Need a good advice on choosing a Camry with/without Navigation.

I am choosing between Camry XLE V6 and XLE with 4-cylinder engine.

The only reason I am even looking to buy XLE V6 is because it's
available with Navigation. The 4-cylinder model does not come with
navigation. In terms of engine power, I would be totally satisfied with
4-cylinder.

So if I buy a 4-cylinder model, I would buy a Garmin C330 or other
portable navigation system.

Has anyone used a portable one? Is having the built-in navigation much
better?

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

On 20 Oct 2006 07:05:39 -0700, [email]success_ny@yahoo.com[/email] wrote:
[color=blue]
>I am choosing between Camry XLE V6 and XLE with 4-cylinder engine.
>
>The only reason I am even looking to buy XLE V6 is because it's
>available with Navigation. The 4-cylinder model does not come with
>navigation. In terms of engine power, I would be totally satisfied with
>4-cylinder.
>
>So if I buy a 4-cylinder model, I would buy a Garmin C330 or other
>portable navigation system.
>
>Has anyone used a portable one? Is having the built-in navigation much
>better?
>
>Any suggestions?
>
>Thanks.[/color]

I have a small Magellan GPS that I use in the car.

The advantage to portables is the cost of updated software is MUCH
lower.

You can also get an excellent program for your laptop and interface it
with a portable GPS.

Not as elegant as the installed units, but they do the job.


--

Scott in Florida

I have a Garmin GPSmap76CS. My wife has the Toyota navigation in her
2007 Camery hybrid.

The in car SUCKS! You can't use it while moving (not even the
passenger) and the manual must have been written by a Neanderthal. I've
used GPS for seven years and I can't understand the Toyota manual.

I much prefer the portable GPS because they can be used for hiking,
cycling or auto. They have much more information available to the user
than the in car navigation systems. And, the auto routing works pretty
well now. Annual map updates are not very expensive. The one negative
(relative to the in auto) is the display size. I set mine to the left
of the steering wheel on the dash and run a Gilsson antenna out the door
to the top of the car. That way, it's close to the driver and the
screen size is not a problem. See:

[url]http://arthurhass.fotopic.net/p29676698.html[/url]

Regardless of what you wind up with, there is a pretty steep learning
curve - probably more so with the hand held than with the Toyota. If
you have a lot of computer knowledge, you can hook up a portable to a
computer and use the computer screen for navigation but it's somewhat
akward.

Arthur Hass

[email]success_ny@yahoo.com[/email] wrote:[color=blue]
> I am choosing between Camry XLE V6 and XLE with 4-cylinder engine.
>
> The only reason I am even looking to buy XLE V6 is because it's
> available with Navigation. The 4-cylinder model does not come with
> navigation. In terms of engine power, I would be totally satisfied with
> 4-cylinder.
>
> So if I buy a 4-cylinder model, I would buy a Garmin C330 or other
> portable navigation system.
>
> Has anyone used a portable one? Is having the built-in navigation much
> better?
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Thanks.
>[/color]

On Fri, 20 Oct 2006 14:48:19 GMT, Scott in Florida
<askifyouwant@mindspring.net> wrote:

[color=blue]
>You can also get an excellent program for your laptop and interface it
>with a portable GPS.
>
>Not as elegant as the installed units, but they do the job.[/color]

Hell, it's far more elegant than a handheld GPS if you use a Verizon
Wireless Broadband Access EVDO card and Google Earth on your laptop.
Get your choice of Satellite View, Roadmap View, or Hybrid.

I have to get the USB GPS unit for total slickness, right now if I'm
really lost I have to plug the Lat/Lon numbers from the old portable
into Google earth and let it cogitate on where I am.

Or see if the new laptop can understand the antique Magellan
Tripmate Serial I have. Have to use it with a USB to Serial adapter.

--<< Bruce >>--

Scott in Florida wrote:
[color=blue]
> I have a small Magellan GPS that I use in the car.
>
> The advantage to portables is the cost of updated software is MUCH
> lower.
>
> You can also get an excellent program for your laptop and interface it
> with a portable GPS.
>
> Not as elegant as the installed units, but they do the job.[/color]

Not to mention that if the portable unit needs to be fixed, you don't have
to take the whole car in with it.

On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 04:48:25 GMT, Bruce L. Bergman
<blPYTHONbergman@earthlink.invalid> wrote:
[color=blue]
>On Fri, 20 Oct 2006 14:48:19 GMT, Scott in Florida
><askifyouwant@mindspring.net> wrote:
>
>[color=green]
>>You can also get an excellent program for your laptop and interface it
>>with a portable GPS.
>>
>>Not as elegant as the installed units, but they do the job.[/color]
>
> Hell, it's far more elegant than a handheld GPS if you use a Verizon
>Wireless Broadband Access EVDO card and Google Earth on your laptop.
>Get your choice of Satellite View, Roadmap View, or Hybrid.
>
> I have to get the USB GPS unit for total slickness, right now if I'm
>really lost I have to plug the Lat/Lon numbers from the old portable
>into Google earth and let it cogitate on where I am.
>
> Or see if the new laptop can understand the antique Magellan
>Tripmate Serial I have. Have to use it with a USB to Serial adapter.
>
> --<< Bruce >>--[/color]

On my last trip up to Mass I had my Magellan Platinum hand held on a
windshield mounted holder, driven power wise by the cigar outlet.

I also had my laptop hooked up to a Delorme Earthmate LT-20 (a piece
of SHIT gps receiver).

[url]http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=10048[/url]

The Delorme GPS is horrible. It looses lock at the most inopportune
times (like finding my Brother's house).

The Magellan has a serial interface and my laptop does not, so I just
solved the problem by getting a serial to USB converter.

Next trip will have the Magellan driving the Delorme Street Atlas 2006
program.

I have no room for passengers, but I will know where the hell I am all
the time.

It would have been damned nice if the f*ing Delorme GPS had worked on
my way back to Florida. I like to travel by Interstate and jump off
to 'see America' on the back roads. On one jump off I ended up on one
hell of a mountain road going over the Smoky Mountains....lol, but I
found a neat old motel for the night.

This next trip I'll know where I am and be able to count on my GPS
being locked.

I also have the Delorme Topo USA software. How neat is that to have
real time 3D representation of your trip thru the mountains?

Now if I can only make sure I look out the front window a couple of
times an hour to see the deer and wild turkeys...LOL


--

Scott in Florida