I am a novice to GPS. Never used one before, so I'm not exactly sure what features I'd need or want and the pro's and cons of the units. But from what I have read on these forums, it seems like these two units are very popular. All I want my GPS to do is this:
Navigate streets, citys, etc. (Duh)
Navigate offroad trails (Is this possible, I that some software has back roads, trails, parks, hicking, etc. I'd love to have a GPS that I can take on hiking trails, or to explore off road areas)
Color display, and under 500 bucks.
Out of these two units, can both do this? Does one do it better than the other? Or is there another GPS unit I should consider looking into in this price range that better fits my goals?
I have the 60cx it works fine. You have the option of changing the memory card, and with a support bracket you can install it on the dash right in view while driving.
I think the Nuvi is a fantastic unit, but for what you have described, I would think the 60csx is a better choice. The Nuvi really isn't designed for hiking. These two units do come with a different basemap, so this might be something to explore - whether the basemap on the 60csx ("Americas Recreational") will do what you want it to do in town. You can always buy a different map set, but it is $$. The 60csx also has an altimeter, which the Nuvi does not. Maybe someone with a 60-model can comment on the usefulness of the basemap both on and off-road? Or better yet, maybe someone with more knowledge can explain the difference between the two basemaps (recreational vs. cit nav).
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Black Diamond 4x4 AT - 265/75/16 BFG MTs on TRD Rims, Demello Sliders, Bilstein 5100s (front)/"All-Terrain Package" Bilsteins (rear)
My wifes Nuvi 660 does not do routes or tracking, things that I think are essential if you are off roads.
I have the 60csx along with the City Navigator. It works awesome. Really amazing battery life too.
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"If you insist on getting credit for the work you do, you'll never get far in life. Don't confuse yourself with the idea of getting credit"
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hero - did City Navigator come with your unit or did you purchase it separately?
Nope.
It was a left over from my Garmin 3600 which died after two years (got a full refund on it). But, I still owned the software, so I just had to register the 60csx. I recently paid $75 to upgrade to the latest maps.
Otherwise, I think City Navigator is something like $300 in addition to the GPS, yikes!
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"If you insist on getting credit for the work you do, you'll never get far in life. Don't confuse yourself with the idea of getting credit"
- Colonel John Richard Boyd, USAF, retired.
Garmin crams it up your rectum on the map prices. This is one of my major problems with their stuff. I bought a Euro Nuvi because it was cheaper to add the US maps than to it than it was to add the Euro maps to the US. A difference of over $200 at the time and they got the non-compressed Euro maps in the US for Europe. By comparison TomTom charges half the price Garmin does for Euro maps and on many TomTom's both US and Europe came together on the GPS. Their upgrade map prices are typically what they should have charged for the maps in the first place...
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6MT - After enough repetition, even the wittiest signature becomes boring.
The problem I have had with Tom Tom is that it has not seemed that maps are as up to date as the Garmin maps.
I also have had issue with searches that do differentiate between words such as "St." or "Street". On more than one occasion I would attempt to go to "Some Road St. Denver" and it would send me to "Some Road St. Suburb" because the Tom Tom could not generalize between "St." or "Street" and the actual Denver address I was looking for was "Street" and not "St.". So rather than sending or asking me about the address I asked for in the city I specified, it found the exact street I specified in the closest city.
Needless to say, when I first moved to Denver I got an unwanted tour via my Tom Tom.
That being said, a previous Garmin has had me drive in a circle before. I guess nothing is perfect, I still carry maps.
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"If you insist on getting credit for the work you do, you'll never get far in life. Don't confuse yourself with the idea of getting credit"
- Colonel John Richard Boyd, USAF, retired.
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