I love my GPS unit (truly, madly, deeply), but the truth of the matter is that your GPS is only as good as the maps on it. And while I think Garmin makes very nice GPS units, I also think they kind of stick it to you with the price of their map upgrades. And if you live in an area where they’re constantly working on the roads, it doesn’t take long before your GPS thinks you’re driving in the river when you’re really not. (Not that it’s not amusing, now and again, to listen to it plead with you “Please return to the road.”)
With this in mind, I’m inclined to call this one a smokin’ deal: Amazon currently has the TomTom XL 350TM 4.3-Inch GPS for just $130, and that includes lifetime traffic and map updates. [Edited to add: Looks like it’s now defaulting to a different vendor on the Amazon page. Look for the “More Buying Choices” column on the right and choose to see the price in-cart when buying directly from Amazon, to get the $130 price.] You’ll never need another unit, unless the new ones start doing something really cool like autopilot, or something.
Or maybe laser shows. Laser shows would be cool, too. But barring that? This is the unit to have. No matter how many times they rip up and move the roads.
I asked my Garmin to take me to a place with a relatively new road, and so it told me to “turn left, then go off-road.” AH HA HA NO.
Well, you only posted this 20 minutes ago, but the price I got was $200. Kinda bummed.
Autopilot on a GPS? Mine always tells me turn left off the middle of a bridge. NO thank you! Did I say something to offend you, Aunty Tomtom?
Whehn I click on the link Amazon shows the price as $200- ???
Carrie & Queenie, she updated the post above. Go to the “More Buying Choices” section and choose Amazon -it’s still showing as $130.
Thanks EG and MIR. That was really helpful. Too bad it will only ship in 1-2 months!
Honestly, considering the price of map upgrades, even $200 isn’t bad. If we had the cash right now, I’d do it in a heartbeat, especially as the maps on my GPS are woefully out of date.
Ok, so I have to brag, I just got my first Droid Phone, and guess what app you can load in beta form right now for free? Google Navigation!! Text to speech, turn by turn, beautiful screen clarity, easy maps and you can pull up addresses from your contact list in your phone. I just got it this weekend and I already have fallen in love. I have been wanting a gps unit since forever but never seemed to get around to finding the perfect one at a great price. I always get so excited when you list a gps deal, but I always seemed to miss the great price or it had a feature I didn’t need or want.
Daughter and I are loading it to our droids. We used Chuck’s GPS while taking kid to camp yesterday and got a kick out of it when we took a detour for frozen custard. “Please turn around. please turn around.”
Yes, the Droid GPS app is perfect. I bought my husband a beanbag type car mount for his birthday. He’s moving to a new city next month and this will be a safe way for him to get around!
Right now the 5″ Tom Tom is $120 with lifetime updates. The goldbox deal.