Best VFM Garmin GPS
 

Assuming that my Tom Tom is going to be declared obsolete in this thread:-
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...a-or-nay-62779

I am looking at the Garmin range of GPS. It seems to be extensive with loads of products that have lots of features.
As one example, I have been looking at the Garmin Oregon 200 handheld,
Garmin Oregon 200 Handheld GPS: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

and its' limitations appear to be -
1. No external power supply, running from AA batteries.
2. Battery life from the reviews is far less than claimed by the manuf.
3. No "speaker" capability i.e. it doesn't tell you what to do at road junctions etc if used as a SatNav- not a big deal in my view, but what do others make of this limitation?

Fully realising that this is a very open-ended question (that could well be a good subject for a poll if anyone could be bothered to list all the Garmin products), what is the best value for money Garmin??

5 days elapsed and no views
 

I guess that question was just a bit open ended and we all know that such questions don't get many, if any (applies in this case), replies!

Since my OP I have been reading earlier posts in here, more or less as far back as where they seem to become dated, and in many respects I am looking for an update on this thread:-

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-car-gps-42910

Anyway, I would still welcome views on what is currently the best value for money GPS on the market; there sure are plenty of them to talk about, but I have discounted the specialist model that gives mapping of golf courses. :thumbdown:
(called something like the "approach" but I am trying to put that out of my mind as quickly as possible)

Garmin
 

IMHO ,, for our purpose ,, Garmin is a POS!
Maps cost arm and a leg.
Like you've said battery life sucks. My 755T ,, battery goes dead in 20 minutes.. have to keep charging with a cigar jack on the bike.
Their A/S non perform. anything goes wrong damn thing has to be shipped back to Taiwan.
80% of the time ,, it says "recalculating" while, enroute.
Openstreet maps not reliable,, I've found.
Internal USB port kaputs a lot,,after certain amount of shake on the bike,, pins get warped,, no charge , no data transfer.
MP3 keeps skipping during the best part of the music.
Their mapsource software sucks,,, never download their webupdate software for 700MB,, it is there to spy on your unit.

I am now using Galaxy S2 Android phone, which we all need,,, with Locus app(pro version for 5 bucks) ,, I have choice of some 8 maps including Vector, Google, Nokia et al... whole world map already installed and new update automatic and free. All the Geocache I want to download. Also for USD 10 a day, from my carrier SK Telecom, in Korea,, I have unlimited data 3G access in 90% of the countries I am traveling, including Russia on MTS.
https://market.android.com/details?i...id.locus&hl=en
You can load KML, GDB or GPX and routes,, from your phone or EM direct ,, so easy to use but complex,, you need to really study it. Try the free version first.

GRMN on Nasdaq ,, is a short ,, they are the new RIMM... RIP peace Garmin. For Android and Iphones will replace you.

I ride a '75 BMW, drive a '92 Saturn and am starting to appreciate older women more and more. Sometimes older stuff just has more to offer. In keeping with that theme, I'm really hooked on the older Garmin Nuvi series: 250, 255 etc. If you can find them, you can usually get them for less than $100 (sometimes way less) and they are quite robust. You just need to make a bit of an effort to keep them reasonably dry but other than that are very usable on a bike. The integral batteries seem to go about 2 hours. For bike use, I gutted a Garmin car adapter, stuck the guts in the headlight shell and run the wire to the handlebars.

You can find replacement batteries on Ebay for the older Nuvi series for not much and the batteries frequently come with special tools for opening the unit. At least the older ones have screws and can be opened. Some of the later Nuvi's units were sealed.

I've also discovered that the older Nuvi's have an undocumented feature whereby you can turn on track recording. They can easily store a week's worth of riding in a GPX file that can then be downloaded. I wish I had known about this feature earlier. :cursing: Apparently it was a clear option in the menus of even older units, but the feature was "removed" in later firmware upgrades. Well the feature is still there, they just removed the easy access to it. But in this case, the older the firmware the better.

But my main reason not to get the latest and greatest is that OSM maps work great in the 255 that I have. I lurk on the MkGMap developers list (the software to convert OSM data to Garmin GPS use) and there is starting to be a hint of discussion about some difficulties with the new BaseCamp software and OSM. Given the quality and flexibility of the (free) OSM data and the price asked by Garmin for theirs, it wouldn't shock me if Garmin started making some moves to block OSM maps from being used on their units.

