So, I want to get a GPS with some Christmas money post Christmas and hopefully get a deal. I have my eye on:
Garmin nuVi 265WT for the following reasons:
I don’t care about having it be an MP3 player, or FM transmitter or camera or food processor.
Does anyone have any recommendations or think this is the right one to get (with a relative budget of $250)?
How about an iPhone 3G? Or do you need the audio?
<grits teeth>
Audio is good, but not required. I am gritting my teeth as all roads in my life seem to be converging on the iPhone and I am still fighting with myself about the overall value v. monthly price.
You use your iPhone as a GPS in your car? Is that a native function or did you have to procure additional services/apps to enable?
It can replace a multitude of devices and you’re worried about the value?
I have the EDGE version, so no actual GPS function (although it imitates one using triangulation, which is a neat trick.) I don’t use the ‘GPS’ function to find out where I am, so much as I use the googlemap app to find out where I need to go. Works as well as printing out googlemap directions, and can be updated instantly.
ETA: it also does traffic conditions.
Wow, the face of the immediate future- the iPhone. I so want one.
Yes, that’s the way I think.
So, to be clear, you use your iPhone to map out your route, but do not/can not stick it to your dashboard and it will tell you “you missed your turn, in 3 miles, turn right”
Do any iPhones have a native GPS function?
It does not, out of the box, provide the “turn right onto the washed-out bridge” functionality, although there may be an app that does. It does provide instant googlemaps that can be updated based upon your current position.
The 3G iPhones (all the new ones) provide true GPS, while the older EDGE models provide a rough equivalent, based on triangulation of known cell tower and wifi hotspot locations.
My buddy has an Iphone and it uses triangulation from towers not GPS. According to his Iphone my house about a mile away from where it actually is. Whereas my folks Garmin was able to locate my house within 10 feet or so. And its not even as fancy as the one you are looking at. The Garmin my folks have does get annoying at times if you are driving a back way you know and it wants you to go other routes. But the GPS and est Arrival time on it are almost always dead on and it has found routes for me that are sometimes as much as 30 minutes faster going on long distances than i usually find. IT also has a neat feature that allows you to see your travel speed and what not. I will probably get a Garmin when i finally get around to getting a GPS.
EDIT: My friends iPhone is an older one that has been unlocked so it runs on TMoble instead of Att&t
EDIT 2: Great sig there Solai
My Uncle recently got a used GPS system because his job sends him all over the country & it’s just easier for him to find things in a strange city with it. He also has a friend who has named his GPS system, “The lying bitch”. Please review the episode of The Office where Michael & Dwight use one. 
I’ve got a Garmin as a X-mas gift 2 years ago and love it. It got us across the country with no problems and was indispensible in learning a new area. Also, they’re just fun. The only problem I have is when my living co-pilot gets pissed that I listen more to the computer than I do her.
You live near NYC right? Do you plan on doing much driving in the city? The only problem I could forsee is getting a signal among tall buildings. Mine doesn’t work to well in downtown SF.
$250 seems like a good price for including live traffic info. 2 years ago mine was more expensive and doesn’t even have that funtion. I’d say get it, but then again I’ve never been a big fan of all-in-one functionality (i.e., if I need to take pictures I bring a camera)…
Spouse has one. Without a plan, so none of this bowing down to AT&T crap. He loves seeing it follow us around town on the GPS bit.
My sister has a GPS that she loves, but I’m not sure what brand it is, when I see her I’ll ask. 
I have a Nuvi 200 that I bought this past summer and I love it. The hubs and I love Garmin and that’s what I would recommend as far as brand. If you want to use the computer to create a specific route and then download that into the device and use it for navigation, make =sure= the Nuvi model you’re looking at supports it. My 200 doesn’t and that’s the 1 thing I wish it would do!
I have a built in GPS in my car. Before that, I’ve used a TomTom. And I still have a Garmin Nuvi as a backup. Of all of those, my favorite one is the TomTom.
A map is a map is a map. The data is mostly the same, and the know-how of how to render it graphically in a pleasing and useful way is equally good for both Garmin and TomTom. (And not so good for the in-dash unit in the car.) What separates TomTom from the rest is the user interface. The organization of the menus, and how easy it is to reach the features you want by drilling down the menus.
