TomTom vs Garmin interface comparison

[nlowhor]

I found this site has comparision between Nuvi 350 vs Nuvi 200. (both about same price off ebay)

You will notice Nuvi 200 has much better screen and resolution.

http://www.brothersontech.com/blog/nathan/garmin-interface-comparison

I took those pictures myself and fear that they might be slightly misleading. Both screens have the same resolution although I do believe the 200 might be brighter and have better viewing angles. Not completely sure on that. The 350 screen appears a bit washed out in the pics but that could just be the fault of my photography. I do think Garmin has improved the graphics in the 200 which gives the appearance of better resolution and screen quality. It's just more polished looking.

Despite all the comparisons, I still ended up with TomTom.

 

[next365]

I'm not completely clear on these either. You are right about the green arrow; I'm not sure what the tolerance is though....how close on your route does it have to be to get the green arrow. The yellow arrow I believe means you will have to detour to get to it, but again I'm not sure how close along the route it has to be. What other ones are there? Those are the only 2 I remember.

I just finished a week and half road trip and I'm pretty sure there was the straight green arrow, a green detour type arrow and a yellow detour type yellow. I actually thought there was an orange detour type arrow also, but that just may have been the way the sun was hitting the yellow arrow display.

Digital-flex mentioned that the yellow detour was about 3 miles. It would be nice if someone knew what distance the green detour arrow represented.

 

[y0bailey]

I did a 23 hour weekend roadtrip and the green arrow never took me more than a mile or mile and a half off the interstate. It was always fast and beautiful.

 

[no clue]

I took those pictures myself and fear that they might be slightly misleading. Both screens have the same resolution although I do believe the 200 might be brighter and have better viewing angles. Not completely sure on that. The 350 screen appears a bit washed out in the pics but that could just be the fault of my photography. I do think Garmin has improved the graphics in the 200 which gives the appearance of better resolution and screen quality. It's just more polished looking.

Despite all the comparisons, I still ended up with TomTom.

Don't feel it is mis-leading.
I am the guy who seeking for the truth..hah... so I bought two.
take a look, non-bias screen comparison.

http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=93007&SearchTerms=,fold,antenna
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[nlowhor]

Don't feel it is mis-leading.
I am the guy who seeking for the truth..hah... so I bought two.
take a look, non-bias screen comparison.

http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=93007&SearchTerms=,fold,antenna

Yep, that pretty much proves it. Better screen on the newer nuvi.

 

[Wiley]

How about a navigation accuracy comparison?

A lot of attention has been paid to fit and features in this thread. Not much has been mentioned about navigation from point A to point B. Which device does a better job of achieving its true mission? Be careful what you say... I'm already at a tipping point.

 

[nlowhor]

A lot of attention has been paid to fit and features in this thread. Not much has been mentioned about navigation from point A to point B. Which device does a better job of achieving its true mission? Be careful what you say... I'm already at a tipping point.

As much as I hate to say it, my gut says the Garmin does a better job. On any given route though, you might find that either device could do a better job than the other. It has been said the the Navteq maps used by Garmin are better than the Teleatlas used in the TomTom, however some have said that with recent updates to Teleatlas it is nearly as good. Garmin wins at finding a POI with ease.

That said, I really just don't like the nav screen on the Garmin. The autozoom and updating are just not smooth like on TomTom. They also don't provide all the info the TomTom does such as being able to tell the distance and direction of the next turn at a glance. Perhaps if I had never used TomTom I would be perfectly happy with Garmin.

I think that if you need no frills or customization, extreme ease of use, and just want to easily get from A to B, the Garmin nuvi is perhaps a better way to go. I just can't get away from TomTom though. Your needs any personal preference are going to weigh into the decision a lot.

 

[Dylan]

I've had a few weeks of in-car time with the TT1 and Nuvi 250 (and recently the TT 720). The maddening thing is both are flawed but in different ways. My best advice is to get both from a place with a good return policy like Costco or Amazon. That being said, here's what I think are the important differences:

Garmin plus:

• It's routes and time estimation are flat out better in the U.S. See the articles at www.gpsmagazine.com for a comparison. My experience is the TomTom will always get you there but sometimes it makes weird route choices. The Garmin is on par with Google Maps. It can still give a weird route but only occasionally. Garmin's time estimates are a little fast but close enough. TomTom's time estimates are always long but in an inconsistent way.
• Garmin's graphics are nicer. The maps are rendered in a higher resolution with good anti-aliasing. The TomTom looks dated.
• The interface is simple and optimized for navigation.

TomTom plus:

• The map screen refreshes much quicker. It does a better job of tracking your location and giving an accurate distance to your turn. The Garmin is always behind by 50-200 feet. The faster you're going the more it's behind. This leads to me sometimes not feeling sure where to turn. The TomTom's accuracy and timing of voice prompts makes it easier.
• TomTom's 3D view is crude but a good representation of what you see in front of you. Garmin has a more overhead view and it's squashed disproportionately more as the distance recedes. It's less realistic but optimized to show more area. I could go either way on this one. Garmin's map appealed to me more at first but I've grown to appreciate the TomTom's realistic view. That view combined with it's accurate turn notifications are really good when I don't know the area.
• The display is more customizable.

If you asked my wife she'd give you a simple answer. She likes the TomTom because it's better at telling her exactly where to turn. She doesn't feel as confident with the Garmin and that's more important to her than it choosing the optimal route.

 

[no clue]

TomTom plus:

• The map screen refreshes much quicker. It does a better job of tracking your location and giving an accurate distance to your turn. The Garmin is always behind by 50-200 feet. The faster you're going the more it's behind. This leads to me sometimes not feeling sure where to turn.

• 
  
  Which chipset are you referring to? SiRFIII or Bravo? firmware version 2.6 or 2.9 update?
  
  Reason I asked, because I bought TT1 again (I had first gen TT1 back on Feb. 2007 but sold it after a week) and Nuvi200. I don't experience any 50 to 200 feet behind or delay.
  Check back to other forum, I also have SiRFIII and Bravo Nuvi 200 doing head to head comparison.
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