Shopping for my first GPS

[Shay]

...though technically it will be my third. A couple of days ago, I bought two GPSes at the flea market. One is a Tomtom One N14644 (?) and the other is a Garmin Nuvi 255W. I spent $70 to get both, figuring that I'd sell or give away one (or both) after trying them out.

I have no overwhelming brand preference, based on my experiences with the user interface of these two specific models. I do, however, want the following features, which neither quite satisfies:
- Lifetime traffic and maps
- Spoken street names
- Lane guidance
- Quick recalculation if you go a different way
- Time of day consideration etc (ie IQ Routes or Garmin's equivalent)

I specifically do not want a 5" model (too bulky) or a glass/capacitive touchscreen (I don't like how they feel) which also eliminates any that might be out of my price range. I don't care about things like bluetooth or mp3 playing or whatever. Voice recognition might be nice but it's unimportant.

The two I'm looking at are the XL 340TM and Nuvi 2350LMT, and the Tomtom is considerably less expensive. If you're familiar with these, are the interfaces similar to the ones I already have, and what might I be giving up if I choose one over the other (or over the ones I have)? I'm having trouble finding a good comparison.

 

[DavidS777]

Shay - Welcome to TT forums! :wave:

I'm not familiar with the NUVI2350LMT... but you can go to the following for a feature review comparison of various TT models:

https://www.tomtomforums.com/genera...del-feature-reference-updated-4-1-2011-a.html

You also mentioned 'Lane Guidance' and there are some complaints on how TT deals with that:

https://www.tomtomforums.com/general-tomtom-discussion/19604-distance-next-exit-only-lane.html

The above were pulled from TT general discussion sticky's:
General TomTom Discussion - TomTomForums.com - TomTom, GPS Navigation Community

Has lots of good info...

I use the XXL540TM which is an older model; with a LOT of features; 5" screen (which you don't like); bicycle, walking; vehicle route planning; IQ; Traffic lights alerts, Itinerary planning; etc. It also has 'only' a 2gb internal card (getting small these days if you also want Europe); and 1.0 usb. The slightly newer (5" screen) XXL550TM has a lot less features; but does have 2.0 usb...

The suggested feature spreadsheet will help you determine various TT features and capabilities...

David :thumb:

 

[Shay]

Thanks, that was helpful. I ended up ordering the XL 340TM after all. It reviews well, the feature set looks good, and I found a nice deal on it using shopbot. This spreadsheet suggests that the new one will be quite similar to the Tomtom I have (CPU, memory, and user interface) but with the features I want, and a bigger screen.

 

[alfie67]

Thanks, that was helpful. I ended up ordering the XL 340TM after all. It reviews well, the feature set looks good, and I found a nice deal on it using shopbot. This spreadsheet suggests that the new one will be quite similar to the Tomtom I have (CPU, memory, and user interface) but with the features I want, and a bigger screen.

Great choice Shay! The forum is a great resource with many volunteers who will help with questions. Enjoy!!