Main Area and Open Discussion > Living Room
In-car GPS
cranioscopical:
to patteo, Thanks for that detailed post, very helpful.
to y0himba, Good idea -- something to consider.
CWuestefeld:
I've had a TomTom ONE for a couple of years, and it's easily worth its price.
This past fall my wife and I went on vacation in Niagara Falls and Toronto. We hadn't a clue how to get around, but with the TomTom we had no problem, but finding our way there as well as getting to our B&B in Niagara-on-the-Lake and to various tourist spots around the Falls and in the city of Toronto. Just an address, and you're as good as there. If you don't know where to go at all, searching through the POI database may help you find attractions.
In a week and a half we're flying to Orlando, FL to see my grandparents, and then driving to Key West. We're planning to rely on the TomTom for that trip, too.
One thing: please don't mount the GPS in the center of the windshield. Visibility of the road is the most important thing, and it's too dangerous to let the GPS obstruct it. Mount it down low so that it blocks the least amount of view possible. Put it right between the driver and passenger, so the driver can concentrate on the road, only looking at it for clarification, while the passenger watches the GPS to navigate.
tsaint:
I have access to a TYTN II / TomTom combination. Used it for driving in Scotland/England for 2 weeks while on hols from australia - worked wonderfully with voice instructions.
Also, at home, house hunting, it was great to put in a lot of addresses from the real estate section and easily navigate from property to property.
One of my better investments!
mrainey:
My wife and I are completely sold on the benefits of a GPS. We echo all the positive comments of others here.
Look into this mounting system - it's highly popular with GPS users. Fifteen bucks at Amazon.
"The Nav-Mat is the most convenient mounting accessory for your portable GPS today. Using the physics of weight distribution along with high tech anti-skid materials, it creates a solid mounting base while turning your windshield mounted GPS into a dash mounted GPS. The Nav-Mat conforms to the contours of your dashboard, allowing it to work on uneven or textured surfaces while the anti-skid underside keeps the device from sliding. Designed to work with devices up to several pounds using the stock windshield suction mount sold with most popular GPS units, the Nav-Mat requires no tools for installation and can easily be moved from vehicle to vehicle or put out of sight when leaving the vehicle. Also works well with other Bracketron Windshield Mounts for mounting devices such as Satellite Radio, Cell Phones and MP3 Players."
http://www.amazon.com/Bracketron-UFM-100BL-Nav-Mat-Friction-Dash/dp/B000U5TUWE/ref=pd_bbs_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1229299920&sr=8-4
Jeff Atwood turned me on to it.
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001111.html
Deozaan:
I have a pretty good sense of direction, but last August my wife and I had to go to Los Angeles and had no idea how to navigate and were quite worried about the big city traffic, etc. With the car rental we also got a Garmin GPS. I'm not sure which model it was. It sure was a life saver!
I nicknamed the unit "Stella" because of the female voice and because she was like a guide from the stars (satellite).
You can just type in the address or search for restaurants or whatever and it has clear directions. There were a couple of times where I missed the turns or Stella neglected to vocally remind me that a turn was coming up, but she quickly recalculated the route and I got back to where I needed to be without much delay. I would absolutely recommend an in-vehicle GPS from my short (two-day) experience with one.
I've had my eye on acquiring my own "Stella" since that visit. I haven't researched them them much since their price is a bit beyond my budget but I'm also concerned about the cost of keeping the maps updated. If the cost isn't inhibiting, get one!
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version