I've got two spare 255's in my closet, still in their boxes. Insurance. :thumbup1:

value for money (VFM)

Definition:


A utility derived from every purchase or every sum of money spent. Value for money is based not only on the minimum purchase price (economy) but also on the maximum efficiency and effectiveness of the purchase.

It has to be a purpose built bike unit, that for me means Garmin. £50 gets you map updates for life.

Create your own routes, backtrack, logs everywhere you've been (when it's switched on).... and a host of other features too long to list here.

My understanding is that "Lifetime" maps are tied to the life of the unit... and not to your lifetime. Hopefully a significantly large difference. :wink3:

Great feedback to date
 

I like your line of thinking gentlemen and there is some excellent food for thought herein - I am almost tempted to break my longtime rule of "one tool per job" and get a smart phone with GPS capability; I can see a lot of logic in what has been said about Garmin etc being superceded by such technology.

I can also see the logic in stocking up with technology that works for you, when that technology is not going to be around for ever/long.
This may be why Garmin has such a massive range of products - basically a marketing technique to encourage everyone to think that this is "must have technology"?
Seriously, there is a Garmin product for use on golf courses; jeeeez.

Yes you're right it is for the life of the unit..... but.... when I sent my broken 550 to Garmin for repair, they sent me (for a fee) a brand new 660, and swapped over my numaps to the new unit... very good service I thought.. :mchappy:

Dave - the "one-tool for everything" approach to which you are being drawn sounds great in theory (heck, it's even got a camera built in :thumbup1:)... but the problem is that if something happens to it then you've got no phone, no GPS and depending what else you have, no browser, no SMS, no ..., no ...

Guess it depends a lot on where you travel and just how replaceable stuff is. I like the "one-and-a-half tools, one job" approach myself. Lose my phone? I can Skype on my EEE PC. Lose my computer? I can SMS on the phone, etc., etc. Oh well... hope you see my point. Given the longevity of electronic items in the field, a bit of redundancy is nice.

I can see a lot of logic in this now that I have read into this subject a bit more.
The first few posts in here:-
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...d-europe-62789
contain information about freely available routes for iPhones and Androids = very interesting indeed.
There is another thread somewhere in here that points toward Welcome To Osmand

Yep, for electronic items it all makes sense. Cheap basic mobile phones are also available so it would be feasible to carry a smart phone as a "do all" capability and a cheapie as a back up - that would also provide flexible use of SIM cards.

I am still looking and the range of Garmin products still staggers me.

Another reason I hate Garmin
 

They will ask you to download "webupdater" easy ,, no individual download ,, we will do it all for you.

DL files is only 7MB ,, and after expanding it becomes 16MB ,,, then here is the kicker ,,, once you execute the program ,, it will create a directory under application data ,, talking windows now ,, and will install,, precisely ,, 777MB of unwanted file with out your permission.

Now let say ,, you are enamoured with Android , and want Garmin out of your PC ,,

So you go to the control panel , you delete ,,, mapsource,,usb driver,,garmin maps ,, all garmin names.

So your PC is clean of Garmin?

Now on your desktop ,, launch search ,, file or folders ,, garmin ,, you will find some 12 ,, hidden files ,, some you can not delete what so ever ,, most of dll files ,,

Ok ,,, so you give up ,, then you go to start ,, right click on the mouse ,,, explore ,, go to program files ,, application data ,, WHAM ,, there is this 777 MB files from garmin ,, which you've launched by opening that 16MB file ,,,

They want to know ,, what maps,,from whom,,what system ,,
And it all goes back to Taiwan,, head office of Garmin.

This is my humble opinion.
get a smart phone ,, android ,, get a free gps ,, google navi ,, locus.com

Please do not send me 10 PMs

Thank you.

Yea, that is crap!
The best tip I have seen on here about PMs is just to let them stack up in your inbox - when they hit 50 you won't receive any more; neat.

Anyway, if a question is worth asking, or a point is worth making, then it should be on here in the HUBB to inform everyone.

Thanks also.

Garmin
 

I ran another file search today. to make sure that I did rid of all Garmin extensions.
Nothing came up.
Hmmmm...
So I ran this time with hidden files mode.
Voilla ,, Sure enough there were 6 files again !

I deleted one by one ,, I hope I am rid of Garmin for ever.

Give 'em to me, apart from Basecamp, I love Garmin, especially Mapsource... but then I now how to use it...:smartass:

As for phone based GPS, forget it... only any good as a very basic device, no custom route capability..

