Last week, the mini-USB on my GPS car charging cord broke (btw, it's ~$20 or less for a new cord) and that got me to thinking....should I just bite the bullet and get a new GPS?
I've been happy with my Garmin nuvi 255W (US and Canada maps) that I've had for 5-6 years. I use it frequently, both around town and on long road trips in the U.S. and Canada. It's not perfect ["Recalculating...." LOL] but it sure beats trying to read a map while driving.
I never got the maps updated (at ~$100 it was a bit too expensive for my taste), and I've heard that the downloads are getting so large that you need to pick a portion of North America rather than having it all on your GPS at all times. So the maps and travel info are getting a bit out-of-date.
I've had an Android smartphone for 2 years and have been wondering if/when I'd be switching over to using the phone in lieu of using a GPS. On several recent 1000+ mile road trips, I've run the phone route map app in parallel with the GPS. I still prefer the GPS -- it seems to lock onto the satellite guidance system and give consistent route guidance whereas I've had spotty cell phone service along the routes which resulted in poor/no guidance from the phone in places. Plus 'ease of use' seems to favor the GPS.
GPS prices have dropped significantly since I bought my old GPS due to the competition from smart phones with apps (like Google maps, etc.).
I started researching new Garmins today and am a bit overwhelmed by the choices. I'm wondering if I should just buy a fairly basic low-end unit (~$120-150) and count on it becoming obsolete in a few years or buy a mid-range unit (~$150-200) with lifetime map updates and some useful features (lane assist, bluetooth, etc.)? Is a unit with an expandable memory card worth buying (as it will likely have a greater useful life) as the free "Lifetime Map Updates" might actually fit onboard (as compared to Garmin's definition which considers a GPS unit obsolete when their map downloads (which include updated points of interest) no longer fit on your GPS.)
I pretty much just use the GPS in my car (vs. using it in pedestrian mode also).
I'm wondering what thoughts and suggestions the folks on this forum might have?
omni
I've been happy with my Garmin nuvi 255W (US and Canada maps) that I've had for 5-6 years. I use it frequently, both around town and on long road trips in the U.S. and Canada. It's not perfect ["Recalculating...." LOL] but it sure beats trying to read a map while driving.
I never got the maps updated (at ~$100 it was a bit too expensive for my taste), and I've heard that the downloads are getting so large that you need to pick a portion of North America rather than having it all on your GPS at all times. So the maps and travel info are getting a bit out-of-date.
I've had an Android smartphone for 2 years and have been wondering if/when I'd be switching over to using the phone in lieu of using a GPS. On several recent 1000+ mile road trips, I've run the phone route map app in parallel with the GPS. I still prefer the GPS -- it seems to lock onto the satellite guidance system and give consistent route guidance whereas I've had spotty cell phone service along the routes which resulted in poor/no guidance from the phone in places. Plus 'ease of use' seems to favor the GPS.
GPS prices have dropped significantly since I bought my old GPS due to the competition from smart phones with apps (like Google maps, etc.).
I started researching new Garmins today and am a bit overwhelmed by the choices. I'm wondering if I should just buy a fairly basic low-end unit (~$120-150) and count on it becoming obsolete in a few years or buy a mid-range unit (~$150-200) with lifetime map updates and some useful features (lane assist, bluetooth, etc.)? Is a unit with an expandable memory card worth buying (as it will likely have a greater useful life) as the free "Lifetime Map Updates" might actually fit onboard (as compared to Garmin's definition which considers a GPS unit obsolete when their map downloads (which include updated points of interest) no longer fit on your GPS.)
I pretty much just use the GPS in my car (vs. using it in pedestrian mode also).
I'm wondering what thoughts and suggestions the folks on this forum might have?
omni