Gps

[elizabethann]

Does anybody have a GPS in their car?

I was given a rental while my car was being fixed and there was a GPS in it. It was pretty cool. I plugged in directions to my home and it told me exactly which streets & highways to take. It even told me to turn into my driveway. And when I got there, it said I was at my destination.

It was neat. I could have used one when I was trying to find the Tampa FL airport a month ago.

I think they're expensive.

Anybody have one? Do you like it? What kind do you have?

[Edwina's Secretary]

I have a portable Garmin....my husband has one built into his car.

Two things...one..they only work if YOU USE THEM....I cannot tell you how many times we think we can find something...why bother...and wish we had...

and the other thing...sometimes an address is not yet in the system. That happened to us recently. And we were far from home....where the paper directions were..... :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Laura's Babies]

I have had rental cars with them and I want one too! My brother had a portable one that he used to move from the west bank of New Orleans to Oregan and he said it was WONDERFUL! He punched in from day to day, where they were and where they planned to stop for the night and it worked like a charm.. As much as I travel for work, I would love to have a portable one but half the places we have to go to catch the boat are not on ANY map or even have a address...

[Sophist]

:rolleyes: The last time I used a very, very expensive GPS system it was telling me I was several hundred miles out to sea, apparently floating along in my jeep, when I was actually driving along I-5. And several times the very new, supposedly up-to-date system was urging me to do things like merge into concrete dividers, or turn into the side of a huge building.

I'll settle for maps, guesswork, and asking locals. :p


ETA:


My sister has one built into her BMW, and from what I have seen and heard the built-in ones tend to be more reliable than the portables, but even then should not be totally trusted.

[Karen]

We have a Garmin hand-held, which is great. Wonderful. So incredibly useful! Imagine having to miss a turn because of construction barrels in NY city, on a street you've never been to, and immediately the device remaps it, and tells you where to turn to get back on track! No set of directions, or map reading can do that within 5 seconds, especially as it's hard to tell on many maps which streets are one way the wrong way!

And because it's hand-held, you can use it walking around as well, useful for Paul when he was on foot outside of Las Vegas wanting to see the petroglyphs in a State Park ... it took him right to them!

[Taz_Zoee]

Bruce has one in his truck (I'm not sure what brand), but it is great for him. He is a realtor and uses it to show properties. He can program in various addresses and it takes him from one to the other.
Yes sometimes your info disc isn't up-to-date, but overall it's great!
We want to get a portable one that we can take on the motorcycle and the boat (and I'd get to take it in my car;))

[K9karen]

Yeah, Karen, that's what I'm hoping to get. I have NO sense of direction AT ALL. If there's no Burger King on the corner, I'm lost. I can't read maps (dyslexic a smidgen or maybe an excuse for idiocy :rolleyes: )

The car insurance commercial on TV where this cocky guy is driving and following GPS directions and it says "Make a Right" and he does and crashes into a window..then the GPS continues "in 20 feet"......That would be ME!!! :D :D
My adoring friends think it's hysterical and typical!

[elizabethann]

:rolleyes: The last time I used a very, very expensive GPS system it was telling me I was several hundred miles out to sea, apparently floating along in my jeep, when I was actually driving along I-5. And several times the very new, supposedly up-to-date system was urging me to do things like merge into concrete dividers, or turn into the side of a huge building.

:eek:

[AbbyMom]

I have a Garmin I-5.

I got it originally because here in the huge Chicago area, sometimes roads are closed for accidents and the police will force you off into unknown territories. I wouldn't know how to get home and if it was dark, it was a pain.

Now I just select "go home" or "go to work" and it does a pretty good job of figuring it out.

But now that I have it, it's very useful for locating nearby businesses--restaurants or banks, etc. from the preloaded list.

Recently I had jury duty at a courthouse I had never been to. In my driveway at home, I selected from their list of courthouses. The one I wanted was at the top because it was closest. I just clicked select and followed the voice!

Also, we took it on vacation and preloaded it with addresses of places we wanted to go. That was extremely convenient, especially after dark. When we picked up the rental car at the airport, we just selected the next place to go and followed the voice.

Good luck.

[Jessika]

My in-laws have an aviation GPS unit they use in their car. It's portable and super neat. If you pass a street you were supposed to turn on, the directions change and it even tells you how to turn around :D

[CathyBogart]

I got a Garmin for Christmas, and I don't know how i ever got along with out it. Well, actually, I didn't really...I get lost very very easily even if I write down directions, so I just didn't go a lot of places I wold have liked to because I was afraid of getting lost.

It's only made a mistake once, and that was because the address I was trying to get to was so new it wasn't yet in its database.

I now try to get to new places without it, but if I ever DO get lost, it's great to know I can punch the "GO HOME" button and it will take me home. :)

[caseysmom]

Cathy, I want GPS mostly for when I visit your lovely but confusing city.

