I also second the comments about the voice activation being less than useless in a convertible.

 

I have a Nuvi 270. Just the right size to use while driving and small enough to put in my pocket when walking. I bought the 270 because it has maps of the US and Europe. Might come in handy if you travel overseas like I do. I bought it earlier this year for around $230.

 

i have a garmin 760 and i love it!!! i work at circuit city and i sell them all day. i also hear reviews and garmins are always the best and is the only thing i would buy!! the 880 is really cool and the voice activated commands work really well actually but its really not worth th extra money... typing it in yourself isnt that hard especially with the garmins.. it reconizes what your typing after about 4 or 5 letters!! garmin 760 FTW!!!

 

One thing I don't like about Telenav is the subscription fee that they have. However, maps are constantly updated. It's a tradeoff but I don't have to deal with yet another device and it's accessories (especially when traveling).

 

Garmin Nuvi 350, love it.

 

OK, I finally took the plunge. Garmin Nuvi 850. I'm spoiled. All of our other cars have factory nav systems and bluetooth. I've become accustomed to relying on the electronics to go anywhere without effort.

I looked at the Nuvi 880 for the integrated bluetooth and the MSN Direct. But all of the feedback I could find from professional reviews was pretty lukewarm on the bluetooth features of the Garmins and every other portable nav system. Feedback from owners on Amazon was even worse.

As for MSN Direct, the "features" seemed pretty suspect. Movie times, weather, gas prices, traffic? Well, once again, owners providing feedback on Amazon almost universally say that traffic and gas prices are almost always out of date when they aren't missing completely. The movie info is incomplete and unreliable. And, the weather info is very limited. And LOL, who needs stock prices and news delivered on a nav system?

The Nuvi 850 has voice commands and every other feature of the Nuvi 880 except bluetooth and an MSN receiver in the box. By going with the 850, I saved about $200 and I can add the MSN receiver at any time down the road for less than $100 if Microsoft ever figures out how to actually provide a useful service. If the voice commands work OK, it's a real safety plus in my mind and a great relief from tedious typing of addresses.

To cover hands free phone use, I ordered a Motorola ROKR T505. The majority of owners report that the bluetooth speakerphone works well, has plenty of volume, and even has an FM transmitter that appears to work pretty well. It's also supposed to have DSP and active noise cancellation so that people on the other end don't hear most background noise.

I'll see just how well the voice commands and a bluetooth speakerphone actually work in a convertible later this week. I'm not gonna hold my breath but I'm hoping for the best.

As for mounting the Nuvi, I know people use the suction mount for the glass and the dashboard friction mount. But I read a recent post from a forum member who said his Garmin unsucked itself and went flying out of the cockpit. Ditto for the friction mount, it must have it's limits.

So, I was wondering about the radio door in the S2000. I was just going to pop open the door and place a strip of velcro on the inside of the door and another piece of velcro somewhere near the top. I think the Garmin widescreen display units will fit nicely there. Just rest the Nav unit on the velcro. It only needs to keep it from sliding at the bottom. The radio door will support it. It should require almost no holding power. The velcro at the top will also require minimal holding power to keep it from tipping forward.

When you leave the car, unstick the Nav unit and take it with you. Close the radio door and no one's the wiser. No telltale suction cup marks on the windshield. No need to even carry the mount in the car. Simple, cheap, and no screwing with interior trim like the modifry bracket or some custom installs I've read about here. I can't be the first to think of this but I haven't seen any other post on it either.

With the top down, reception should be OK and with voice commands, I won't have to look at or touch the screen. We'll see.

 

[QUOTE=SpudRacer,Aug 3 2008, 08:03 PM] As for MSN Direct, the "features" seemed pretty suspect.

 

Yeah, I use mine too but about the only key function not duplicated on the dash is the power button. With the head unit blocked you can still switch between AM/FM/CD, adjust the volume, and switch tracks or channels. You can no longer switch CD's but I can live with one disc for most of my trips.

With the modifry bracket, you have a telltale marker that tips off thieves that you have a Nav unit and frankly it's sort of ugly if you don't have something hung there to cover it up. I agree though on the position being more optimal with the modifry bracket.