Staff Christmas Presents - GPS - Garmin 260 or TomTom 630?

[pwrshift]

It's that time of year again. I'm getting a GPS for my staff Christmas gift this hear and narrowed it down to the TomTom Go 630 ($299) or the Garmin 260W ($220). Which one would you buy? The TomTom has some interesting features - Bluetooth, IQ routing, MapShare, Advanced Lane Guidance, Hands free instructions, and using your cell phone hands free through the TomTom. Do those 'extra' features make it worth the extra $80?

 

[Patri]

Hey, did you have this great question last year too? Refresh our memory what you gave out. I know I wanted to come work for you and it hasn't happened. Looks like your company is still successful, so everyone should just be happy to be employed. Anyway, I will keep reading this thread. I have no comment on the features you wonder about.

 

[timeos2]

6 of 1 and half dozen of the other

I'm a TomTom bigot - I think because that's what I started out with. The Garmin just doesn't sound/feel right to me. I'm fairly certain if I had first started with a Garmin the TomTom wouldn't seem to operate the way I expect so perhaps its all familiarity and personal choice. In any case for my money I'd go with the TomTom. Both are more than satisfactory I'm sure.

 

[falmouth3]

I don't have one so I can't give advice. But I remember being impressed by you and your company last year. Last year I was working for a major international company and the annual bonus was $20 for each year of service.

I was looking for another job around that time last year, I was talking to a recruiter and she asked about bonuses as part of my compensation. When I told her what I got, she started to laugh and said that the $20 worked out to just under a penny per hour worked in a year. I hadn't thought of it that way before.

It sounds like you give a thoughtful gift each year. That would mean a lot to me as an employee.

Sue

 

[Icarus]

Funny, I was just looking at the Costco.com gift guide they sent me.

Garman Nuvi 750 $199 at costco.com. Item number 345286. Valid 11/24 - 12/14 while supplies last. It's still there and it let me add 10 of them to my cart.

I don't know anything that particular model, but you might look into it. The feature set looks pretty good.

-David

 

[csudell]

you can do better with the garmin 255W. sale price is 199. better unit than the 255. I just paid 169 for the unit after doing a LOT of research. I didnt want bluetooth or any of the traffic add-ons though. 700 series garmins are also great. I am personally a Garmin girl.

 

[pwrshift]

Re: pricing ... Our Canadian dollar has taken a bad hit over the last couple of months and is now about 81 cents US, the the prices I put in my OP was Cdn. The prices in the US are probably lower.

A sales rep says that TomTom points of interest, like restaurants, don't have sub categories -- such as searching for Italian restaurants while the Garmin does. I would think that searching POI's is almost used as much as trip routing. The TT had some nice features, like bluetooth, but it could be more than a person new to a GPS would want.

We haven't lost a single person this last year and if fact hired a few more. I got them all Canon movie cameras last year but suspect a fair number of them took them back and got something else. GPS prices fell into my price range this year and my 'spies' tell me that almost none of them have a GPS.

We also have a Secret Santa luncheon when we give out the company gift ... people who want to participate draw a name from the hat and get a $20 gift for that one person so nobody feels obligated to get gifts for anyone else in the company. It's great fun trying to figure out who drew your name as some of the gifts are hilarious.

It's a fun time of year - kinda makes you forget about the other problems around us all.

Brian

 

[Dori]

Brian, you have got to be the Best Boss ever! I hope your employees appreciate you and your awesome generosity.

Dori

 

[geoand]

We are going with the Garmin 750. We don't want Bluetooth because we only use the cell phone when both of us are in the car. When we are individuals in the car, we stop and make a call or stop to return a call.

 

[Keitht]

Brian,

Would you like to either adopt me or give me a job? I can move to Canada very quickly and even speak the language - eh.

 

[Eric in McLean]

Our law firm has handed out recently: portable DVD, a massage device that loops over a chair, and a short-wave radio. Not sure what they'll give out this year. The staff almost always bitch about whatever it is they get. I'm sure they prefer cash. I just wish our annual bonus gets paid in December instead of Feb/March.

