I'm interested in purchasing a portable GPS with voice guidance. I've been told some units give general guidance such as "turn left in 200 yards" but I'm looking for one that will give specific guidance such as "turn left on 13 mile road". Do some GPS's have such specific guidance? I'd like to find one with both US and Canadian maps at a price range of about $350 if possible. Can someone recommend a specific brand and place to buy it? Thanks, Rick.

Take a look at the Tom Tom ONE XL S. It has the specific voice directions you're looking for, as well as having a Mac program for updates, backup and restore of the device. They're around $360-$400 depending on where you look.

I have the cheaper unit, the Tom TOM ONE that doesn't speak street names, but I haven't found that to be a problem. You can get those units much cheaper if you can live with that ($200 range).

Both units have the entire US and Canadian maps included. The only gripe I have is the battery life is poor in my unit, but since I only use it in the car (it has a bike mode) I just plug in the power.

As to where to buy - just search the net for the lowest price.

Personally I'm a fan of the Garmin Nüvi 360. However, Garmin makes cheaper units that have the features you're looking for as well.

I'm about to review the Navigon 2100 which is on sale at Staples for $180 and I bought one as a gift for my dad. Check my tech blog for the review in the next couple of days.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Terry White,

Has Garmin ever come out with any Mac software? Last I heard they were a year behind.

Yep, I use Garmin POI loader all the time to load custom Points of Interest. There's an unbelievably large community out there creating POI files of just about anything you can think of. For example, my Nüvi now has all the Apple Stores across the country (and Canada) in it. So wherever I am I just hit a button and see how close the nearest store is. Starbucks, your favorite restaurants, etc.

I also use the Garmin Web Updater to perform upgrades to the unit itself.

All Mac!

If you don't need Bluetooth (which turns the GPS unit into a Bluetooth Speakerphone for your cell phone), then I would go with the Garmin Nüvi 350 which goes for $340 at BuyDig.

I had the 350 before the 360 and it's an awesome unit that not only is a GPS, but it's also an mp3 player, audiobook player, picture viewer, translator and more.

If you're just looking for GPS only, then you can find one in the $200 range or less. Like I said above, check out the Navigon 2100.

If you have a MacBook or MacBook Pro and run Windows on it, DeLorme Street Atlas USA with the DeLorme receiver is another possibility. It handles multiple routes, has voice directions, can be voice controlled, and has a nice large display -- as big as the one on your MacBook.

I bought the Garmin 250W "Widescreen Display" for my father as a birthday gift. The unit works good...and I'm glad that I got him the "widescreen". It just makes it easier to read and see all the information. The unit covers U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico

Here is a good price on the brand Jack recommended.........

Make sure you check the features.

The Sharper Image TomTom ONE 3rd Edition GPS Portable Navigation System $149.99
Portable GPS with 3.5-inch touch screen and 1GB memory.
Original Price: $249.95
Now Only: $149.95

Now through the holidays save $100 when you buy a TomTom® GPS.
Promotion valid from November 13, 2007 through January 5, 2008.

http://www.sharperimage.com/?sour...dmid=25571

http://www.sharperimage.com/us/en...sku__TT115

Clicking the first link it gives you an additional 10$ off as noted on the web page.

Radio Shack is having a Black Friday deal on a GPS system for $150. A co-worker mentioned it yesterday and said while the price was slightly higher than other Black Friday deal for the same unit, it came with better support/subscription service.

I like using Google Maps on my iPhone

In checking the info on the TomTom site, it looks as if it has limited capability. Does anyone have one? Can this run under 10.4.10 on a G4 and get at current updated info for the device?

Hey, while we're on the subject of GPS's, here an article in Newsweek on them where yours truly is referenced at the bottom of page 3.

I have been using a TomTom with PPC and Intel Macs for about a year now.

As for "limited" capability - well, *everything* has limits. What are you looking for it to do that it doesn't?

I just took the Navigon 2100 for a spin and I'm impressed! I'll have full write up on my blog by morning, but it has all the features you would expect in a modern GPS unit and several that even my higher end units and ones built-in to my cars don't have.

I have two Tom Tom's. One for me and one for my wife.

Also I have friends with Garmin units and I qualify for buying Garmin at cost.

I am partial to the Tom Tom.

From what I see the Tom Tom is more Mac like and friendly.

There are only two companies that supply the GPS data that these companies can use.

It is more about interface, updates and compatibility with your workflow.

I vote Tom Tom.

Jb.

What I want to know is does it cost extra to keep your map data up-to-date on any of these units people are mentioning?

I got one free map update from TomTom, but the latest one is around $60 (it's in British pounds so I don't know the exact amount). However, it enables you to make your own updates and to get updates from others.

My 2008 map is free as well since I bought my Nüvi 360 this year.

Terry, I was looking at Version Tracker and there are a lot of people warning others not to use the Garmin Web Updater saying it wiped out the memory on their GPS. Any suggestions on what to do?

Also, can you use the Garmin (or any other GPS) for Geocaching when you have a Mac? It seems the Garmin needs an update to store Geocache locations and that update can only be done on a PC. So whats a Mac to do? Any instructions on how to use the GPS for geocaching where you'd need to use a longitude and latitude rather than an address.

I guess I'm confused. Do you pay to get an updated map(s) each year for your unit, buy a new unit, or live with map(s) that might not be current? Or do these things operate like a Tivo with a subscription service?