Which way is up?

I received a call from a friend who is heading to the Catskills in upstate New York for a few days.

The first question I had was whether or not her AT&T cell phone was GPS enabled with AT&T's available navigation programming. Navigation supplied by cell phone carriers have proven to be very reliable and in some cases an affordable means of getting from point A to B. I currently use the Telenav program via Sprint and have great affection for it's ease of use and adaptability (Traffic re-routing, turn-by-turn and street name directions).

Unfortunately her latest AT&T upgrade (not the iPhone) is not available with navigation.

"Well then", I said. "How much do you want to spend?"

"No more than $200."

*

I thought about the navigation systems my friends and I hunted down last November on Black Friday. The deals we looked for and how much I had been impressed with what I thought was a silly indulgence. My cousin's Toyota Camry was the first automobile with built in nav that I had ever used, but it wasn't flawless, there were areas that the maps didn't cover or the navigation system wasn't familiar with. Guess what? I inquired about an update for the built in DVD based Toyota system and they mentioned that the cost was about 3 or 4. "Dollars" I inquired. "Uh, no." They replied. "3 or 4 HUNDRED dollars."

Yea okay. Is the dealer installed GPS Navigation system worth it? I am leaning towards no. Especially with what is available aftermarket. However, most often the built in navigation often come bundled with other goodies that may make the GPS option more attractive so... You decide.

Anyway, I was disappointed because I knew that even though she didn't require the bells and whistles, some bells and whistles are worthy of use. My numero uno requirement? Turn by turn navigation with street names.

First thing I did was direct her to CNet.com to check their editors reviews. Their favorite was an $1000 Garmin $880.

8.3 out of 10 Editors Choice.

CNet - Product Summary
Specs: Destination: Automotive; Weight: 6.2 oz; Audible assistance: Street name announcement, Navigation instructions

The good: The Garmin Nuvi 880 crams in a number of features, including text-to-speech functionality, MSN Direct services, and Bluetooth, into a compact design. The portable navigation system offers the best and most accurate speech recognition capabilities we've seen to date.

The bad: The Nuvi 880 is expensive, and route calculations can be sluggish.

The bottom line: As we've come to expect from the Nuvi line, the Garmin Nuvi 880 offers an impressive feature list and solid performance, but it's the accurate speech recognition that really pushes the Nuvi 880 over the edge and makes it one of the best GPS we've tested to date.

Um. Yea. No dice. I was however, still leaning in Garmin's direction as well as towards Tom Tom and the Dash Express (a newcomer to the market), but they were all too expensive for her.

It turns out that while was perusing the local circuit city ads, I found a deal on a Garmin Nav system that was within her range. The Garmin Nuvi 200W.

The Garmin Nuvi 200 (and 200 Wide) received a very good 7.7 out of 10 rating from CNet.com: CNet - Product Summary
Specs: Destination: Automotive; Weight: 5.2 oz; Audible assistance: Navigation instructions.

The good: The Garmin Nuvi 200 boasts a compact design and is easy to use. It offers accurate directions and some nice tools for the traveler.

The bad: Though the Nuvi 200 is more affordable than other models in the series, we wish the price was slightly lower based on the included feature set.

The bottom line: The Garmin Nuvi 200 series offers drivers and travelers a more budget-friendly version of the popular portable navigation devices, but we think the price is still slightly high for what you get.

Price? $150 after instant rebate.

Was I happy with this deal? Not really. (Despite the above picture), I really think that (from experience) having the voice navigation with street names is extremely useful. However, that option would cost her an additional approximately $200 dollars (found in the Garmin Nuvi 260).

However it is in her price range and the users reviews are very favorable.

I recommended it.

She called tonight... Garmin is updating her new baby with a free update. She's very happy. And for my friends and customers... That's all that matters.