I had been shopping for the last month or so on a GPS (I do my research!) all brands are great but from my research I opted for the MIO C520. It's only slightly more expensive than the C320 but it has bluetooth, so for an extra $10 or so you essentially get a touchscreen hands free unit. I think it's the equivalent to the Navman S50 and Garmin 250W.
It's 4.3" wide/touchscreen with text to speech, POI, and bluetooth as a hands free phone. It also has the best windscreen mount I've seen and is the best looking unit against all the brands IMO as well.
But.. the "hidden secret" is that I believe it's the only (or one of the only) GPS brands that use Windows CE as it's base operating system.
What this means is that within the first night I got my unit I downloaded "unlocking" software which allowed me to open Excel, Word, Powerpoint, PDF, Publisher, MP3's and DivX/WMV movie files. Of course since then I've been watching full length movies on my trips to and from Sydney, the movie playback quality is fantastic. As well as being my hands free. Not bad for $355!
http://www.mio.com.au/gps-navigation-products-c520-overview.htm
The catch? My unit's GPS receiver stopped functioning about a week later and is currently being replaced by MIO. From what I've heard my problem is very rare so i'd still recommend buying it.
Of course when the next wave of new GPS units come out, the status quo changes as other brands stuff more features in their new units for less money.
But I think it's a good time now to buy a GPS, all the brands are great but if you can, try to negotiate it (any 4.3" widescreen/touchscreen) down to under $400.
It's 4.3" wide/touchscreen with text to speech, POI, and bluetooth as a hands free phone. It also has the best windscreen mount I've seen and is the best looking unit against all the brands IMO as well.
But.. the "hidden secret" is that I believe it's the only (or one of the only) GPS brands that use Windows CE as it's base operating system.
What this means is that within the first night I got my unit I downloaded "unlocking" software which allowed me to open Excel, Word, Powerpoint, PDF, Publisher, MP3's and DivX/WMV movie files. Of course since then I've been watching full length movies on my trips to and from Sydney, the movie playback quality is fantastic. As well as being my hands free. Not bad for $355!
http://www.mio.com.au/gps-navigation-products-c520-overview.htm
The catch? My unit's GPS receiver stopped functioning about a week later and is currently being replaced by MIO. From what I've heard my problem is very rare so i'd still recommend buying it.
Of course when the next wave of new GPS units come out, the status quo changes as other brands stuff more features in their new units for less money.
But I think it's a good time now to buy a GPS, all the brands are great but if you can, try to negotiate it (any 4.3" widescreen/touchscreen) down to under $400.
