Garmin GPS features.. what's important and what's not?

jay-d

jay-d

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I'm having a little trouble deciding between a few GPS's. Pretty much the same thing except for a few differences here and there.

1. Would a 5" screen be better compared to a 4.3"? being a bike, would a 5" be too big?

2. Is Lifetime Traffic worth it? I've read that the ones that come with Lifetime Traffic are ad supported.. that kind of sucks!

3. Do you really use Bluetooth or hand's free or voice calling on a bike?

4. One of the units I'm looking at has 3 Axis Electronic Compass.. it's more or less for walking as the map orientates itself as you walk

I've got a StreetPilot 7200 monster screen in my car, so I will not be using this GPS for my car, strictly bike. I used to have a StreetPilot 2370 for my bike and it was great but the screen was so tiny!

The units that I'm looking at are all Nuvi's:

2460LT - Lifetime Traffic, 5", BT, voice commands, no 3-Axis compass or dual orientation $260
2350LT - Lifetime Traffic, no BT, 4.3", no voice commands $170
2360LT - Lifetime Traffic, BT, voice commands, 4.3", 3-Axis compass, dual orientation, voice commands $220
1450T - Lifetime Traffic, no BT, 5", no voice commands, no bells or whistles, $180

They all have routes, ok battery life but I guess my major decision is 4.3" vs 5" and if I require lifetime traffic.
 
For me the big thing is waterproof. My trip doesnt stop because its raining.

Are those unites waterproof?

BT can be used for a phone and music and voice commands, some have all the techno gadgets built into there helmet, so if thats something you want to be able to do while riding, I can see bluetooth being important. I get along fine without voice on my Zumo 550.

If I lived in Toronto, or any other large city, I would probably want the traffic just for commuting purposes.

A larger screen will always be nicer if you have the room for it.
 
I'm thinking I'll be going with the 2460LT.. as much as I'd like to have a waterproof unit.. widescreen is a feature I want and the Zumo 660+ are just ridiculously priced!!
 
#1 feature for me is routing and tracks - importing, exporting and tracking itself. Gotta have all the good roads planned out!
 
If I would buy another GPS for the bike, it would need the following:

1) small screen.. 5" is way too big
2) able to upload routes from Mapsource and download tracks to Mapsource
3) very long battery life. The one I have right now is rated at 36 hours
4) waterproof.. Duh!
5) lifetime maps and traffic is not important to me
6) Must be Garmin
 
The ads are incredibly unintrusive (ie. I don't remember the last time I saw one). Think sponsored links on google, paid supporters go to the top of the list.

To get traffic, the cord that comes with the unit must be used. The traffic antenna is in the power cord. Using the internal battery or any other cord kills the traffic.

I really like the traffic feature. It has saved us a few times (and it gives an estimated delay if you decide to stick it out). It is not always 100% accurate, but it seems to be correct more than it is wrong.

I can't comment on the rest of your thoughts. I know I am still using a street pilot III+ as it has real buttons. I hate touchscreens on a bike and I don't think anyone makes a GPS with buttons anymore.
 
1. Get the smaller screen so you can fit it in a RAM aquabox...then it's waterproof. RAM aquaboxes are chunky beasts but not overly, the big screen version might need a bigger aquabox. The ZUMO series may be waterproof but with the aquabox you still get touch screen capability and a host of features the Zumo doesn't have for WAY WAY less money.
2. Bluetooth...reason being is that if you have good earplugs or speakers in your helmet you'll never need to look at the screen hence the size doesn't matter. You can also play music from many Garmin GPS units and have directions cut in over the music. Can take and make calls too. With this option you can actually get away with having the GPS unit hidden in a tankbag.
3. Routing and trip upload
4. If you get traffic on them bear in mind this only works with the special power lead with the unit to make sure you have a 12v adapter on your bike (easy to add). I find the traffic function a little useless in Ottawa...it warns me about traffic usually when I'm sitting right in it. Toronto might be better though.
 
Maps is a good feature. My maps are over 2 years old. Every time I go up highways that don't exist the GPS goes insane recalculating the route.
 
