Navigation GPS Systems

Mr_Shiftright

Exactly. I need a cell phone and GPS pretty much on a survival level. If I don't return a call within 30 minutes, that client is gone, gone, gone. As for GPS, I have to go to the weirdest places sometimes...the boonies...and I really could waste a lot of time without GPS. Being prompt is also part of my biz.

fezo

Did I miss something and you have now landed somewhere?

stever

Getting closer. Maybe in another week or two. Maybe before Akangl buys another car, but maybe not. :shades:

stever

"The all-new patented PASSPORT iQ is the world's first and only driving accessory that integrates radar/laser detection and GPS navigation, and also provides important driving information, such as speed traps and speed limit data, in a single compact device."

Escort Announces Passport iQ Integrated Portable Nav And Radar Detector (Edmunds Daily)

Mr_Shiftright

I saw that advertised. Doesn't it also locate Red Light cameras and other nefarious devices?

I've jacked my Droid smartphone into the car's speaker system and that works great with the Droid NAV program. Bought a cup-holder cradle for it---it sits on a long stem, so I can see it pretty well while driving and I can hear it just fine now.

rsholland

'Bout time! What took 'em so long to develop this? Combining navigation and radar detection seems like a no-brainer to me.

The only down side is it's pricey, but that will come down once other competitors offer similar devices.

Also gotta wonder about using this in Virginia, District of Columbia, and any other areas that outlaws radar detectors?

Bob

stever

I wondered that too Bob. Military bases ban the use of radar detectors too.

In VA and DC, I think the practice now is to confiscate the device until you pay your fine or beat the ticket, and then you get it back. Not positive though - any idea if that's correct?

ateixeira

You get it back? You sure? I kind of doubt that, since detector use is illegal. VA puts a big sign that even says so just as you enter the state.

I had a POI database on one of my Garmins, but it just went off too often and got annoying, so I haven't done the same on my newer GPSs.

I don't habitually speed any more, so I think I'd be more bothered by the constant alarms going off.

Setting it to visual alerts only may be more tolerable, though.

stever

I got that tidbit from Wikipedia (which is why I asked for local knowledge, lol). Wiki says:

"Confiscation and/or destruction of the detector was once a common practice but lawsuits raised by drivers arguing violation of property rights have resulted in temporary removal while a citation is written, then return of the device after its description (make, model and serial number) has been entered on the ticket - usually for speeding and possession/operation of detector."

They may just be referring to out of state drivers caught in Virgina too?

ateixeira

I hadn't heard that, but I also haven't used a radar detector in a decade or more.

gagrice

Just spent two weeks exploring SW Indiana and NW Kentucky with the Roadmate. Finding obscure addresses I give it a "B". Keeping track of where we are and getting us back to main roads an "A+". POI for even common places like Shell gas stations and restaurants that have been around for years "D". Looking for real estate in very rural County road addresses it did very well. I know we could have gotten lost pretty easily without the GPS to find our way out. Being a 7 inch screen it is too big for the dashboard of a Honda Accord or my Nissan Frontier. My wife liked holding it in her lap and navigating. It seems to hold onto the signals very well even laying in her lap. Even inside a building it seems to pick up enough satellites to know where you are. The battery seems to have a very short life span.

Are they a great replacement for a AAA map. Not really. We like to check both. Though the GPS was more accurate on a couple occasions than the map. It does seem to be about 3 years behind on road construction. It was worth the money to have it.

gagrice

Mr_Shiftright

Well most GPS systems have strong warnings not to trust them.

imidazol97

> strong warnings not to trust them.

Then why buy them? We use them to get from one place to another in live time rather than a printed map be it from AAA or GoogleMaps.

Mr_Shiftright

I still don't have complete confidence in them. I use mine a lot but usually carry AAA maps along as well. Sometimes the route the GPS picks for you is totally lame, and I have on occasion been asked to turn down one-way streets or off a bridge. :P

gagrice

We like taking the roads less traveled on vacations. Most of the time the maps from AAA are just for main roads and larger cities. Both the NAV in our Sequoia and the Magellan have been able to get us back on the main back roads. They usually ID whatever road we are on. It was most useful looking for farms in the rural areas of Indiana and Kentucky. I am also noticing Google maps to be better than MS Bing maps that I depend on for real estate research. Bing has some nice tools that I don't find with Google maps. GPS has come along ways in a fairly short time. I am just late to the game. I don't use a Cell Phone much, so a netbook with 3G/4G would be great for my real estate research. When it is available. It was amazing how many places still do not have cell service in our travels.

kyfdx

.. are great for exploring... It's one thing to have a map, but if you aren't following it, as you go... then, it's sometimes hard to determine where you are... With the GPS, you punch in where you want to go, and it leads you out...

I'm a map guy, too, though.. With a GPS, it's hard to get the big picture if you take a detour, to see where it might be leading you.. It's always picking the shortest way back to the main route, when that might not be what you need..

imidazol97

A recent road trip to visit a friend near Lima (Ohio), supposed site of Glee, I used the GPS to get us to the home after my printed short best route on maps.google got me confused. The GPS, mapquest, and another one refused to take me cross country between Wapakoneta (Home of Kent Boyd from So You Think You Can Dance) and Delphos. There was a fairly straight route on main country roads but not highways. I like going cross country when there isn't a stop sign every mile at a crossroad; this route looked like it did that. So I used a premapped route from maps.google.com

On the other hand on the trip home, my GPS then took us through Lima on a backstreet, scenic lock-your-doors route instead of following the highway to get to I-75. We had been warned that the highway route was hard to follow and the signs could be overlooked, so I followed the GPS.

