GPS Devices Life

I purchased my V Command from Advanced Navigation. The width and length of the V Com unit is about the size of a CD case and approximately 2″ thick. Included was a microphone, GPS antenna and cigarette lighter adapter. It also comes with a zippered leather carrying case. Set up is simple, you just place the GPS antenna on the dash of your vehicle, clip the microphone on the sunvisor and plug it into the cigarette lighter adapter. The adapter has an on/off switch with a green LED light informing you that the unit is on. Within a few minutes it received a GPS signal.

I love my Magellan 330X GPS. It is a great tool for traveling, especially if you can find the unit with the car adapter and mounting bracket.

The display is very easy to read and see even when it is mounted on the dash with the suction cup mounting bracket. There are different types of adapters for cigarette lighters, serial ports on computers etc.

I have now had this unit for 4 months and it has bailed me out MANY times. It is really uncanny how accurate it is.

On occasion you will think “no way, I shouldn’t be turning here” so you don’t only to find that the unit WAS right. The real beauty of these things is that when you DO screw up, thinking “great, now what”, you hear the unit say “recalculating” — and off you go, following new directions to get back on course.

I have never owned GPS before so I have no frame of reference for comparison.

Here is what I use it for:

- As I drive around I mark places that I frequently go to. I have downloaded the street level maps for my city and surrounding area and I find it interesting to see how far apart things are. I use the navigation mode to help me estimate how long it will take me to get somewhere.

- I have started carrying it with me when I jog to record the routes I run and how far I have gone. It is very handy for that.

I chose the 162 (external antenna) for my boat to be my main navigational GPS. I am operating on Lakes Huron and Erie. To me this is the best inexpensive built-in GPS.

The display is larger and provides better resolution that most (including the old 128). The display windows may also be altered to provide only the data of interest to the navigator (nice touch).

The plotter capabilities are very much lacking and the Canadian Mapsource recreation CD is useless for navigation. Don’t waste your money here. This needs to be improved by Garmin in the future.

Go ahead and scoff. Call it an indulgent and unnecessary plaything. Roll your eyes.

That’s how I felt about cell phones before I got one. That’s how I felt about high speed internet before I got myself wired up. That’s how I felt about digital cable before I had hundreds of channels to flip through when there’s nothing on. And now it’s how I feel about global positioning services.

This unit was purchased as a replacement for my Magellan Meridian Gold series.

I was quite surprised when I got it to notice how much smaller and lighter it is. I don’t know the specifics but the screen seems almost the same size and the color screen makes it much easier to read.

I am used to the screens and menus from my Meridian but I can see some definite differences most of which are a great improvement.

The receiver is really good, it will pick up my location sitting in my office with all the doors and windows closed. I know my old unit needed to be near a window.

We recently upgraded from this unit to the newer Garmin nuvi 650. But the nuvi 200 is a great basic model that serves one basic purpose: Give directions (with less of the bells and whistles of the fancier ones).

To be completely honest, I am quite disappointed with my purchase of the Magellan MAP 330M GPS system. I purchased it this past February for my husband, and avid hiker. He took it to the mountains, and there was no satellite reception at all. The menus are difficult to navigate through, and the 7 MB saving capacity can only hold maps for approximately one county. Although the maps are very detailed and accurate, I spend most of the time staring at the hourglass waiting for a signal. For the price of the unit, I wish I had spent a bit more and had a more reliable unit. Turning the unit on at night is a hassle, especially while trying to keep your concentration on the road. First, you have to press the on button, then to get the screen illuminated you must press it again. I can’t tell you how many times I have shut off the system by accident when trying to illuminate the screen. If anyone has had a good experience with this unit, I would love to hear from them.

You can read my previous review in the garmin 120 category. My garmin 110 started off good. But after using it for some time it started to develop problems.

Such as…

For no reason at all the garmin would lock up. The display would remain locked. You could not access functions, because the buttons became inoperable. You could not shut it off either. You had to physically remove the batteries to bring it back to operation.