Android APP Locus
 

Please take a look at this Locus.com
You can custom route,,,in all format GDB GPX KML ,, no translation needed. Also you get "FREE" mapsouce, google, nokia, vector,mapquest,osm,osm regional, sho,navigisi,freemap,turacap,Nztopomap,osmapsPolan d,nokia,yahoo,bing uk, yandex, eniro, mytopo, statkart norway, nearmap australia,aero usa, amudanan israel MAPS all for free,, you can track in the Himalayas ,,or use it on the water on a sail boat at Palawan. No download of maps,,done automatic.

While listening to your music ,, sms with friends ,, talk to loved ones,,

If it goes kaput or loose it ,, buy a new phone and use the back up off a SD card you will keep as an emergency.

Yes,, phones cost 400 - 800 USD vs garmin USD 100 - 400 + individual maps ,,, kicker is,, garmin goes bad ,, you are out,, when you are traveling ,,
mp3 on old or few models. Short battery life,, terrible service.

Galaxy S 1-2 phones in every major village in the world.

I know how to use the garmin as well... quality sucks IMHO ,,

Let me know your findings on Locus APP

I have yet to find the ideal GPS that is perfect for my needs but the Garmin GPSmap 60Csx nearly fits the bill for me.
It's robust, waterproof and reasonably small. The aerial is better than many so position acquisition is rapid and it copes very well on sunken, tree covered lanes.
After you smash the garmin mount, buy the Ram version or, if you’re really flush, the TT locking one. I have a little lanyard on my unit, tied onto the handlebars just in case.

The only problem I have had is that sometimes, after a big off, the SD card gets dislodged and you loose the map until you take out the card, blow on it and put it back.
(I’m sure the blowing bit is really important J )
Good points are; you can use it in the p*ssing rain with gloves on (try that with a smart phone). When it’s clarted in mud you can wash it off under the tap. When you drop it, it seems to bounce quite well without damage.

As one of the other posters said, redundancy is important. All your eggs in one basket ?, I don’t think so.
I have my Map60, paper map and silva compass for navigation and also quite like the old fashioned route card.
I have a smart phone but also a cheap dumb phone in reserve.

Disagree with everything said here.... but won't bother continuing, clearly your experiences with Garmin have been a world apart from mine, I certainly couldn't be bothered downloading half a dozen programs to get a mediocre GPS device.

Forgot to mention, with Garmin and Mapsource, no internet connection is required to plan your routes on the move.

Safe Riding.

Some interesting divergence of opinion about garmin service standards, but those views are based on experiences at opposite sides of the world - could it be that the garmin backup is variable, depending where you are based?

Also, it seems that if a gps unit is purchased in the far east then it has to be returned there for any service needs; is this a policy elsewhere? If a unit is bought in, say, the States or Europe does it have to go back there for warranty claims? I guess so, going by other types of consumer products.

Yep, the robustness of mobile smart phones remains an issue; I remember a few years ago the ordinary mob phones came in a few different rubber-coated "waterproof" styles, marketed as phones for the building site for instance, but I don't see smart phones like this.

I have taken a look at this website but I don't have a smart phone right now.
The site is impressive in what "it says it does on the tin" & and I can see why this is serious competition for those selling stand alone GPS.
It is early days in this field of technology and I always try to avoid being the beta tester!!

Smart phones (a name recently referred to elsewhere as a misnomer and they are better called mobile computers that happen to have a telephone capability) could usefully have a thread all of their own somewhere in here (but where based on their extreme versatility???)

I am not clear how that works out.
Reading, for instance, feedback about the 60CX model of Garmin it indicates that a USB connection to a computer is needed to change over the map in use - all that stuff about only one IMG file in use at any one time.

Nice review!
Some models seem to have the SD card behind the battery compartment cover; in this case how does the "open ended" SD card slot stand up to that pissing rain riding day? Say 5+ hours of lashing rain combined with turbulence from the wind shield.

I've no Idea what a 60X model is..doh but motorcycle specific units have all the mapping programmed into them, thus a custom route can be created on the move, though it's a bit long winded.

A good solution would be to put Mapsource onto one of those little notebook thingies.. and use that. (I don't)

As said, no internet connection needed once it's set up..

All Eggs in One Basket
 

Absolutely ,, only fools in all things ,, especially in finance ,, would put all the eggs in one basket.

