gps or online mapping service

[Dobby Tappet]

Garmin Nuvi is the way to go. The only downside for me is the voice... recalculating..., recalculating..., recalculating..., now I operate it with the voice off. Being able to find food and services is a fantastic feature, especially if you work away from the home base. Also, the detour feature is worth it's weight in gold, especially if you've ever been stuck in a construction traffic jam in Columbus, Ohio or behind an accident on the Garden State Parkway.

The NUVI also has the history feature that allows you to track actual time at various locations. Ever wonder exactly how long the job or stop took? It will tell you, from the time you arrived to the time you began to move. It also has information like top speed traveled, great for employees, bad for the wife.

Dobby

[Nick Arrera]

Which one do you have Dobby ?

[mike fink]

I drive about 60,000 mile a year
I have a garmin c330 thats about 4 years old
it dosn't have the bells and whisles that the newer ones have but it saves me
1 to 2 hrs a day
I just sew them at a wallmart for $125
if you never had one the c330 is the one to buy
if you buy it at wallmart and don't like it you can return it

[Nick Arrera]

They did a test here in Phila with the 330 and the 340 which cost a little more money , and the 330 won hands down ..

[stullis]

Saw the Nuvi 750 for $300 at Sams Club today.

[Nick Arrera]

That is a steal .. Going to check them out online ..

[Lo Down]

If you bought a GPS from any particular manufacturer................ would it work as well in New York, as Montana, as Oregon? Don't you buy some kind of programing package for each area or state?
I guess I'm asking if Magellan works fantastic in Florida, will it be the right model to buy for Oregon.............. or might another brand possibly work better in Oregon because of their programming?

No big deal really... Oregon only has 20 towns and 3 highways........... all of 'em upgraded to gravel.
Yup, no dirt highways since Carter was in office. I think he called it Highways for Humanity.

Seriously, I have never used one of them, just drove 10 miles to a jobsite with a guy that had one in his Chrysler. Kinda cool from what little I saw, but don't know much about em.
Own em outright, or monthly charges?

[Nick Arrera]

you own em outright .. come with a CD .. My Garmin covers the US and Canada .. When a updated CD comes out my GPS will put up a screen that says one is available when i boot it up .. The only additional costs other then $75.00 for the new CD , is if you want the live traffic and weather ..

[Dobby Tappet]

Nick, I'm not sure which one I have and it doesn't have a number listed on it. Just says NUVI. Bought it on sale about eight months ago for about $300. My wife is the consumer report, comparison shopper. My job and focus is revenue enhancement and hers is revenue disbursement. We make a great team.

All I can say is, due to the large geographical region and remote locations we travel, having a GPS is worth it's weight in gold. The thing is fantastic.

Dobby

[Nick Arrera]

That is my next one , the nuvi 680 . just waiting on the price to come down a little more ..
I think we all have a revenue disbursement officer Dolby ..

[Floorguy]

Now that I'm getting ask to do more out of town inspections, I am seriously looking into getting one, exclusively for the truck, because I can now actually make a route. I can get there from here no problem and map to do so, but when I can actually schedule more then one inspection in an area and might be coming from another direction at the next inspection, it is a pain!!

I got a request yesterday, and had to print 6 pages worth off MapsQuest, just to map it correctly, so I would miss anything tricky

[Nick Arrera]

Map Quest stinks .. Especially if you are on a highway doing 70 mph tring to read where to exit .. I been doing a little research on the difference between the Garmin 660 and 680 ..
Nothing , except the 680 has MSN for its live traffic [etc]. and the 660 has a different service .. After the first year you are going to have to pay for it .. So if you can get a better deal on the 660 go for it ..

[Darren Ramey]

A GPS is one of those things you wont know how you got along without. I put off getting one for the longest time, but now that I've had one, if something happened to it, I would get another tomorrow.

[Dobby Tappet]

Ditto to what Darren said.

Just the savings in the time not spent printing and fumbling through map quest directions will pay for the thing. You can also enter in via points, so it will guide you throughout your day and several stops and if you need a coffee or sandwich along the way, it will guide you there and put you right back on track. The things really are helpful.

Don't think of them as an electronic gadget, they are a time and milage saving tool!

Dobby

[Harry Myers]

I did have the Nuvi yes it was good. Now I have the Magellan and i like it better.