NO BISCOTTIS ALLOWED
October 15, 2009 12:28 PM Subscribe
Help a complete GPS newbie help Santa. [spoilers for biscotti]
biscotti could use a gps navigation dingus to help her find her way around WNY and southern Ontario for agility trials and dog shows and the like, and has mentioned to me that I might mention this desire to Santa should our paths cross.
The problem is that [schultz] I know NUSSING [/schultz] about gps.
It would be primarily for the car, though I guess being convenient to walk around with would also be good for giggles.
biscotti has said that she values a really good map set over very simple usage.
I gather they run like $150--500. Price matters insofar as a cheaper GPS means Santa can bring more other things.
Other than that, I don't even know what to look for, so hivemind, please hope me.
biscotti could use a gps navigation dingus to help her find her way around WNY and southern Ontario for agility trials and dog shows and the like, and has mentioned to me that I might mention this desire to Santa should our paths cross.
The problem is that [schultz] I know NUSSING [/schultz] about gps.
It would be primarily for the car, though I guess being convenient to walk around with would also be good for giggles.
biscotti has said that she values a really good map set over very simple usage.
I gather they run like $150--500. Price matters insofar as a cheaper GPS means Santa can bring more other things.
Other than that, I don't even know what to look for, so hivemind, please hope me.
Seconding the nuvi. I forget what model we have, but it was about $200.
I really thought biscotti was a movie
posted by desjardins at 2:05 PM on October 15, 2009
I really thought biscotti was a movie
posted by desjardins at 2:05 PM on October 15, 2009
GPS manufacturers all purchase their maps from only 2 map companies: Navteq and Teleatlas, so there's not a lot of differentiation there.
One thing you may be concerned about is availability of map updates - these are sometimes hard to find, or expensive to add. At some point it makes more sense to buy a new GPS.
posted by meowzilla at 2:52 PM on October 15, 2009
One thing you may be concerned about is availability of map updates - these are sometimes hard to find, or expensive to add. At some point it makes more sense to buy a new GPS.
posted by meowzilla at 2:52 PM on October 15, 2009
nthing the Garmin nuvi. Check Amazon for good deals. $300 gets you a pretty fully featured GPS.
A few years ago one of the the key differentiating features was spoken street names, as opposed to just directions (i.e. "turn right on main street" instead of "turn right ahead").
posted by kenliu at 4:24 PM on October 15, 2009
A few years ago one of the the key differentiating features was spoken street names, as opposed to just directions (i.e. "turn right on main street" instead of "turn right ahead").
posted by kenliu at 4:24 PM on October 15, 2009
I also have a Garmin Nuvi - it cost me about $300, including a stand, and a few other accessories... I travel for work to all kinds of weird, off-the-wall places, and it has VERY rarely failed me. Also, Garmin Nuvi's can use the Dr. Nightmare navigation voice, which is very neato.
posted by frwagon at 4:25 PM on October 15, 2009
posted by frwagon at 4:25 PM on October 15, 2009
I also like the Garmin Nuvis. I don't have a lot of experiences with the other ones, but it seems like i have slightly less complaints about it than my other friends with tom toms. (I'm not a patient person to begin with, though perhaps I just have lower standards due to their complaints).
I recently bought one, and my (lazy) research told me that the 1200/1300 nuvis came out in 2009 and feature a slimmer build and is grey in color (as opposed to the original black). Reviews say that it's not significantly slimmer. As a result, the original 200s are a lot cheaper now. I grabbed the 205 last year and just purchased the 255 for myself this past week (brother took the first. It didn't die or anything). It's a refurb'ed one, but it was only $100 on a reputable electronics website.
I haven't tried walking around with it, but it does have that option (just click over to settings and tweak it). The basic size (200 series or the new 1200/1300 series) is perfect for tossing in the purse/bag. If this is primarily for driving, though, you could get a larger widescreen for easier viewing purposes. I went with the basic non-widescreen model but willingly paid extra for "text to speech." It'll read out the streetnames for you (e.g. "Turn right on Main" as opposed to "Turn right ahead"). This makes it a lot easier, because you don't have to constantly glance at your GPS all the time. Also, while the GPS is awesome, the suction cup is unbelievably bad. Grab a friction mount while you're at it, unless you want your gps to go flying across the dash or fall below the driver's feet (and this will ALWAYS happen at the most inopportune time).
Of course now that I've upgraded to TTS (text to speech), I can't help but wish I'd bought the widescreen version. There's no real need for it, but it would have been nice. Oh well.
posted by mittenedsex at 7:44 PM on October 15, 2009
I recently bought one, and my (lazy) research told me that the 1200/1300 nuvis came out in 2009 and feature a slimmer build and is grey in color (as opposed to the original black). Reviews say that it's not significantly slimmer. As a result, the original 200s are a lot cheaper now. I grabbed the 205 last year and just purchased the 255 for myself this past week (brother took the first. It didn't die or anything). It's a refurb'ed one, but it was only $100 on a reputable electronics website.
I haven't tried walking around with it, but it does have that option (just click over to settings and tweak it). The basic size (200 series or the new 1200/1300 series) is perfect for tossing in the purse/bag. If this is primarily for driving, though, you could get a larger widescreen for easier viewing purposes. I went with the basic non-widescreen model but willingly paid extra for "text to speech." It'll read out the streetnames for you (e.g. "Turn right on Main" as opposed to "Turn right ahead"). This makes it a lot easier, because you don't have to constantly glance at your GPS all the time. Also, while the GPS is awesome, the suction cup is unbelievably bad. Grab a friction mount while you're at it, unless you want your gps to go flying across the dash or fall below the driver's feet (and this will ALWAYS happen at the most inopportune time).
Of course now that I've upgraded to TTS (text to speech), I can't help but wish I'd bought the widescreen version. There's no real need for it, but it would have been nice. Oh well.
posted by mittenedsex at 7:44 PM on October 15, 2009
We use the Nuvi for work for getting to weird and out-of-the-way addresses. They have nice interfaces and good map sets right now. I've not used the competitors much (TomTom), but the Garmin products are very good. Absolutely get the text-to-speech option.
The point above about the cost of map updates is really important. It's actually cheaper in the longer term to buy a new unit every few years than upgrade (a lot) your maps every year.
We used to use the Microsoft streets and trips as well, but it's rather fallen away in the past couple of years.
Cell phone apps are getting better, but don't compare yet with the Nuvi products for ease of use, that is, have a big enough screen when driving, or great accuracy.
posted by bonehead at 7:38 AM on October 16, 2009
The point above about the cost of map updates is really important. It's actually cheaper in the longer term to buy a new unit every few years than upgrade (a lot) your maps every year.
We used to use the Microsoft streets and trips as well, but it's rather fallen away in the past couple of years.
Cell phone apps are getting better, but don't compare yet with the Nuvi products for ease of use, that is, have a big enough screen when driving, or great accuracy.
posted by bonehead at 7:38 AM on October 16, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
*Not sure how to do an umlaut.
posted by cocoagirl at 1:45 PM on October 15, 2009