Originally Posted by cwerdna

After doing a bunch of research over the last few days, I've narrowed it down to basically the Garmin Nuvi 350 or possibly the 260. The only thing is that since the 260 is new (and even though it's in the lower end of the product line), it's more expensive than the 350.

Any other alternatives I should consider in that size and price range (~$350)? Good routing is a necessity for the SF Bay Area. I've looked at reviews for stuff like Magellan 4040 (didn't do well) and I've ruled out any devices w/Tele Atlas maps (rules out all TomToms and Mio Digiwalkers).

The Nuvi 600 series is a little bit too big. I actually don't care at all about MP3 playback, Bluetooth support, language translation, etc. Being able to receive FM traffic info in the future is a plus. I do prefer having it read out the street names which the 350 and 260 have, unlike some cheaper units. I do have some concern about the Nuvi 350's max volume being insufficient in the Z on the highway. I don't plan to use an FM transmitter since I already am using one for my iPod.

Small size is sort of important because I want to be able to take it with me due to the rash of nav unit thefts in the Bay Area lately.

(If you're curious why I've ruled out Tele Atlas, see http://www.gpsmagazine.com/2007/06/g...tes.php?page=2. The route that the Tele Atlas based TomTom One XL picked is TERRIBLE. It's NOT that way you want to go to SF from San Jose Fry's given the longer distance and having to pay a $4 toll to cross the Bay Bridge which also has terrible traffic. The Magellan Maestro 4050 and Garmin nuvis use Navteq maps.)

Originally Posted by Maddawg

costco has nuvi650 @$299 on web site