I put all the eggs ,, only into my wife and daughter.

This is how I do it.
I use my Android S2,, soon to change for S3, which is between the Galaxy Note and S2 in size,,as my main HUBB,, on and off line maps ,, huge resources to make sure my Garmin doesn't screw me as it often has.

Then I carry a tank ,, a HP notebook, that has traveled in my pannier, you can throw it and still works...6x10 inches,,,through thick and thin. All the URLs laid out easy to find, with great info we have here ,,

Then I have the old sam sung slide 3g phone for buying and using local USIMs,,

At the bottom is my ugly Garmin 755T with OSM world map (Another gripe I have,, under system ,,language,, keyboard ,, you will find Flemish to Slovenian ,, heaven sake ,, Slovenian,, but on purpose they have deleted Korean ,, why? They can sell Montana in Korea for USD 900 bucks, with Korean keyboard!)

I power these and a pair great Kuryakin speakers through my heated jacket outlet, which I have installed three of them in case one blows fuse in the middle of the blizzard.

I get live voice over the speaker,, and music suspends during the announcement ,, and with bluetooh headset,, I only take the incoming calls.

As you can see ,, I have spread out my eggs ,, but the rotten egg is at the bottom.. ;)

1) Lovely Galaxy S2 screen with my custom routes and colebatch's way points, which I have moderated. on Locus APP
2) My Eggs
3) Ram water proof box
4) Speakers and a cigar lighter so I can light up ,, while cruising. Notice cruising? That's Harley for you.
5) Power source
6) Soon EU rules dictate ,, I carry extinguisher and the triangle. X Reflector only wear it in the rain over my John Galliano rain coat !
Love you Garmin heads ,, regardless of our differences.

Fire and Triangle
 

These are very light actually ,,
Extinguisher is 30 cm high by 5cm diameter ,, triangle weights less than 150 Grams ,, and lays down flat at the bottom.
Oh ,, Last year ,, a friends's Harley, while fueling burned total,, new gas station did not yet have the extinguishers by the pump as required,, and the novice attendant over filled it and the engine was very hot. No explosion just fire ,, we had to drag it away on it's sides away from the pump. Gas station ended up paying USD 32,000 for the bike. Since their insurance didn't cover negligence.

Smart Phone Thread
 

I second that ,, WA ,,!

More about Garmin models
 

Continuing my reading in the HUBB about Garmins, I found this thread which has some good stuff from the point of view of those in 4x4s:-
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...inefield-57224

Along the way it also happens to comment on Tom Tom

Just been re-reading this thread and you have obviously been upset by Garmin.
What also comes across is that that you might be a bit crap at managing your PC. The Program Files/Garmin directory on mine is only 122mb and that includes Basecamp, POI Loader, USB drivers and Web updater. My Program Data/Garmin dir is only 192k !

I install my maps to a separate drive. Only shortcut placeholders exist on the C drive.

Using a USB socket on a motorcycle is just asking for trouble. The 755T is a car unit, not designed for motorcycles, much less a Harley:innocent:
Will you PDA fair any better?

Its probably not VFM in many peoples eye's, (it is in mine), but the Montana series is great. I use it on the dirt bike, the road bike, the car and have even been walkingdoh with it. Battery life is excellent and has AA capability as backup. Not cheap though.

Fills all the need of a GPS that I have. Maybe you really need a Sat Nav:mchappy:

Cheers,
John

Nuvi √
 

In that case I can tell you I did just that and bought a used Nuvi for 80 quid for a ride to Morocco and it worked fine, both with gloves, tucked behind the screen in pelting motorway rain and on the piste resting on a bit of tank foam as the Garmin mount would not have been up to it.
Slimmer than a Zumo and a fraction of the price. I also used my 76csx for route logging but the Nuvi (with Olaf for Morocco) added up to great VFM.

Chris S

That Nuvi sounds like VFM to me!

I had read something about the 76 model earlier - probably somewhere else because I was under the impression that it was aimed at marine applications (it is "fully waterproof" - but that needs definition - and it floats if immersed).
Garmin GPSMap 76CSX Consumer Opinion and Feedback
So, why use two Garmins? A genuine question because I have come across this tendency, again elsewhere (often it is because more than one is owned anyway, usually a later model that was purchased as an update to an earlier, obsolete model).

