Buying a GPS... Uniden, Pioneer AVIC...

[1991_Vn2nV]

Ok im looking at a GPS as I have a few trips planned this year, including one to Perth in a few months.

Im after something with some multimedia features though as the gf isn't allowed to drive the VN so the DVD player wont be in the car, and I want something to play with on the way and MP3 capability would be good.

I've been looking at the Pioneer AVIC for under $500 but im not sure what its like, especially as an actual GPS Navigation system? I like it because its compact though. Link (handheld, not in dash):
AVIC - Pioneer Electronics Australia

I also came across some Uniden units that are very well priced for the options available... Anyone used one or got any opinions? Also priced under $500:
:: Uniden Australia ::

The other is the TOMTOM GO 720...Link:
TomTom, portable GPS car navigation systems - TomTom GO 720 Australia - Functionalities

Another... NAVMAN S90i... Link:
S90i

I dont really wanna spend over $500, so what other suggestions do people have for the price???

[Stretchomatic]

dude i sell gps systems, go for tomtom or garmin...we like their support line because we have never had to call it, aside from a few lemons and the occasional need to hit the reset button they don't stuff up. navman work ok but dont have the quality and the uniden had incorrect spelling in it...it was just cheap.

with two years warranty standard, fm transmitter, sd card slot and full bluetooth you wont be disapointed with the 720, they are awesome.

[1991_Vn2nV]

dude i sell gps systems, go for tomtom or garmin...we like their support line because we have never had to call it, aside from a few lemons and the occasional need to hit the reset button they don't stuff up. navman work ok but dont have the quality and the uniden had incorrect spelling in it...it was just cheap.

with two years warranty standard, fm transmitter, sd card slot and full bluetooth you wont be disapointed with the 720, they are awesome.

Is the Garmin 760 a better pick than the TOMTOM 720? Its a bit more expensive but just means a weeks more saving I guess.

I like the Navman S90i for the 2gb internal memory, 96mb ram, camera, etc.

Anyone heard of Magellan? YouTube - GPS shoot out

[AirStrike]

C520 - Car Navigation - Mio Australia
That's the one I just purchased recently. My girlfriends sister sells them and said it was the best value for money within my price range.

Has a large 4.3" screen, bluetooth (run my phone through it frequently), multimedia (images and MP3), memory card slot, 1gb on board memory (the GPS software uses a decent amount though), long battery life (depending on settings lasts around 3-5hrs), fairly small.............
I cannot fault it one bit. The software provided is very user friendly, can choose to allow or disallow certain parameters for its route planning (tolls, u-turns, etc), zoom in and out of maps, choose from a few viewing angles, etc.

[1991_Vn2nV]

C520 - Car Navigation - Mio Australia
That's the one I just purchased recently. My girlfriends sister sells them and said it was the best value for money within my price range.

Has a large 4.3" screen, bluetooth (run my phone through it frequently), multimedia (images and MP3), memory card slot, 1gb on board memory (the GPS software uses a decent amount though), long battery life (depending on settings lasts around 3-5hrs), fairly small.............
I cannot fault it one bit. The software provided is very user friendly, can choose to allow or disallow certain parameters for its route planning (tolls, u-turns, etc), zoom in and out of maps, choose from a few viewing angles, etc.

I've been reading reviews on CNET and the MIO's seem to be well ahead (and they're $200 cheaper!

[NickVR]

My dad bought a Uniden one about a year ago and it's pretty goo. Has free updates too which is good, others you have to pay for and aren't cheap to do so.

[1991_Vn2nV]

Yeah they use them at my pops work and no complaints apparently, they say they're quite good.

Interestingly, UNIDEN is made from MIO software.

[CSP]

I only got a GPS nav system as a street direrctory replacement cause it was free If you actually buy one they're not worth it.

But for what it's worth, TomTom are the best. I went with the OneXL.

[Reaper]

I only got a GPS nav system as a street direrctory replacement cause it was free If you actually buy one they're not worth it.

But for what it's worth, TomTom are the best. I went with the OneXL.

It entirely depends on how much driving to unknown destinations you do. I tried several brands and bought a TomTom. Most reliable hands down. Leaves the others for dead.

Reaper

[wrx884]

must agree tom tom ftw i looked into mio apparently wen time comes 4 upgrading maps it can b painfull and expensive thats a main thing u have 2 check up on 2 ive got a tom tom 1 and it does everything i need 2 get 2 A-B if u want extra features go those brands u said but really y do u need them? im sure u have other resources 4 them.

[Stretchomatic]

the mio c520 is an awesome unit, but u cant transmit through the radio with it (then again if u have an auxilary input it doesnt matter). havent looked into its map updates though. the fact you can add your own poi's aswell is a good thing, especially if you know of black spots where you would like to slow down.

tomtom and garmin i would give better all round rating, but the mio is awesome for the money.

havent seen the magelan but have heard they are great for off road too as they have little side tracks mapped in. like i said i've never seen or used one though.

[bezz]

go for the tomtom, easiest to pick up and use. Menus are nice and quick, big clear display, routes calculate quickly, fantastic all round. Also there's heaps of POIs, maps etc available online for em. The navmans comparatively are a lot slower going through menus, and the keyboards are more difficult to type on. Garmins are very nice, but have a lot of features that most people dont need.

Oh all tomtoms have a 1yr warranty as standard, Magellan and Garmin are the same company, and you most probably wont find a GO720 for under $500.
Check out TomTom GPS Australian Points to Interest, POI, Navman, Garmin, Mitac Mio, Destinator Australia. for freee and legal downloads for tomtoms, and i guess everyone knows where to get the free illegal downloads

[totality]

ive got a navman...its awesome....
i got the s50 which is the next one down from the s90....id go with either that or the tomtom

[bezz]

the navman s90 is essentially the same as the s50, just it has spoken street names and the inbuilt camera. The s80 has the spoken street names too.

[1991_Vn2nV]

A few more questions...

1.) Who actually sells Mio?

2.) Is Australia getting the Traffic channel stuff anytime soon? If we are i'll spend a bit extra and get the traffic channel ready model, if not i'll just get the next model down without it.

[bezz]

for 2) if you're talking about that on the fly traffic update thing, they've been talking about it for over a year now and still haven't seen anything.

[bezz]

doesnt kmart or somewhere like that sell mio?

[1991_Vn2nV]

for 2) if you're talking about that on the fly traffic update thing, they've been talking about it for over a year now and still haven't seen anything.

So there are no real set dates or anything? It sounds good and worth the little extra to get the model thats already set for it.

doesnt kmart or somewhere like that sell mio?

Not sure, might pop in and have a look today at KMART and see if they do.

[bezz]

So there are no real set dates or anything? It sounds good and worth the little extra to get the model thats already set for it.

in the tomtom range the xl upwards are set for it. It just uses bluetooth to connect to your phone, which then connects to wap to download the info. Interetingly though it can't use the bluetooth to make handsfree calls, which is a bit of a waste imo. Still i ended up getting that model for my old man, as I couldn't justify the extra couple hundred $$ for an fm transmitter and bluetooth handsfree that he wouldnt use anyway. I have a feeling the one v3 and the xl might be reaplced with new models soon, theyre discounted pretty severely atm.