GPS News and Reviews

Lower prices this week in a lot of outlets. Staples has the Navigon 2100 for $99 after mail in rebate (See my Review of the 2100), while Circuit City is brining the Nuvi 260 to the show for $200; something that Amazon can only beat by $2 this week.

Best Deals this week have to be the Nuvi 260 with text to speech, and the Nuvi 260W for about $30 more.

Standard Screens - 3.5-inch

• Garmin Nuvi 200 at Amazon - $159 - No Text to Speech, Continental US Maps, solid interface and routing. See My Full Review - Nuvi 200 for more info. For a more up to date unit, consider the extra $18 and look at the Nuvi 205. Faster Acquisition times and an updated interface.
• Garmin Nuvi 350 - Still $199 this week; very hot prices point for this unit. North American Maps, Text to Speech, and 5+ Million Points of Interest. Want Bluetooth? Get the Nuvi 360 that adds Bluetooth Handsfree, for a few bucks more at - $214


• TomTom ONE 3rd ed. - $134 and Free Shipping at Amazon; Entry Level TomTom with Maps of North America, no Text to Speech.


• Garmin Nuvi 260 at Amazon - $198 Text to Speech, Maps of North America, solid interface. Same quality routing as Nuvi 200, just adds more maps and text to speech.


• Garmin Nuvi 270 - $178 - a Cheap price for North American AND Euro maps. Has text to speech.
  

Widescreen Models

• Nuvi 760 - $349 - Down $25 this past week. - Thin design with Text to Speech and Maps of North America. Route Optimization - plug in multiple stops and let the unit optimize the route for fastest planning, adds Bluetooth handsfree and built-in TMC traffic. See My Full Review of the Nuvi 760.
• Nuvi 750 - $309 Thin design with Text to Speech and Maps of North America. Route Optimization - plug in multiple stops and let the unit optimize the route for fastest planning. Doesn't have the Bluetooth, or the Traffic capability that the 760 has.
• Garmin Nuvi 780 - $446 Has MSN Direct 2, with traffic and gas prices sent to your GPS. See My Full Review of the Nuvi 780 for more information.
• Garmin Nuvi 260W - $236 at Amazon; Text to Speech and a dead easy interface.
• Nuvi 650 at Amazon $219. Text to Speech, North American Maps, See My Full Review - Nuvi 660, which is the same model with the addition of the TMC Traffic, which is the main feature not included on the Nuvi 650.
• Nuvi 200W at Amazon $169 (Down $40 last week) - No Text to Speech, Continental US Maps. See My Full Review - Nuvi 200W.
• Nuvi 660 at Amazon $274; down $25 this week. - Text to Speech, North American Maps, TMC Traffic Capability included. See My Full Review - Nuvi 660
• TomTom ONE XL 330 - $202- the new Basic Widescreen for the TomTom line, Maps of North America, new Easy Port fold flat mount, and no text to speech - Move up to the TomTom ONE XL 330S for Text to Speech at $249;

• Garmin Nuvi 880 - $669 - Has voice recognition and MSN Direct traffic, gas prices and weather data feeds. Let's you say your destination and it routes you there. Very cool; love the capabilities.

Prices dropped almost across the board on GPS units this week. "New Low Prices" showed up on Amazon, and let's hope they stick. Garmin dropped prices almost across the line with new low prices on a lot of models that are especially popular, like the Nuvi 700 series and the Nuvi 200W.

Standard Screens - 3.5-inch

• Garmin Nuvi 200 at Amazon - $159 - (Also $129 at Office Max - in store while supplies last) No Text to Speech, Continental US Maps, solid interface and routing. See My Full Review - Nuvi 200 for more info.


• Garmin Nuvi 350 - Still $199 this week; very hot prices point for this unit. North American Maps, Text to Speech, and 5+ Million Points of Interest. Want Bluetooth? Get the Nuvi 360 that adds Bluetooth Handsfree, for a few bucks more at - $214


• TomTom ONE 3rd ed. - $134 and Free Shipping at Amazon; Entry Level TomTom with Maps of North America, no Text to Speech.


• Garmin Nuvi 260 at Amazon - $202 Text to Speech, Maps of North America, solid interface. Same quality routing as Nuvi 200, just adds more maps and text to speech.


• The Mio Moov 200 is $129 at Circuit City this week. A second tier brand that offers reasonable performance for the price.
  

Widescreen Models

• Nuvi 760 - $349 - Down $25 this past week. - ($399 at Best Buy this week) Thin design with Text to Speech and Maps of North America. Route Optimization - plug in multiple stops and let the unit optimize the route for fastest planning, adds Bluetooth handsfree and built-in TMC traffic. See My Full Review of the Nuvi 760.
• Nuvi 750 - $309 Thin design with Text to Speech and Maps of North America. Route Optimization - plug in multiple stops and let the unit optimize the route for fastest planning. Doesn't have the Bluetooth, or the Traffic capability that the 760 has. (Also available at Circuit City for $399 this week!)
• Garmin Nuvi 780 - $446 Has MSN Direct 2, with traffic and gas prices sent to your GPS. See My Full Review of the Nuvi 780 for more information.
• Garmin Nuvi 260W - $242 at Amazon; Text to Speech and a dead easy interface.
• Nuvi 650 at Amazon $239. Text to Speech, North American Maps, See My Full Review - Nuvi 660, which is the same model with the addition of the TMC Traffic, which is the main feature not included on the Nuvi 650.
• Nuvi 200W at Amazon $169 (Down $40 this week) - No Text to Speech, Continental US Maps. See My Full Review - Nuvi 200W.
• Nuvi 660 at Amazon $299; still best seller at Amazon - Down $30 in recent weeks - Text to Speech, North American Maps, TMC Traffic Capability included. See My Full Review - Nuvi 660
• TomTom ONE XL 330 - $199 (Down $30 this week) - Is the new Basic Widescreen for the TomTom line, Maps of North America, new Easy Port fold flat mount, and no text to speech - Move up to the TomTom ONE XL 330S for Text to Speech at $246
• TomTom GO 730 - $339 (Down $60 this week)-New IQ Routes, Text to Speech, and more. Maps of North America.

