Anyone use a GPS navigation toy?

[KitchenWitch]

Got money for Xmas and was thinking of buying one of the economical models.

[Oeditpus Rex]

1. I am silly retro person

I love maps. :loveya:

[KitchenWitch]

3. I do too!

But whenever I have to get around to places I do not know around here, I have to get out a microscope to read the Thomas Guide.

My vision just can't take it anymore.

[Gonzo Gardener]

6. If you travel to many new places by car they are handy.

For example, if you take a vacation they're great for navigating unfamiliar roads, but not always accurate in locating specific places or buildings. I prefer maps, but if you are having trouble with them go for the GPS doohickey.

:hi:

In case your eyes get worse...





















a seeing-eye-dog in the front seat might help with that.

:rofl:

edited to add snark

[Mojorabbit]

13. You say that again

Last year in Germany we set it for the center of a town. We followed the directions and drove all up in the mountains with hairpin turns and no guardrails and then it said, "you have reached the center of town". We looked around and there was a field and a couple of cows and a barn. I don't think so.
Other than that it was ok.

[Oeditpus Rex]

9. Thomas Guides are too damned small

I spread out a big map before going somewhere and memorize the route as best I can, then fold it to the area around my destination to keep in the car as a reference. (And if I need to look at it, I pull the fuck over.)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. I haven't ever used one...

But I know several folks who do, and they all swear by them!

BY them...not AT them!

:hug:

[XemaSab]

12. I've sworn at many in my day.

x(

[FuzzySlippers]

4. Oh man, I'd kill for one of those!!

How much do they cost? I have this propensity to get ridiculously, senselessly, hopelessly lost.

[KitchenWitch]

5. Sears has one on sale for $150.

:hi:

[FuzzySlippers]

7. Wow! Thanks!

I didn't realize you could get them that cheap. I usually spend that much in gas when I get lost. :rofl: :hi:

[nytemare]

8. My mother just got a Navigon 2100

She likes it, says it gives good directions. It also has a "reality view" feature that helps you know what lane to take in complex interchanges, looks like the street ahead of you.

I think Staples has them for$150.

[mopinko]

10. they are great.

been using one for a long time. have a microsoft mapping program and a gps on my laptop. (hubby has a crackberry now, but...)
it has come in very handy on trips, but it was also of great use in political work. i love to plant campaign signs in my bumpersticker covered vehicles. i can plot out a days drive, and away i go.
i do warn against blindly following their advice, tho. they do not always pick the smartest route, but they will get you there. and unlike maps, they can usually go out and check road construction projects for you. and they can tell you the one thing that maps can't- they can tell you where the heck you ARE!

[Phentex]

19. and they always get you home!

I could never be on a show like the Amazing Race where directions are important. I am geographically challenged (I blame my mother!) I can get lost leaving a gas station IF I haven't looked at landmarks ahead of time. GPS is for people like me. I LOVE it! I think it's helped me with my map reading skills actually. I like that I can tell it to minimize freeways and it will. Or look for a particular store or restaurant when I'm in an area I'm not familiar.

So far, it has never steered me wrong. It tells me when I am heading toward conjestion and I can change the route.

But best of all, I just push a button and it gets me home. :)

Now, if only they made them for malls. I rarely shop in a mall because I can never find my way through.

[XemaSab]

11. I haven't used the TOYS...

These things cost 10K and suck goats, FWIW.

[petronius]

14. Actually, I think those have been improving:

mine cost just a measly 4k, and it only sucks goats when you try to turn it on...

[XemaSab]

15. Mine sucked goats when you tried to get satellites or take points...

:eyes:

[petronius]

16. Well sure, but it was just fine all the rest of the time, right?

Receiving satellite signals and recording data aren't everything, are they?

:rofl:

[XemaSab]

29. When you're standing in the middle of a field in the Central Valley

and the nearest tree is a mile away and the nearest small hill is two miles away and you're waiting for like an hour for your satellites to come in, well... :shrug:

[billyskank]

17. I am a silly retro person

I just get lost!

[pokerfan]

18. I have a Garmin eTrek

that I use for canoeing and hiking. It doesn't replace map and compass but it sure is handy.

[mockmonkey]

20. toy?

Like one for trying to find the G-spot?:evilgrin:

[datasuspect]

21. i always know where i am

[NewJeffCT]

22. My wife got a Navman for Christmas last year

It's one of the cheaper GPS models out there - the POIs and maps are probably a year or two older than your latest Garmin or TomTom, but it's still pretty good since CT is pretty developed without a lot of new roads.

[trof]

23. $60 model uses laptop.

Made by DeLorme. Got it at Office Depot.
CD has U.S., Canada, Mexico atlas with excellent maps.
Shows names and locations of service stations, motels, restaurants, etc. along your route.

GPS antenna plugs in to USB port.
Then your current position shows up on screen map.
Speed, heading, and altitude readouts.
We used it on our road trip from coastal Alabama to San Diego and back.
Fantastic.

[Allenberg]

25. I worked as a contracted field engineer for Cingular

We used the DeLorme mapping tool for all our routes (draw files). I loved it and now that I no longer work for them, I really miss that program. I liked how it showed gas/food places on it, and I'm pretty sure with 2008, it upgraded to showing one-way streets on the map, which were a pain in the ass with 2007 and trying to map the cellular network of Camden, NJ. :D

[trof]

28. Yep, I found 2008 edition very up to date and accurate.

All the roadside attractions were right where they were supposed to be.

[SacredCow]

27. I have the same thing....

It's not as convenient as the standalone models, but you can't beat the price. And if you have a co-pilot / navigator travelling with you it works fine. I drove from Tampa to Key West back in July using it (my first GPS guided trip) and it was great. I'll never take a road trip again without one.

As for showing the motels, restaurants, etc... along your route, I found that many (if not most) of them didn't exist anymore.

[Corgigal]

24. Hubby loves his tom-tom

He picked it because the maps update more often and they are free. I must say it saved our behinds a few months ago. We were trying to leave a concert in downtown Washington DC and the main street was blocked off due to a body lying out in the middle of the road. Tom-Tom showed us another way out of there which was a good thing because we don't live in the D.C. area. Without the tom-tom I believe we might still be there.

[Hangingon]

26. I use them and love it.

I've had a Garmin hand held for 7years and it has been great for hunting and hiking. Just got a Garmin for the car and it works fine - will need a software upgrade because I boughth a "deal". For Christmas, I want one for the boat.