[CathyBogart]

You can borrow mine! :D

[caseysmom]

I practically cry everytime I need to leave San Francisco I have such a hard time finding my freeway, I love it there and drove there once with a friend who had GPS, it was a totally different experience.

[RICHARD]

Please pull over or have someone program the unit while you drive.

--------

There was a great story in the L.A. Times about a man who bought a new BMW w/GPS and drove his daughter to Las Vegas.

On the way back he ran into traffic, got off the road to drive a shortcut and spent 6 hours lost and stuck in the mud. The tow truck finally found him.

------------------

Think of all the great little eateries you will miss when you drive directly to your destination.

The most wonderful food places are found while driving around the block with a piece of paper in your hand.

[caseysmom]

I don't think they allow programming while driving, at least my friends car didn't.

[CathyBogart]

That's how I feel going INTO SF. One-way streets, everything is too narrow, and all the buildings are so tall I feel claustrophobic. Trying to find a freeway is a nightmare. Trying to get up the HILLS in my 18 year old car....

I might find the city itself less terrifying if getting around and getting out were easier. Or if there was a parking space occasionally. :) Last time I just took bart....which was an experience in itself

[CathyBogart]

Richard - I love to take my GPS and select a restaurant type and just pick one....last time I did that I discovered a Romanian restaurant not far from me. YUM!

[Catty1]

Cathy - have you heard the Bill Cosby skit "Driving in San Francisco"? It's off an older album - The Best of Bill Cosby (the whole recording is great.)

If you haven't heard it, it is worth it for you to find! :D

[Freckles]

GPS users, please give a little more information about the model or features that work best for you.

A gentle bump for more information, please.

[Jessika]

Sorry Freckles, the one I used wasn't mine, was my in-laws', so I'm afraid I don't have much information other than theirs' was not a "normal car" GPS unit, it was for aviation so the sensor in it is much more sensitive than a "normal" GPS unit's would be.

[Cinder & Smoke]

Right now I'm looking at a Garmin nuvi 350.
New housing developments in my area don't have nice N/S or E/W streets.
They love to wander.
Mapquest has helped, if I know to plan both going and coming back home maps!
Last week I had to follow someone who DID have a GPS, so I could get back home.

First - don't even consider a GPS unit UNLESS you're willing to:
* Research the different models BEFORE you buy
* Study the Features lists and learn what features you'll use and which you won't.
* Understand HOW the unit obtainsin's Map Data (PRE-programmed, removable storage, etc.
* Find out HOW OLD the map set that comes with the unit is
* How much are Map "Updates" going to cost?
* How OLD is the basic unit - they are replaced with "newer" models about every 12 - 18 months.

A word on MAPS ... the heart of a GPS ...
Most "MAP SETS" that are installed or loaded into a GPS are really NOT produced by the GPS folks ... there's a couple of BIG Corporations that specialize in Mapping the World - a very labor-intensive and hardware critical (read EXPENSIVE) line of work. These Mappers then compile their map data, produce programs to create maps, then SELL their programs & data to the GPS folks; who create the GPS box that uses the map data. And each GPS outfit wants several different map displays = different programs needed.
So What?

Well, it takes a LONG Time to drive over every street, highway, boulevard and bridge in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Europe - you get the idea. And driving the Mapper must do - to "field check" his work. Every "New Street" they find has to be manually "created" in the data ... new businesses have to be written up and plotted ... closed businesses removed. It's a HUGE task.

And since the GPS folks keep asking the Mappers for NEW programs to run in "this month's new GPS device" - the poor Mappers never get finished.
The time lag between a New Street being opened to traffic and that street being "added" to your GPS via a Map Upgrade - can easily be 2-3 years.
And that also assumes that the GPS Manufacturer is going to commission his Mapper Company to complie a new Map Upgrade. MANY 3-5 year old GPS units are stuck in time - they no longer have Map Upgrades being produced for them.

The Garmin nuvi 350 is a rather "pricey ($500+) machine" - with a LOT of features I'd bet will never be used ( Talking Book Reader [requires a subscription], an M3P player, a Photo Display, etc). It will take a month to read the manual - which you don't get anymore ... gotta "download & print" your own manual ... or carry along your puter.

Take a look at >>> https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=134
It's a listing of the current "nuvi" units ... over 20 different models.
You can select 5 at a time to compare ... see if you can't find one with a few less Bells & Whistles ... it'll be easier to learn and cost a bit less.

If you've got a year or two of spare time ... scan through the Garmin Site ...
bet you can't hit every page before Christmas!

/s/ Phred

[Freckles]

Thanks, Phred.
You've given me a lot to think about.
What kind do you have?

[caseysmom]

Freckles, costco has $100 off their garmin gps online, it brings it down to 350.00.

[Uabassoon]

What's the difference between the handheld and the ones that are designed for cars? I'm thinking of getting one for my dad for Christmas the handhelds seem much more affordable than the ones that are ment to go in your car.