I’m thinking about getting a gps device for my sweet '92 camry. I was looking at the tomtom ONE or the 510. My buddy has the ONE and loves it. It’s easy to use and less expensive than the others. I was wondering if any of you have used either of these devices and could offer your opinions. Thanks!
If you’re looking for opinions, try IMHO. Moving this one for you.
samclem GQ moderator
I absolutely love TomTom. I think it has the cleanest and most user-friendly user interface as compared to other GPS solutions.
I personally use the TomTom on my Treo, but I’ve used both the ONE and the 510. If I were to choose between the two, I’d take the ONE. It’s lighter, smaller, flatter, and cheaper.
Buy the 510 only if you need the Bluetooth handsfree feature, a wider screen (4" vs. 3.5" of the ONE), better battery life (a non-issue, as both have car chargers), and iPod control.
More opinions:
http://www.yournav.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=9357&pid=77254&st=0&#entry77254
http://www.gpslodge.com/archives/008341.php
The ONE is available for about $299 on Amazon, while the 510 is about $365.
If you want the 510 at the price of the ONE you could buy it refurbished:
http://www.refurbdepot.com/productdetails2.cfm?Product_ID=4961
I use a Magellan GPS at work, and it’s very easy to use. It was also easy to learn to operate - I was pretty much thrown in the vehicle and told, “That’s the GPS. There’s the ‘on’ button.”
I’m a stickler for reading the manual, and obviously haven’t been able to read the one for this, but it’s very user-friendly.
My work gave me the Garmin 2720, which I have minor problems with, but is by and large a solid GPS.
My big problems with the system are that 1) it doesn’t allow for voice input, which can be a bit of a pain in the butt, since my job has me on the road, and if I get a call to my cellphone for something important, I may change my destination in the middle of the DC beltway, not exactly “input things by hand” time, and 2) there is no way to bring up alternate routes or “avoid road X”, which would be damned helpful when I know that the northern end of the beltway is crap in the morning, or New York Ave in NE is never a good option, and would want to avoid them. I usually just end up trying to get close via a better road, and having it recalculate the destination automatically to my current position.
On the up side, the screen is a large 3.8" that adjusts pretty intelligently to light, it has a large database for landmarks and shopping/entertainment, and it seems to have an uncanny knack for knowing city street restrictions like one-ways and even time restricted road access.
I’ve been noticing the system pop up on techbargains lately for about $400.
I have a Garmin nuvi 350 and love it. Very easy to use and you can add on with different software.