Garmin GPS - Is Lane Assist Worth The Price Jump? Is it worth the extra $60 for the Lane Assist?
754900
I do NOT have lane assist so I cannot really tell you if it is worth the extra bucks, but I do have a garmin with the spoken street names, and I love it. I had one before that did not have it and for me it was a huge difference between the two. Since the spoken street names will tell you the next exit you need, my thinking was that I really would not need the lane assist, I'm not sure how much more helpful the little arrows would be, but certainly not worth the extra money FOR ME if I can READ the signs on the expressway prior to Garmin telling me which exit that I need to take. Again, I do NOT have lane assist, that was my justification for NOT getting it. Should you pick a newer Garmin that will have the ability to interact with your computer, do not be detered by some of the garmins if they that do not have the usb cable that you desire inside of the box. The cable that they require, is the same one that comes with most digital cameras and the are really cheap. You should be able to find one for less than five bucks (w/shipping included) here on Amazon. I recently purchased a pair of them for five bucks at the 'bullseye' store. They were branded for the ps3's wireless controllers and they work perfectly for the Garmin. My Garmin does not have the traffic feature, so I don't know much about that either. IF you go to the garmin website, they have a side by side comparision feature that allows you to choose two or more models and compare them side by side in an effort to help you narrow down the model that you desire with the features that you want. I do think that you will be pleased with whatever you model number that you choose. Most appear to get you from point A to point B with very little problems. Also, be on the look out for the after thanksgiving sales when they are usually very deeply discounted for a few hours in brick and mortar and here on Ammy. Best of luck to ya
1020415
thx, I guess i'll stick with 540TM :-) I am upgrading from old Garmin that had no map updates and traffic and hopefully it would be worth it at this price. I did use one of the TOM TOM models (smaller one) for a 2600 miles trip in the west coast and routing was really good.
1184888
No it is a ripoff. You have to buy an $89 card at BESTBUY to update the maps. It is worthless. I am throwing it in trash. I had 2 buy $150 Garmin at best Buy 2day!!!!
1508254
I keep reading and researching and just can't decide which way to go. I have an old Garmin. I want Blue tooth with traffic. Lane change would help me a lot; I have a bad sense of direction and I need the best GPS to help me "get there!" Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
862963
Talk to Tech Support at Garmin and do some research yourself before you invest
837275
Hey MelissaS, I've been researching the Garmin GPS's for a couple of weeks and can tell you the differences I've seen. The 255W has a few of "new" features in their 2x5 line but the two that I've seen people the most happy with in the reviews I've read are the satellite "hotfix" and the faster processor. The "hotfix" is supposed to speed up satellite acquisition immensely by having the unit remember where it was turned off last so it can calculate where the satellites should be when you turn it back on and from what I've read it works like a charm. The faster processor will speed up things like map drawing and looking up points of interest which people have really seemed to also notice in their reviews. The big drawback of the 255 and 255w is the text to speech voice quality (this is the voice that pronounces street names). Apparently the voice quality isn't as good on the 255 line as it is in the previous products due to the voice engine Garmin has used in this model...most people I've read say they can live with it but some bring it back due to the quality. I would goto a store and try both side by side to see if you can live with the quality. I did that today and was able to understand what the 255w was saying even in a busy store but still think I'll wait for the 265WT in October. Hope that helps!
1517079
Hello, My experience with the GPSMAP 62 was not very good. The unit froze up several times during use and each time I had to restart the unit. Coworkers of mine use the GPSMAP 60 and really like it and I have heard the GPSMAP 64 is a good model. I recently purchased a Garmin Etrex 30 and I love it. I paid $200 and it's worth every penny. The new GLONASS technology in the etrex 30 is outstanding, I can be in the thickest timber canopy and still have &gt;20' accuracy. I hope this helps.
1722188
I would suggest you do the system update right away. I used mine for a trip from Baltimore to Toronto, and I definitely should have done the update (because there are now roadways which weren't there a few years ago when this model released). Do the updates and your Garmin will work better than ever.
1909901
How about the 885 without MSN Direct, and adding the GTM 20, which gives Navtec fm traffic? That's what I'm considering doing. Might want to call Garmin to see if this option will give you what you want. If you do, would you report back? Yes. 855 is the one i mean. Sorry for the confusion.
1258013
Mine was an upgrade, wanted a GPS on my truck.I bought mine for $399.It does come from China, so be ready to wait a while, unless Amazon has one that ships faster.
419379
I was trying to choose between the same two. However, with the recent price break on the TT it is a no brainer. The two are both good basic GPS's without any frills. Both have comparable maps. I do believe that the TT is more configurable and the "planned / advanced routing feature" of the TT is great. The only benefit that the Garmin provides is better battery life. However, I will always be using this with a power cord anyhow so it really doesn't matter.
1517080
Hello,My experience with the GPSMAP 62 was not very good. The unit froze up several times during use and each time I had to restart the unit. Coworkers of mine use the GPSMAP 60 and really like it and I have heard the GPSMAP 64 is a good model. I recently purchased a Garmin Etrex 30 and I love it. I paid $200 and it's worth every penny. The new GLONASS technology in the etrex 30 is outstanding, I can be in the thickest timber canopy and still have >20' accuracy. I hope this helps.
355080
Thanks for the update, dsrussell. I'll take your advice and check out the review of the 765 that you mentioned at gpsmagazine.com. It's too bad that the folks at Garmin didn't include this info about the 765 in their owners manual. Must have been an oversight on their end. Again,thanks a bunch!
2233005
The speeding thing was tricky for me as well. My local audio shop (where I paid around $1,300) helped me out and you have to go to the settings on the navigation screen, not the home screen. There you can change what % over the speed limit it alert's you at you are going or how many miles over you are going. I use CarPlay almost all the time now so it's using the Apple Maps instead if Pioneer's navigation. When I was using Pioneer's navigation I was actually pretty satisfied with it, though. This deck is amazing, for less than $1,000 an honest steal.
1919596
My new gps decision has came down to the roadmate 1470 or the garmin 760. Basically it seems, for me, its free traffic vs. auto-route sorting and bluetooth. Magellan does route planning, not route sorts (ie. find the most efficient route between all pts entered). If you want traffic then your talking $40 or $60 extra for the Garmin. So I'm trying to look at it like, Is auto-sort and bluetooth worth the extra $40-$60?
1927266
Nope, these are not SW upgrades nor Firmware upgrades you can get later. Some of these features are Hardware capabilities so you do not get additional capabilities as time goes by. SW upgrades tends to be bug fixes or new additions of the map data. IN my observaton, Garmin will add back "some" of these capabilities in a future model line.
1081671
I'm NOT a Garmin expert, so maybe I'm doing something wrong, but in my experience the traffic is a joke.Let's say you're stuck in traffic. You have that wonderful touch screen. You sweep to another highway and I looks clear.By the time you get there and find out it's just as bad, the screen updates to red. LOL.Generally you can see the traffic before the system does.If someone can adivse what I'm doing wrong, I'd appreciate it. Frankly, I can't understand how Garmin could sell such a product.TomJV