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I just swapped my old Garmin for a new one. I live in Chicago, so I stopped I yo the Garmin store. Love it. Voice commands, Bluetooth... So much easier to use. I don't know how anyone exclusively uses a smartphone for directions.
I have a new Garmin as well, and use it when I travel, since I refuse to be extorted to use a rental car GPS. I could use one of my phones, but the battery life issue, and some states are fussier than others when it comes to using your phone while driving. With the Garmin, I have voice command and can keep the phone to use with Bluetooth, so I do not have to worry about overzealous enforcement of a texting while driving statute. I know two people who received tickets for that, when they were using GPS and had to prove it, not an efficient use of time, should that be an issue, even if a ticket is nullified because the phone was being used within proper guidelines. For $350, or whatever I paid for it, under $400, the Garmin I have works well for the purposes that I use it, and I have lifetime maps and traffic, so just update it periodically via Internet.
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Make sure you are looking at the orientation correctly. For a while I thought this was happening to me too until I came to realize that when I am going south, my little car is pointed DOWN. For the longest time I thought the house was on the wrong side of the street but it was ME that was upside down, not the Garmin that was wrong.
20yrsinBranson
Your GPS unit should have an option so that your vehicle is always oriented upward on the map and the map rotates to match what you're looking at out the windshield. I believe this is called "Track Up" on most units. It sounds like you have yours set to "North Up" in which the map orientation is fixed as a standard N/S/E/W map and your vehicle is depicted in the actual direction of travel on your map. That would explain why your car icon is pointing downward and addresses/destinations would appear on the opposite side if you're traveling south.
Both, sorta. I use my Android smartphone, but I don't use an app that uses the data connection. The apps that use the data connection are fine, but the free apps that let you download maps are horrid. Since data coverage in some of the places I visit is not available, I bought the Garmin app so I could use it offline. It works pretty well for what I need.
I have a Pioneer AppRadio and software that lets me mirror the screen in my dash, so it's even better than having a dedicated GPS stuck to the windshield.
I also have a Nuvi that is at least 7 years old, with maps that haven't been updated in at least 5 years. The battery is shot and it dies unless it's plugged in. I keep it mainly for backup.
I have a Garmin that was given to me by a relative who no longer needed it. I keep it in the glove box and rarely use it. What I don't care for is it always directs me to a highway to get where I want to go, even when it is easier and faster to use side streets. Many times I have gone miles on this highway and that, only to end up in a place that was minutes from where I originally started. Very annoying.
No, I don't. There is absolutely no reason to get one any longer. Your cell phones have apps that provide just as good of directions for free. I have found that my Garmin doesn't provide the most efficient route and provides no advantage over the free programs available on phones.
I have a new Garmin as well, and use it when I travel, since I refuse to be extorted to use a rental car GPS. I could use one of my phones, but the battery life issue, and some states are fussier than others when it comes to using your phone while driving. With the Garmin, I have voice command and can keep the phone to use with Bluetooth, so I do not have to worry about overzealous enforcement of a texting while driving statute. I know two people who received tickets for that, when they were using GPS and had to prove it, not an efficient use of time, should that be an issue, even if a ticket is nullified because the phone was being used within proper guidelines. For $350, or whatever I paid for it, under $400, the Garmin I have works well for the purposes that I use it, and I have lifetime maps and traffic, so just update it periodically via Internet.
(1) Battery life issue? - carry a phone charger. It's cheaper than a Garmin. You will likely need a phone charger anyway for emergencies. I don't know anyone who doesn't have a car charger for their cell phone. Furthermore, most cell phone batteries last at a minimum of 12 hours on a full charge and most last well beyond that (mine lasts nearly 24 hours with use). How long are you going to be driving that will need more than that?
(2) You don't have to hold or visualize your phone to use it's map features. They talk to you and tell you step by step directions.
(3) Most states don't bar use of cell phones. No state bars use of hands-free cell phones use. You can purchase cheap devices to position your phone on your dash
(4) Phones have apps that Garmin lacks. For example, Yelp is very easy to use to locate a restaurant, store etc. You can quickly find the destination on Yelp. Then Yelp has a driving directions app built in.
(5) You have to charge your Garmin while you drive because its battery life on a full charge is pretty weak and it dims the screen when relying on battery power which I found to be pretty useless. So if you are having to keep your Garmin charged, you might as well buy a cell phone charger and use that instead. You will get more use out of phone being fully charged anyway.
(6) I'm not worried about enforcement of texting. If anything, I wish there was more enforcement. I see people drive and text routinely and nothing is ever done about it. So the last thing I fear is being busted for picking up my phone to quickly glance at a map. I don't know anyone who has been cited for texting while driving. I'm not saying that it doesn't happen. I'm just saying that any fear of being accused of texting while picking up your phone to glance at a map for a few seconds is overstated when people will literally text while drive for several minutes texting.
It's just an outdated technology now that phones have these capabilities.
Last edited by azriverfan.; 06-21-2014 at 08:43 AM..
I paid 50 bucks for the card that gives lifetime updates off amazon. I still use mine.....especially on long trips. The updates on mine have helped it as the traffic feature used to be worthless, but now it actually is quite accurate. I just took a 6000 mile round trip in our van and the traffic feature really saved us some time. So yes, I even use my nuvi around Boston now.....
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