Best Garmin GPS 2010: Entry-Level Models

Right now, the top seller at Amazon is the Garmin nüvi 260w. The nüvi 260w has the wide, 4.3-inch, screen with either a 3D or 2D view. It’s also got text-to-speech, which means that it actually tells you the names of the streets you’re to turn on. It comes preloaded with maps of the U.S. , Canada, and Puerto Rico, along with over 6 million points of interest. A point of interest, or POI, is the location of hotels, gas stations, and other useful landmarks. Right now, you can at the Garmin nüvi 260w for slightly more than $100 at Amazon.

Best Garmin GPS 2010: Mid-Priced Models

The top selling mid-priced model from Garmin right now is the Garmin nüvi 765. Like the 260w, the 765 is a widescreen model. It’s screen is 4.3-inches on the diagonal. Again, like the 260w, the nüvi 765 comes pre-loaded with maps of North America including Puerto Rico. Unlike the 260w, you get Bluetooth capability, so you can use your GPS device for hands-free calling. (I don’t think this will necessarily get you around any laws about using cell phones and driving, so be careful, here.) The maps come with lane assist, which tells you which lane to get in when you pass through busy intersections. And, you get real time traffic information for the lifetime of the device. All of this is going to set you back slightly more than $200.

Best Garmin GPS 2010: High-End Models

This is going to sound really weird, but the best Garmin GPS 2010 high-end models haven’t even been released to the market yet. Of course, I’m talking about the nüvi 3700 series. I’ve written pre-reviews of each of these products already on this blog. You can access them here, here, and here. Suffice it to say that the 3700 series has tons of great features, and if you want to spring for the state of the art, you should certainly consider one of these. Prices are currently from $300 to $450.

The nuvi 765T generally works great, just like all Garmin products. There have been a few complaints, however, about the 765T’s Bluetooth connection. That’s not unusual. I’ve had folks email me about their nuvi’s inability to connect properly with their particular cell phone, before.

The particular type of problem I’m referring to, however, is when you use Bluetooth and the FM transmission capability together. Apparently, these can sort of interfere with each other. Don’t worry, though, here’s a fix I found out about.

1. Go to Garmin and make sure you register your device and get the software updates
2. Go to webupdater and let it update your Bluetooth and DSP software
3. Also, make sure your phone is set to transfer via Bluetooth

Usually, this will solve your problems. Here’s a link to a page on Garmin’s site that can help.

Sometimes if the software is corrupted, you might have to delete the software from the unit, then reupdate it. You can email Garmin and ask them how to do this. They generally have very good customer service.

Want to know more about the Garmin nuvi 765T 4.3-inch Bluetooth portable GPS navigator with traffic? Just click the link, here.

Having said that, for this Garmin GPS 2010 Round Up, let me show you a few of my favorite Garmins.

Garmin GPS 2010: Garmin nüvi 765/765T 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic

The Garmin nüvi 765/765T 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic is one of my favorite GPS devices made by anyone. It’s got the wide screen, Bluetooth, and also comes with multi-point routing and FM transmission. I really like the FM transmission part. This lets you hear the devices spoken output through your car’s stereo system. Although most Garmin nuvi’s have a fair speaker, it’s a lot easier to hear through your car’s system, especially in difficult traffic when you’re in unfamiliar territory. All in all the Garmin nüvi 765/765T 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic is a great deal, and right now, Amazon has a great price on it! Did I mention it has real time traffic! Yet another bonus. For the features and the price, this is one of my all around favorite units.

The Garmin nüvi 260W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator is another one of my favorite GPS devices, and another top seller. It’s easy to see why. Right now, the price on the Garmin nüvi 260W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator is pretty incredible. With the Garmin nüvi 260W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator you get text to speech, millions of pre-programmed points of interest, and also it comes with maps of the continental US, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, along with Canada. For the money, the Garmin nüvi 260W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator is undoubtedly one of the best deals on the market. Want to find out more about the Garmin nüvi 260W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator, today! Just click here!

The Garmin nüvi 285W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator is another “favorite” Garmin GPS devices. What’s so great about the Garmin nüvi 285W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator is you can get text to speech on a device that only costs a little more than $100. Text to speech means the device will actually tell you the name of the street you’re to turn on, instead of just saying “Turn here.” I’m sure you can see how useful this is, especially in heavy traffic or when your in unfamiliar territory. Not only that, but the Garmin nüvi 285W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator also has Bluetooth capability. This lets you use your cell phone through the device for hands-free calling. Another great benefit. I’m sure you will be impressed with the current price at Amazon! Check the price, today!

