Trying to Decide On A Portable GPS. Your thoughts?

[Bill M.]

I must be the only one using TomTom. We bought a RV/Truck model this year. Seems to work fine. Sometimes you have to know when to over ride itl

[sloprince]

Use an iPhone Great app, access to with Google Maps, constant update via internet.

[HowieE]

If you have never used a GPS it is going to be very hard to decide. I say that because no 2 units have the same features and the features they taut on the box are not always the features you will want. I have 3 different units now, 2 vehicle mounted and my I Phone. Features that I have on one that I wish were on the others are, the ability to touch the map and say go there, the speed the unit takes to accepts my change in direction, the ability to mark locations on the map for future travel. the time it tells you you have to turn before the turn.

Touching the map and saying go there is great when you are traveling some distance and don't have a destination address but you know you have to go on route xx to get there. Changing the route because you know of a short cut to grandma's house and not having the GPS spend the next 10 miles telling you to "make a u turn if possible". The vehicle mounted one in my VW has instant response and plots a new route, once I turn. The Panasonic in my Excursion fights me to the end. Time to turn is important while traveling on an interstate at 70 miles per hour. Some units tell you after you have passed the turn off and it 20 miles to the next exit assuming you are in New York city traveling 10 mph. Marking favorites directly on the map with symbols is much better they a large file of names and addresses.

Another thing to consider is service. Garmin is great. You call them and you will get an English speaking individual who actually has knowledge of the product.

I also have a Garmin Oregon 450 used in the field for Geocaching.

[SuzyHomemakr]

I use Google Maps in my trip planning, then open up the map on my Samsung Galaxy S4 Android phone for navigation. In their infinite wisdom, Google decided to separate My Maps (AKA My Places and Maps Engine) from the vanilla Google Maps. So you need both GM and Maps Engine on all devices.

I've saved dozens of maps in Maps Engine that I can look up on my phone. Since my travels are primarily in Florida, I have maps specific to restaurants, breweries, architectural salvage, springs, kayaking spots, shopping, etc. Whenever I read an article or review about something interesting, I put it in a map.

If anyone wants a peek at these various maps, drop me a line with your email and I'll share them with you.

As a co-leader of a kayaking Meetup group, for each trip I'll make a custom map with the campground, put-in, take-out, outfitter locations, paddling route, motels, bar/restaurants, and post that for members to download.

That being said, I recently picked up a Garmin Montana 600, mostly for on-the-water navigation. It does read Garmin's CityNavigator maps (Bluechart and TOPO, as well), so it can be used for turn-by-turn navigation. Garmin finally has a mostly modern interface on a touch screen device that plays well with others. The Basecamp application (or HomePart for the marine Bluecharts) is a good tool for managing the Montana. Remember the saved maps from above? I can download them as a .kml and load that directly into Basecamp. I then save the routes that I already did, along with the waypoints, and shoot them over to the Montana. It actually works a lot slicker than I'm making it sound.

Another good tool is using the free Evernote app to keep a record of my trips. All the notes that I collect for a trip go there, campground info, contacts, and any wrap-up notes for next time. I can paste in the .kml file to archive it, and clean it off the Montana. I share the file with the other trip leaders so I never have to resend info that someone misplaced.

[Zil]

I love google maps on my lap top for planing. My Verizon not so smart phone is a pain to use. I have an antique Magellan that would cost $80 to upgrade, so it ain't. My main complaint is no way to chang routes from what Magellan wants. I learned to pick half way points.

[KJRitchie]

My wife has an old iPad 2 with Verizon 3g and she used the built in GPS on a trip out to Utah and back. She is technologically impaired (don't tell her I said this). She states it works like a GPS and has voice prompts telling where to go. She likes it a lot. So if you have an iPad check out the apps before buying a Garmin etc.

Kelvin

[Ag&Au]

If you want something to talk to you Verizon's VZNavigator is not too bad, although I don't care for its graphic display.. I used it one time when my Garmin lost all its voices in an upgrade error, and it didn't discover it until it was too late. So I watched the maps on the Garmin GPS and listened to the lady in the Verizon phone tell me where to go.

Ken

[RangerJay]

I'm surprised at the number of folks who seem very happy with smartphones, Ipads etc. for their on-board routing - I'm guessing cell towers are a lot more common in the U.S. than a lot of rural areas in Canada - my caution would be to be careful about a long-distance trekking to large rural areas (particularly in Canada) - the presence of a signal is absolutely not a guarantee.


