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GPS ??

Went with a Navigon 8100t. I had been doing some research on various units Navigon, Sony, Mio, Garmin, Tom Tom, Megelin. With the latest news from the CES show in Vegas about upgrades on the Navigon units, well it just seem to fit me best. It also seem to have the most bang for the buck, free traffic updates for life of the unit, 3 year subscription for upgrades for less than the others cost for just one year. Plus the POI's, the red light camera, Rand McNalley scenic routes, and more.
So thanks for all the inputs,,,
 
I have this thing called a map... it has paper pages with drawn roads on it. Tends to work pretty good and was about $5 at the gas station. :thumb:
 
My wife got me the Garmin that works with my Palm phone for Christmas. It has quickly become very valuable to me while traveling for work. The nice thing is that besides my phone I only need to have a tiny box that's smaller than a credit card and maybe 3/4" thick. The charger cord that charges it and my phone at the same time is nice to carry too and not to big in my laptop backpack.

The other thing I like about it is that it works with the Google Maps application for my phone, so I can find where I'm at and do a Google search for the closest whatever from there, even things that the Garmin software wouldn't know about--for example, the other day I used it to find the closest Kinkos to where I was.
 
Jon Lanier said:
I have this thing called a map... it has paper pages with drawn roads on it. Tends to work pretty good and was about $5 at the gas station. :thumb:
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Would your map tell you the quickest way to get to a hospital if your wife/daughter just had a life threatening ordeal while 500 miles away from home on vacation?

Does your map tell you how to get around a two hour traffic delay or tie up?

Does your map tell you in an instant where the nearest police station, hospital, gas station, bank, ATM, restaurant, local attractions are in any part of the country that you are currently in?

Not to pick on you Jon, but the map was and to a certain extent is a good tool (if all you need to know is how to get from town A to town B). Its just that situations happen so fast that a map is so outdated, incomplete and lacks preciseness.
 
Doug,
That's a neat unit. I did a little reading on it. 3D maps are a pretty neat trick - with a little help from NASA.:thumb: I guess they could truely say they have space age technology! Of course I nearly peed myself when I saw the price, but that just demonstrates how out of touch I am with these things.:eek: Hey, my 8 year old "new" car was the first one I have ever owned with power windows.

Seriously though, work with it for a bit and give us an update on your thoughts. I really would like to hear some real world feedback as other posters have mentioned here.

Enjoy the new toyl Thanks,
Wes
 
Jim DeLaney said:
Vaughn McMillan said:
Yow! Somebody saw you coming! That's outrageous.

Since yours is eight years old, does it use a DVD mounted in the trunk? (Some did) Toyota/Lexus used to use a Toshiba GPS. Don't know what yours might be, but if it does use a DVD in the trunk, you might be able to buy the newer DVD direct, and install it yourself.
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One of the pitfalls of driving a fancy-schmancy vehicle. The dealer wants $200 bucks for an oil change (and "service check"), too. :doh: I'm certain some of their clientele doesn't blink an eye at the service costs, but I'm not the typical Lexus owner. (I bought it used with a good warranty for less than the cost of a new Kia or Hyundai.)

The GPS map DVD reader is hidden somewhere in the depths of the back of my SUV. (It's the RX300.) I haven't looked into replacing the disc myself, since it's priced so high.

John Daugherty said:
Vaughn, will they show an overhead map view like google maps etc.? Birdseye view of actual buildings, streets and such?
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The ones I've seen don't, but I'd say give the market a bit more time and it wouldn't surprise me to see that feature show up.

Jon Lanier said:
I have this thing called a map... it has paper pages with drawn roads on it. Tends to work pretty good and was about $5 at the gas station. :thumb:
Click to expand...
It's kind of like cell phones. We got along without them for many, many years, but once you use one, you'll wonder how you got along without it. (Except the GPS isn't annoying, and a cell phone can be.)
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We have been wanting one for a very long time, but we keep pushing the decision forward, there always seems to be something that comes up that takes priority :dunno:

Around our area, we have detailed maps that would blow your mind :eek: These maps are all taken from actual satellite images, the detail is sick, you can count the step on a walkway that has steps. For around our area, and by that I mean the city of Shinjuku, these maps are great, but once we get out of our area, a GPS would really shine. That being said, my cell phone has a good GPS system right in the phone, I have to pay $3 a month to use it, as well as the cell charges while I'm using it online, it talks too, and there are two versions, the driving version and a walking version.

Still I'd like to get a portable unit that can be used in both vans, as well as my motorbike.

The makes and models over here are completely different, so no point going into all of that. :wave:
 
Doug Jones said:
Would your map tell you the quickest way to get to a hospital if your wife/daughter just had a life threatening ordeal while 500 miles away from home on vacation?

Does your map tell you how to get around a two hour traffic delay or tie up?

Does your map tell you in an instant where the nearest police station, hospital, gas station, bank, ATM, restaurant, local attractions are in any part of the country that you are currently in?

