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1Gen-SequoiaGeneral discussion forum for the first generation 2001 to 2007 Toyota Sequoia.
This is a discussion thread titled "Portable navigation?", within the 1Gen-Sequoia forum, part of the SUV Forums category.
The consensus for dedicated navigation systems for the Sequoia seems to be for the new Pioneer unit. But, does anyone have recommendation for portable systems (Magellan, TomTom, Navman, etc.)?
The consensus for dedicated navigation systems for the Sequoia seems to be for the new Pioneer unit. But, does anyone have recommendation for portable systems (Magellan, TomTom, Navman, etc.)?
I'm using Microsoft MapPoint North America. It runs on my notebook PC, and I've got a USB Pharos reciever for it.
It's good:
- 15.4" of wide-screen goodness (depending on your notebook)
- It costs about $100
- The maps are accurate (for northeast US, at least)
- Voice prompts if you want them "In 0.3 miles, turn right"
- works when the car is in motion
It's bad:
- No text-to-speech/won't say "turn left on Main Street"
- some of the commands are difficult to use while the car is in motion, not that _I_ would ever have tried...
- Re-routing isn't always easy or intuitive if you get off-route
- Seems to take a while (up to a minute sometimes) to "lock on" to satellites
Overall, it gets me where I need to go. It's not perfect, but for my in-car needs it's worked out pretty well.
Garmin Streetpilot 2610. Without a doubt. You can pick one up for $200ish on ebay. Discontinued, but its replacements took out a bunch of customization features.
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Peter
2008 Highlander Sport, running boards, Toyota Factory Tow Hitch. 2002 Camry SE V6.
I've been very happy with my Magellan RoadMate 2200T. Touchscreen, easy to use functions, has a memory card expansion slot and will display jpegs and play mp3 files. I don't know that I'll ever use that function, but it is upgradable to be able to navigate off-road and on the ocean. So if you live somewhere such as New England with 7000 harbors per square mile and need some help navigating home it's pretty handy.
Plus, the points of interest locators have been very useful on road trips. It is very up-to-date on resturants, gas stations, etc, and has enabled us to eat at places other than truckstops and CircleK. The one downer is that it only comes with a car outlet charger. You can buy a regular home outlet cord, but it seems silly that they tout it as a portable GPS, but you can only charge it in your car? I understand that most people will use it exclusively in their car, but still, it wouldn't cost them that much extra to include both cables. Fortunately it has a very good battery life, so this is less of an issue than it could be.
Otherwise I've been incredibly happy with it, and it will come in handy as my wife and I are moving to Kansas City at the end of this month, she's not so good with directions...
Plus portables have more options and uploadability...try that with an OEM unit! Going to Italy in October and renting a car to tour Tuscany and I already have the maps on a CF card for my 2610. Again, can't be done with OEM unit. Another + to portables is that they can be placed where you want them to be, not in the middle of the dash a foot down from the windshield which can actually be dangerous looking away from the road. My 2610 is in my line of sight when I am looking at the road.
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Peter
2008 Highlander Sport, running boards, Toyota Factory Tow Hitch. 2002 Camry SE V6.
Another vote for the Garmin 2610. You can store a bunch of waypoints and back them up to your PC. That's a really good feature.
Another is being able to carry the 2610 travelling with rental cars, and not having to learn another user interface like Hertz Neverlost.
I can afford an add-on unit, but haven't been compelled to get one. My wife's 2003 Avalon has an OEM Toyota nav that is really annoying to use, compared to the Garmin.
My next new vehicle will have factory nav, but I bet I'll still use some kind of portable as a backup.
I just bought a Garmin Nuvi 350 a couple of weeks ago...have had a Garmin GPS on my boat for a few years and always liked their service...haven't had a chance to use my Nuvi much but the features that sold me were size/portability and text-to-speech....I'm a gadget freak so ease-of-use isn't at the top of my list but my 10-year old daughter picked up on the operation in a few minutes....
I bought my wife a Nuvi 350 for Christmas and we've been very happy with it. The Text to Speech is a must-have in my opinion. It is very fast, very portable, and very accurate. I can't imagine paying $2k for a built-in system when this works so well for under $500.
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'01 Sequoia SR5 4wd, 9" LCDs in Headrests, Audiobahn DVD
I have a Whistler WGPX-635 that I purchased from Woot.com during their last "Wootoff" for $219. It is great for door to door directions, text to speech, points of interest etc. It has been very easy to use. I have it mounted on the windsheild with the suction cup mount but it has an external antenna jack and I have the external antenna on the way so I plan to mount the antenna on the windshield and run the wire down to the console where I will mount the GPS unit. I have used it extensively around town and will use it quite a bit on vacation next month. My only problem is my business is construction related and new subdivisions and roads don't exist. This would be the case with any GPS system I would think. Tomorrow I will temporarily mount the unit in the company truck so my crew can find a house that is difficult to get to. Something pretty handy for me not to have to go out there again.
Portable navigation?
Linear Mode
