Great GPS, but traffic assistance less than stellar
923388
I switched to this TomTom unit from a Garmin unit, for its lifetime traffic and maps. This is a great idea, but perhaps not as great as it seems.
I travel to Northern Virginia from Richmond periodically, making good use of the traffic feature of the TomTom. Often the traffic info is late (common for most GPS units). What really burns my tail is when the TomTom refuses to connect to the traffic service, or connects but later drops the connection. I'm convinced this is a an issue of capacity on their traffic info server. The GPS is working fine, but there is simply not enough capacity for all the users of this traffic service. This renders the traffic info part of the unit useless.
As for getting me where I want to go, it does a very nice job. The large screen size is helpful, and the instructions are better than that from my older Garmin.
I've edited a couple maps too. That's cool, but doesn't allow you to actually add a new road, or move one that got re routed.
The dash mount that comes with the unit is not great. I got a third party one (Arkon TTEP115) that works better, and is far more adjustable.
I am very pleased with my purchase, with a few reservations.
747228
Good: Overall this unit is pretty reliable. It will get you where you want to go. I have experimented with this unit locally and for most of the routes I have tried so far, the unit has taken me the way I would have gone, no weird side routes or anything yet. It has VERY fast route recalculation and a nice large display. I also liked the icon in the bottom corner telling you what turn is coming up. It also has a good mount. That sucker is absolutely not going to fall off your windshield and break, like I've heard of other brands doing.

Bad: The POI database is a bit outdated, and you can't update it. One other feature I was hoping to find but didn't, was the ability to save whatever location you are at, without inputting the specific address. This would somewhat compensate for the POI database shortcomings. Also it's a little difficult to get used to as far as putting in an address or other place to go. Some of the people who have commented on the counterintuitiveness of the unit are correct. But just like anything else you have to operate, once you are used to it, no problem.

Summary: I think the device's pros outweigh the cons, especially considering the price. I just wish it had an updateable POI database. Be sure you follow the instructions for removing the unit from the window mount. It's hard to get used to and if you're not careful you could break it.

Update: Someone broke into my car and decided they needed my GPS more than me. So to replace this unit I bought a Garmin c330 and it's the best GPS I ever had. So for the same price, go get a reconditioned Garmin C330 instead of the Pharos. You'll like it better. In comparison if I could change my rating I would give it 3 stars vice 4.
1253294
I'm pretty happy with this product so far.  It usually gets you where you want to go, eventually.

It's good in the sun, and the voice to text is easy to understand.

The cons are that the maps arn't all that good, it thinks my own home is at the other end of my street and it think my friends house is on a road that is still unpaved (it was paved 20 years ago).  I know this is probably a database error and not thier fault entirely, but it still exists in thier product.

The other thing is that the directions arn't always the best ones.  Google maps almost always gives you better directions.  You will get to where you want to go, just not the quickest or most convinient way.  On one route I normally take it wants me to go past the highway on ramp on my side of the road, go down the road a ways, make a u-turn, head on back on the other side of the road, and take the on ramp on that side.  How did it come up with such an assinine route?  You have to use this device with a bit of your own common sense thrown in.

I also use this for geocaching and it's great for that, since it's so good in the sun.

All in all not a bad buy but I just wish the menu was easier to use and the unit was easier to mod yourself as well.  As it is now you can't make up routes in the computer and transfer them to the unit for example.
266861
After using a colleague's small screen screen Garmin, I decided that I wanted a large screen version.  This model seemed to meet most of my requirements.  After using it on a couple of trips it does a creditable job.  The traffic feature has never shown any traffic issues even though we went through some major jams.  Google traffic on an iPad showed the traffic problem but the Gamin never indicated anything.

When searching for a point of interest by name it can take a few minutes to complete the search.  All too often the places located are hundreds of miles from my current location.

Start-up time is very long.  It takes close to a minute to load the maps and be ready to navigate.  As with any GPS the routings sometimes are a little odd.  It sent me on a roundabout way instead of the more direct route.  It knew the roads were there but didn't route on them for some unknown reason.
1896061
This device works good. It downloads really fast. I do deliveries for a living and this device gets me to where I need to go. I updated the maps the other day, but Garmin still doesn't have every single street included. There was a street I needed to go to the other day, but the GPS couldn't find it. So I had to get as close as I could, and do it "manually" from there.

It also has a few issues when entering "Second street" or "2nd street". It's the same street, but depending on how to enter it, the GPS won't find anything. So you might need to try a couple different combinations to get it working on the street you want.

But so far this device has been working great for me.

