Marcster

Yes, you're right.... I misread one of the reviews. The C520 does have TTS. In certain typefaces, C320 and C520 look ridiculously similar. I'll update the original post, thank you for bringing it to my attention.

Wyomissing, PA: http://i7.tinypic.com/89lw0sm.jpg

I go with my wife... I totally agree with one ticket per doorbuster per person, but never heard of the same credit card being a problem. What if you had gone with a friend and she (gulp) forgot her money and you said she could put it on your card and just pay you back...

Go here: http://forums.gottadeal.com/showthread.php?t=80437

My Dad can't drive over bridges (but he can be a passenger) -- something to do with having had cancer. Apparently, other people have the same phobia after treatment.

TomToms can, but you'll have to enter the road to avoid each time you use it: http://forum.brighthand.com/archive/index.php/t-240196.html And here, from a TomTom One review: "To start navigating, just tap the Navigate To icon, and you can enter a specific street address, an intersection, a city center, or a point of interest (POI). Once you've entered an address, the One will ask you if you need to arrive at a particular time. If you tap Yes, enter an arrival time and the system can calculate if you will arrive on time based on your current location. The One has the ability calculate directions by fastest route, shortest route, or void of freeways. You can even get bicycle and walking routes. There's a Find Alternative function if you're not a fan of the prescribed route or you run into some speed bumps along the way. For example, you can have the One recalculate the route altogether, or if you run into a roadblock, it will plot a course around it." http://reviews.cnet.com/car-gps-navigation/tomtom-one/4505-3430_7-32026663.html

"The [TomTom] One has the ability calculate directions by fastest route, shortest route, or void of freeways. You can even get bicycle and walking routes. There's a Find Alternative function if you're not a fan of the prescribed route or you run into some speed bumps along the way. For example, you can have the One recalculate the route altogether, or if you run into a roadblock, it will plot a course around it." http://reviews.cnet.com/car-gps-navigation/tomtom-one/4505-3430_7-32026663.html Garmin Nuvis have this capability too: "The system can generate directions by fastest time, shortest distance, or off road, and you can instruct it to avoid certain road types, such as toll roads and highways. And don't think you're restricted to only use the system in the car, as there are settings for pedestrian, bicycle, truck, and bus modes." http://reviews.cnet.com/car-gps-navigation/garmin-nuvi-200/4505-3430_7-32370612.html Magellans can choose from "Shortest time, shortest distance, avoid certain freeways and toll roads" http://www.magellangpssystems.com/ Goodness, I'm becoming an expert. http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/Marcster2005/Smileypad/Non-Smiling/Clever.gif

I couldn't find that information on the site at all... So, I called. http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/Marcster2005/Smileypad/Tasks/INhousePhoneCellPhone02callyou.gif Navigon Support is 888-848-0701. I got right through and talked to Brian for 8 minutes. Q. How often are the maps updated? A. The maps are updated every 6 months, typically in the 2nd and 4th quarters of the year. All three of the Navigon units currently for sale already have the latest version of the maps. The maps are from Navtec. Navtec also supplies the maps for Google Maps and many other mapping systems out there. Q. How much do map updates cost? A. Unfortunately, I really don't have an answer for you. The cost of the map updates are actually set be Navtec, not by us. And since I had him on the phone... Q. Can you add your own POIs? (refer to post #165 to see why I asked) A. That is not a capability at this time. It may be added in the future, but I can't say for sure. Q. How far "out" of the 68 cities does your traffic coverage "track"? A. We get our traffic data from ClearChannel communications. You can go to www.realtimetraffic.net, click on the "Coverage Map" and pick a city. Any of the areas that are highlighted in GREEN are covered as far as traffic data goes. He then went on to tell me that Staples & RadioShack will both have the Navigon 2100 on sale on Black Friday and about the deal with the free traffic deal on BF (which I already knew of course, but I played dumb). He also recommended visiting www.experiencenavigon.com for more information. He thanked me for my interest and told me that they are in from 10 am to 9 pm.

We went to VF Outlet Village last year... They had scratch-off discounts that the cashier scratched off for you at the register. Anything from 10-50%. I got 50% -- the cashier said it was the first one she'd seen, and that was around 10:30 am. Guess I must've been livin' right that day. :)

I will add to Stack's answer that the automotive units are meant to be used in a car... A "handheld" unit is meant to be used while being held... Having one hand on the wheel and the other holding a handheld unit would be difficult.