Not to pick on you Jon, but the map was and to a certain extent is a good tool (if all you need to know is how to get from town A to town B). Its just that situations happen so fast that a map is so outdated, incomplete and lacks preciseness.
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Have to agree with Doug. This is a very handy item of new technology. Not perfect but part of today's life.
 
OK. You guys convinced me.....

LOML and I had talked about getting a GPS unit for a while, but I'm the frugal one (cheap??). After looking at a bunch of options and reading what you guys had to say, we ordered a Garmin nuvi 260 late last night. It has the features we want and is currently offered at a good price. Now, if the price of gasoline will stay down..... :rolleyes:
 
Stuart Ablett said:
We have been wanting one for a very long time, but we keep pushing the decision forward, there always seems to be something that comes up that takes priority :dunno:

Around our area, we have detailed maps that would blow your mind :eek: These maps are all taken from actual satellite images, the detail is sick, you can count the step on a walkway that has steps. For around our area, and by that I mean the city of Shinjuku, these maps are great, but once we get out of our area, a GPS would really shine. That being said, my cell phone has a good GPS system right in the phone, I have to pay $3 a month to use it, as well as the cell charges while I'm using it online, it talks too, and there are two versions, the driving version and a walking version.

Still I'd like to get a portable unit that can be used in both vans, as well as my motorbike.

The makes and models over here are completely different, so no point going into all of that. :wave:
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Satellite maps? On Google Earth for Japan, all the roofs are blanked out hiding detail.
 
BTW, ours is a Garmin Nuvi, I forget the model #. It was originally $750.00. We bought it on sale from Amazon for $150.00. There is a free map update on the Garmin website but I can't see where it does anything. Still wants to point us down dead end gravel roads going the opposite direction of our destination.
 
Doug Jones said:
Would your map tell you the quickest way to get to a hospital if your wife/daughter just had a life threatening ordeal while 500 miles away from home on vacation?

Does your map tell you how to get around a two hour traffic delay or tie up?

Does your map tell you in an instant where the nearest police station, hospital, gas station, bank, ATM, restaurant, local attractions are in any part of the country that you are currently in?

Not to pick on you Jon, but the map was and to a certain extent is a good tool (if all you need to know is how to get from town A to town B). Its just that situations happen so fast that a map is so outdated, incomplete and lacks preciseness.
Click to expand...

While your punching in a request to a hospital,,I'm Calling 911. If it is life threatening the ambulance will most likely be there before you could get across town in unfamiliar territory ,even with your GPS.. What if your faced with two choices equally apart? is your GPS going to tell you which hospital is the better choice for your type of injury?

I can pick an alternate route just as easy as your gps unit any day of the week.

I may not find any of the things you listed instantly, but I do find them. Thats half of the adventure.

As for quickest routes? anytime it has the choice of multiple side roads, your gps will almost always fail. It will almost always send you up the biggest roads.

Do Mingo Junction Ohio to Sharon pa. I would just about bet it sends you up route 11 to I80. probably 85 to 90 miles, I can whack that to 76 miles or less.

RT7 to North Lima, 165 to 680, 680 to 62 into Sharon.
The company trucks would go the first way, Brother and I would go the second way. We would meet them in Sharon, We would be coming out of Sharon tube empty and they would be going in loaded. We never did tell them how we where beating them there :rofl:

I'll stick with my Rand McNally truckers road atlas.
Between that and my fuel stop book I can find anything I need.
 
Doug Jones said:
Would your map tell you the quickest way to get to a hospital if your wife/daughter just had a life threatening ordeal while 500 miles away from home on vacation?
Click to expand...

Does your map tell you how to get around a two hour traffic delay or tie up? Nope, usually the eye in sky will tell you that and it still cost me nothing. If it is around home where I do 90% of my driving... I don't even need that.

Does your map tell you in an instant where the nearest police station, hospital, gas station, bank, ATM, restaurant, local attractions are in any part of the country that you are currently in? If I need police I call 911 on a what is now an old device called a cell phone, hospital... well and ambulance will get you there quicker. Gas stations have these signs... they are really big signs.. if you can't see or read them maybe you should not be driving? If I'm in a place to see local attractions, I hope I had the fore thought of doing something like that. I'd hope to find out a head of time. I don't think the GPS will tell you the cost or time the attractions are open. And there is always road kill for food if I become desperate.
Not to pick on you Jon, but the map was and to a certain extent is a good tool (if all you need to know is how to get from town A to town B). Its just that situations happen so fast that a map is so outdated, incomplete and lacks preciseness. Preciseness? Have you checked out the route some of those things will take you? It is a good 30 minutes to an hour sometime longer.

Not worth the money for little good it does.
 
