550 or 500

[terayon]

Looking at replacing my 2610 after christmas looked at all the prices now for the ultimate question (and no the answer is not 42).

Do I get the 550 or the 500.
I don't have a car.
I do most of my touring in uk but will be going abroud sometimes
is the extra 2 features on the 550 worth the money

 

[twintrees]

Hiya Dean, let me know what you decide as i'm too making an investment in the new year, be good to meet up as well and i'l buy you a beer.

Mick, Stagsden

 

[terayon]

no probs mick, but next time you see me I'll be on a RT

 

[Ragnar]

Exactly the dilemma I had a while ago - no car, mostly UK, with possibilities of exploring abroad.

I bought a 500, as it comes with Full European mapping on DVD, which can be transferred to a 2Gb SD card (available for about £15) and used in the 500, thus gaining full Europe mapping. The 500 comes with all the gear I required and I don't miss any of the extra features (they're not that different anyway).

Saved myself loads of dosh, and even more by buying a French version from Pixmania and converting it to UK by following the instructions here

David.

 

[terayon]

Thanks David, looks like I'll be heading the 500 route (pardon the pun), just going to find a cheap one now

 

[terayon]

Just ordered from amazon for £298 including next day delivery before 1pm

 

[Nick Marshall]

o dear...

550 much better, and you could sell the car mount so same price, better unit!

 

[terayon]

thought about it, but not interested in TTS, or buying something just to sell bits of it. ok the 550 comes with extra memory, but seeing as i spend most of my time in uk and only go abroad once a year, I'll get a sd card for £20 and save the money for something else for the bike. Won't be listening to mp3's on it got ipod for that, and phone will be connected to autocom

 

[Ragnar]

Nick,

What makes the 550 so much better?

I'm more than happy with my 500, and looking at the compare page on Garmin's site you just get Text-to-speech for the road names and the ability to add an XM module. Once you pop in a £15 2Gb SD card to the 500, which actually works faster than the cheap Garmin built-in memory, then what more does the 550 have??

David.

 

[sven]

Nick,

What makes the 550 so much better?

I'm more than happy with my 500, and looking at the compare page on Garmin's site you just get Text-to-speech for the road names and the ability to add an XM module. Once you pop in a £15 2Gb SD card to the 500, which actually works faster than the cheap Garmin built-in memory, then what more does the 550 have??

David.

Exactly - I rarely use the audio (and I can live without text-to-speech when I do) and don't have a car, so the 500 is much better value

Just need to sell my 2610 now...