Unique616 wrote:To me, it's common sense that I need to be in the left lane to make a left turn, but I guess some people needed more help, which is why lane assist was created?

You know what they say, that common sense is not so common, especially when talking about government. Case in point: I-40 westbound coming into Memphis.

To eliminate the cloverleaf that was getting jammed every rush hour between I-40 and I-240 (the loop around the city), the highway planners decided to build two-lane fly-over bridges to keep the traffic moving. Unfortunately, to go to the airport via the I-240 south loop (located to your left), you have to be in the far right two lanes. To get to Little Rock via I-240 north loop (located to your right), you have to be in the middle two lanes. The same situation occurs again at the other side of town on for westbound traffic.

It was fun watching the news to see how many semis would roll over in a week at these intersections as they tried to get back to the correct lanes when the truckers discovered they were in the wrong lane and were being funneled off-course.

Moral: lane assist has its uses, especially if you've never been there before....

wootmeharder wrote:...who the HELL buys these in 2011? Every phone in existence has GPS on it...heck I think my toaster has a GPS...what nerd would buy this, at this price? Have we gone back to 2001?

If all you have is a hammer, then every problem is a nail....

I have a smartphone with GPS, but never use it for navigation - it simply doesn't do what I want it to do. Most people are happy to let the item (phone, software, you name it) tell them how to use it. I prefer to find the tool that allows me to do a job the way I want to do it and configure the tool to how I work.

I currently have three GPS units, with two dedicated to our cars. I just dropped $200 on a six-year-old model (Garmin GPSmap60CSx) for when I'm backcountry hiking. Why would I buy a model that dated and comes WITHOUT maps? Because a it's proven model and damned near bulletproof. My map and compass are my backup, but a phone (and its GPS) wouldn't even begin to work where I travel. Rechargeable batteries are also sure to fail out there before I would make it back to civilization.

The right tool for a given job.... I'm buying another car GPS when my teen starts driving. That way she can find her way until she memorizes the city. Cost - minimal, peace of mind - priceless.

Going to have to say, I bought 3 Garmins awhile back ($70 or so), they were refurb and they are all still alive and kicking. In fact, I love our Garmin. It is easy to use, speaks clearly and is really durable. I have a Tom-tom in my work truck and it isn't anywhere near as cool, but is newer and supposedly 'superior'. Bah, yeah right. Garmin is good stuff.


Scott

iansmom24 wrote:Would never buy anything from Garmin-- they are a right wing contributor up there with the Koch brothers. BOYCOTT!!

Thanks, that helped make my decision. I should buy more than one, but don't need them.

Buy a Droid. then sell your gps, Ipod, kindle and all other gadgets. move on people!

"Keep track of your location and your car. nüvi automatically marks your position when you remove it from the windshield mount, so you can navigate with nüvi on foot and find your way back to your vehicle."

I wish I had this a couple of years ago when I lost my car in Buffalo. Then again, I do now have an awesome story to tell about sleeping in a tree...

After getting lost several more times today because of spotty iPhone GPS reception, I finally caved and bought one. No amount of problems could be as bad as the iPhone's GPS (at least in the area I'm in).

My iPhone once told me to take a left turn when the road was clearly to the right of the vehicle, and it often just stopped working completely. My phone also barely makes it through a 10 hour work day, so I needed a reliable unit to stay charged (or stay on charge).

rafairfax wrote:Buy a Droid. then sell your gps, Ipod, kindle and all other gadgets. move on people!

Indeed...I wanted an iPad, then I got the EVO 4G...I no longer need anything else...ever...well, maybe food...ok and sex...but nothing ELSE.

wootmeharder wrote:OK First of all....WORST WOOT-OFF EVER!!!!

Not that I got that out of my system...who the HELL buys these in 2011? Every phone in existence has GPS on it...heck I think my toaster has a GPS...what nerd would buy this, at this price? Have we gone back to 2001?

Not everyone wants to pay for a smartphone and data plan.. And the GPS tends to peter out if you go out of coverage because it cant load the map!...

And unless your smartphone has a huge screen, its not good to be driving while trying to read a 3 inch display in your hand..

This is one of those times I really think a one trick pony has a few advantages to the multifunction device..

When the unit starts running slow, which it does somewhat regularly, I hook it up to my computer and run a defrag program on it as a f-lash drive, it really works wonders! It's a great, versatile GPS, I own it for over a year and it's still going strong

lenzflare wrote:After getting lost several more times today because of spotty iPhone GPS reception, I finally caved and bought one. No amount of problems could be as bad as the iPhone's GPS (at least in the area I'm in).

My iPhone once told me to take a left turn when the road was clearly to the right of the vehicle, and it often just stopped working completely. My phone also barely makes it through a 10 hour work day, so I needed a reliable unit to stay charged (or stay on charge).

I think you will find this to always be the case. My Garmin wanted to send my car through the woods one time and over a cliff another time. Funny as it may be, the worst time was be routed alongside an active tank firing range. I turned my vehicle and trailer around after almost getting stuck in a sandy area of the road. Flagging down a state trooper... I found it was truly a 'public road'.... just not one recommended by the locals.

