GO 630 vs XL 340?

[danielson2047]

Just wonderin which one is better/more reliable. I understand the go is a bit older. Is this correct? Any features besides bluetooth that the GO has in addition? Thanx.

 

[dhn]

The best feature the 630 has is a sd slot for a sdhc card whci can be up to 32 gigs in size (though that's overkill) which allows for the storing of plenty of additional maps, if you desire, without having to copy one map to the computer before installing a second one like the 340 requires.

 

[danielson2047]

So if i don't need bluetooth, and never plan on needing anything more than a US map, the 630 prob aint worth it?

 

[canderson]

In addition to the SD card on the 630...

Depends on which 340 you're asking about. There's the vanilla XL340, and then there's the S, T, M and TM versions. The vanilla model does not have text-to-speech (spoken street names). The 630 does. The 630 also sports a significantly faster processor. The 630 has auto-volume and auto-brightness (both based upon ambient). You can't turn off the auto-zoom on the 340 (that one alone would drive me nuts). The 630 can be configured with/without. The 630 has the 1/8" audio out jack for routing audio to your vehicle sound system. The 630 has a 2.0 USB port while the 340 has the 1.1 version. Moving data for updates and backups is a lot faster on the 630.

The only advantage of the 340 is that it has slightly newer firmware, but I doubt either unit will see any firmware upgrades.

 

[wjlelectric]

I bought a GO 630 about 1.5 years ago because we travelled with someone who had on.
It works great but unfortunately it is no longer being manufactured. I will use it as long as there are updates.
I would appreciate an opinion as to what is the best new model produced?

 

[dhn]

Well, none of the LIVE models are available in your location so they're out.

The newer 2X models are supposed to be the top of the heap but honestly, I can't recommend them at this point since many promised features for them have failed to appear so far (Itinerary planning, extra voices, maps, you don't have access to the file system so no custom backups).

If I had to go out today and buy a model, it would be the 540TM -- NOT the 550 which has EasyMenu and reduced features.

 

[wjlelectric]

Thanks for your opinion and suggestion.