Jon Lanier said:
...Preciseness? Have you checked out the route some of those things will take you? It is a good 30 minutes to an hour sometime longer...
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That's not only a gross generalization, it's flat-out incorrect in 99% of the cases (in my experience). That may have been the case for some of the very early models, but not for the past 8 to 10 years. Yes, every once in a while it picks a less than logical route, but I've done the same myself using a map, and probably more than 1% of the time. Yes, a few people here have reported being sent to the wrong address -- it's happened to me, too -- but for every wrong destination, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of correct ones.

Those of us who use nav systems don't rely solely on what the computer tells us. We also use some common sense, especially when we do know the area. To anyone who says they're not useful (or worth $100 or so), I say use one for six months and then get back to me on it. ;)
 
Vaughn McMillan said:
That's not only a gross generalization, it's flat-out incorrect in 99% of the cases (in my experience). That may have been the case for some of the very early models, but not for the past 8 to 10 years. Yes, every once in a while it picks a less than logical route, but I've done the same myself using a map, and probably more than 1% of the time. Yes, a few people here have reported being sent to the wrong address -- it's happened to me, too -- but for every wrong destination, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of correct ones.

Those of us who use nav systems don't rely solely on what the computer tells us. We also use some common sense, especially when we do know the area. To anyone who says they're not useful (or worth $100 or so), I say use one for six months and then get back to me on it. ;)
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Okay, send me the money to buy one so I don't waste mine, and I'll take the test for you. :thumb:
 
Chuck Thoits said:
We just have one in the cell. I think its 3 bucks a month for the service. And yes it has misguided us on more than once.:thumb: But it does tell you what lane you need to be in for the exit you need. Most of the time in more than enough time to merge in. And last summer it got us out of a traffic jam. Then once we got back on the highway it had us drive right by the exit we needed and took us right threw the city.:(
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:rofl:

I am sure that one day 'they' will have these things down really well and will most likely become part of everyday life to some extent. And as soon as that happens, all the satellites will fall from the sky and know one will be able to go anywhere.
 
I think we'll need to look into one of these gizmos. Last week my navigator (AKA -LOML) did the classic "Turn left - ah, back there" :rofl::rofl: Just one more reason to stay home.:D

A few months ago someone called our cell phone - first time ever (we only use it to make calls). I didn't know which button to push to answer it.:eek: Feeling more and more like a knuckle dragger as technology passes me by. But that's a whole other thread.

Doug, hope the new unit works out for you. It looks really nice.

Wes
 
Chuck Thoits said:
We just have one in the cell. I think its 3 bucks a month for the service. And yes it has misguided us on more than once.:thumb: But it does tell you what lane you need to be in for the exit you need. Most of the time in more than enough time to merge in. And last summer it got us out of a traffic jam. Then once we got back on the highway it had us drive right by the exit we needed and took us right threw the city.:(
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I've got it on my cell phone too, but the display is too small for me to use while driving, and it doesn't update my position as quickly as it should when moving. Your post reminded me that I need to cancel the service on mine since I don't use it...it's $9.99 on my plan, as I recall. By this time next year, I could save up enough to buy one for Jon. :D
 
I have a TomTom, I love it. Have gone on several trips where it provided worry free directions right to the door. Went on a trip through Eastern US and across Canada and down through Detroit back to KY. we had reservations etc. and all I did was tap in the addresses of the hotels and sights we wanted to see, Went door to door and not once had to turn around or ask questions. My son who was with us bought on the next month.

Went on a disney trip and all about Florida from KY and it took us straight to the Condo door and every event as well as side trips and beach visits, back home w/o problems My S-I-L was with us and got one a couple months later.

Went on a Bourbon tour of all the distilleries in KY Opted to use only back roads (I hate Interstates) it took us through hallers and over hill and dale and directly to the parking lots, My frien was with me and he had a hand held, was so impressed that he got one too. On another venture with antique car trip. I went along with a fellow who was mapping out a trip for Model Ts to travel backroads and such. I took the TomTom along but he had an In-dash unit in his SUV He was so impressed that he now has both.

Not much good for fishing location and off road use as it just shows you in the middle of a lake or field but for a road trip or city address finding, it is great. I use mine often and my Son bought one for his son who will be going off to college next year so he can find his way home

Another example, I was trying to find a lounge chair for my elderly aunt, I took back the one I got her because she couldn't work the mechanism, (my Grandson was with me) (We were 200 miles away from here) I said to him, "I wish I knew where there was a Lazy-Boy store, I'd pay the difference and get one. He fiddled abit and said his girlfriend said there is one over at*** He had texted her and she looked it up on a computer at home. We got the address and put it in the TomTom and away we went, bought the chair, set it up with my aunt and she was happy as a Lark.

BTW, My sister in Florida was so impressed with it she got one to use with her work as she has to visit different schools and hospitols in her area and knowing all the routes is easy if you have an address.

Only problem with mine is my mother lives on a street that is only a couple of years old and it can't find her.

So I vote for The Tom Tom :thumb::thumb:
 
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