The only real complaint I have is the battery life. It says 2 hours, and maybe I get that, but it's hardly enough to cover my shift at work. I even bought a AC charger so I could charge the GPS in my house, thinking it would last a few hours, but it doesn't. You really can't run this thing for any period of time without the car charger plugged it. I guess it's not that big of a deal, except that the cigarette lighter in my car doesn't work that well, so I have to keep messing with the plug to keep it on. That's not really Garmin's fault, but it would be nice if the battery lasted more then an hour or two.

I give it a 4 because of the battery, but the device works great.
35214
This device worked perfectly for me.  I plugged it in and there was instantly traffic.  The reception is good in my area and really I can think of nothing negative to say about it.

The only real caveat here is the coverage, which I would not rate so perfectly.  It is currently great in some areas and largely worthless in others.  Make sure to head over to the Garmin website and look at your area of interest's coverage map prior to purchasing.  There are even some quirks within that.  Currently, only one direction of traffic is covered on the highway I use for my daily commute, so this is only helpful on the way home.

With that said, I am hopeful for better coverage over time, and having real-time traffic could be a literal life-saver.  If you are in an area that allows this device to be effective, I recommend it highly.
2171071
This is a good unit thanks to the low price, easy readability, ease of updating and sign display features.  Still, it falls short of the ten year old Garmin that it replaced in route choice, detour routes and directional indications if you are trying to find a restaurant or gas station along your route.

Also, I got this unit largely because it included lifetime traffic, but the traffic function is pretty useless.  For example, on a trip from New Jersey to Long Island, it would alert me that an alternate route would save me 15 minutes.  Within 3 minutes of switching to the alternate route, it told me that the original route would save me 10 minutes.  After switching back and forth between routes several times, I just decided to go with the one I was on, and of course hit a major traffic jam.  I use my smartphone for traffic now.

I figure that this unit will do fine 90 - 95% of the time.  The rest of the time, it might be kind of frustrating, but what do you want for $80, right?
2262541
I haven't used this enough to give it  more than four stars.  The biggest weakness of the older Garmins has been the lack of historical traffic information in the route calculations.  Unlike the TomTom IQ-routes which have had historical data included in the routing for many years.

Since the more historical data collected the better, the jump that TomTom has on Garmin might be more than matched by the Garmin's greater user base. This, of course, is dependent on how many users sync to the manufacturers web site with their devises and allow either company to download anonymous travel data.

Typically, TomTom devices with IQ-routes were way better than the older non Traffic-Trends Garmins.  The TomToms were much less likely to route through an area full of traffic lights than the Garmin.  This should not be the case any longer, but I have not spent enough time with this Garmin to say for sure.

Otherwise, I find the Garmin 2595LMT a flawless unit with many improvements over prior models.  I haven't used the newer HD traffic so I can't say how much better it is than what this slightly older 2595lmt uses.

The user interface is pretty intuitive and the graffics (maybe not as pretty as on the TomToms) are quite good.

This 5" Garmin has a bunch of upscale features including Bluetooth, voice recognition, and optimizing multi  destination routes. So it is a great bargain at the current price of $129.
3897941
I would have given it 5 stars if it picked up the signal faster but it seems that no matter where I am, it needs 8 long minutes before it is oriented; then it sgreat.  It will not move or it will jump off the page and it will keep moving after you remove your finger. However, on the plus side you can press on the top right corner and it will give you important turns in your trip. Press on a turn takes you to that place on the map. Overall it is great. The 1350LMT is a good user friendly GPS for the price. It has one problem in trying to follow a route to preview. Moving the screen by fingertip is not so good though.
4894007
I like it for what it is.  Twice I found I was in a newer area, but the street couldn't be found by Garmin.  Then I recognized it had 2005 software in it.  That was not part if the description (a little bait & switch to me).

Love the dial to turn up sound.  Graphics are fine.  I have some trouble going directly back to a new destination (instead of pressing BACK multiple times).

Definitely beneficial for anyone who gets lost as much as I do.  There aren't that many new streets in my area, but apparently to update is very expensive.  This is a little false advertising to me.
3575511
The Garmin will get you anywhere you want to go on any official highway -- that was built when the Garmin's memory was downloaded. Just be careful when you're on a highway that looks to be recently built -- there may be exits that will get you to the next road on your trip more directly than the Garmin directions. I got briefly lost in North Carolina after I left RT 95 heading to Seymour Johnson AFB because I didn't believe the highway signs listing the exits from RT 264 to Rt 117. Also, it's sometimes better to simply reverse directions (legally and carefully) rather than follow Garmin's directions which might lengthen your trip unnecessarily.
All in all, though, the Garmin is practically indispensable in the vast majority of situations.  It also helps keep your attention in long boring highway trips as you watch the anticipated arrival time vary as traffic and speed conditons change. I wouldn't be without it.
1943698
I had an Explorist 600 and am considering buying another.  Helpful hint: They won't tolerate being run over by a car.  I found it to be an excellent GPS but found the support from Magellan to be quite lacking.  The lack of auto-rerouting is a bother too since I use it most on bicycle & motorcycle.  Overall A good Product.
934075
First off, the hardware works great, and is easy to install. Activation requires a call to the company, which is no big deal, though it would be nice to have a web option. Tracking works well, as the vehicle is tracked within 10-30 feet of it's actual location. The web site offers a number of options, many of which are setup for commercial or fleet use, but can still be of value to an individual.