Thanks guys! As Splash suggested.. 5" is too big.. this was one of my biggest concerns so 4.3" it is! The 2360LT looks like the choice for me and making it weather proof with the Aquabox is a sufficient alternative!

For anyone else that's looking for a GPS, I'm getting it from www.gpscentral.ca for $220+$10 shipping and taxes. My other choice is the 2350LT for $170.. but $50 more I get blue tooth, voice commands, dual orientation, compass but unfortunately none of these units have an mp3 player built in. That's ok though.. I'll do some more research on these two models and see which will be better.

I currently don't have anything blue tooth compatible so I might just save the $50 and put that towards something else!
 
Baggsy said:
Maps is a good feature. My maps are over 2 years old. Every time I go up highways that don't exist the GPS goes insane recalculating the route.
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My street pilot is still running maps from 2004. Every road in new brunswick is labeled 'road'. Newer maps would be nice, but haven't been a big problem for me (the POI database in mine is approaching useless though).

For the price they want for lifetime maps, you are probably better off buying a new GPS every few years.

EDIT: Make sure you check out Radioworld at Steeles/400 (or radioworld.ca). They normally have pretty good prices (especially on refurbs) and supporting a local business full of helpful people is always a good idea if they can come close on price.
 
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jay-d said:
Thanks guys! As Splash suggested.. 5" is too big.. this was one of my biggest concerns so 4.3" it is! The 2360LT looks like the choice for me and making it weather proof with the Aquabox is a sufficient alternative!

For anyone else that's looking for a GPS, I'm getting it from www.gpscentral.ca for $220+$10 shipping and taxes. My other choice is the 2350LT for $170.. but $50 more I get blue tooth, voice commands, dual orientation, compass but unfortunately none of these units have an mp3 player built in. That's ok though.. I'll do some more research on these two models and see which will be better.

I currently don't have anything blue tooth compatible so I might just save the $50 and put that towards something else!
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Before you go ahead and order look at Costco first. They usually have full featured GPS units for a lot less than most other places. Believe me, once you try bluetooth directions being piped straight into your ears you won't go back. Keeping your eyes on the road while being told where the next turn is is great all the time listening to your tunes.

Even if you don't have a Costco card you can get someone to buy it for you who does.

Reason for Costco: Your bike vibrates a lot....electronics and vibration mostly don't mix. My GPS has been good for the past 3y but if I had a problem I know the no quibble return policy of Costco will take care of it for me.
 
1) 4.3" is good enough for a bike. I feel 5" maybe too big.. unless you ride a Victory or Goldwing?

2) Some of the GPS systems come with traffic.. but you need to use the special powercord to pick up the signal. If you have that cable in your car, most aftermarket power cables for your bike will not have the FM receiver the traffic requires. Also, traffic is mostly limited to GTA area. I find Google Maps on iPhone better.

3) I use bluetooth, but garmin's implementation of it as a Hub for music/headset is a real pain and very buggy. Take a look at Zumoforums.com and everyone is complaining about garmin's bluetooth stack. I use BT from iPhone to my SENA Headset.

Good luck!
 
Aww boo..

"..it does not have the capability of transferring routes from MapQuest to the GPS, it just transfers waypoints."

Stupid Garmin says 100 routes!! Unless this reviewer doesn't know what he's talking about.. hmm.. looks like I need to make a call to Garmin.

Edit: So Garmin rep said that the routes are only via the GPS unit. Cannot plot them on Mapsource and upload. The only units that have that capability are the 1400 series, 2400 series and the 1690 series.

The 1400 and 2400 are all 5" and the 1690 does have traffic but with the NuLink services which is kind of really cool!
 