I know the both Mio units allow for user input POIs: http://hugginsnet.com/ilovemymio/index.php?PHPSESSID=15768745ed48aa48e17f14c8a849cdd8&topic=512.0 Any TomTom that has Mapshare should too. And I believe the Garmins as well... I'm not sure about any of the other units (Delphi, Magellan, etc.). http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/Marcster2005/Smileypad/Misc/livetv.gifNEWS FLASH: As you might have guessed, a lot of people have started assembling lists of POIs. Check out this site: http://www.poi-factory.com/poifiles http://www.poi-factory.com/poifiles/us/red-light-cameras POI-Factory does require a $5 or $20 payment for the Red Light Camera list, but the regular POIs are free. Here's another: http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=56474 And another good one: http://www.gpslodge.com/archives/011339.php And some more: http://www.gps-poi-us.com/ (some of these are free, others aren't)

While they may not be on the tip of your tongue like Garmin and TomTom are, Navigon is a pretty decent sized company. They bought Navteq back in 2006. http://www.navigon.com/site/us/en/company/press/archive/2006/112 As you may be aware, Navteq is *the* company that makes the maps for Garmin, Dell, and HP GPS devices. They are also the maps of almost all factory-installed navigation systems, including those in GM, Ford, Dodge, Nissan, M-B, Honda, etc. http://www.navigation.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/Navteq-NavteqNorthAmerica-Site/en_US/-/USD/Default-Start;pgid=2qxIa3WKwfpSR0EFAT58NKmG0000W8qSEiFC;sid=4h3scO6bcyPscKmmEbX9eOSRnKZdNZAgU1g= That's not to say that the Navigon 2100 is a great unit, it might be just OK, or even sub-standard. But at least you won't have to worry about them going out of business and stopping to offer map updates like you might with the mysterious "Amcor A3900" that L-N-T, or the "Nextar S3" at K-Mart, or the "Invion" that JCP will have. KWIM?

http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/Marcster2005/Smileypad/Welcome/WELCOME-2.gif Be sure to stick around after BF too, we're a fun gang, and there's plenty of deals year-round even on a college student's budget!

The normal retail is $249, Amazon has it for $209, so R/S is still a good price. Just make sure that you life in one of those 68 cities.

Any time... If you are after a handheld, any of these Sporting Goods stores (Sports Authority, Dick's, etc.) might have them on BF... If I see more then the one from Costco (and have the time), I'll break down the pros and cons.

Oh, well, how should I put this... All of the units have rechargeable batteries. Some of them will last up to 8 hours, other units as few as 2 hours (according to the sites). And those battery times are under optimum conditions, just like laptop batteries, you know with the screen brightness turned all the way down, optimum temperature, etc. Then you'll need to recharge them again... But yeah, they can all function as a handheld unit. The only true handheld offered on BF is that Magellan Triton 500 that Costco will have for $149.99 (it's under my 4th post). I didn't look at it too closely, but that probably is rechargeable through regular A/C current (like a cell phone). http://www.gpslodge.com/pictures/magellan_triton_front.jpg

They're all portable. They attach to the windshield with a suction cup and a bracket. You can move them from car to car... Is that what you mean? I also DO NOT recommend leaving them exposed in your car when you aren't around unless you are in a very safe neighborhood (or your garage, of course). Thieves' Christmas presents, you know. http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/Marcster2005/Smileypad/NO/no.gif

Off the top of my head, it's $50 - $60 per year for the ones that charge. Some of the units that have traffic capabilities also require the purchase of an additional plug-in antenna ($50+). The Garmin C580 uses MSN Direct, that's free for the first year, then it's $49.95/year or a one-time of $129.95. http://garmin.msndirect.com/NavigationServicePlansGarmin.aspx If you (or someone else) are willing to do the research, I'd be happy to update my original thread... The other thing to consider is whether or not they cover the city (or cities) you need. They'll only be covering major markets...

http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/cvs/gateway/extracarehome ----- CVS is one of the few retailers *NOT* selling a GPS unit this year! http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/Marcster2005/Smileypad/LOL/rofl2.gif

Nothing says Christmas quite like a new shiny pair of plug things! http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/Marcster2005/Smileypad/Holidays/opening.gif How about an MP3 player? I love listening to mine while doing chores around the house.

You didn't see any mention of the Magellan 4000 @ Meijer because I missed it altogether. Good catch, I've remedied that now. I have no idea what the one at Kohl's is. I can tell you that I have compared it to a few Google images searches and it IS NOT a Garmin, Delphi, TomTom, Navigon, Mio, Jensen, Amcor, or any of the other models that anyone else is offering this BF. It's probably a no-name cheap-o. If they were "proud" of the name, they'd be touting it like the KitchenAid mixer sitting to it's left in the flyer.

At least you wouldn't have to fight anyone for it at OD.

Crutchfield is a good source for audio advice, so here you go: http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/learningcenter/car/hdradio.html

HD doesn't have a month to month charge. I like XM though... We have a unit in my wife's car, she listens to it to and from work, and I listen to XM online.

You're welcome! Thanks for noticing the lost Nuvi 260... Actually a few Garmins dissappeared -- I had a backup my post, thank goodness. I think my single post was hitting the upper limits (in terms of characters) of what vBulletin could handle (Brad could advise me one way or another). Text just started disappearing and moving. It was really weird (the review of the Mio C320 disappeared earlier -- scroll up for details). At any rate, I've since separated it out into 4 individual posts. Yes, it's the lack of POIs and a lack of any stand-out features that put it at the bottom of the list for me. For the same $130, I'd find the nearest RadioShack and get a TomTom One 3rd edition. There are so many RadioShacks out there, there probably won't be much of a crowd. Personally, I have THREE RadioShacks within 15 minutes of my house. R/S Store Locator