Although it’s not quite the bestseller as the three above, I’ve got to mention at least one of Garmin’s 1300 series. The Garmin nüvi 1350/1350T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic has all the bells and whistles you would expect, the wide screen and also text to speech (where it tells you the name of the street you’re to turn on), but it’s also got some neat new software. I’m talking about Garmin’s optional cityXplorer. When I say “optional” I mean you have to buy the maps for each city separately, but they’re not expensive. What cityXplorer does is give you pedestrian friendly maps you can follow, if you’re visiting a pedestrian friendly city. Very cool for a vacation! The Garmin nüvi 1350/1350T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic also has Lane Assist. This is a really neat feature, where your device helps you select the proper lane in unfamiliar intersections. Great stuff if you’re on an urban expressway during rush hour! What the Garmin nüvi 1350/1350T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic lacks, however, is FM transmission, which I really like and also multi-point routing. Multi-point routing is useless if you’re just headed off to one destination, but if you have a number of stops, then it’s excellent to have. You can find out more about the Garmin nüvi 1350/1350T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic, here, at Amazon, today!

Surely, there are other Garmin GPS devices which deserve mention in this article. But I think this small selection at least gives you a feel for what’s on the market. What’s so cool about Garmin is how they’ve lowered prices recently, yet continued to make some excellent and needed technological improvements to their line. I’ve got to admit, it’s hard to beat Garmin nowadays.

If you want to know more about all of Garmin’s products, click here.

Text to speech means that your GPS actually tells you the name of the street name you’re turning on. Instead of just saying: “Turn here,” the GPS voice will say “Turn on Brown Street.” You can see how helpful this is. If you’re looking for a certain address, it’s really nice to know when you get to the street you’re looking for so you can start looking at address numbers.

Although a lot of folks still think “text to speech” is the thing to look for in a GPS, it’s really pretty much standard equipment nowadays. Of all the GPS systems sold on Amazon, for instance, there are only two that don’t have Garmin GPS text to speech capability.

So, do you want text to speech when you buy a Garmin GPS? Of course you do. But there are other features you want to be on the lookout for, too, such as traffic capability, multiple destinations, and Bluetooth. Although you want your Garmin GPS to have text to speech, a few more features are not going to cost you a lot more money.

To help you out, though, I thought I would list the top selling Garmin GPS text to speech units on Amazon.com. These closely correspond with Garmin’s overall bestsellers because in the United States, Garmin has most of the market.

Here’s the list:

1. Garmin nuvi 285W
2. Garmin nuvi 260W
3. Garmin nuvi 765/765T
4. Garmin nuvi 265W/265WT
5. Garmin nuvi 255W

The “W” means widescreen, which is another feature that’s almost becoming “de rigueur” for car GPS devices. The “T” means it has real time traffic capability.

Want to know more about each of these Garmin GPS text to speech units? Just click here to be taken to a page for each specific product.

Before we start, Garmin, Tom Tom, and Magellan are not the only three GPS manufacturers out there. There are many others. These three, however, are the big three, representing probably 90% of the GPS sales. Garmin itself sells about 70% of the GPS systems sold.

Do you have to just consider these three manufacturers when buying a GPS system? Of course not! Explore the other companies. Many of them offer good products with competitive prices. Just as a personal note, I just tend to stick to the major manufacturers whenever I buy something. That way I know my purchase will be supported next year or the next.

Back to Garmin

Before I talk about Garmin products in particular, let’s talk a little about GPS receivers in general–especially what their main features are.

The basic features of any GPS after-market automotive system are the following:

* Touch screen interface with 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional views
* Automatic calculation of the fastest route and the shortest route to your destination
* Database of millions of pre-programmed destinations, or Points of Interest (POI’s)
* Pre-loaded with maps of the lower 48 United States

If this is all you want, then you can get this from Garmin for right around $150! The Garmin nuvi 200 would be the perfect unit for you. It can do all of the above and more.

Tom Tom and Magellan also have competitive products at this price range. The Tom Tom One and the Magellan Maestro 3100 are great introductory GPS receivers. They will do all of the above and more, and both cost around $150.

However, if you want more, it’s not that expensive to get it!

For another $100 to $200, you can get a GPS receiver, which does all of this:

* Wider 4.3-inch screen
* Saying street names with the spoken directions
* More Maps–Canada, Mexico, Europe
* Many more POI’s (how about 6 million?)
* Bluetooth, for hands-free calling
* Real-time traffic and weather (with subscriptions)

The Garmin nuvi 350 can do most of this, although it only has the 3.5-inch screen. Currently the nuvi 350 runs about $200. Magellan’s 3250 would be their direct competitor for the nuvi 350.

As price goes up, you can get more and more features, wider screens, and much much more.