recommendation of GPS Systems (1 Viewer)

saintfan-n-alex

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my sisters and myself are thinking of getting our folks a GPS,, they had mentioned it maybe handy.

they do alot of road travel, hunting and my dad goes fly fishing in the northwest every year, they also do some international travel at least once a year.

so portability is important
screensize is important
and ease of use as the harder it is to use the less they would use it

i dont know much about the options etc on these things, and if the uploading maps of the area you will be visiting is something that is done or not.

any info would be helpful

thanks
 
i have heard that the tomtoms are easy to use use.....i don't think you could go wrong with any of them though.....most of the ones i have seen are very user friendly
 
Consumer Reports rates the TomTom One as a "best buy" at $250. That's the one I'm going to get. But I don't know how it is for international travel, or other features you are looking for.

How much are y'all willing/looking to spend?

around that amount, maybe more if the extras vs higher price warrant it
 
Bought a TomTom One for my Dad last year. He loves it. Uses it in his car, truck, RV and even packed it up and used it in the rental car during a recent vacation.

They're going to be difficult to find so close to Christmas. Look at Radioshack as a possible source if you want to see and touch the unit. You can even check their inventory on line to see if they have any in stock.


http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...oductId=2462093&support=support&tab=techSpecs
 
I have mine on my phone through Verizon. Ten bucks a month and I get a lot of use out of it and never have any issues.
 
Have a Garmin and they are also very easy to use. The ones made to work like a TomTom can be used on a boat, but Garmin makes many types that are vehicle and open terrain/water friendly and portable. Go by West Marine, they usually have all types including the vehicle models and you can compare the features to see what you might think your parents may need.
 
I bought the TomTom from Buy.com about 3 months ago and like it a lot. I have used it to drive from Baltimore to Toronto/Erie pa. and the Charlotte game last week and several other places. It's pretty easy to use and comes with a US and Canadian map. You would have to pay for any other maps, I would suppose.
If I were to get a new one I would seriously look for one that has text to speech (speaks the actual name of the street) but with this one it reminds you so many times before any turn you have to make and you can see it on the screen. It sticks on the windshield and is easy to pack away in a bag also.
I also found a site to download extra voices if your into that kind of thing. By far the Homer Simpson was the worst impression I have ever heard but it's almost so horrible that it's funny. Then there's Ozzy throwing the F bomb in with his directions.
The thing will make you want to get in your car and drive across country. 1 month till our road trip back to Nola..............
 
I just bought the Garmin Nuvi 260. It is a new unit that has only been on the market for a few months.

This is a smaller unit, perfect for the car and for walking. It is the first in the Nuvi series to use text-to-talk. That tells you "turn left on Red Oak Court" compared to "turn left in 200 yards".

The reason I really like this unit is because of the mp3 tour Points Of Interest (POI) that you can download to the unit. In simple terms, you pick a place you are going to visit, i.e. Washington D.C. Once you get there, you load the location, like the Washington Monument, and it will tell you have to get there either in the car or by foot. Once there, you hit play and it will give you a short tour via the mp3 player. Pretty cool little function.

I found mine for $250 online. Look for the specials leading up to the Xmas shopping season.
 
Good thread....my MIL is asking me for advice on one of these. Do they all have voice updates now? I think that is important but that may just be me.
 
how are these "map GPS" when your on a dirt road that may not have a name but a number like forest service roads. I have an older hand held GPS that gives Lat/Long and will let you set waypoints and give you speed and distance from a certain point which works fine for the offroad use. was thinking of up grading.
 
these are all good suggestions, ill look into the different types - can you udate maps via the pc on any of them?

ozzy dropping fbombs would be a riot - if you can understand anything he says -
 
The older ones don't offer to update the maps, so check before you buy.

As far as dirt roads, I do some flyfishing and get back on some pretty small no name roads and have been surprised to have the GPS identify the road by route number.

I wouldn't recommend the tomtom for hand held use because the battery life is not the best. You will need to plug it back into a car charger or wall unit in 4 hours.
 
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Get something with text-to-speech, that feature is definitely worth having.
 

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