.... my wife's new job has her traveling around chicagoland and I am spending too much time on the phone playing turn by turn navigator. Our anniversary is coming up followed shortly by her b-day so I want to buy her a nice VERY SIMPLE TO OPERATE unit.

Help computer.

<img src="https://buy.garmin.com/shop/store/assets/images/products/010-00540-70/en/cf-md.jpg">

Garmin Nuvi 650

and it is dope. My dad has one model above it (nuvi 660, same put has built in traffic and bluetooth) and he figured it out without my help, so you know it is user friendly.

it is $427 from <a href="http://www.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=GRNUVI650">buydig.com</a>


it has the US all loaded in it, it plays mp3s (if you want), it reads the street names (IE "turn right on Elm Street" vs "turn right ahead").

I am pretty happy with it. She might care about traffic... it only covers traffic on the expressways, it is $60/year subscription, and I have heard it isn't aweseom all the time, but people say they would totally renew the subscription.

so it says "approaching red light camera" when I get near one. Dope.

Annoying in the city, b/c it doesn't know to avoid the highway at rush hour, or to go around the Fullerton/Elston/Damen intersection, etc. We didn't get the traffic subscription, but I heard it's not the greatest.

but you have to do it manually at the time... hit the blue button, then the options, then navigation, then avoidances, then check the highway's box. Then it will route you around highways. ... then you need to remember to uncheck that box later, or it will route you places without the expressway at all...

I am not sure how to set it to avoid an intersection, I was just talking to someone about exactly that the other day on another forum.

But if you use the detour button, it can sometimes be helpful (when you are on a route, hit the blue button, then detour and it will try to get you off that road ASAP, but you guys probably already knew all this, but I figured for the benefit of others...)

I am not supoosed to... it is also in long and lat, not actual intersections... so it will be of limited use to you without a GPS unit...

<ul><li><a href="http://laptopmag.com/Features/GPS-Buyers-Guide.htm">GPS</a></li></ul>

I have the c340 with all of North America and most of Europe.

Also link below is to a sale GPS city is having every few days after 7pm. I missed out on the c530 deal for Elaine.<ul><li><a href="http://www.gpscity.com/777">GPScity is have a crazy sale</a></li></ul>

YOU'RE NOT AT WORK WHEN I MOST NEED YOU TO BE!!!!!

:)

Indeed, it's not so great in the city but (a) I highly doubt any other nav system would be any better, and (2) nav is rarely useful in the city anyway.

you DEFINITELY want a Garmin.

Nuvi's are the best. 350 doesn't have traffic or have the ability tp say street names.

360 has the above.


370 adds built in europe mas.


If you want simple and basic, get a nuvi 2_ _0 series.

If you want a nice unit for america, get the 360 . Ever going to europe, get the 370.

Call me for help if you want. at barber today, mid o tomorrow, barber on sat. mid o sun.


Mike S

when there is 4 or 5 alternate routes that pretty much all take you to same place in about the same amount of time....sometimes, if you live there, you just know that Elston will go faster than Lincoln or Claiborn or something like that...

I am thinking of getting one just for the burbs. Even though I get out there maybe once a month there is no single time that I don't get lost, unless I have been to a place before.

.... and really liked how simple it was to operate. My wife doesn't use electronics that are a pita to use so I think she'll like this one.

Since I already usually know the fastest/best streets to take.

For example, I don't think any nav system will know NOT to take Lincoln Ave on the weekend since it gets so backed up.

So I'm doing some research on Door County for the weekend thing and I see something about "GPS nerds - Geocaching!". I read it.... weird. Linked to a forum and discovered that there's a sh!t load of geocaches in the Chicago area.

They don't hide cold beer at each location.