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Definitely make sure you can upload routes (why doesnt every model have this???), route logging is good too. My 2820 has Bluetooth, though I've never used it, and I can't imagine a time when I would

I've never used the traffic feature, but you might want to look into support in Canada. From what I remember its a mostly American feature, it's been a couple years since I've looked into it
 
regder said:
Definitely make sure you can upload routes (why doesnt every model have this???),
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to force you to buy the next model up.
 
jay-d said:
1. Would a 5" screen be better compared to a 4.3"? being a bike, would a 5" be too big?
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Some 5" Garmin units (Nuvi, for example) have less useful info on the screen than pocket models. It's about software features, user-friendliness and configurability, not the screen size. Garmin is the Apple of GPS industry - solid but expensive devices running a hermetically closed proprietary software and OS. And no, 5" is not too big. If it's packed with useful data you can cover your speedometer with it without loosing anything.

jay-d said:
2. Is Lifetime Traffic worth it? I've read that the ones that come with Lifetime Traffic are ad supported.. that kind of sucks!
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Probably not. It requires extra hardware/cables (even if they come with the unit) that's not easy to move together with the device. I wouldn't consider it a feature to base my purchase decision on.

jay-d said:
3. Do you really use Bluetooth or hand's free or voice calling on a bike?
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It depends. Note that most "Bluetooth" car GPSes are nothing more than a Bluetooth hands-free - useless on a bike. Those that connect to a Bluetooth helmet intercom are different, but you need a Bluetooth helmet intercom to use that feature.

jay-d said:
4. One of the units I'm looking at has 3 Axis Electronic Compass.. it's more or less for walking as the map orientates itself as you walk
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Electronic compass is useful for orientating when you are stopped or moving very slowly, so it's not of much use on the bike (I had units with and without it and haven't noticed any serious difference, even when stopped). Once you are on the move the GPS takes over figuring out which way the unit is facing, so you don't need the compass at all.

jay-d said:
I've got a StreetPilot 7200 monster screen in my car, so I will not be using this GPS for my car, strictly bike. I used to have a StreetPilot 2370 for my bike and it was great but the screen was so tiny!
Click to expand...

Again, the size of the screen is not as important as it may seem. I find the ability to zoom in/out with my gloves on critical for any bike GPS. Waterproofing is close second, than power supply/battery compatibility. Only devices that satisfy those basic requirements merit further examination and consideration.

jay-d said:
The units that I'm looking at are all Nuvi's:
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Nuvis are all pretty much useless on a bike and their feature set is really poor. They are not waterproof and I wouldn't count on them surviving vibration on many bikes. I tested several models and despite my best effort to overlook their shortcomings ended up returning them all. If I'm going to go through that much grief to make it usable on the bike I may as well get a Windows CE device for under $100. Wide screen, vedeo, MP3, games, Bluetooth, FM transmitter, several GPS software to choose from, fully configurable and hackable...
 
This is my 3rd season with a Nuvi on my bike...kept it in a RAM box and it's doing fine. Vlad is right about the info, if it has a speedo on it that speedo will be more accurate than the one on your bike. I use my GPS speedo all the time on my bike. A GPS in an Aquabox is easily usable with gloves on, I've done it many times, the front of the Aquabox is a soft silicon screen. One thing that is very useful when approaching large intersections on a highway is the lane assist function. I had a cheap GPS once that I called the suicide machine as it informed me at the last minute that I should exit the highway to get to Pearson but it neglected to tell me that I needed to veer across 6 lanes of highway to do so. Lane assist is very nice.
 
1)5" may be too big, try cutting out a piece of cardboard about the same WxH as the garmins and see how it's going to block things....

2) I don't bother putting the traffic antenna on the bike, it's fragile, i use a usb connector off a relay from the battery, it is handy in the car when i'm near toronto but get outside the gta and gha and there's not much traffic updates, plus the cable for traffic is bulky.

3) I use the bluetooth to listen to the mp3 and directions with out being wired to the gps, not having to look down for directions is great

4) going geocaching?

you might look at one of the water proof ones like the 550 or go with a zumo

voice commands? you won't use that on the bike if it's hwat i think it is.

important to me is routing, mp3, bluetooth and allowing me to "make tracks" (history of where i've been)


i get the water resistance by keeping zip lock bags with me.


edit i have the garmin 765T

ps lifetime maps might be a nice feature.
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