'm using the Kenwood DDX 7017 with the KNA G510.