July 20, 2007

GPS Steals and Deals - 7/20

Highlights

I have to say that the Nuvi line, especially the Nuvi 200 series has dropped in price recently to be pretty darn close to my predictions for what it should be for the summer (see my post from early May on my summer pricing expectations for Garmin and TomTom. I still think TomTom will put up specials and you'll find the TomTom One for $249; online).

So, if you want a dead-easy to use GPS under $300, and don't need frills or maps of Canada; go for the Nuvi 200. The Nuvi 250 includes North American maps, and is running in the low $300's. The thing is that if you want Text to Speech (TTS) you can pay $40-$50 more and get the Nuvi 350.

Noticed that the Nuvi 200 is dropping; around $274. Better meeting my expectations on the price vs benefits.

The Nuvi 250 has settled in and is available for about $325 online. This is a much better place to be than the days when it was MORE expensive than the Nuvi 350. See my Hands on Review of the Nuvi 250 for an idea of how well this will perform.

The popular Garmin Nuvi 350 dropped to $368, and it's the #1 seller in Electronics at Amazon, and their most popular GPS. More info on the Nuvi 350.

Garmin Nuvi 360 adds Bluetooth to the Nuvi 350 capabilities and is now around $429.

The Nuvi 650 offers the widescreen and no Bluetooth or traffic for $465.

Garmin Nuvi 660 - Price around $568 at Amazon - way under $600. See my Hands on Review of the Nuvi 660

The Nuvi 680 is selling at Amazon - $674 - Down $50 in the last few weeks. - see my hands on Review of the Nuvi 680.

Garmin Nuvi 670 - Need to travel to Europe and navigate when you get there? Garmin Nuvi 670 comes pre-loaded with both US and Euro maps. It's the very capable Nuvi 660 base unit with the extra maps pre-loaded. Also consider the Nuvi 370, or the Nuvi 270 which also have Euro Maps pre-loaded. (Confused? Compare the Nuvi line here)

The new TomTom ONE XL is back to $399. Read my Review of the TomTom ONE XL.

The Mio C220 is selling around $175 through Amazon sellers. Read my Review of the Mio C220.

Rebates this Week:

Garmin Forerunner 305 - $50 rebate and

Edge 305 - $75 Rebate when you sign up for the Powerbar Nutrition Edge Newsletter Offer ends 11/30/07.

Garmin has a $30 rebate on their Garmin Topo U.S. 2008 MapSource DVD - Price is about $50 online. Rebate good through 12/31/07 for upgrade only. Rebate form here (pdf)

Finally - I noticed that my local Target store had the Garmin eTrex Legend on CLOSEOUT for $104; maybe yours does too; check it out if you are in need of a decent entry level handheld.