Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My family has been using Garmins for over 10 years now. We all have smartphones now but still use our Garmins. I've been pretty happy with them even compared to Google maps (ALL mapping/navigation systems have their shortcomings). They're easy to use. Pretty reliable. Sometimes slow to load, but once it does, you're generally good to go. Only thing to watch out for while driving is sometimes it will tell you to "turn" at a slight fork in the road when really you're just continuing on the main road. Or you have to make a turn, but it doesn't tell you to. It shows you following the correct path, but doesn't actually mention the turn.
You can find a Garmin for relatively cheap. Smartphones have killed prices which is good for you.
You almost certainly have a place to plug one in. Look in the owners manual.
Definitely just take it with you instead of renting one for a rental car.
I tried using my smartphone (iPhone) last summer when I was trying to get out of Revere, Massachusetts, which is where I had parked my car while I was on a business trip abroad (the parking place had a shuttle to Boston's Logan Airport). I had VERY detailed directions on how to get from Revere back to southwestern New Hampshire, where I live -- and they would have worked great IF Revere (and most cities around Boston) actually believed in STREET SIGNS. But apparently they think everyone is just supposed to "know" what street they're on and what the next cross street is, because 90% of the time (literally, I swear), there were NO street signs. So being told to "take a right onto Smith Street" doesn't work if Smith Street isn't, you know, LABELED.
As I was cursing my way around Revere trying to get out of that town, I thought "I must get a navigation system." But then I realized that it, too, would likely tell me "take a right onto Smith Street" -- but the problem is there is no SIGN to "Smith Street" so you will never know where to turn.
I suspect this is a problem with only certain towns, and probably only old towns like Boston (and its environs) ... but holy crap was it frustrating. Took me an hour and a half to go maybe 10 miles, since I had to keep stopping and asking people where certain streets were since there were no SIGNS. Aaaagggh.
(But I think most places have street signs? So I'd go with Garmin. )
Maps. Pretty accurate and don't use power
I still have a set of maps in my car AND used them where GPS coverage was not available.
I had those too -- well, maps on my smartphone.
But again, they are no good at all when streets aren't marked with signs telling you WHAT street that is! (OK, my rant is apparently only about the Boston area ...)
But again, they are no good at all when streets aren't marked with signs telling you WHAT street that is! (OK, my rant is apparently only about the Boston area ...)
Yes. Thats one of my my pet peeves - no street signs and no house numbers (especially businesses). Or streets that stop and resume few blocks later. Or streets with cardinal directions - so confusing if you are in an unfamiliar city after dark.
I really like those that are lit after dark, and those that announce the name of the next crossing street.
We have a couple of Garmin units that we take along when traveling. My wife especially uses a Garmin because her smart phone is usually glued to her ear, making it useless for navigation. If you buy a new one, make sure it comes with lifetime maps. That allows you to update the map database four times a year at no additional cost. If you travel up into Canada, make sure it has Canadian maps. A lot of the newer ones don't include Canadian maps. Get the beanbag mount. It makes it a lot easier to use and you can easily hide the entire thing in the center console.
Yes. Thats one of my my pet peeves - no street signs and no house numbers (especially businesses). Or streets that stop and resume few blocks later. Or streets with cardinal directions - so confusing if you are in an unfamiliar city after dark.
I really like those that are lit after dark, and those that announce the name of the next crossing street.
My street has no sign. It's a continuation of a street that appeared to end on the other side of a hill, just a little orphan stub with no pavement, that looks like a driveway. And it is WEST Mystreet. The nearest streetlight is about a mile away. Amazon says my address doesn't exist. But Google maps app takes you right to it, no problem.
We have a couple of Garmin units that we take along when traveling. My wife especially uses a Garmin because her smart phone is usually glued to her ear, making it useless for navigation. If you buy a new one, make sure it comes with lifetime maps. That allows you to update the map database four times a year at no additional cost. If you travel up into Canada, make sure it has Canadian maps. A lot of the newer ones don't include Canadian maps. Get the beanbag mount. It makes it a lot easier to use and you can easily hide the entire thing in the center console.
When a cheap Chinese charger fried my old Garmin, I replaced it with one off eBay/Amazon, (can't remember which), that included European maps, along with the Canadian/U.S./Mexican maps. These days, I use it in tandem with the car's built-in navigation system. Toyota/Lexus, in their infinite wisdom have disabled input into their navigator while the auto is moving. When I'm on the road, and trying to locate the next Costco gas station, it is easy to input "Costco" into the Garmin to locate nearby locations. Only problem is that it was purchased right at the time Garmin started offering lifetime map upgrades, but only a few models. This one does not include lifetime map upgrades, but it hasn't caused any real problems yet, even though about ten years old now. I use the suction cup mount in the lower left-hand corner of the windshield, running the power cord to the center console.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
)
