GPS systems

[RDZCRanch]

My brother has a TomTom and while those of us that hate GPS, hate it...he loves it. He is severely directionally challenged. I can give him the clearest instructions ever with landmarks and everything and unless he has something talking to him, he will zone out and miss every freaking turn! Boys!

I use google maps before I go somewhere and when it says something wonky I zoom in for a street view to see what confused the program. Other than that I've got a Thomas Guide map in the car...I just hate GPS. Drove with my friend who has one and it flipped out everytime you made a wrong turn and would just start repeating that you made a wrong turn. The recalculating took forever on her GPS...I don't know what kind she had but it didn't look or sound like my brother's TomTom.

 

[Sesame]

I bought a GPS a few years back as an anniversary present. And, it's has to be one of the more useful things ever!

I would definitely opt for the Text-to-Speech option (GPs talks with full street names; otherwise if it doesn't have TTS, it'll only say "Turn Right in 100 ft" instead of "Turn Right at BlahBlahBlah St.).

I would also agree with the others about the suction cup holder. I think most models come with this suction cup holder. Otherwise, you could also opt to buy extra holders (ie: the bean bag dash holder, vent holder).

I would opt for either a Garmin (which I have) or a TomTom.

 

[mk94]

I have a TomTom. The only thing I don't like is that it doesn't tell you what the exit number is. There would be 2 exits within a few yards of each other and it was difficult to tell which one the GPS was trying to tell you to take. It would simply say turn right in X yards.

 

[eroomlorac]

I have a TomTom. The only thing I don't like is that it doesn't tell you what the exit number is. There would be 2 exits within a few yards of each other and it was difficult to tell which one the GPS was trying to tell you to take. It would simply say turn right in X yards.

Okay, then, how will I know if it tells what the exit number is?

Thanks for all who are posting for helping me figure this all out. Sometimes I know so little about something I don't even know where to begin!!

 

[ChilliPepper]

The other thing I love about mine is the ability to look up things while we are on the road, like places to eat or shop. We were making the drive up to the parents and wanted a Penney's or Macy's and found one in Medford quite easily.

 

[alpayton]

Mine (Garmin nuvi 1300T) speaks road names, shows and speaks exit numbers, gives lane information (which one to be in, etc), has points of interest, gives traffic updates and redirects around backups quickly. Honestly...it's like GOLD! Have used it to travel to a friend's house over 6 hrs away and never once made a wrong turn with that thing. Just used it tonight to visit another friend in downtown Nashville (not the easiest place to navigate if you've never been on those exact roads before) and again, not one wrong turn. Took me right to their driveway.

And I've tried the sandbag type mount and it will NOT sit on my dash. Took it back to the store after picking up the GPS out of the floor 5 times in a day. So it does matter how much of a slope you have to your dash, cuz it wouldn't stay on mine.

 

[Nancy]

We have the Garmin Nuvi 255. It was just a cheap one and for all we use a GPS, it really is all we need. It speaks road names to turn at and counts down to where you turn. I'm not sure if it does lanes, doubt it but have never really used it on a multi lane road. As far as giving directions it is fine.

One fault I do have with it is that although it will give me points of interest in a certain location if I am in that location, it doesn't seem to give me points of interest until I reach the location. For instance, a few weeks ago we were heading to Brockville which is 50 miles away. We know Brockville quite well so didn't really need the GPS for directions but as we were heading there I decided to see what fabric stores and antique shops there were. That I could find there was no way to set Brockville as where I wanted to look so it gave me all the stores within about 300 miles. UGH! Once we were actually in Brockville and stationary, then it gave me places just in Brockville. I don't fault it though, you get what you pay for.

 

[eroomlorac]

I just bought a TomTom XL 335 from Wal-mart for $130. I bought a one year replacement plan for $10. We used it to drive to Cincinatti this weekend. It's AWESOME! The screen size is perfect, it talks to you, tells you what street to turn on by name. It also has lane guidance which is a big plus for me. I'm so nervous about getting in the wrong lane, but it shows you specifically what lane to get in.

And apparently it's on sale online right now for $98..I'm kinda miffed about that! I just bought it last week! *sigh* http://www.walmart.com/ip/TomTom-XL-335S-4.3-Portable-GPS/14660082

It comes with it's own mounting device. It's just a thing that attaches to the back of the unit and you can suction it to your windshield. It also comes with a mount that you can stick on your dashboard.

Okay folks. Thanks for all your help. I bought this unit on my way home from work today. It was not on sale at the store but I told them it was $98.00 online. They gave me the sale price right at the store. The cashier must have been dyslexic because she rang it up as $89.00. I also got the one year replacement guarantee for $5.98. It came to $102.00 even. Thanks Stackie and everyone else for your input. Laurie, I will be able to get to your house for the show and we can have the GPS get us to Barneveld without us having to even think about it.

NOW............I'll have to see if I'm smart enough to figure out how to use it. I am severely technologically challenged. :cry3:

 

[Stackie]

Cool, let me know if you have any questions! I think I have mine pretty much figured out. )