Hey, I'm looking at the F500BT myself, but my father ALSO wanted a GPS unit for his car to get around. We were looking at Garmins and Tomtoms, but they were around $200.00
For $200.00 I was thinking of also getting him a F500BT. That way he would have GPS PLUS additional features for the same price.
But since he mainly wants it for GPS, is it worth it? Are garmins and Tomtoms better than the F500? Can anyone give their opinion/experience with this?
Id buy a garmin. I have a 700bt now because I like everything in the dash and got a good deal, but I prefer garmin over all. I work as an installer at a big box retail store and will only buy and reccomend garmin for family and friends. Very easy to use, easy to read, and extremely accurate. I put the same address in a garmin and in my 700bt from the same starting point and garmin got me there an hour before the pioneer. Buy the garmin.
same here...buy a garmin...much better than the pioneer in my opinion. i also work as an installer and i can safely say i cant wait to get rid of my f90 and buy a kenwood with the garmin built in.
How about the value for the money though?
Personally, I think having a GPS/DVD/Radio/BT for $600 is a much better value than my previous GPS device ($400 Navigon 7200T). And the bright side is, you can actually update the F90BT, whereas you can't update the Navigon (since they bailed on the N/A market).
unless the new teleatlas maps are better ... I would go with the garmin. I hate teleatlas!!
I'd also wait to see what new TeleAtlas maps are like.
Navigation software in AVIC is vastly superior to anything Garmin ever had or will have. Maps suck in the US.
Even with that, though, AVIC would give you better directions if you hack up route accuracy...
I have both Garmin & AVIC and iGO 8.3 on my PDA phone. Garmin doesn't come even close to what iGo offers. Route accuracy also depends on where you live. Whatever package you choose, it will either be TeleAtlas or Navteq maps. Garmin is simple to use, but, that's all you will get with it. "Simple". iGo has almost unlimited tweakability, and features. iGo is also one of the most popular navigation software platform in Europe and many other parts of the world.
There have been times, Garmin gave me a more accurate route. But, same can be said about iGo depending on where I was driving. iGo 8.3 and up now supports NavTeq map as well, so accuracy really comes down to tweaking route option.
If your dad is not a techie, Garmin might be a better choice. As for me, I will choose AVIC any day over Garmin or my iGO 8.3 on my phone. AVIC, even as it is, has truly enhanced my driving experience.