An bonus: TomToms have a unique way it which it uses what it remembers stuff from the last known satellite fix to short circuit the next satellite fix acquisition process. If you compare a TomTom and Garmin’s sat-fix time side-by-side, TomTom is waaaay faster. My recommendation: Get a TomTom 730T.
(Of course, my GPS knowledge is up-to-date as of last year, so think might be drastically different now.)
Maybe i’m just boring but it seems to me that a 15 dollar map would get you where you need to go
and than you use that extra money for other fun stuff.
The IPhone uses what they call Assisted GPS out of the box. As my comrades have said it uses GPS and Triangulation to more accurately fix your position. I believe Apple is currently shooting down all turn by turn apps probably because of a deal they may have with another company to provide or it is planned to be native in the next model of the phone. The GPS has been very accurate for me but I have only tried in major cities. (Anyone thinking of buying the IPhone should check the coverage area to make sure they have good 3G coverage.) I can’t imagine a stand alone GPS would be practical for someone unless they do a lot of traveling in their car. If you are in your hometown I can’t see the need for turn by turn (I also couldn’t play my music very loud). The IPhone does work great for planning your route which is all you really need in a town you are familiar with - IMO.
GPS however is just a small feature in the grand scheme of the miracle that is the IPhone, Apps. Let’s see now, I have only had mine for a month and let me see if I can put into words how amazed I am with this. It is a Mobile computer that just happens to be able to make calls. It is a phone, clock, alarm, stopwatch, calendar, photo album, camera, world map, weather channel, contact book, note pad, internet browser, mobile bank teller, music player, video player, texting, email, remote control, video game console (1000’s of games), white pages, dictionary, thesaurus, internet radio, ocarina, flashlight, calculator (graphing optional), lightsaber, stocks, vnc, youtube, foreign language dictionary, translator, personal media streamer, facebook, bible, wikipedia, reference guide, voice changer, lie detector, bubblewrap, lighter, whoopee cushion, IQ tester, flux capacitor, netflix, bioscanner, converter, level, plumb bob, protractor, ruler, encyclopedia, tilt meter, voice recorder, seismometer, decibel meter, stethoscope, compass, hourglass, twitter, my space, guitar, piano, drums, organ, harmonica, radio, flute, beatbox, metronome, tuner, cowbell, name that song, violin, recorder, wifi tracker, grocery list, diary, flight tracker, speedometer, newspaper, rss reader, pdf reader, spreadsheets and ebook reader just to name a few.
Sorry about the long winded ad but I am blow away by the IPhone. Unless you do a lot of e-mail and need something with a keyboard (like a Blackberry) or you have a need, a physical need (shout out to Audra) to have the independent GPS, I suggest putting that money towards the IPhone.
Are you talking about paper? Do they still make those? 
But seriously, I have never seen a map that holds a candle to a Google Maps style map. They are much more up to date and satellite images are excellent for finding landmarks. Before my IPhone I would just pull up a location on Google Maps and quickly plan my route. I could also print it of if I needed to. Now I think about it the Sodes make a good case for you. If Gaeta had some maps without relying the comps he may have been able to avoid the voyage of the crazy people.
To that I will add: the googlemap app does mass transit, and walking, as well as driving directions. So if you’re in a major city, it’s potentially more useful than a stand-alone GPS.
You all win…especially you Pike. I am leaving work right now to go pick up a Wii for my mother for Christmas and to purchase the iPhone.
From here I enter the Brave New World. Wish me luck. Thank you all for your insight and thots. It is greatly appreciated.
Wow…your mom is getting a Wii, that is one cool mom. The only game my mom has ever played is Tetris.
Actually AAA stopped printing their travel maps. This was due to Google Maps and Mapquest. I Like the GPS for trips because if you are traveling in an unfamiliar area you can use it to find food and lodging. My folks were up in Ohio visiting my bro and his family a couple months ago. They wanted to take my niece to Chucky Cheese and when they asked where the closest one was they were told by my sister-in-law that it was about 45 minutes away. Well they plugged in Chucky Cheese into their Garmin and found one like 10 minutes away that my bro and sis-in-law never knew about. So that is a cool thing.
You’re totally correct. They also got apps to do exactly that type of thing. You can look up the restaurants next to your location and filter through the type of foods you like. I love technology!!!