Oh the restaurant listing by cuisine is very handy. I use it all the time. On the other hand, I have no Blue Tooth device at all.

 

[Blondie]

The one feature I had to have was that the unit called out street names. Instead of saying, "Turn left in 300 feet, mine says, "In 300 feet turn left onto State Street."

 

[pwrshift]

Thanks for all the suggestions (and job applications ) and I wanted to say we went with the Garmin 260W for a number of reasons, with the main one being it was so much more user-friendly IMO, especially when it comes to searching POI's. The TomTom has some special features and I was concerned how many would actually use them. The sales guy gave me (unpriced) receipts that they can take them back to any of their stores to exchange for anything else in the store or to upgrade to one with more features. I got one to play with and it was great fun.

Brian

 

[geekette]

It's always nice to see your Christmas posts about what to get your employees. Reminds me that there are still employers that care about their staff. I should be happy that this year we got Mrs Smith pumpkin pies vs the generic pre-baked thing we got last year. Yeah, I guess the "Christmas bonus" has increased in value this year!

I'm still the same place I was last year so won't bother sending you an updated resume unless you lost mine from last year. And the year before. And the year before that...

 

[pwrshift]

But you'd have to move to Canada! And accept 79 cent dollars!

 

[geekette]

But you'd have to move to Canada! And accept 79 cent dollars!

Canada isn't that much farther north for me, and I've taken pay cuts before.

given some of the stuff happening at the office lately, going north for less doesn't seem so bad in exchange for being appreciated. Really, came in this morning and a space already occupied by 3 people with meager work space is getting 5 additional bodies. Hmmm, how well will any of them be able to do their jobs, all jammed on top of each other? One person gets sick and they will all be wiped out. Oh wait, guess no one cares about that.

Given that I write code and am basically sitting in a busy hallway where many treat me as a receptionist (I cannot tell you how often I get interrupted because someone is looking for someone else), staff appreciation is not something in abundance here. I'd settle for a little consideration, as my books and belongings are in boxes on the floor behind my desk since my cube walls had to be left behind and shelves would cost money and space (already 5 of us jammed in here). I'm a geek, so I'm adaptable, but, this is getting ridiculous. Whatever it is that someone does for a living, they need work space conducive to that. We're doing a giant expansion and there will be NO new office space. the stupid crap is getting to me.

sorry, seemed like a good place to vent a little. this place gets odder by the day and I am actually ready to be fired to make the decision for me.

 

[thunderbolt]

Geekette, don't worry, you could always come on over and start up your own political party and run the country. Just 4 weeks ago we had a $300 million election, and now the opposition is taking over from the victors.
Pwrshift, this is a little late, but I am a Garmin man, but upon looking at the go630, I chose it for my sister, due to the extras you mentioned above.
I don't think anyone will turn down the nuvi, tho' they are great.
I give my employees generous cash bonus', but I like the idea of a well chosen gift better. That way maybe I could write one off for myself. lol

 

[pwrshift]

As I understand it, an employer can give his staff a gift worth up to $500 twice a year and the employee doesn't have to pay income tax on it, as long as it's not cash. Yet it's a full deduction for the employer.

 

[dioxide45]

Geekette, don't worry, you could always come on over and start up your own political party and run the country. Just 4 weeks ago we had a $300 million election, and now the opposition is taking over from the victors.

Well guess that didn't happen since the PM requested the Gov Gen to suspend parliament today. I continue to follow the Canadian news even though I am not living in the USA.

As I understand it, an employer can give his staff a gift worth up to $500 twice a year and the employee doesn't have to pay income tax on it, as long as it's not cash. Yet it's a full deduction for the employer.

Not so down here. We have to report the amount for anything we give to an employee that is paid for by the company (luncheons and such excluded). Gift cards or anything else of value is reportable to the IRS as income and our company takes the taxes out of the next paycheck of the employee. So if we were to give an employee a $300 GPS, they would get their next paycheck and could be short on their bills. Then they are left thinking "what a great gift???... I can't pay my power bill." Hydro for those up north .