Surging in popularity the Forerunners continue to be popular. The Forerunner 405 is still very hot, and Garmin announced recently that this reinvigorated Fitness line grew sales by 50% over year ago.

• Garmin Forerunner 405 is available now at $349. - the watch-like GPS enabled fitness device has a smaller design with all kinds of functionality, including wireless sharing.
  
• Forerunner 305 - $205 at Amazon - Heart Rate Monitor with wrist-mounted GPS Receiver, tracks distance and keeps your speed and pace. Syncs to computer for training records.
  
• Forerunner 205 - $138 at Amazon - Wrist-mounted GPS Receiver, no Heart Rate Monitor. Tracks distance and keeps your speed and pace. Syncs to computer for training records.

I expect a few deals to start popping up due to a couple of factors: 1) Left over inventory from the summer driving season, 2) Get rid of inventory ahead of new launches, and 3) Get rid of inventory ahead of the holiday shopping season that is going to start just 2 months from how.

We have a few examples below in the TomTom ONE XL @ $159, which is being replaced by the TomTom ONE 330 XL. The Garmin 300 series and 600 series are now officially discontinued and they will be moving out of the picture.

Standard Screens - 3.5-inch

• Garmin Nuvi 200 at Amazon - $159 - Best Seller today at Amazon. No Text to Speech, Continental US Maps, solid interface and routing. See My Full Review - Nuvi 200 for more info.


• Garmin Nuvi 350 - Still $199 this week; very hot prices point for this unit. North American Maps, Text to Speech, and 5+ Million Points of Interest. Want Bluetooth? Get the Nuvi 360 that adds Bluetooth Handsfree, for a few bucks more at - $224


• TomTom ONE 3rd ed. - $137 and Free Shipping at Amazon; Entry Level TomTom with Maps of North America, no Text to Speech.


• Garmin Nuvi 260 at Amazon - $208 ($269 at Best Buy) Text to Speech, Maps of North America, solid interface. Same quality routing as Nuvi 200, just adds more maps and text to speech.


• The Mio Digiwalker C230 is $99 at Staples this week. A second tier brand that offers reasonable performance for the price. Has text-to-speech and US maps pre-loaded. See my Full Review of the Mio C230 for more information.
  

Widescreen Models

• Nuvi 760 - $378 - Thin design with Text to Speech and Maps of North America. Route Optimization - plug in multiple stops and let the unit optimize the route for fastest planning, adds Bluetooth handsfree and built-in TMC traffic. See My Full Review of the Nuvi 760.
• Nuvi 750 - $318 Thin design with Text to Speech and Maps of North America. Route Optimization - plug in multiple stops and let the unit optimize the route for fastest planning. Doesn't have the Bluetooth, or the Traffic capability that the 760 has. (Also available at Circuit City for $399 this week!)
• Garmin Nuvi 780 - $454 Has MSN Direct 2, with traffic and gas prices sent to your GPS. See My Full Review of the Nuvi 780 for more information.
• Garmin Nuvi 260W - $255 at Amazon; Text to Speech and a dead easy interface.
• Nuvi 650 at Amazon $249. Text to Speech, North American Maps, See My Full Review - Nuvi 660, which is the same model with the addition of the TMC Traffic, which is the main feature not included on the Nuvi 650.
• Nuvi 200W at Amazon $205 - No Text to Speech, Continental US Maps. See My Full Review - Nuvi 200W.
• Nuvi 660 at Amazon $299; still best seller at Amazon - Down $30 in recent weeks - Text to Speech, North American Maps, TMC Traffic Capability included. See My Full Review - Nuvi 660
• TomTom ONE XL 330 - $229 - Is the new Basic Widescreen for the TomTom line, Maps of North America, new Easy Port fold flat mount, and no text to speech - Move up to the TomTom ONE XL 330S for Text to Speech at $251
• TomTom GO 730 - $399 -New IQ Routes, Text to Speech, and more. Maps of North America.
• TomTom 920 - $330 - great value for the money. The recent upgrade allows TomTom to offer the older GO 920 for low money. Text to speech, maps of North America, and more - See my Full Review of the TomTom GO 920

Cooler Weather time to get out and exercise! The Forerunner 405 is still very hot, and Garmin announced recently that this reinvigorated Fitness line grew sales by 50% over year ago.

• Garmin Forerunner 405 is available now at $349. - the watch-like GPS enabled fitness device has a smaller design with all kinds of functionality, including wireless sharing.
  
• Forerunner 305 - $214 at Amazon - Heart Rate Monitor with wrist-mounted GPS Receiver, tracks distance and keeps your speed and pace. Syncs to computer for training records.
  
• Forerunner 205 - $145 at Amazon - Wrist-mounted GPS Receiver, no Heart Rate Monitor. Tracks distance and keeps your speed and pace. Syncs to computer for training records.

There was a rumor posted that Garmin was to going to announce a new line of Nuvis at the 2007 CeBIT this month, the Nuvi 200. After a bit of searching I found that Garmin’s Danish site has already pages for three new GPS Systems, the Nuvi 200, 250 and the Nuvi 270. To be totally honest I can’t seem to find what differences this new line will have from the previous Nuvi systems and autotranslators don’t work that well. If any Danish speaker could help us find out what new features will these new PNDs have, it would be great. Of course we can also wait for the CeBIT that is just around the corner.

Nuvi 200
Nuvi 250
Nuvi 270