I have seen awesome reviews about the TomTom GO 300 GPS receiver, every site I go people say wonderful things about it. In a BMW club web site they even say it is better that the factory option. It may be a great alternative for us without the Factory nav system. Has anyone installed it on the Armada or used it? My only concern is leaving it in the truck. I do not think it will last a long time. I am seriously considering getting one and hiding it inside the glove conpartment at night when I get home.

Been considering aftermarket nav myself...

I did get to try my friends Garmin Street 2610 I believe..
worked very well, just got kind of annoying with the wires all over the place and having to hide the thing every time I parked...

I guess it's not a big deal to move it to the glove box and maybe have it hard wired so no messy wires lol

some of the units don't have all of the maps/streets etc already programed in and I think I would want one like the Garmin 2610 or the Magellan 700... I don't really understand how they all work yet but I am looking around also.

A permanent mount increases the chances of a break in or smash and grab, since they are a self contained unit. The factory nav has a lower risk of getting stolen because they will have to remove a lot of stuff in order to resell it to buy crack or pot. I am considering a unit that you can hide or remove from the vehicle. The tom tom 300 has the maps of the USA installed already and it can be upgraded via a usb cable and a pc.

Yes, the only problem I heard with the Tom Tom unit is the mounting system.
kind of permanent.

Yes, the only problem I heard with the Tom Tom unit is the mounting system.
kind of permanent.
They sell a mount that comes with 3 options in Ebay for the tomtom. Check it here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5787836102&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

looks interesting. I will check it out..


I have read good reviews about Tom Tom in general.

Boat guys love the Garmins. Don't know about the TomTom. I'd compare the two before buying just to be sure.

Correct boat guys like me do like the Garmin units, Garmin makes a very good quality product with excellent support. Not sure of TomTom.

TomTom Inc.
http://www.tomtom.com



We are really impressed with how intuitive it is to choose a route and navigate the GO's interface; superior to any other product we've seen.


Great interface with a compact, portable design, well-rounded hardware, and superior voice quality.


Touch screen technology is not very bright in sunlight; need to download maps to MMC/SD card.


By Craig Ellison and Oliver Kaven
What we've always expected from a GPS navigation system is ability to enter a destination address as quickly and efficiently as possible and to receive clear audio and visual instructions promptly. On all counts, the TomTom GO delivers. The GO is the easiest-to-use in-car GPS system we've reviewed yet. Its mobility and relatively low price ($899.95, compared to the $1,200 price tag of our previous Editors' Choice, the Magellan RoadMate 700) also make it a compelling alternative to factory-installed dashboard units.

Read the TomTom GO full review here.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1683582,00.asp

Correct boat guys like me do like the Garmin units, Garmin makes a very good quality product with excellent support. Not sure of TomTom.
I did an extensive research and you are right the garmin has a more updated map system and five million points of interests with telephone numbers a complaint of tomtom users. I am going with the Garmin StreetPilot c330, I have a lease so I do not need a permanent gps :clever: . In addition, if I rent a car I will transfer the unit.

sweet choice..please post after you have used it.

I think I may get the C330 also... my only concern is the window mount... looks like it doesn't have a long "arm" from the window to the unit... it maybe that the unit is close to the window and too far to reach comfortably...
please post...

also, is it easy to remove and re-hook up?? I assume these units are not to be left installed in plain site, for theft reasons....

thanks for your comment.. post pics if you can too !

Thanks I will post pics. If the unit is left in plain sight it will be gone. That is the only problem. As far as the arm it looks short. I thought about putting it under rear view mirror, or in front of me in the left corner.

My '05 LE didn't come with Nav either. Is it possible to have the factory system installed at the dealer? Would it even make sense?

a lot of shops will put them in for you much cheaper then the dealers.....

Can they do that??
YOu mean they will put the actuall stock nav in afterwords?
I wonder how much they will charge and who will do that?
the dealer??

I found a GPS mount for the Garmin 2610 and 20 which is one of the units that I will get. I found a great review here:
http://gpsinformation.us/sp26xx/sp2610rev.html
It turns out that the Garmin c320 and the tom tom go are really hard to see in bright sunlight. Therefore, the streetpilot 2610 or 20 are it. The mount for the armada and the Garmin 2610/20 or for other GPS systems can be seen in the included pics. For those of you who want to buy a GPS this is where you have to start your research. http://gpsinformation.net/
The mount comes with a rubber piece that attaches to the back of the GPS and then it screws in the mount. (pic not included)

LOL .. I was reading / studying this thread to pick out the GPS unit for me .. then .. low-n-behold .. I got one (at a surprise party) over the weekend..

a Garmin StreetPilot 2620!

