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GPS comparison


Urban Surfer

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Depends... dopeslap.gif

 

If you prefer touch screen, get the Nav. The 276 has a brighter higher resolution display for daylight and comes with a built-in battery.

 

The Nav will have all the roads and POI's pre-loaded and uses different routing algorythms than the 276. To get the detailed road maps, car mount, and 256M flash card you'll need to add several hundred $$$ to the price. Nav is only for use on road - if you're a boater than the 276 may be a better (more versatile) choice.

 

Summary - the two units are excellent but quite different. Go check 'em out and see which feels more like what you'll need.

 

Cheers,

Greg

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John Bentall

You should include the Zumo 550 in your comparison.

If you are thinking of ever using a cellphone with the NavIII - and you probably are not if you are looking at the 276c - then you must get the dealer to show you the cellphone working with your bike/helmet combination.

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Another consideration: does the unit have an onboard re-chargeable battery? That's a very useful feature unless you want your GPS powering down at every gas, and meal stop. Ever want to play with the GPS in a restaurant, motel room, or your tent? Then get one with a battery. The 276C has a battery. The Navigator does not, as far as I know. Having owned one with a battery, I'd never get one without it.

 

I also prefer buttons over the touch screen, because you can use them by feel and don't need to look at the screen as much (and yes, people do end up playing with them while on the go, despite what some might tell you). That's a vey subjective thing, though. Some like touch screens, some don't.

 

I also prefer going right to the source, i.e., Garmin in this case, rather than buying a Garmin unit from a third party, in this case BMW.

 

I also liked the 276C because it's one of Garmin's marine units, and definitely made for outdoor use in sunny conditions (and wet). Some units sold for bikes are car units, which are made for use inside a comparatively darker interior of an automobile.

 

A good source for advice, and products, in Canada is GPS Central in Calgary.

 

http://www.gpscentral.ca/

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A good source for advice, and products, in Canada is GPS Central in Calgary.

I beg to disagree. GPS Central is a good place to avoid.

 

"Free" updates for Garmin GPS software ... they wanted to charge me $9.00 postage ... And I live in the same city!

 

When I asked if I could just pick it up ... they said no ... They don't want customers "loitering around".

 

The guy who does GPS Central telephone support ... Lives and works out of Las Vegas, Nevada and has never been to Canada ... dopeslap.gif

 

Go to GPS City in Calgary instead. Free there means free. And they like customers and don't treat them like dog poop.

 

http://www.gpscity.ca/

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Urban Surfer

Thanks for the feed back. The internal battery is a must, and I don't own a cell phone. So the 276c is the one.

My only concern was vibration from the boxer. Will that kill a normal GPS?

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Aluminum_Butt

My only concern was vibration from the boxer. Will that kill a normal GPS?

 

Nope. There was some concern about this on some of the early hard-drive-based units (2620?). But there is no issue on the flash-based units.

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Another consideration: does the unit have an onboard re-chargeable battery? That's a very useful feature unless you want your GPS powering down at every gas, and meal stop. Ever want to play with the GPS in a restaurant, motel room, or your tent? Then get one with a battery. The 276C has a battery. The Navigator does not, as far as I know. Having owned one with a battery, I'd never get one without it.

 

I also prefer buttons over the touch screen, because you can use them by feel and don't need to look at the screen as much (and yes, people do end up playing with them while on the go, despite what some might tell you). That's a vey subjective thing, though. Some like touch screens, some don't.

 

I also prefer going right to the source, i.e., Garmin in this case, rather than buying a Garmin unit from a third party, in this case BMW.

 

I also liked the 276C because it's one of Garmin's marine units, and definitely made for outdoor use in sunny conditions (and wet). Some units sold for bikes are car units, which are made for use inside a comparatively darker interior of an automobile.

 

 

Mark, sounds like a Zumo would fit all your criteria;

 

internal battery

buttons as well as touch screen

specifically made for bikes

waterproof

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+++ for the 376c. Great screen, love the XM weather presentation. Meet all of the requirements and then some...Got a boat?( this would be the 'and then some' part).

 

P.S. Does the Zumo do 'trackback'?? As in cookie crumbs...Must have if you get 'off road' ever.

 

Jim

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Don't overlook the Garmin Quest ... internal battery for ~20 hrs or docked to the cradle; quite nice for a small unit! We have several and find them to be great. thumbsup.gif

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Another consideration: does the unit have an onboard re-chargeable battery? That's a very useful feature unless you want your GPS powering down at every gas, and meal stop. Ever want to play with the GPS in a restaurant, motel room, or your tent? Then get one with a battery. The 276C has a battery. The Navigator does not, as far as I know. Having owned one with a battery, I'd never get one without it.

