I'm ready to join you!

[junrellannt]

I am ready to join you guys. I think I'm going to be a good contributor because I love searching for shortcuts and fastest routes. But I need your guidance. I'm torn between buying a phone that's supported by Garmin/Roadguide or buying a Garmin unit/device. I want to have the best map guide and I think it's you guys. I see some maps from other providers but they lack the street details I needed most where I pass everyday. One example is the new street/highway after coastal road besides St. Dominic. Do we at roadguide have this one? I am also planning to go to Baguio, Puerto del Sol at Bolinao, Pangasinan and the beaches at San Juan, Batangas. Do we have road assistance for these places? Anyway, please give me your best recommended unit for the price range below:
1. P20,000.00 for phone/smartphone
2. P12,000.00 for Garmin device (with voice instructions, text-to-speech)
Lastly, if you recommend the Garmin device, where can I buy it (Manila or Cavite area).
Please help me guys, the money is ready, I just want to pick the right one. Thanks in advance!

[hbt]

best is to go thru the FAQ FOR NEWBIES

go for a dedicated GPSr
265w is a good investment with TTS
buy it in the states or amazon is having a sale NOW

HTH
welcome to roadguide

[junrellannt]

Thanks for the quick reply =) Buying from Amazon will cost me around P9,500+. I saw the same units from sulit.com. It will only cost me 7 to 8 thousand pesos. Is is safe to deal with them? Do we have a way to compare the specifications of 265wt and 255w?

[hbt]

Thanks for the quick reply =) Buying from Amazon will cost me around P9,500+. I saw the same units from sulit.com. It will only cost me 7 to 8 thousand pesos. Is is safe to deal with them? Do we have a way to compare the specifications of 265wt and 255w?

265 is bluetooth capable which i find very very useful.
w is for wide screen
t is for traffic receiver which is not applicable in the pinas

for comparison, look here http://gpstracklog.com/compare/garmi...mparison-chart

[arvin555]

I too am a very vocal fan of the stand alone GPS unit. I actually have two phones with GPS functionality, one uses our map as well. But at the end of the day GPS uses a lot of power and so I would rather have one device each than risk getting low battery on both if it's a single device. Plus most (I am generalizing here) multitasking devices do not do those tasks well.

As for Sulit, the sellers are individuals so no one can really say if they are okay to deal with or not, it's the same with Ebay... buyer beware, check their ratings if they have good or many bad reviews.

Amazon is offering quite a lot of GPS units on sale these days.

We are of course looking forward to your contributions and helping improve the map. By the way, if by road support you mean from other members? Well you just have to post and see if there are members in the area you are going through that are willing to help or if you are willing to meet up with when you go through the area.

TTFN
Arvin

[junrellannt]

Does that mean that Nuvi 625w or any other Garmin units can not be directly plugged to the DC outlet of our cars through the cigarette charger? I'm travelling from Dasmarinas, Cavite to Vito Cruz, Manila everyday.

[hbt]

you can plug it directly to the cars cig. lighter outlet and your computer for charging and syncing

[docsamcruz]

welcome to rg. better but a dedicated gps unit. aside from the many advantages. cellphones easily goes out of style and tendency is, you change phone every now and then. with a separate/dedicated gps, u can change phone as frequent as you want but the gps stays.

i had the same dilemma with you but im glad i listened to the gps maniac of rg. your option must be focused on either buying an automotive gps unit like the nuvi or a handheld gps unit.

[arvin555]

As Docsam has been a member way way ahead of me, I'm sure I was not one of the ones that gave suggestions on what he buys... there is only one other person who posted here .. so yeah maniac might be the right term

Jun, sorry that I might have confused you, yeah I agree that cellphones can be charged using a car charger, and of course the Garmin units also can be charged the same way. When you get a Nuvi unit for example, make sure your kit includes a Cigarette lighter plug charger, or else you'll have to look for one, it is quite important as my Nuvi batteries only last maximum 3 hours of continues use. If you have those cigarette plug to USB chargers already that will work okay as well you just have to buy a USB to mini USB cable, which you need to buy anyway to connect your GPS to your computer.

Docsam also has a good point, you should however consider if you want a Nuvi or a Garmin handheld. I chose a Nuvi because it can be a bit more versatile, though those handhelds like Oregon and the likes are probably more versatile coz they are waterproof.

TTFN
Arvin

[junrellannt]

i am going to have my nuvi 255w tomorrow! i think my next thread would be bout updates, downloads or uploads na. thanks for the big help guys!