Inside the armada the garmin will look like this

I don't know if anybody else has done it, but I am in the process of trying to install the Clarion N.I.C.E. Navigation System in my Armada using the factory navigational dash trim. I got the N.I.C.E. unit on Wednesday and the factory housing should be here in a few days. I love the N.I.C.E. unit so far and I'm hoping it will fit, if not I'll probably just get a bracket made and mount in the dish where the navigation housing should have been. I'll let you all know as soon as I do and post pics of the results. If it works I think it will be just what we have been looking for. Crutchfield sells the N.I.C.E. unit for $1399 but I found it at www.hookedontronics.com for $887 and the dealership is giving me the factory housing for $146. The nice has a 7" touchscreen 10GB hard just for mp3s or photos,has a dedicated rearview camera port, built in GPS antenna, buit in FM modulator,and a sirius sat radio interface with an optional module.

I don't know if anybody else has done it, but I am in the process of trying to install the Clarion N.I.C.E. Navigation System in my Armada using the factory navigational dash trim. I got the N.I.C.E. unit on Wednesday and the factory housing should be here in a few days. I love the N.I.C.E. unit so far and I'm hoping it will fit, if not I'll probably just get a bracket made and mount in the dish where the navigation housing should have been. I'll let you all know as soon as I do and post pics of the results. If it works I think it will be just what we have been looking for. Crutchfield sells the N.I.C.E. unit for $1399 but I found it at www.hookedontronics.com for $887 and the dealership is giving me the factory housing for $146. The nice has a 7" touchscreen 10GB hard just for mp3s or photos,has a dedicated rearview camera port, built in GPS antenna, buit in FM modulator,and a sirius sat radio interface with an optional module.

Cool man...can't wait to see some pictures.

Very impressive feature set. Kind of pricey now. It is on eBay for around $800.00.

http://www.cobra.com/navone/4500page.htm

Been relying on mine for 25K + miles and I couldn't be more pleased. It comes completely off of it's carriage with the push of a button. I just pop it in to my glove box. The battery is long lasting and only needs to be plugged in to charge about once a week(in the veh)I have seen awesome reviews about the TomTom GO 300 GPS receiver, every site I go people say wonderful things about it. In a BMW club web site they even say it is better that the factory option. It may be a great alternative for us without the Factory nav system. Has anyone installed it on the Armada or used it? My only concern is leaving it in the truck. I do not think it will last a long time. I am seriously considering getting one and hiding it inside the glove conpartment at night when I get home.

TomTom is a mature product with the most intuitive, easy-to-use interface out there. The display graphics are professional and polished. If you want to play with the graphics, there is an online site where you can completely rearrange the menus and a downloadable program that will let you change all the screen colors. There are several downloadable pre-written color schemes.

It supports more countries and languages then any product on the market. The language facility is so rich it is absurb. Who wants an NY Cabbie or Valley Girl giving directions. But then, I am partial to a British voice - Jane. She is quite proper and pert. Think Bridget Jones.

You can import your own waypoints and itineraries if you have reasonable computer skills. I have found you can transfer waypoints created with Streets and Trips as TomTom POIs. I've done several by pasting addresses from the yellow pages into Streets, converting them, and dropping them into TomTom.

I've tried several of these things and believe these are must features:

Address book import. Why type it twice?
Predictive text entry.
Big entry keys.
Touchscreen entry.
Multi-stop interinaries.
The display of EVERY cross-street at city speeds.

I don't think having the entire country on board on a hard drive is important. Most of your driving is done locally and flash memory is more reliable. You can operate fine with Major Roads of America and appropriate regional maps in memory. I just bought a 2gb SD card for $120.00 making it easy to stuff all the maps on board.

I wouldn't buy any until after Christmas. Lots of new products are being rushed to market that will fall in price in January.

The new Cobra Nav One 4500 is indeed impressive. Cobra provided me manual so I can try to answer questions about it. I bet it will be down to $700.00 or lower after the new year.

The only bad unit, in my opinion, is the iWay. Unreliable, I had three, and missing some of the must-have features above.

Cool man...can't wait to see some pictures.
Check out the new post in the interior mod section.