Joined: 25 Jul 2007 Posts: 16 Location: California
IS BLUETOOTH REALLY WORTH IT? Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:52 am
While researching for my first Garmin GPS, i've noticed often the only difference between models is the bluetooth function. Adding the bluetooth feature adds anywhere from $100-$200 to the price of the GPS. Now that handsfree calling is the law in California, I do need some type of bluetooth device.
My question is: Is the bluetooth on the Garmin Gps' good enough quality to justify the extra $$$? Should I get a Garmin withouth the bluetooth and use my saved money to buy a better quality bluetooth device, i.e. an earpiece?
It really depends on each user. Buy one with bluetooth and try it for awhile to see if you like it. I had the Nuvi 760 and though the bluetooth speakerphone feature was useful to me, the 760's weak speaker killed the usefulness. The 760 does have an audio out / headphone jack though and if your car's head unit has an auxiliary input, you can use your car's stereo to play all audio from the 760 through the car's speakers.
I have two with Bluetooth, a 760 and a 930. Seldom use it with either, tho I thought I would. Only time I will bother is on longer drives, a couple hours or more.
Having used them with a handful of different phones and dozens of GPS devices, the only time I will somewhat frequently use it is with my in-dash system.
I attached an earpiece to my cellphone while in the car just in case there are calls coming in while driving. But since I acquired the Nuvi, first the 660, then the 760, I have been using the bluetooth feature and am very happy with it. Reception is excellent and according to the person over the other end, the voice transmitted is clear and no hollowing effect. Making calls from the nuvi is also easy as the whole phonebook is being transferred to the Nuvi. There are other features, like SMS etc which worked very well with my Razr V3xx.
You won't regret getting a Nuvi with bluetooth, provided of course, you use it.
Re: IS BLUETOOTH REALLY WORTH IT? Thu Jul 24, 2008 2:00 pm
JohnE wrote:
While researching for my first Garmin GPS, i've noticed often the only difference between models is the bluetooth function. Adding the bluetooth feature adds anywhere from $100-$200 to the price of the GPS. Now that handsfree calling is the law in California, I do need some type of bluetooth device.
My question is: Is the bluetooth on the Garmin Gps' good enough quality to justify the extra $$$? Should I get a Garmin withouth the bluetooth and use my saved money to buy a better quality bluetooth device, i.e. an earpiece?
Bluetooth earpieces can be had for <$20 now. I've actually used it in & around the house for times when I want to do something else while talking. Geeky, I know, but I found the gps too uncoomfortable hanging around my neck
Re: IS BLUETOOTH REALLY WORTH IT? Thu Jul 24, 2008 2:17 pm
JohnE wrote:
Adding the bluetooth feature adds anywhere from $100-$200 to the price of the GPS.
I don't really keep up with Garmin pricing, but a quick check at Amazon doesn't support this. The nuvi 360 is only $25 more than the 350, and the only difference between these models is Bluetooth. I certainly wouldn't pay $100 for Bluetooth capability, but I don't think $25 is unreasonable. Of course, prices of electronic toys change so fast that I could be completely wrong by tomorrow.
While I agree that bluetooth won't add $100 to the price, here is some interesting data I just ran. The average MSRP price of a GPS with Bluetooth is $651.73. The average MSRP price of a GPS without Bluetooth is $498.02. So based on MSRP data that would show that Bluetooth adds $153.71-- but that is interpreting the data in a manner that it probably shouldn't be.
Let's take current selling prices for the 350 and 360. The average selling price of the 350 is $256 and the average selling price of the 360 is $313. Looking at these averages Bluetooth adds about $57 to the price.
Average might not be your cup of tea though, so let's look at the median prices. The median price of the 350 is $237 and the median price of the 360 is $260, so based on median prices Bluetooth adds about $23 to the price.
Joined: 10 Jul 2008 Posts: 1227 Location: Southern California
Thu Jul 24, 2008 5:19 pm
I'm likely in the minority when it comes to cell phone use in the car...I simply do not answer or talk on the phone while driving so this new CA law does not really affect me. I have enough trouble steering clear of and watching out for the drivers here in SoCal yapping & texting on the phone as #1 priority rather than driving. I have no problem with people using the phone but when it affects their driving enough so that I have to watch out for my own safety, that's when it becomes a problem to me. I've had numerous near miss incidents caused by other drivers & their cell phone use...I always make it a point to look at or see the other driver when an incident occurs and it seems like 90% of the time, it's because they were on the phone & simply not paying attention. It's not as visible now that hands-free is in affect but I commonly see people still using the regular cell phone stuck to their ear.
Well, enough of my rant...
I have a 760 with Bluetooth but simply do not use the feature. I have tried it (sitting in my driveway) and the quality seemed to be fine. If you need this feature, then it will work for you as long as your phone is supported but I don't know if it justifies the extra cost. I got the 760 more for the color of the unit (760 charcoal black as opposed to 750 silver) than for the Bluetooth feature.
Last edited by SergZak on Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:11 pm; edited 1 time in total
Joined: 12 May 2008 Posts: 271 Location: Ottawa, Canada
Thu Jul 24, 2008 6:33 pm
I do not currently own a GPS but do use a bluetooth headset with my Blackberry and can't imagine using another device for in-car calls other than the headset. I have a Jabra JX10, it's quite comfortable, and is fully operated with one button underneath the unit. It's 100% compatible with voice-activated calling on the BB, so I can do everything I need without BT on a GPS. However, I would be interested in BT data at some point in time -- nevertheless, I am not making BT a requirement of any GPS purchase as the headset works fine and I see no reason to change.
One big advantage of Bluetooth (if you'd use it) on the gps instead of a headset is the ability to dial out from the poi list. You've done a restaurant search, found a nice Seafood Restaurant nearby, and can then call them for a reservation from the poi listing with one (or two) taps. No need to enter phone numbers.
One big advantage of Bluetooth (if you'd use it) on the gps instead of a headset is the ability to dial out from the poi list. You've done a restaurant search, found a nice Seafood Restaurant nearby, and can then call them for a reservation from the poi listing with one (or two) taps. No need to enter phone numbers.
Joined: 12 May 2008 Posts: 271 Location: Ottawa, Canada
Fri Jul 25, 2008 8:07 pm
Sky1 wrote:
gatorguy wrote:
One big advantage of Bluetooth (if you'd use it) on the gps instead of a headset is the ability to dial out from the poi list. You've done a restaurant search, found a nice Seafood Restaurant nearby, and can then call them for a reservation from the poi listing with one (or two) taps. No need to enter phone numbers.
We love feature, and used it just last night!
OK, I'll concede on that point, I suppose. However, I can still voice dial an number -- so I have to say it to my bt headset - but that's not a big deal, just read it off the screen. I do get the convenience factor, though.
On my phone it is quite easy to change between two different Bluetooth devices. So I can make a call from the TomTom, then transfer the audio from the TomTom to my headset once the call has been dialed.
Voice dialing a number is a function of the phone. we are able to speak names from our address book and have it dial but never tried to tell it to dial a 7 or 10 digit number. I would like to point out that it sounds like crap to the person on the far end.
On a 10 minute call she had to repeat what she said about that many times. Sounds okay when she is at a stop so suppose you need a quiet car.
After talking about average prices of devices with certain features a few posts up, I realized I could add a similar feature to the 'Find Auto GPS' box at the top left corner of the homepage. I pulled the prices a few minutes ago, and I'll probably update them daily moving forward. But it is interesting how the different features and feature combinations change the average selling price. Some of the results are not what you might expect!
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