Anybody have a GPS system for their car?

[Marisa6826]

One that isn't factory installed? I really want to get one, but don't know where to start. I can't (don't want to) spend a gazillion dollars, but would like a colour screen, preferably with voice indicators.

I've tried looking online for some sort of concise guide, but no dice. My DH nerd that he is, unfortunately doesn't drive, so he's useless this time around! What options are 'must haves' and what ones can you do without? Do I need software and does it matter if I have a Mac (I assume you have to upload stuff, no?)?

Please include your likes/dislikes about the one(s) you know about.

Thanks!

-m

[sidmand]

I have the Garmin 2610. I really like that it didn't have to be factory installed because we can switch it from car to car and even bring it on vacation if we need to. It has a little bean bag type thing so that it will stay on the dashboard even without being installed (only falls off if you go really sharply around a turn).

It's been (mostly) a lifesaver for me because as relatives would tell you, I'd get lost trying to get out of a paper bag. I have absolutely no sense of direction and after getting lost going to and from the same event I decided to bite the bullet and get the GPS.

It cost somewhere between $500-$700. I don't remember exactly. I know I was looking on eBay at the time but ended up going through a store.

What I don't like:

The satellites sometimes don't find me right away. Not so much a problem when leaving the house, but if I'm leaving somewhere where I need to know right away whether to turn right or left, it can be a problem.

In places with many turns, it's hard to tell WHERE you're supposed to turn. It will say turn in .4 miles, but there might be three turns in the next mile and it's hard to tell where .4 miles is.

You need to periodically update the maps from your computer. Not a problem EXCEPT I live near Boston and Boston is continually changing it's driving patterns and the GPS doesn't keep up. Sometimes not even so current. The Ted Williams tunnel isn't all that new anymore, but the GPS thought we were driving under water when we were going through it!

It will tell you the shortest route by distance, but not by traffic patterns (I think some others do). So we were travelling to NJ and it said to go over the George Washington Bridge. BIG MISTAKE. We were supposed to be going over the Tappan Zee (and missed it). We were stuck for HOURS. Yes, it's a shorter distance, but not shorter with traffic.

What I do like:

It may sound like there are more cons than pros, but I do like it. I feel much safer with it. At least I know I'll get home some way.

You can enter an address anywhere and it will find it (usually).

You can choose the closest restaurant, shopping, emergency service, etc.

Mine has a voice tell you when you need to turn.

You can enter in various "waypoints" that you travel to frequently so they're plugged in and you can just choose the directions to there.

Depending on the memory card you buy, you can fit as many maps as you want. When we're travelling to other states, we just download those states.

About the Mac, I do have a Mac, but I uploaded all the maps from DH's PC. I'm not sure if I had to, or I'm just used to doing that. That might be a problem, but there are many that come with the maps preloaded.

Phew, sorry this turned out so long!

HTH!

ETA: website links:
In-car GPS devices for beginners (and a good place to find some reviews)
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3430_7-6388137.html

Epinions reviews of GPS devicees
http://www.epinions.com/GPS_Devices/search_string_~GPS/adv_search_~1

Debbie

Mom to Sawyer!
http://lilypie.com/baby1/060607/0/3/1/-5/.png[/img] ([img)

[jgriffin]

We have a TomTom (the 300, I think) and I like it a lot. It is a small device, maybe about the size of a baseball, and comes with a suction-cup mount for your windshield. It's got a color screen, talks to you (tells you when to turn, etc), and so far has been pretty accurate. It doesn't need to be connected to a computer, which is a plus and a minus. Plus, because you don't have to worry about compatibility, but a minus because it can't have any updates. It comes with a memory card holding maps, so maybe in the future they will sell updated cards.

My favorite features:
-Screen shows landscape view of road, instead of an overview map
-Touch screen easy to use
-Has many different languages, plus different flavors of English (we use "Tim", who is British); you can buy John Cleese's voice!
-Color screen makes it easy to see where you're going quickly
-Talks louder if you are going fast (assumes you are on the highway and have more road noise)
-Is easy to plan alternate routes (e.g. I don't want to take a particular bridge, so I tell Tim and he reroutes me)
-Has a list of favorite locations so I can quickly navigate to work, daycare, FIL's house, etc.
-Has a "home" button so I can *very* easily navigate home
-Contains the addresses for a wide variety of destinations (e.g. restaurants, hospitals, schools) and can display them on your map; this is useful if you're in an unfamiliar place and are looking for, say, the nearest hospital
-If you make a wrong turn, it reroutes and tells you what to do, so you don't necessarily have to turn around to go back to your original route

Stuff I dislike about it:
-It does have a few mistakes in its maps
-Unable to update it with latest information (we've only had it about 6 months, so this hasn't been a big problem yet)
-It was pricey (I don't know how much DH paid, but the TomTom website lists it at $650)
-Causes me to not pay attention to how to get someplace (ok, this is my fault, not Tim's, but I find that I just blindly listen to his directions, and wind up at my destination without a good idea of how I got there!)

Overall, I find the TomTom very easy to use. I was resistant to it at first, but it was a great resource when I was interviewing daycares.

HTH!

Jen

[stillplayswithbarbies]

I borrowed a friend's Garmin Quest for some trips and loved it so much that we just bought the Quest II for Christmas.

I like that the Quest II comes with the maps already loaded so you don't have to load the maps for the area you will be travelling in each time you take a trip. And I like that it says the name of the street to turn on rather than just "turn right in 500 feet". (I am pretty sure it has this feature but we have not used it yet)

Another feature I wanted was to be able to take it out of the car, so I wanted one that has an internal battery. Some of them only work when plugged in. (for DH camping/hiking and also for geocaching and I assume it would work for walking around NYC too)

It was indispensible for me when I was driving alone in an unfamiliar area. I needed to get from the hotel to my cousin's house and back again in the dark and it was so easy to just click the address and then later reverse the route and follow the directions.

This is one of those things that I don't know how we ever lived without, now that we have one.

...Karen
DS Jake Feb 91, DD Logan Mar 03
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[Toba]

I have a factory installed voice navigation system in my new Honda Odyssey. I know you didn't ask for those opinions, but most of the OEM GPSs come with a backup camera, like mine does. It's a God send. Plus, because the navigation system runs off it's own DVD player under the seat (dedicated strictly to the NAV system), it's easily upgradeable. My husband has an older Garmin GPS which is fine for his vehicle (we take mine for road trips anyway), so we weren't worried about portability.

There have been several commercials running lately (Christmas time), and the two that struck my eye were the TomTom and the current Garmin. Both have what you're looking for. The TomTom that I saw (I think on Costco's site?) has Bluetooth too, which you can integrate with a Bluetooth cell phone.

I would definitely stay away from laptop based NAV systems ... I belong to an on-line club for Odyssey owners and there are several people who rig their laptops (which run Garmin software) in their vehicles. I can't imagine what a huge laptop would do to a passenger's head in the event of an accident. :(


~Kimberly Anne~
Noah Nevan, March 12, 2004
*the light of my life*