Garmin Nuvi 200 vs TomTom One 130S

[space-time]

OK, I don't know much about GPS. I did a little research online, I know some use NavTeq and some use TeleAtlas, I looked at the obvious features such as speech announcement (turn right in 400 feet vs turn right in 400 feet on Franklin St) and I think that's about it. I don't really care for MP3, Bluetooth, traffic, that-feature-you-never-used-but-you-paid-for, etc. I just want a basic GPS.

Tomorrow Staples has the Nuvi 200 for 150 and TomTomOne 130S for 200. Which one would you recommend for a GPS newbie like me?

[graylocks]

i don't know about the individual features but in general, the reviewer at gpsmagazine.com seems to feel that the routing engine for the garmins is far superior to the one in TomToms.

[carl]

I have never used the TomTom One, but have been very happy with my Garmin unit. I have a NUVi 660 and I really like the wide screen format and the speech announcement feature. As you made reference to the MP3, bluetooth, traffic updates (I don't live in a large city) are features I won't pay for next time.

[Microman]

on my 660, never use the mp3

Traffic updates I use all the time, but get varied results sometimes positive, sometimes not.

Bluetooth, in Ca., will be required, in a month so that may be a way to go, but I dont keep the Garmin in the car all the time., so maybe not.

[Michael]

I can't speak to the differences between the Garmin and TomTom, but I have a comment on the Garmin.

I have a Garmin 260 (the text-to-speech version of the 200). I previously had a c320 (no text-to-speech). I like the voice telling me the road name much more than I thought I would. Driving in downtown Atlanta, with short blocks, makes my 260 much easier to use than the c320.

It's the one upgrade in a gps that I would consider.

[h linamen]

I have the Garmin Nuvi 200 wide and love it. Two thoughts... many folks don't find they need the wide, so the 200 you're looking at would be fine and tha's a great price. Also, the more expensive one that says street names are not needed. I much prefer mine that says turn left in 500 ft.... then just before the street "turn left now". One reviewer said many streets aren't marked with street signs anyway and most of time the driver is distracted trying to see a street sign to match with the spoken word.

AGAIN... that $150 for the Nuvi 200 is a good deal.

Here's an informative thread: http://forums.macresource.com/read/1/496...msg-496343

[vision63]

Like H linamen, I have the Nuvi 200w too. I don't use it too much since I pretty much know where I'm going, but it's great for finding nearby businesses.

There is no question that the woman's voice is fairly sexy sounding (especially when she say's "destination". That's gotta count for something.