Maguire17

Hello, first post here. Looking for opinions on which GPS unit to buy.

I've looked at many, and I've narrowed it down to two choices... the Garmin Nuvi series looked good too, but for the features I wanted (TTS, bluetooth) they got a little pricey, plus I really hate the fact that Garmin doesn't have an upcoming turn arrow.

I can get both the 3250 and the C520 for around $275 shipped. I'll list the pros and cons I've been able to figure out thus far:

C520:

Pros- Larger 4.3" screen. Graphics look like they may be nicer than the Magellan's. Customer service was easily reachable and seemed to know what they were talking about. Seems like there are solutions for creating a phonebook of contacts for the BT calling.

Cons- CNET said there were minor tracking issues, although they reported no such issues with the C320, and according to Mio they are the exact same unit with a few more features added for the C520... so maybe that was an individual unit issue? According to some reviews it doesn't tell you which side of the street your destination is on? TMC is not included, and requires a secondary equipment purchase and subscription service with no initial free period.

3250:

Pros- An American company, maybe that means better US navigation? Tells you which side of the street your destination is on. AAA features. TMC is included... free for first 3 months.

Cons- Smaller 3.5" screen. NO CUSTOMER SUPPORT... I waited thirty minutes to talk to some poor underpaid sucker in a third world country who didn't have the slightest idea about anything remotely Magellan or GPS unit related. We ended up talking about Cricket. Seriously. There doesn't seem to be a solution for the units inability to import a phone's contact list, ie. no way to create a contact list in the unit... correct?

Even/Steven:

I believe the Magellan uses the latest Navteq and the Mio uses the latest TeleAtlas... a recent test I read said the two latest versions are pretty much even. Both units have around 6 million POI's. Both units have bluetooth, and when a POI is displayed, a phone icon to directly call the POI. According to the reviews, neither unit imports the paired phone's contact list.

If you spot any misconceptions I may be laboring under, please don't hesitate to point them out. What I know so far I've learned mostly off the internet... I couldn't find a live tester of the Mio in a store, and the live Magellan I played around with at BestBuy wouldn't show me a map because it had no satellite connection...

Maguire17

UPDATE-

Pulled the trigger on the C520. Total cost shipped was $270 even.

After thinking it over some more, and reading another post on this forum regarding Magellan's customer support, I realized that the lack of resources from the company was really a deal-breaker for me.

I want to upgrade maps and software easily, and God forbid if something goes wrong with the unit after the retailer's return-policy is expired... with my luck, it would freeze a day too late and I'd be stuck dealing with Magellan for a replacement...

According to Mio, there will be a software ugrade to the C520 either before the new year or early Q1 (cross fingers for a "which side of the road the destination is on" fix)... apparently they already have the discs completed, just not shipped. I can deal with a month wait for that...

Andy

Keep us posted on Mio's tech support. They kind of came out of nowhere with GPS devices.

Maguire17

Haven't they been big in Europe for awhile though? My sister lives in London, and she was saying she knew the brand, and a lot of people used them... she's not the biggest gadget person however, so it's very possible she's mistaken or thinking about another brand...

Andy

That could be. We're kind of sheltered here in the US with regards to the rest of the world.