Jay

[demijac]

I still don't get why people need to invest in expensive GPS units when the free mapping software on your smart phone gets you where you need to go just fine.

We've been full timing for the last year and my iPhone has not let us down yet. We just key in the destination address and it selects one or more routes and lets you know when choosing the route, which ones involve tolls or has traffic issues. What I like best is that I never have to take my eye of the road - it tells us when to turn and where we will turn next with enough advance warning for us to position ourselves in the correct turn lane.

Between our free iPhone mapping software and our AllStays app which helps us locate everything from next rest area to where we want to camp, our navigational needs are met completely.

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by demijac

I still don't get why people need to invest in expensive GPS units when the free mapping software on your smart phone gets you where you need to go just fine.

We've been full timing for the last year and my iPhone has not let us down yet. We just key in the destination address and it selects one or more routes and lets you know when choosing the route, which ones involve tolls or has traffic issues. What I like best is that I never have to take my eye of the road - it tells us when to turn and where we will turn next with enough advance warning for us to position ourselves in the correct turn lane.

Between our free iPhone mapping software and our AllStays app which helps us locate everything from next rest area to where we want to camp, our navigational needs are met completely.

Perhaps some people travel outside of signal reception. Cell phone mapping programs typically store a small area of map around your current position, if your are moving and leave cell data coverage your in-phone app will be soon be essentially useless. I understand iOS 6 mapping stores more than previous versions. but I do not know how much.

Ken

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by demijac

I still don't get why people need to invest in expensive GPS units when the free mapping software on your smart phone gets you where you need to go just fine.

We've been full timing for the last year and my iPhone has not let us down yet. We just key in the destination address and it selects one or more routes and lets you know when choosing the route, which ones involve tolls or has traffic issues. What I like best is that I never have to take my eye of the road - it tells us when to turn and where we will turn next with enough advance warning for us to position ourselves in the correct turn lane.

Between our free iPhone mapping software and our AllStays app which helps us locate everything from next rest area to where we want to camp, our navigational needs are met completely.

Perhaps some people travel outside of signal reception and/or wish to make route changes en route. Cell phone mapping programs typically store a small area of map around your current position, if you are moving and leave cell data coverage and perhaps have need to make a detour. Your in-phone app will be soon be essentially useless. I understand iOS 6 mapping stores more than previous versions, but I do not know how much.

The direction our cultural seems to be headed, I won't be surprised to see the day when people loose consciousness when they get out of cell coverage.

Ken

[TinShack]

Originally Posted by demijac

I still don't get why people need to invest in expensive GPS units when the free mapping software on your smart phone gets you where you need to go just fine.

I'm guessing that a one-time purchase of a $200-300 GPS is still cheaper than buying a smart phone with monthly service. In my case I have an Android device but like the OP, it's hard for me to read it, which would mean investing in a tablet so I can see it...probably about the same price as a quality GPS unit.

[2vets]

There are still dead spots on our cell phone in significant areas to make us not trust it. We have an old Garmin and a moderately old Tom Tom.. I actually love the Tom Tom more, perhaps because I could program John Cleese's voice (Monty Python) on it. At the end of the trip he says "You can get out now, but I am not going to help you carry your bags, from now on, you're on your own". I never get tired of it!! That and "Bear right, Beaver left" Cracks me up!

[rmkrum]

The Navigon software I mentioned stores all its maps on the phone. Lack of coverage only looses traffic data.


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[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by rmkrum

The Navigon software I mentioned stores all its maps on the phone. Lack of coverage only looses traffic data.


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I searched for Navigon and was surprised to find it is a Garmin product.

Ken

[rmkrum]

Yup. Forgot that they got bought out. Still works good.


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[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by rmkrum

Yup. Forgot that they got bought out. Still works good.


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Near as I can tell there is no trial version. Do you think I will regret spending $49.95.

Ken

[Ag&Au]

Speaking of smartphones. The model garmin that I have connects via bluetooth to an APP on my Android phone. The app gets traffic and weather info and displays in on the GPS screen. It will display the weather radar image on the GPs which is helpful in thunderstorm season.

Ken

[Ag&Au]

I seem to be monopolizing the thread, but maybe none else is up.

Here is a good impartial review of Navigation APPs for Android. The comments at the end are worth reading also.

The best GPS app and navigation app options for Android

Ken

[rmkrum]

My son and I both spent the $49 and felt it was very well spent. The maps update regularly for the price, and on a reasonably modern iPhone it runs fast.

You can load it on several IOS devices in the same group like any other iPhone app. We have it on three phones in my immediate family.


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