 

I also prefer buttons over the touch screen, because you can use them by feel and don't need to look at the screen as much (and yes, people do end up playing with them while on the go, despite what some might tell you). That's a vey subjective thing, though. Some like touch screens, some don't.

 

I also prefer going right to the source, i.e., Garmin in this case, rather than buying a Garmin unit from a third party, in this case BMW.

 

I also liked the 276C because it's one of Garmin's marine units, and definitely made for outdoor use in sunny conditions (and wet). Some units sold for bikes are car units, which are made for use inside a comparatively darker interior of an automobile.

 

 

Mark, sounds like a Zumo would fit all your criteria;

 

internal battery

buttons as well as touch screen

specifically made for bikes

waterproof

 

Close, but no cigar Gerald. I wouldn't consider a Zumo until Garmin changes the firmware to allow the user to disable the automatic recalculation of routes. That's a real drawback in my view, given my experience with my 276C to date.

 

I fI were to buy another GPS down the road, I'd consider the Zumo if they changed that anomaly, though I still prefer butoons over touch screen, and I really like Garmin's marine plotters, because they focus on navigation features for obvious reasons (they're used on boats where navigation can be somewhat more critical). Garmin is coming out with a new lineup of marine units this spring, so I'll be interested to see what they've done.

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A couple other opinions (and worth exactly what you're paying for 'em) lmao.gif

 

1. The 276's daytime screen is AWESOME - better detail and brighter than my 2720.

 

2. While the 2720 will get me to my destination, sometimes the routing leaves much to be desired. I've read the 2610 and 276 have better routing.

 

3. Absolutely LOVE touchscreen. After I received my 2720 from Santa I BRIEFLY used another gps without touchscreen (hey, it was free with a rental car and I was actually using this unit side-by-side with my 2720) and I was sold on touchscreen.

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I bought a Garmin Nuvi 360 - has battery back-up and can be used remotely. Can carry it in your pocket to help you wander the streets of London, Venice, Paris or even Boston! I like it. Bought it at Prairie Geomatics - very quick arrival and excellent service. http://www.prairie.mb.ca/

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I bought a Garmin Nuvi 360 - has battery back-up and can be used remotely.

 

My wife borrowed my 2730 a few times and decided she needed a GPS. Costco had this unit on their website for 2 days at an unheard of $359, bought it for her. I like the idea of the battery back-up. It hasn't arrived yet.

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bakerzdosen
My wife borrowed my 2730 a few times and decided she needed a GPS. Costco had this unit on their website for 2 days at an unheard of $359, bought it for her. I like the idea of the battery back-up. It hasn't arrived yet.
A 2730 for $359 or a 2720? I noticed the 2720 at that price (which is still a really good deal.)

 

I never saw the 2730 and I'm usually pretty good hearing about those things. I think I would have caved at that price instead of getting a Zumo one of these days...

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Don't overlook the Garmin Quest ... internal battery for ~20 hrs or docked to the cradle; quite nice for a small unit! We have several and find them to be great. thumbsup.gif

 

Shameless Plug #547: I have a Garmin Quest for sale. I'll put it in the Classified in a few days or PM me for more info. I haven't thought about a price yet.

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bakerzdosen
A 2730 for $359 or a 2720? I noticed the 2720 at that price (which is still a really good deal.)
FWIW, the 2720 went down $10 to $349 at Costco.
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My wife borrowed my 2730 a few times and decided she needed a GPS. Costco had this unit on their website for 2 days at an unheard of $359, bought it for her. I like the idea of the battery back-up. It hasn't arrived yet.
A 2730 for $359 or a 2720? I noticed the 2720 at that price (which is still a really good deal.)

 

I never saw the 2730 and I'm usually pretty good hearing about those things. I think I would have caved at that price instead of getting a Zumo one of these days...

 

Matt, I just noticed re-reading my original post that you quoted from, that I wasn't clear on the fact it was the NUVI 360 that I was posting the price about and purchased for my wife. Sorry for the confusion.

 

On another note I got a mailer from Costco today with the 2720 at $399. confused.gif

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bakerzdosen

You are indeed correct. If you got a Nuvi 360 for $369... well, I salute you for getting a steal of a deal. wave.gif <---he's kinda saluting...

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