Hi Dave,
I dont think my 76 would last long in the water - its not a serious marine unit but good for non-motor powered activities where you go slow enough to be able to read it. If I am sea paddling for example I'd always put it in a bag.
These IP ratings are rather loosely used IMO.

I took 2 to Mk because I know my 76 has to capacity to do the job (logging routes for Morocco II book).

The Nuvi was a last minute experiment and a way of viewing Olaf (a free Morocco piste map 100 x better than garmin base map) on a wider screen. For that it was so much better than the 76 - and it was great in naving around cities too. Also, my 76 is playing up after many years hard use. The Nuvi may have worked as a back up logger and was cheap enough to lose/break. Nice and slim and survived that trip - I am very pleased with it. For plain moto travel with no logging required I would take that.

C

PS (just passed by this on ebay)

Hi Chris - I've been hunting around the HUBB for someone who has actual experience of using a 'car based' Nuvi on their bike - and it would seem you are indeed the fellow!

I currently use an aging Garmin 2610 on my dirt/travel bikes, as it is pretty much indestructible and I like the way it works... however, I'm tempted to buy something a bit smaller and neater (and with battery back-up) for a road trip around Europe this summer - and when you can buy a wide screen Nuvi complete with current Europe maps for pretty much the same price as a City Navigator upgrade these days, I thought that would make sense as it would also be a better 'everyday' in-car unit too I imagine?

So what was your experience of the physical reliability of the Nuvi on your trip to Morocco? - I'm presuming the power lead was the mini USB type, did it come loose or have any problems? What about general vibration - both from the engine and off-road riding too? Did the Nuvi ever glitch or reset itself/need resetting?

As I say, I intend to use the Nuvi for an on-road trip this summer (albeit on a Ducati V-twin, so vibes might be an issue!) - but it would be nice to know it is also robust enough for use on the dirtbike/s too?

Many thanks in advance,

Jenny xx

PS. I also have the Olaf maps for Morocco on my 2610 and 60CX - I presume you can load them into the Nuvi too using Mapsource? - can they sit in the memory in conjunction with City Navigator (ie. selectable) or do you have to load one set or the other?

Chris,
Thanks for that steer; I have now bitten on that bullet and bought a second hand Nuvi 205W for just £40 with full european garmin mapping included in the price.
Early days in playing with it, but for £40 who cares how it performs, compared with my Tom Tom, or anything else, for that matter?!

Ref the questions in the last post; you can answer for yourself, but certainly the 205W has a slot for a SD card, so any maps can be downloaded to a SD card and then used in the GPS; apparently it is just a matter of putting the card into the slot to use the maps on that card, or simply using the maps that are in the inbuilt memory of the GPS.

Hi Dave, sounds like you got a great deal for £40.
I admit that after Morocco my £80 Nuvi died on me one wet evening near Huddersfield. Could have been from trying to protect it by putting it into a jacket pocket that turned out not to be waterproof.
Anyway, got another - new this time - for the same price off ebay and will try and take better care of it or get one of these.

Jenny, sorry missed an email about your reply months ago.

... I'm presuming the power lead was the mini USB type, did it come loose or have any problems? What about general vibration - both from the engine and off-road riding too? Did the Nuvi ever glitch or reset itself/need resetting?

I had none of those problems or any at all, but on the piste I stuck it under a net and on some foam on the tank (see pic below) as the garmin mount would have failed for sure. The 76 was in my proven TT bar mount. On the road I used the Nuvi on a bar mount for better viz.

I think it was selectable so both can be loaded. In Morocco I used Olaf - better than anything Garmin offers for the roads and as good as anything on the piste. back in Spain I selected whatever was in the Garmin. Both in Morocco and Spain, assuming the mapping is up to it these satnavs are so handy when it comes to negotiating big towns or cities - and of course used Nuvi is so much cheaper than any Zumo. Just keep them try and mount them well on a moto.

(More on Morocco maps here)

Ch

Edit. Let me switch that around and add: "better than anything Garmin offers for the piste and good enough on the road for something that's free and easy to load compared to other free mapping I've tried.
I don't use - or perhaps don't fully trust - the routing function in Mk, preferring to be more engaged in the nav.

I've just finished a 3K mile road trip with my Nuvi 205W stuck as high as possible to the windscreen of my Kawasaki Versys. It was a process of almost constant experimentation, but only because I know nothing about Garmins.

