CatherineM Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 One of the symptoms or consequences of my head injury is that I can get turned around, sometimes pretty bad. I do okay staying in my neighborhood or just on the bus routes that I know well to places I know well. I've been going to so many women's functions lately that I am starting to get out of my comfort zone. We are in the process of looking for a car. I know that when I start driving here, I'm going to get horribly lost many times, so himself wants me to get a gps that is portable so I can carry it on the bus, or when going with someone else in addition to in our own car. I just wondered if anyone owns one, and how they like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resurrexi Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Yes. It's amazing. One of the best investments you'll ever make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IcePrincessKRS Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 I have a TomTom. For the most part I REALLY like it, although occasionally it doesn't take me exactly to the point I need. Sometimes it says I've reached my destination half a block early, or the place has moved so the address isn't up to date, although I've checked the latter against websites and the phone book and can't really blame it on the gps, quite often the address online or in the phone book is the same as what the gps is telling me, but the place just isn't there (we once spent a couple hours driving around looking for wing restaurants that weren't there ). The reason why I bought it was because we had moved to a new state and I got sick of getting lost all the time, or having to google and print directions and then try to navigate city traffic while reading a map. The gps speaks the directions to me so it's much easier to follow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojourner Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 My husband picked one up for me and installed it in my car, and I told him I'd never use it. Later that day I got lost and used it. I had to eat a little crow there. I've found it is useful for getting out of getting lost, or for locating stores or restaurants close to wherever I am. For many stores, it also has a telephone number programed in. That has come in handy several times. I find the GPS systems we have (we both have Garmins) are OK. The information is not up-to-date. From what I can figure, it is 3-4 years old. This is only a problem if you are driving on new roads (i.e., in new developments) or looking for stores that have moved. I have heard this is a pretty universal problem with GPS systems. I also hate the voice-guided navigation and I muted that. Ours has a battery charging system that recharges off the car battery. You can take it off the charger and use it for a few hours on its own, then recharge it in the car. The rechargeable batteries on mine no longer work, and it's about 6 months old. I probably could replace them but I never use mine outside the car and I just haven't taken the time to figure out what I need to replace and if I can. My husband's is still good, but he doesn't use his as often. I really like having a GPS. Probably in the future I'll get a better model, but what I have now does just fine. I think we paid $100 or $150 for ours. Hope this is helpful. Happy trails! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkwright Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 (edited) I have a Garmin Nuvi. Its portable too and has a decent battery life. Honestly I'm pretty good with directions and I mostly like it to tell me estimated arrival time and such. I bought it back when I was traveling every day for work. I drove something like 10,000 miles in 2 months. It helped going to areas I wasn't familiar with - I think its best in crowded areas like cities. Sometimes downtown whatever city your in can be very confusing with one way streets, tall buildings obstructing views, ect. all the while you're also worried about other cars around you. It takes one less thing off your mind. You can pay attention to the road while it tells you you need to make a right turn in 1/2 a mile. Great investment, I'd do it again. And for you instead of getting one built into the car, if you want to walk with it buy a portable one. Edit: I have not experienced the problems Terra did.. sorry My garmin is going on 3 years old now and still works well (other than the maps are out of date - you can get new ones online, I'm just too cheap\lazy). (PS Terra! are you still in law school?) Edited April 16, 2009 by rkwright Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojourner Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 [quote name='rkwright' post='1836894' date='Apr 15 2009, 09:34 PM']I have a Garmin Nuvi. Its portable too and has a decent battery life. Honestly I'm pretty good with directions and I mostly like it to tell me estimated arrival time and such.[/quote] I forgot about that feature. I really like having a decent idea of when I'll get someplace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IcePrincessKRS Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 [quote name='Terra Firma' post='1836893' date='Apr 16 2009, 12:34 AM']the information is not up-to-date. From what I can figure, it is 3-4 years old. This is only a problem if you are driving on new roads (i.e., in new developments) or looking for stores that have moved. I have heard this is a pretty universal problem with GPS systems. I also hate the voice-guided navigation and I muted that.[/quote] When I bought mine I also purchased the data upgrade online so I had the most recent maps available. Those cost around $75, so they're not particularly cheap, but if you use it a lot it's worth it. We use ours ALL the time. Sometimes I plug it in for a place I've been to before just to make sure I remember the way (like my kids dentist, the directions are a little weird to get to his office). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojourner Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 [quote name='IcePrincessKRS' post='1836903' date='Apr 15 2009, 09:38 PM']When I bought mine I also purchased the data upgrade online so I had the most recent maps available. Those cost around $75, so they're not particularly cheap, but if you use it a lot it's worth it. We use ours ALL the time. Sometimes I plug it in for a place I've been to before just to make sure I remember the way (like my kids dentist, the directions are a little weird to get to his office).[/quote] Thanks for that. I will look into doing it. I am familiar enough with the areas I usually go that I don't need super-current maps most of the time, but every so often it's off. Like today, I mapped a pizza place that has moved and it sent me to the wrong one. Luckily I knew roughly where I was going so I figured it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaime Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 If you're looking for something portable and bus worthy, I would look into upgrading your phone to include a GPS. I have the G1 Googlephone (t-mobile) and I use the GPS function on it all the time. Plus, if you do get turned around easily, it also has an app to "tag" your car (again using the gps function) so that you can find it later. This is fantastic at the Mall of America. If you were to get an iPhone, you would have a GPS as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojourner Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 [quote name='rkwright' post='1836894' date='Apr 15 2009, 10:34 PM']Edit: I have not experienced the problems Terra did.. sorry My garmin is going on 3 years old now and still works well (other than the maps are out of date - you can get new ones online, I'm just too cheap\lazy). (PS Terra! are you still in law school?)[/quote] Yeah I think mine is the exception rather than the rule. I'm sure if I replaced the battery and upgraded it would be stellar. (yes I am still in school. Done in a month with two degrees, then I sit for the bar this summer. I am procrastinating at the moment.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkwright Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 [quote name='Terra Firma' post='1836931' date='Apr 15 2009, 11:01 PM']Yeah I think mine is the exception rather than the rule. I'm sure if I replaced the battery and upgraded it would be stellar. (yes I am still in school. Done in a month with two degrees, then I sit for the bar this summer. I am procrastinating at the moment.)[/quote] (sweeet! I'm so ready to be done, but I still have one more year... but I am looking forward to being done! I was a poor lonely 1L when you took a break from phatmass! I had so many questions no j\k thank goodness that is over with...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineM Posted April 16, 2009 Author Share Posted April 16, 2009 [quote name='hot stuff' post='1836915' date='Apr 15 2009, 10:46 PM']If you're looking for something portable and bus worthy, I would look into upgrading your phone to include a GPS. I have the G1 Googlephone (t-mobile) and I use the GPS function on it all the time. Plus, if you do get turned around easily, it also has an app to "tag" your car (again using the gps function) so that you can find it later. This is fantastic at the Mall of America. If you were to get an iPhone, you would have a GPS as well.[/quote] I don't actually use telephones. Long story. My husband got me a cell phone for Christmas in case I fell in a snow bank on the way to school or something. I've used it twice, both times taking pictures of the car tags of Johns in our neighborhood. Cell phones, and especially iPhones are incredibly expensive in Canada. About 10 times as much. My husband found out I could get a Garmin Nuvi 255 on Airmiles, so I guess that's the one I'm going to get. Thanks for all the information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojourner Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 [quote name='rkwright' post='1836935' date='Apr 15 2009, 11:05 PM'](sweeet! I'm so ready to be done, but I still have one more year... but I am looking forward to being done! I was a poor lonely 1L when you took a break from phatmass! I had so many questions no j\k thank goodness that is over with...)[/quote] (You have no idea how much I want to get done. I am even looking forward to the bar exam, and as long as I pass my classes I will be happy. I don't even want to be a lawyer at the moment. I think I want to write novels ... maybe Harlequin romance novels. Sorry to have left you in the cold but you seem to have turned out OK without me. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old_Joe Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 My parents got a Garmin Nuvi for Christmas. It's kind of a mixed blessing. It can show you local attractions, geocaches, restaurants, hotels, etc. You can also set it for hiking or biking instead of driving. However, it does have a couple of annoyances. For one thing, I find the voice to be very condescending. also, I tried it out when I went visit my friend who was in the hospital in Omaha (I don't know Omaha very well). anyway, it got me to the hospital just fine. In fact, whenever I made a wrong turn, it re-calculated the route so that I would eventually wind up on the right track. However, on the way back, instead of putting in my home address, I simply selected home. I did this because I had already saved my home address, and wanted to test it. well, it calculated the route and estimated that it would be 3 HOURS!!! instead of the usual one hour. I didn't realize it until about 20 minutes after I started driving. Apparently, it hadn't saved my home address and was instead taking me to some address in Iowa. also, it might not decide that your preferred route is either the shortest or quickest. My parents found that out when it kept recalculating their route while they were driving to Tulsa. anyhoo, here's what [url="http://www.consumersearch.com/auto-gps"]Consumer Search recommends.[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkwright Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 haha condescending voices eh? "Turn right NOW! NO NO YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG - MAKE A U-TURN" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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