I still like Garmin's GPSs more than any other units.

wootmeharder wrote:OK First of all....WORST WOOT-OFF EVER!!!!

Not that I got that out of my system...who the HELL buys these in 2011? Every phone in existence has GPS on it...heck I think my toaster has a GPS...what nerd would buy this, at this price? Have we gone back to 2001?

It seems you are not married? These are great -- type in an address and know your wife will get where she is wanting to go. Not everyone has a smart phone. I use tracfone for a grand total of $8 per month. Please send me the model number of your toaster --- I want one.

TomWendell wrote:My previous Garmin C550 was also a refirb and the website denied me the map update. All I had to do was call Garmin customer support and describe my situation and they sent me the map update for free. Garmin has great customer support and will take care of you if you purchase one of their units.

Not true! I purchased a 1490T with lifetime maps and their recent firmware upgrade has caused widespread Bluetooth compatibility problems.. something they refuse to address or fix.

Read here on the Garmin forums: https://forums.garmin.com/showthread.php?t=9678

They (Garmin Support) just keep telling people to check phone compatibility or provide instructions on how to update firmware to the new (buggy) version. Well, the phone is on their compatibility list and I have updated firmware.. still no fix.

Just bought one of these great price, Garmin is probably the best GPS, had to replace one stolen out of my car glove box. Word of advice, leave these home unless you need to use them, and don't show any evidence of having one! (chords, cradles, ect.)

This is a disappearing market, thanks to the smartphone. But I've always heard that Garmin makes nice units.

borntohunt wrote:From Woot's good description:

Yep, once the size gets as large as 4GB cards & larger are faster & assumed to also have the HC designation like with the SDHC & MicroSDHC, but obviously are faster if they are specified with the SDXC designation.

Did you really just say obviously?
LMAO!

Thanks for more good deals, Woot!

Like someone said earlier, hide your GPS navigators & do not let them be easily seen in your vehicle since they are one of the most common items stolen from automobiles.

Bought a Garmin long ago. Liked it a lot, except when it put a movie theater/shopping center out of position by a mile. Circled that neighborhood 3 times before deciding it had to be off. And then there was the time it misplaced a highway by about 100 feet, which isn't bad except when it can't tell you've moved off at the exit to give the next direction. Being able to update maps would be a good thing.

Otherwise, bigger screen than the iPhone, better voice directions than I get with Skobler, "detour" button for closed road; all of these are better than the iPhone GPS. Should probably get a new one, but GPS is currently in the "would be nice to have" category.

GPS units may have been a hot item a few years back, but are they really worth stealing these days? I got this to put in our new (to us) 2004 mercedes, as it doesn't have an aux input and I don't feel like changing out the stereo. I figure a 4gb microSDHC card will give the unit plenty of use via the fm transmitter, saves me the cost of buying one for my ipod touch.

can i still purchase thursday deal

tjkerns44 wrote:can i still purchase thursday deal

No, but there are some Garmins are Newegg that are similar in price.

AFAIK neither of these have speech recognition though (which I've heard slows down the 855 anyway:

Refurb 4.3" Garmin Nuvi 255W ($80 shipped). Takes SD, not microSD like the 855.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16858108345

New 3.5" Garmin Nuvi 205 ($90 shipped). Takes microSD.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16858108321

Got the tracking info. Awesome.

Did not ship till today and not due to receive till 4/19... New shipping service T.T.A. (Tied to Turtles Arse) I guess

gmccartney wrote:Did not ship till today and not due to receive till 4/19... New shipping service T.T.A. (Tied to Turtles Arse) I guess

This is not bad at all compared to other woots. I had one go 11 days before being shipped. Almost three weeks before being delivered.

help me I am lost

Hey, at least your's "shipped." 6 days after the sale I'm still "all set now!" Lucky me.

My order just got shipped.
how long does it take to deliver?

sp8900 wrote:My order just got shipped.
how long does it take to deliver?

Mine shipped on monday and arrived today (to Minnesota). Free map update seems to be included and can be claimed through july. Sweet!

Mine came in today.. seems they sent the wrong dock with it as there's no way possible this unit will plug into the dock sent. Carp!! Never had to deal with w00t to get something like this taken care of. I sure hope it's not too difficult.

Arrived today, seems in good shape. Installed batty and charged via usb to PC

You need to load software on PC to registrar, diff software to update, then it tells you $49 for 1 update map OR $90 for their lifetime update... WOOT (NOT)

PITA to get updated... shows maps ver. from
Jul 2010 and have yet to see how to get it updated for free.

What happened to the 60 days for Nuvi free map update? Sent a cust service request. We'll see.

"

Guarantee applies to one covered Garmin product. Not transferable to any other person or product. You will qualify for the free map update(s) only if you register your product online at http://my.garmin.com either (i) prior to first using your device, or (ii) within 60 days of first acquiring satellites while driving with your device (the "First Satellite Fix"). If you qualify under one of these two conditions, then you will be entitled to receive one or more free map update during the 60-day period following the date you registered the product or the First Satellite Fix date, which ever is earlier, if and when map updates are available for purchase on Garmin’s website during such period. You will not qualify for free map updates if you register your product with Garmin by telephone or more than 60 days after the First Satellite Fix.
"

Got the unit(Nuvi 855NA) today. Looks like brand new.

