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General discussion

Portable GPS units

Mar 27, 2008 5:12PM PDT

Hi CNet, Which brand is the best portable GPS system. In 2005 I paid $2,500 for a Navman ICN635i, this included the purchase of Maps for Western Europe. At the time the unit was considered one of the best available. I recently enquired as to the availability of updated maps. It appears there are no updated maps for the 635i as the "old" 635i is not capable of being loaded with the new maps due to advancements made in map data and software technology but Navman made an offer to trade in my $2,500 635i unit for the new S50 model loaded with the latest maps for $179, which is the price of a map upgrade. The S50 unit Navman is offering retails for less than $450. That means in 3 years I tear up $2000. How long should a manufacturer give support for it's products? With regards, Bryan

Discussion is locked

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That's a great deal. TAKE IT!!!
Mar 27, 2008 10:15PM PDT

And a sign of good support too. Many companies would have just told you to toss the old and buy the new!

Bob

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re: Portable GPS units
Apr 8, 2008 3:00AM PDT

The three companies that we consistently give good marks to are TomTom, Garmin, and Magellan. Lowrance is also an interesting company, especially for specialty purposes, like off-road and marine-capable GPS.

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I own a TomTom ONE 3rd Edition...
Apr 28, 2008 5:47AM PDT

...and think it?s a great bang for the buck at well under $200. While I?ve never been in a situation where the maps were outdated (knock on wood), if and when the time comes there are updates available for around 60 bucks that you can download online at TomTom?s website. I have no experience using the Navman s50, but here is a good head-to-head review against a TomTom ONE XL (bigger brother to my ONE 3rd Edition): http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,23536098-5014108,00.html