GPS Systems

i don't mean to tease you, janie.... anything but... however, several
years ago dalin bought me a very nice car compass. there are electric ones
that very accurately show directions -- in fact i have one in our family
car, the subaru. cost approx $30 and is very useful for knowing where i'm
going. and the thought is what matters here... and i've seen some very
nice maps packaged for use in cars. they're very nice -- (we have one..)
and does he have an AAA subscription? if not, that's a priceless gift...
i'm trying to think of your intention and not of the gift. that's why i
suggested these... i agree -- $500 is a bit steep for a gift for most of
us. good luck.

Paco...

Some new cars have the compasses built in.

I know nothing about them except they are terribly expensive. I would love
to get one for Al on our 36th wedding anniversary but I think they will
definitely be out of our price range. Can anyone tell me about it and how to
find the cheapest one that will work for his? I would so love to get him one
but I do think they are too expensive for us.

david...

i saw a very nice one last week for $500... worked quite well... but i
don't the price ranges for the various brands

Jean B....

The one I would really have liked to buy, if my car didn't
have such a system (and I am assuming you want this for the
car, Janie) is the Magellan one, related to Hertz's NeverLost

Jane Benn...

I bought a reconditioned Garmin iQue 3600. It is not only a GPS, but also a
PDA, and will play mp3 files, although the speakers are not that great. My
brother has a few games loaded on his.

SInce it is factory reconditioned by Garmin, they guarantee it as if it were
new, and I got the car bundle along with it. The only other thing I needed
was a bigger SD card, which I was given for Christmas, since I had made it
know what I planned on buying.

I had a minor software problem when I first got it, and their support on
their 1-800 number was fantastic.

I've been happy with it since, unlike me, it never seems to get lost.

I just did a search and found one for $234.85.

system. It unfortunately costs $1000 at Sharper Image. Oooh,
either the price has dropped to a mere (!) $700, or this is a
different model--only Magellan that comes up on that site
though. See:

Here's one for $500:

Note they have replacement guarantees, which might be worth
the money.

I like the portability of those units, and also the voice
prompts....

Maybe you can find cheaper ones elsewhere--even on eBay.
Folks may be selling their portable units if they buy vehicles
that come with built-in systems.

david...

jean, the one i had looked at was a magellan roadmate 700 -- and i found
that prices vary a lot... i found a refurbished one for $390, a new one for
$500 at radio shack, and the same one for $1,100 at an internet camera
store.... so, prices vary a lot, it seems. well worth careful shopping,
for sure...

Jean B....

I agree. I think Sharper Image would be about the worst, if
one can find a product elsewhere. I only went to their site
because I'd seen a nice opne there. :-)

Janie

Maxx...

This would depend on how you travel.

In my case, I spend 5 days a week in rental cars traveling in the US &
Canada. I place the GPS on the dashboard, and my laptop on the
passingers seat with the map program. The whole setup is from
Microsoft Streets & Trips, available from Sams Club. Program and GPS
package runs $100.00. Well worth it.

If your looking for the installed setup in your own car, they're rather
expensive. For an occasional trip and just running around town,
they're most likely too expensive to be worth it.