Which GPS Do You Prefer?

[Rogue]

I like the Garmin (I call it Gremlin) because it's what I'm used to.
Seems that whatever folks have, Garmin, Tom-Tom, or something else, they love 'em.

Reason I ask is cause I'm in the market and too cheap to buy consumer reports.

[Harry Beanbag]

Never used one. What am I missing?

[Flagstaffsooner]

Why do you need one? Are you totally lost? Seems like a toy to me.

[Rogue]

I didn't think I needed one either. But being in a strange town or on a road trip, there's nothing better. We started some community health and mental health programs last year at work and they ordered some. I thought the same thing as Flag, it seemed like a toy. I took one on a conference trip and became a believer.

My buddy that met me in Ft. Lauderdale for the game this year got one with the rental car. It saved our bacon.

They're not perfect and often tell you to exit at the last second when you're in the wrong lane, but they save me so much time and frustration that those occasional hiccups are worth it.

Only downsides that I've seen is that you can become dependent on them and really not learn your way to anywhere using traditional landmarks and stuff. And that they can get you as lost as any map, atlas, or mother-in-law can too.

We have lots of trips this summer to concerts in places we don't know.
So yeah, I want one.

Question is...which one? My budget's about $250

[Flagstaffsooner]

I've always used a map. I find more people comming in to Flagstaff get lost by those things. Dumb people, no GPS will help dumb.

[Whet]

I prefer Garmin. You want to get one you can easily upload current map data every couple of years, or so.

Also, if it is exclusively for driving - ensure the screen is large enough to see while driving.

You may also want to think about a hand held unit that can be mounted in the vehicle, as well as, carried. These are very useful, if you like to hike, go fishing, or just wandering around. You may also consider a unit that is WAAS enabled - that increases accuracy of the unit. Also, consider one that can store waypoints - so you can go hiking or hunting in the wilderness and follow the waypoints back to your camp or vehicle.

Just remember for the GPS to work, it needs an unobstructed view of the sky. Thus, if you are in a large metropolitan area with large buildings, the accuracy of the unit will be off kilter - as if you were in a canyon. This is because a GPS unit really needs three satellites to triangulate your position - four is better - and the further across the horizon the sats, the more accurate the reading.

So, before you decide on a model, determine the uses you intend for it. Then, you can narrow down your search for the "right" model.

[Rogue]

Dude, Garmin has a new thing called "lane assist." Sweet.

[yermom]

i've just been using my non-3G iPhone (uses the cell towers, 3G has real GPS)

although, it kept pointing us to phantom Wal-Marts on Miami Beach...

other than that, it's been pretty good. i also keep a US atlas in the car though

a buddy of mine hacked some cheap GPS to play movies and music and stuff, i've kinda thought about looking into that

[Lott's Bandana]

For now, Garmin's bacon is safe. They and Tom-Tom both tried to buy the only independent map data company left, the one that Garmin used was bought by Nokia.

Garmin lost the bid for the data company and literally was on the verge of going out of business when they got a last minute 10 year deal with Nokia to use what is now their mapping data systems.

Who knows what happens in 2017, but I imagine the technology will be long past hooking up a box in your car 12v outlet.


By the way, I have a nuvu 900 or something like that. Don't use it much now cause my 1G iPhone map works pretty darn good.

[soonerboomer93]

i have an alpine, but it came integrated in the car

[Okla-homey]

Garmin nuvi 200W. About 200 bucks. Watch for sales because I've seen it as low as $188.00.

Mine is two years old now. I bought the 2009 maps update last month and downloaded it to the unit and that process was flawless and simple.

It is a super piece of gear and I highly recommend it.

[Crucifax Autumn]

I use a compass and the angle of the sun. Occasionally my horse gets tired when I calculate my coordinates wrong, but I save power.

