Best portable GPS navigators

By   |   November 15, 2010   |   46


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CNET Editor

Derek loves nothing more than punching a remote location into a GPS, queuing up some music and heading out on a long drive, so it's a good thing he's in charge of CNET Australia's Car Tech channel.

All brand name portable GPS units will get you safely from A to B, but some do it better than others. We nominate a clutch of navigators we'd happily junk our Gregory's or Melway for.

These might not be the cheapest GPS units out there, but their mix of features, value and performance make them our picks.


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workallday
 

workallday posted a comment   

Hi have had a garmin nuvi 760 for 4 years with 2012 maps.
I live in northern Victoria and the carmin can not find where i live which is 3km off the northern hwy on a sealed road.. Nor can it find much else once you go off the main road.
the gps itself is good at times and in the city ,but if im in the center of Melbourne CBD it becomes slow ,i think because of the tall buildings .
I bought a cheap NAVIG8R i43 $85 for another car i have and it can find where i live and also other people we know who live on farms and who have also said no gps can find there address.
I think the problem with Garmin is the maps they use whereis just isn't good enough.

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BrettW2 Facebook
 

BrettW2 posted a comment   

I find the Garmen to be pretty good considering they program from the US, I can notify the team of any problem and they pretty much get onto it. I have learnt not to expect to much as the technology is in it's teething stage. I have the 3790T with a lifetime of maps, that updated quarterly. There is a Application on the apple called Garmen Basecamp, which is incredible, I use it to keep track of my trips, fuel usage and even customising my usage, there is to many mention. Garmen is also constantly updating the practicability of the units, So if you find something wrong email them, for example I noticed that the Garmen showed that I could go straight through, when in actual fact it had a weird roundabout, by the next update it had been factored in.

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Phillip travelling
 

Phillip travelling posted a comment   
Australia

I recently bought a Garmin navigator having previously had a navman. I used the Garmin in NZ and found I eventually had to ignore it as it put me in the wrong direction several times, adding hours to trips.Back in oz the are blanks on the maps that the Navman shows clearly, event though the Navman has not been updated for a year and the Garmin is supposedly up to date.

I bought it for help on directions but that doesn't seem to be what it does. I wanted a new navigator for bushwalking but the Garmin seems to me to be just too risky. Overall disappointed. Anyone else found this with Garmin?

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lyndowd
 

lyndowd posted a comment   

Have just purchased 2 Navman MY85XLT for myself and son. ( I had originally purchased a TomTom top of the range for myself but the on/off button was faulty). I require blue tooth, speed indication, traffic and red light alerts and phone book. Ease of use also.
I am finding, so is my son, that the battery life is very little on the Navman and that it seems that you have to use the cord in the car all the time.
Has anyone else found this to be the case? What have you found to be the best GPS offering above requirements? Really appreciate your advice, Lyn

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Marty
 

Marty posted a comment   

I presently have two Navmans, one doesn't Bluetooth to my phone, the other has crashed and won't get off the start line...hmmm don't think I will get another Navman!

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skarfie
 

skarfie posted a comment   

I am looking for a GPS to get me around mainly country Victoria and through Melbourne lanes.
Any helpful comments? Was looking at Garmin 3760

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Phase_Verocity
 

Phase_Verocity posted a comment   

Well I went through a heap of em about 5 years ago. One took me down a creek, another off a cliff and for some reason through dirt roads when there are good roads right next to them. I ended up with garmin because it usually just picked the main roads however there was one time I went on a road that hadn't been drivin on for years. Grass was as tall as my waist and there was a cat running in front of me the whole time. I think the problem is that there simply isn't enough information given about each gps. I know TomTom brought up a big map corporation and I heard Garmin doing the same but if the only difference is that they pick main roads or they send you down cliffs then there either time consumers or just down right dangerous. I live in Australia and someone really needs to do something about the gps navigation here. Oh garmin also sent me the wrong way down a one way street on quite a few occasions in Brisbane. I guess if you really need one then buy something really cheap. At least then you'll be aware that it can send you down a creek and so you'll be careful about using it.

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TOM TOM
 

TOM TOM posted a comment   

WHAT A LOAD OF BULL39C3EB

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tom tom
 

tom tom posted a comment   

you forgot to mention what unit???

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Red
 

Red posted a comment   

@ UZZ 32, check out the NAVIG8R, it has exactly what you are looking for. It has a BIG speedo (full screen), analog or digital, and is coupled with a very accurate speed alert that not only tells you if you are speeding (in 3 configurable stages of bad) it also verbally tells you the speed limit as you enter the new limit zone. The voice warnings happen whether in navigate mode or speedo mode so all in all this GPS is the most useful one I have found after trying all the big expensive brands (various models) and returning them because they were either not configurable, were really sloppy with the accuracy of cameras/speed zones or simply wanted me to drive through paddocks.

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