Updated the map to 2011.40. Download GarminMapUpdater_v2.6.6.exe and CommunicatorPlugin_293.exe. Update window is till June 15,2011 (60 days from today).

My unit's hardware firmware is 4.80, but the garmin website lists 4.70 as the latest firmware. If my unit has 4.8, then why official firmware is not 4.8 ?

No Bluetooth Too bad, FM transmitter is on the weaker side, voice recognition is great.

I use tomtom 6 on my palm TX which is about 5 years old ! That 5 year old thing seems almost as good as this Nuvi.

Those of you not able to get the official map update, contact Garmin, and if still does not work, look in the web and you will find it.

Still playing w/ gps
"new" garmin
pdf for online manual FYI,

http://static.garmincdn.com/pumac/nuvi855_OwnersManual.pdf

Got mine in the mail on Friday, I have some interesting things to tell you all.

First off it came with a slip of paper saying if I registered my device I'd get a free map update. They weren't lying, I have the most current 2011 North American maps installed for free!

Secondly, the f'n MicroSD slot is BROKEN!!! We, the Hitchhikers!?!? So much for refurbished. Garmin's customer service is only available Mon-Thursday so I have to wait till Monday to see what I have to do for a repair. This SUCKS!

The case on my device appears to be brand new, not a single scratch or sun fading. In fact the entire array of accessories all appear to be brand new. I'd sad for the price, this was a pretty good deal but we'll see how Garmin takes care of me on Monday...

Mine arrived on Saturday and I have tried it a bit.

When I first tried to get the free map download it gave me some message that there was no free map download available for this unit, or the unit was registered to someone else (I figured it was a problem due to it being refurb). I sent in a message to support, but then I tried the download again and it then let me download the new maps. I think maybe the website was just being problematic. (Note: It needs IE or Firefox to do the app that communicates with the unit - Chrome didn't work for it).

Mine looked good visually speaking - not scratched up at all.

I've played with it a bit and noticed a couple issues. First - the touch screen is pretty flaky. Often I press a button and the unit beeps as if it received the input, but the entered button doesn't appear. This led to a lot of problems entering addresses and such, as I'd think I was entering letters and they wouldn't show up, and i'd be on the next one, thus skipping letters. The button to erase entered letters never seemed to want to let me press it, so I'd have to hit "Back" and then start all over.

This morning I followed its directions to go to work on "Fastest Route" and it took me six minutes longer than the route I usually take. But it did give me very good turn by turn instructions, reading out the street names well. It displays the speed limits and your current speed, which I like.

Addresses seem to be OK, although it was off on my own home a half a block or so, and didn't have my office on there even though the map was new (2011) and my building was built over two years ago. At least it did have the street.

It handled the one interchange where it did lane assist fine, and did well at a traffic circle.

The UI is just OK. Kind of clumsy, but not unbearable.

I haven't tried the voice recognition yet. Perhaps that will help with the UI clumsiness...

The touchscreen issues may be a big problem though. Anyone else having issues where the touchscreen is flaky?

DoctorO wrote:Mine came in today.. seems they sent the wrong dock with it as there's no way possible this unit will plug into the dock sent. Carp!! Never had to deal with w00t to get something like this taken care of. I sure hope it's not too difficult.

Ok w00t, you fail for not taking any responsibility for sending the incorrect dock with the unit (which, by the way, makes the unit nothing more than a paperweight since you must have the dock to mount the unit and power it). The locking clamps on the dock they sent are not the same spacing as the mounting holes in the unit, and cannot possibly fit (they aren't just a little off, they are FAR off). It is easy to tell this from the extremely clear photos I sent of the issue. They are completly unwilling to replace or refund. To purchase the correct dock on ebay will cost over $40 plus shipping, so this wasn't such a great deal for me. After 3 great successful woots, I've been burned and won't be wooting again. If you get a great deal here and all works out, it's awesome, but if there's a problem, you're hosed.

All went well on my end here..unit arrived in good shape this past weekend,
I used it today on my route to Long Island then on to New Jersey..not bad, takes about 7-8 seconds to recalculate, which is a lot of time when you're hauling at 65 mph..other than that minor issue, the unit looks new and now that I'm home I downloaded and installed the 2011 map update which took about an hour altogether. Hopefully no issues after today..all in all not a bad deal

Mine has the address and name of the original owner set as "home". When I turned it on, it thought it was in Olathe, Kansas at the Garmin facility. So, it was refurbished by Garmin at their headquarters, and they didn't even clear the memory? Maybe I should call and ask John and Kara what was wrong with it?

How do I get the free map update?
When I logged in garmin, it gave me an option to buy rather than free update.
All it gave me was a free software update.

Hope to try this update tomorrow. I bought several GPS units recently and the TomTom and Magellan updates were easy.