What GPS Do You Use? (rental car, rental, neighborhood)

[DCguy03]

I was using my gps on a road trip last weekend from NoVA to Harrisburg, PA, and something really cool happened:

it did not try to send me through DC during rush hour on Friday!

I had an older gps before that wasn't quite as smart - it would send me right through the center of DC since that is the shortest distance...the thing didn't factor in traffic or the time of day (and you know that DC is a parking lot at 5:00 PM on a Friday!)

So this new one I have, (the TomTom GO 730) is working out pretty well. I was wondering...what kind of GPS models do you all use?

[blossom4792]

Garmin NUVI.I'm very happy with the mapping, except for the fact that if I hit a detour or traffic jam, I can't do anything that I know of to get a new route.The database of businesses is pretty incorrect, outdated and incomplete. But honestly, I do love Garmin. I've tried another (not sure the brand, in my parents' Lexus) that was so annoying.

[DCguy03]

Funny that you mentioned having outdated business listings - my new TomTom has a sweet feature that takes care of that problem.

It's called Map Share, and it works by the users (other TT owners) submitting changes when they see a new restaurant/bank/etc. Then when you plug your TomTom into your computer to refresh it, it uploads the newest changes that other people submitted into your gps's map. It waits until a few people have submitted the same change - that way 1 vigilante dude can't go on a changin' spree...haha.

Actually makes a lot of sense...especially since 80% of restaurants go out of business within the first 2 years, this is one of the best ways to keep up with all of these changes.

I've been using it for a month and it has helped out. Plus it's easy to submit changes, so that makes you want to do it.

[blossom4792]

Wow, that feature would be terrific. Three times we have tried to go to a McDonalds in a different neighborhood of town and we end at the end of a bridge overlooking a lake. The Garmin insists we have arrived at McDonalds. Was there a flood? Is it underwater? In another case, a K-Mart is now a huge baptist church. That one only fooled me once, maybe because I don't usually try to get to K-Mart anyhow.

[DCguy03]

Originally Posted by blossom4792

Wow, that feature would be terrific. Three times we have tried to go to a McDonalds in a different neighborhood of town and we end at the end of a bridge overlooking a lake. The Garmin insists we have arrived at McDonalds. Was there a flood? Is it underwater? In another case, a K-Mart is now a huge baptist church. That one only fooled me once, maybe because I don't usually try to get to K-Mart anyhow.

Haha, that makes me think of The Office - the episode when Michael Scott drives a rental car into a lake because the GPS thought it was a road

I actually learned about Map Share mostly from this blog post on GPS Review:
MapShare In Action GPS Review

As for Michael Scott, I think he should've used a TomTom! (at least that is what Dwight K. Schrute would do)

[yamota]

Good old ADC maps!

[DCguy03]

ADC Maps?! For me it's all about Live Changing Maps! (what we've been talking about in new TomToms)

[mpascal]

I got the Tom Tom as a father's day gift this year and have been very much enjoying it.

[bangorme]

I'd stay away from Magellan if I were you. I bought mine last year. I've found several roads not on it and upgrading the map is over $80! It would almost be better to toss it and buy another.

[DCguy03]

@mpascal I gave my Dad a TomTom for Father's Day last year and he loves it too...actually it's funny b/c my mom (who usually doesn't like gadgets) even likes to borrow his TomTom for car trips!

@bangorme good call on the map updates. If you're running into all of those problems (especially in Bangor, ME which is a beautiful place but doesn't have the best map coverage), def. keep TomTom in mind for the future.

On the one I have, there is a feature that lets you notify TomTom's map maker of inaccuracies in your map. If enough people "report" an error in a certain place, they factor that into future map updates. At least that way when you upgrade the map, it is really accurate and up-to-date.

I've been using TomTom in the D.C. area for day trips and weekend trips and it has worked out well - anyone else using a GPS in DC?