My suggestions for improvement: the geo-fence works like a circle from a specific point. You can specify the size of the circle, but you can't create a shape or mark a fence based on say, streets. It would be nice to be able to draw your own fence, or at least make a square or rectangle. Also, I got out-of-the-area notices when the vehicle was near the perimeter, but not that close--like 1/8 mile. I could see if it was 50 or 100 feet. This caused me to have to make the circle larger which meant the vehicle could go places I considered out-of-bounds because there was no way to adjust the size and location to accommodate "in bounds" places and not get false alerts as well.

There's an option to be notified of speeding or tracking speeding, harsh acceleration or stopping. But the speeding is based on a fixed MPH for highways or "smaller roads". It would be great if the speeding was based on the actual speed limit of the road (something newer GPS units seem to know about). So, it's not very effective to set a speed alert on a smaller road, considering the posted limit could be anywhere from 25-45 (or more). Also, it's not clear what constitutes harsh acceleration or braking. I have the unit installed in a vehicle that may be one of the slowest on the road--not sure it could every qualify for "harsh acceleration". :)

Other helpful options include setting schedules for each day of the week to be notified when the car is used outside of the set times. This is a great way to be alerted for your vehicle being used when it's not supposed to be. Finally, you can be alerted if the unit hasn't sent a signal in 12 hours, or if it has been unplugged from the vehicle. These are all features teens hate. :)

What I use most are tracking where the vehicle is located and what trips and stops it has made. For this purpose, it's doing a great job.

Finally, the mobile apps, for some unknown reason, do not have all of the features of the web site. So, if you have an iPad, you're better off just logging into the web site on your iPad, rather than using the mobile app.

My only big wish is that the monthly service prices were a little lower. You can save money by purchasing a block of months, rather than month-to-month, but the prices on the blocks and the month-to-month option should be lower. About $5/month less, in my opinion.

Overall, this product and service solution works very well. If you need to keep up-to-date tabs on a vehicle's location, this is probably the best option, as you get minute-by-minute updates when the vehicle is running and quarter-hour updates when the vehicle is shut off (with to-the-minute precision in tracking total stop time).
2633625
We purchased a new Garmin Nuvi 260W when moving to Chicago from Los Angeles. All in all, this is a very good product and very user friendly.
Very easy to mount to the windshield and dismount. We purchased separately a case, as none is provided in the original box.

We use our unit only in the car (i.e. not for walking) and in general, it works very well. The accuracy is generally very good, though not always.
In general, I strongly recommend always looking at a map at your route before hand, to get a general idea.

When around tall buildings, like downtown Chicago, the system tends to go crazy, which is annoying. I understand it sometimes loses the satellite signal, but how come it doesn't have some sort of a memory for the route as it was before?

Also, at times it takes it VERY long to acquire a signal.
And finally, having only an ABC keyboard take a lot of times getting used to, if like me, you're used to working only with qwerty.

Bottom line, I think that for the price we paid for it (around $240), it's a great value and while not perfect (what is...?) it is definitely worth considering, at least.
4636423
I got this GPS so that we don't have to depend on our phone which we use both for songs and connecting to the bluetooth. The detour feature is what I like when I am stuck in traffic along with its traffic signals. works great!
1155881
I've used the GO 930 for about a month and am satisfied overall. I love the feature that allows me to back into the departure time, based on anticipated length of travel (Of course one has to anticipate rush hours, etc. and add time on for that). The maps are up to date, and the graphics are good. I would have liked to be able to change the font size for street names. The computer generated voice breaks up as its "speaking" sometimes, and the pronunciations are often hilarious, but usually useful. One feature that my five year old Garmin had was a calibration mode, which could be used to improve the triangulation of the car with the satellites. The TomTom thinks I'm farther away from my location that I actually am, which is problematic when navigating in the city where streets are close together and often unmarked (Boston). I have missed streets because the voice tells me "turn right!" as I pass a street. This can be complicated by the video not catching up with my location either, necessitating watching the screen, reading street signs and watching the road all at once. Good maps and the choice to review the route in the living room before I get into the car are definite advantages. Not turning off when I turn off the car is a drawback.
2187781
I am very happy with the traffic feature and the fact that local pit stops are shown on the map automatically. However it has been off on a location one time (two block error) and it doesn't always have the latest traffic. However it was still worth it and it helps me drive with direction and ease!