John - Some people love the smart phones, but I'm a simple phone guy, so
I use a Garmin nuvi and like it.
If you live in a busy area, traffic information is very valuable. Just
last week, getting on the Los Angeles 110 freeway, I heard "severa
traffic ahead - recalculating". The GPS routed me a different way and I
only lost about 5 minutes. A co-worker didn't get the traffic info and
was an hour late.
Most of the time, the talking ones are also very handy since you don't
have to look at the screen - "turn left then keep right" - to have the
reminder to turn and also to know which lane you want to be in.
It still helps to know where you are going and locals may have a better
way, but it sure is nice to just put in an address and go.
Another feature to consider is bluetooth for your phone. I start the
car and my gps automatically connects to my phone for hands free use.
If someone calls, it pops up on the screen and I can push answer or
ignore it. If I'm running late, I can do three pushes to phone home.
They also have a database of locations. My wife wanted to eat at Subway
in an area we didn't know, so I had it search for "Subway" and got a
list with direction and distance from my current location. We picked
the nearest one in the direction we were heading and she got the food
she wanted.
This same search would be great for visiting a new area and looking to
kill some time. You could search for shop related toy stores like
Harbor Freight, Woodcraft, or one of the home centers. Someday in
another area I'll search Tractor Supply since it sounds interesting and
we don't have any locally.
Other times we've been out and wanted pizza. That was a choice under
restaurants and we got a bunch of local options. Of course the kids
wanted a particular brand and I wanted to call ahead, but there was no
listing for the location that has been in business for a number of
years, so it isn't perfect.
Another handy feature is the estimated arrival time. In Los Angeles,
were when you ask how far a place is and people answer in minutes
instead of miles, this is handy.
Once you pick screen size then options like traffic, bluetooth, updates
(one or lifetime), you are down to just a few models.
Brian
On 6/6/2011 9:51 AM, john niolon wrote:
> to keep it shop related... sometimes losing my way to the shop I'm considering
> buying a GPS for the car.
>
> I start looking and realize that each manufacturer has at least 76 models
> available... I need something in the range of $0 - $200 and easy enough for
> an old man to use... as a backup plan I do have a 10 year old grandson that
> could probably program it for me...
>
> recommendations ??
>
> thanks
>
> john
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