GPS thingies

[tbn.al]

A year ago I got a smart phone and gave up my GPS. I use the phone now and abolutely love it. One less box to worry about and the software is wonderful. It automatically updates so I don't have to worry about stuff being out of date.

[Uncle Buck]

I finally started using a Garmin (cheap model from Costco) about a year ago. I've had my moments when I wanted to yell at it, but overall, it has been much more helpful than annoying.

But I'm committed to making sure my kids learn how to read and use a real map . . .

[bort]

I bought one last year and shopped around a bit before then... for the most part, they are all fine and all about the same as each other. The really cheap ones are a little worse, the really expensive ones are a little nicer (but probably not worth it).

The problem with (pretty much) all of them is that the software/interface is a few years behind what you use in other things like phones and computers. The touchscreens are lousy and the software is clunky and annoying compared to smartphones and tablet computers. That's why some people (like tbn.al above) like the smart phone versions a little better. Those are a lot better, but the problem there is that the smart phone isn't really "installed" in the car, so it's a smaller screen and cumbersome to deal with while driving.

My preference is to have a GPS running, and a smart navigator (my wife) in the front seat next to me. The box ain't always right.

[Rick F]

Good point by bort above...

The touch screens on most GPS units use 'resistive' rather than 'capacitive' technology, so it takes a bit of pressure to activate. I find that using the back of my finger or the finger nail works best on my GPS. If you're used to using an iPad or smartphone, the tactile feel is different.

Also... resistive screens are not as bright so if you put it on your windshield in the sun, it may be hard to see. I put mine up high next to the rear-view mirror where the roof provides some shading.

[millingworth]

Some models can sort a list of delivery points into the best order. If this is important to you, make sure you get one that do this.

Mark I (better at GPS than tuba)

[tbn.al]

but the problem there is that the smart phone isn't really "installed" in the car, so it's a smaller screen and cumbersome to deal with while driving.

My phone has a 4 inch screen and becomes installed in the car evey time I get in. That way I don't have to mess with it while driving. I use a bracketron mount( http://www.bracketron.com/products/mobi ... dash-mount" target="_blank" target="_blank ) and a blue ant phone speaker (http://www.myblueant.com/products/speakerphones/s4/" target="_blank" target="_blank), to hold the phone and carry on conversations. I only touch the phone when I type stuff in at a red light. Works great.

[tubatooter1940]

I got a Tom-Tom a few Christmases back. I changed the voice to the sexy torch sounding chick. Her voice and a lot of coffee help keep me awake at night.
toots

[bort]

The trick to effectively using a (paper) map is to not only identify where you are going, but also what is near (either directly before or directly after your destination). A map doesn't tell you where to go, but lets you know what to expect along the way. GPS units are effective because they give you both -- plenty of warning about when you are approaching your destination, and it'll tell you if you've driven past it.

In fact, even with a GPS, I really only like to use it for driving in cities. Seems pointless on long highway drives, it's not hard to know that I have to drive straight for 70 miles...

[Bob Kolada]

It's not a traditional GPS device and since I don't have a car I really haven't tested it , but if you want to try something different check out one of the Samsung Galaxy Players. I have the 5" 5.0 model but there's also a 4" model. Basically they're wifi only smart phone/mini tablets without the cell parts. They can give you a route if you cache the map before hand OR you can download a full on map application that doesn't require you to be on wifi.
As a plus, it'd be a nice portable email checker when on vacation in a hotel or on a plane. You can also use it as a wifi phone.
http://m.samsung.com/us/mobile/mp3-play ... G70CWY/XAA
That price is a little high.

[gwwilk]

Well, I committed myself to buy the 2455LMT, but when I got to the store where I had found the bargain price, they were all gone. Kind of makes me wonder why they had it marked down so low to begin with. So still having cash in hand, I ran off to another store and bought a Nuvi 2555LMT. I got it all registered and updated last night and tried it out today on my way up to Springfield, CO. Granted, it's a straight shot north from here, any GPS ought to be able to handle it. But Boise City, OK has a newly finished bypass wrapping around the northeast end of their town. Garmin apparently doesn't know about it yet. It was kind of fun listening to the unit freak out when it couldn't figure out where the road was I was allegedly on. The display would rotate this way and that, then it sought alternate routes to get me back onto roads it knew about. This was great fun! Coming back, my trailer was placarded as containing non-flammable gas. This means I had to take the haz-mat route around Amarillo to get back to the dock. This wasn't what the Garmin wanted me to do. All the way around the haz-mat route, it kept trying to get me back into the center of town until I passed the last possible turn off. It was at that point that it finally surrendered and showed me the "right way" to get back to the dock (per D.O.T. regs).

Some of the fun using GPS units is watching them try to catch up while they never catch on when you're driving routes you know to be superior to the GPS's chosen path. You never heard a snotty 'recalculating', though, did you? We humans when we are intimately familiar with the territory we're driving will always outsmart our GPS. But the GPS almost always wins on territory unfamiliar to us, and that's why we use 'em. I even use my GPS's map just to thread through unfamiliar residential areas here in town when I'm avoiding heavy traffic...you know, those rats nests deliberately designed to keep people like me from traversing them as a short cut.

[tubatooter1940]

My first trip with my Tom Tom GPS was from Lower Alabama to Tampa, Florida to meet my friend John Reno and play four concerts with him.
Knowing what time of day I would be arriving, John gave me the address of the beach club he would be playing that night.
I followed the lady's instructions and parked at the beach when she announced, "You have reached your destination." Soon as I got out of my van, I heard John singing and followed the sound two doors down to the beach bar where he was.

toots

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzL6057AIB4" target="_blank

[tubatooter1940]

Thanks. Bloke. I am a big fan of you and the "Ramblers".