[nmsoonergirl]

We have the Garmin nuvi 200w as well (it's on sale this week at Target for $140). We like it overall. It is PAINFULLY slow picking up satellites in Albuquerque and Denver, but has been quicker other places we've been. I've noticed my brother's nuvi 700something picks satellites up faster for whatever reason.
I would recommend the text to speech feather (which our 200W doesn't have), especially if you'll be using it much driving alone.

[Lott's Bandana]

Betty, my trusty 3 yr old Garmin street pilot, has never steered me wrong but she is terribly jealous of my wife...I can hear it in her voice.


That's funny.

Karen, my temperamental Aussie wench, starts to get irate if she has to say, "recalculating" more than about 4 times. Srsly, I can hear it in her voice.

A man getting directions from a woman. Hell is getting chilly.


(why does temperamental have that "a" in the middle??)

[stoops the eternal pimp]

I have the Garming 765T...Its pretty easy to use but contruction really confuses the lady(I named her Nancy)

[Pricetag]

We call ours "Rhonda," as in "Help Me." It came with a DVD-ROM that had all the voice data on it--the different folders for the different languages were actually labeled with the first name of the woman that narrated them.

It's a Delphi--I guess that's not a terribly popular brand, because I never see them in the ads. I've been happy with it, though, like someone else has mentioned, sometimes when you start it up, it takes awhile to pick up the signals. It can be very frustrating. It loves to take "shortcuts" through neighborhoods, too. I've looked all over for an option to stick to the city streets, but have yet to find one.

[Okla-homey]

That's funny.

Karen, my temperamental Aussie wench, starts to get irate if she has to say, "recalculating" more than about 4 times. Srsly, I can hear it in her voice.

A man getting directions from a woman. Hell is getting chilly.


(why does temperamental have that "a" in the middle??)

That said, audible cockpit warnings liek "pull-up!", "check landing gear!", etc. have been enunciated in female voices for decades. The psych d00ds who consulted all maintained men are far more prone to listen to a female voice, particularly when things aren't going too well, than a male voice.

We used to refer tot the voice as "Bitchin' Betty";)

[Harry Beanbag]

My neighbors have a GPS system in their car, no idea what make or model. They downloaded a program so that the voice sounds and speaks like Yoda. It's pretty hilarious.

[Rogue]

Here's a Garmin 200W for $119. Factory Refurbished through Best Buy, 1 yr. warranty. (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcat17080&type=page&qp=crootcategoryid%23%23-1%23%23-1~~q70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d3031 2d3031~~cabcat0300000%23%230%23%23jz~~cabcat030100 0%23%230%23%232b~~cabcat0301004%23%230%23%234~~nf3 96||4f75746c65742043656e746572&list=y&nrp=15&sc=carSP&sp=-bestsellingsort+skuid&usc=abcat0300000)

I'm thinking I really want the lane-assist. Garmin's fancy new numbering throws me off too. There's a factory refurbished 750 for $179.99 on there. I guess it's the 755 now? Maybe they just replaced all the zeroes with fives.

[Rogue]

OK, refurb Garmin Nuvi 760 should be here in a few days. $249. I do know I'll be using the friction mount instead of sticking something gluey on my dash or suctioning it to the winder.
I paid the extra for bluetooth. WITFF? I don't know, maybe I'll use it someday.

[Rogue]

Doh!
Amazon has them cheaper. :mad: :mad: :mad:

Oh well, I had the Best Buy gift certs for this.
And I get a warranty.

[soonerboomer93]

OK, refurb Garmin Nuvi 760 should be here in a few days. $249. I do know I'll be using the friction mount instead of sticking something gluey on my dash or suctioning it to the winder.
I paid the extra for bluetooth. WITFF? I don't know, maybe I'll use it someday.

bluetooth allows you to sync it with your cell phone for a speaker phone and phonebook access (depending on the gps and phone compatability)

Personally, I like the integrated gps in my car. I don't like them mounted on my windshield because it obstructs the view. I do think it's handy to have one to take when traveling. There are some models with the little external antenna so you can locate that on your dash where it gets a clear view and then place the unit in a locaction where it won't be blocking your view of traffic.