Located on the screen, it was easy to see within my line of vision and I thought it would be quite well protected from driving rain, but that wasn't proven because there was really good weather in the south of France/northern Spain.
Fixed at that height, it vibrated quite a bit, and I believe it would have been better fixed to something more substantial, such as the bars - but, I wanted it in my line of sight. Also, it may be that a non-wide screen GPS unit would vibrate less, being lighter in weight.
I taped over the sd card slot and the speaker on the back of the unit (which was muted anyway) to protect from moisture - as I say, not proven to be effective because of the lack of rain.
Yep, the micro- USB plug into the back of the unit did tend to work loose when used on it's own, but more electrical tape held that in place - it all looked a bit of a bodge, because it definitely was, but it worked.

Sorry to hear good weather spoiled your holiday experiments, Dave ;-)

I also found that tucked up as far forward as possible in the curve of the screen worked amazingly well with a bare Nuvi in an 800-km day of downpours across Spain. Not certain it would work so well for stop-start city riding so better a plastic bag to pop over it. Like you say, high in line with vision helps greatly - like a Dakar racer's road book.

It may have helped that I glued the Garmin mount to a long RAM arm that I happened to have, and mounted off the bars. They're solid so no probs with vibration on the road, even with longer arm. On the dirt I put it on a tank mat, as shown earlier.

Ch

Thanks everyone... just to add to this thread, I bit the bullet on a Nuvi 2445 in July for my trip around Europe, and I have to say it works faultlessly on a bike, especially if you use a waterproof Arkon case:

http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/r...C/DSC03654.jpg

The touch screen still works well though the plastic cover, and mounted between the bar clamps (using a short RAM arm) meant no vibration...

http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/r...C/DSC03862.jpg

Also, I had no problems with the USB power connector, and the case helps here as it has foam inserts to support [different thicknesses of] GPS units, and the power cable routing means everything stays nice and snug in there.

I'd certainly recommend this combo to anyone looking to upgrade/replace an aging 2610 for example... and the nice thing about the 2445 series Garmin is you can upload/create loads of routes (50 I think, or even 100?) and just select them day by day...

Hope that helps anyone asking a similar question!

Jenny x

ps. The Arkon case also works with an iPhone or similar should you wish...

Having read through the relative merits of smartphones v dedicated gps, I'm going to go for the cheap Garmin car unit. I'm not going offroad, just navigating Europe/Eastern Europe so no need for anything special.

I've been looking at the 2xx series Nuvi, as they seem to be the cheapest on a certain auction site. The feature I would really like to have is the ability to add multiple points along a route, within the unit itself. i.e without hooking it up to a pc. I've been using Google maps on my phone and, aside from always needing a data connection, the most frustrating thing about it is only being able to navigate between two points. :taz:

I've read that certain Nuvi models have this feature but others don't. Any pointers as to which is which would be appreciated...:thumbup1:

Hi Crusty - see my post/info above - the 2445 does everything you'll need (see note below - 2455 has full Europe maps) it has a 100 programmable routes, and 1000 waypoints! - and if you want to add via points it's as easy and entering an address or scrolling around the map and marking a via point that way. You can even do it on the fly, although I wouldn't recommend that on a bike of course... ahem.

The 2445 comes with all the Western Europe maps pre loaded - if you need full Europe mapping, the 2455 is just £10 more - and you can even add a card for more memory or extra maps... the RRP is only just over £100 too - I'd say it is perfect for what you (or pretty much anyone!) need!

Jx

Hi Jenny,

Having re-read your post, you had of course answered my question before I asked it..doh

It sounds perfect, but what do you mean about full Europe being £10.00 more than the 2445..:confused1:

Probably me just being thick again...:thumbup1:

No problem - based on the RRP on the Garmin website, the 2445 (western Europe maps) is £109.99 and the 2455 (with full Europe maps) is £119.99.

Jx

As I suspected, me being thick again..!

Thanks Jenny, hope the recovery and prep for 2014 is going well....:D

Having played around with my second hand 205W, more/less as posted in here and other threads under this forum, I would say it is best to go with the latest version of the Nuvi, now that you know that you want one of them.

The 205W will accept additional directions "on the move" but I haven't established clearly for my own level of knowledge what this does to other data in use at the time - I think it just adds the new location as an intermediate destination, in addition to the final destination, but I am not fully sure if there are any secondary effects. In any case, it seems to be very rudimentary when dealing with routes that I have added by means of basecamp.