GPS's do have their good and bad points.

kyfdx

backstreet, scenic lock-your-doors route

That must be Sue Sylvester's neighborhood!

--------------------------------------

That's the best you could come up with for Wapakoneta? What about the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum? I think there is a Captain D's right off I-75, as well...

stever

"When it comes to finding my way, I've become a GPS zombie," says Snyder, a 47-year-old office manager in Highland Heights, Ohio."I'm sure I'm not doing my brain any favors."

GPS addict? It may be eroding your brain (MSNBC)

I've never paid much attention to landmarks while driving (and I frequently get lost). On foot or on a bike, I always know where I am. The speed of travel (and that insulating metal and glass) was always my excuse.

Seems like having someone else navigate helps you deal with traffic conditions better; one less thing to have to worry much about.

Mr_Shiftright

I use the GPS on my phone as a secondary reference. I'm really following the Google print-out maps. The phone is on MUTE and sits in a cradle. I can reference it easier than the map while driving, but I've already pretty much memorized the major route in my head.

I'll sometimes use the phone's voice/GPS on the *return* route, to get me back to a major highway where I know where I am, then I turn it off.

ateixeira

Finding obscure addresses I give it a "B". Keeping track of where we are and getting us back to main roads an "A+". POI for even common places like Shell gas stations and restaurants that have been around for years "D".

One thing I've found is that if you get the street address of any POI it almost always works better. I some times get them from my phone's Google search function and enter them that way.

I've complained for years that the McDonald's in Bridgeville, DE is not on the Garmin maps, and it's been there for decades.

Then again, maybe my Garmin doesn't like Big Macs.

gagrice

Then again, maybe my Garmin doesn't like Big Macs.

I think they are adverse to the Happy Meal

On our trip last year, I got routed to several Shell stations that were no longer there with the Sequoia NAV. This year the Shell station I used most of the time in Evansville Indiana was not in the Magellan NAV. It was in the 5 year old database in the Sequoia.

If they ever get a database that includes all of the above it would be worth a few bucks. Then again the new BMW NAV is tied to their equivalent of Onstar. They claim all live up to the date data with gas prices. The X5 diesel is on my short list if we sell the Sequoia. Anyone have experience with the 2011 Audi or Mercedes NAV units. My other two choices currently.

ateixeira

Gas stations change ownership like my wife changes hair styles - often.

The closest one to my house has gone through 4 different brand names. At least the POI database has it as a gas station, if not the right brand.

Garmin does have 4 updates per year, which beats the OEMs that tend to have an update less than once per year.

fintail

The otherwise excellent BMW nav couldn't find Tegel this morning, made getting to the airport on time a real blast.

stever

Hm, you went to the airport yesterday and the Seattle area is shut down by snow today. Not SeaTac though.

But maybe you were flying to the Canary Islands and not to the West Coast? :-)

Safe travels - hope you get "to your final destination" in a reasonable time!

fintail

Had a wonderfully bad trip home, total travel time about 48 hours - I was posting from YVR waiting for a replacement connection from one that was missed because of a delay from FRA and then canceled flights into SEA last night. Probably was nicer to be sitting in a hotel than stuck on a gridlocked road or departure hall anyway.

stever

Ugh, sounds awful. I have to drive 180 miles RT Saturday and there's 4" of freshies and more where I'm going. Would rather just stay home. Welcome back.

fintail

Actually now that I think about it, "only" a 36 hour trip...but still...I guess another plus is that with all the waiting and the forced overnight stay, I have no jetlag.

I have no plans to drive today, that's for sure...don't know if I'll even go in tomorrow. I loved where I was, but it is a relief to be home.

ateixeira

The otherwise excellent BMW nav couldn't find Tegel this morning

For some inexplicable reason the 535i I test drove could not find VOB BMW.

No big deal until you consider VOB was hosting the test drive event! LOL

Oddly enough the 550i GT did have the dealership, so may just be a map update. Though I doubt that's a brand new airport!

gagrice

Do you ever bring home a new car from Germany? Or look for a good buy on used?

On BMW NAV, the 2011 seems like worlds better than the 2010 I played with when I test drove the diesel X5.

fintail

European delivery programs could be fun, but I'd want the models we can't get here in the land of the lowest common denominator. One could buy a vintage car and ship it over, but old cars can be pricey there and shipping expenses will add another 3 grand or so.

The nav in my rental was excellent - including live updates about construction, but it somehow missed a road in an important (airport) area.

ateixeira

FWIW, back-to-back-to-back, a friend and I both prefered Benz' system in the new E-class. We drove the 535i, then an E350, then the 550i GT.

The Benz just had better contrast, despite the bigger screen in the Bimmer.

Both are worlds better than the older systems from even half decade ago.

fintail

The road it wanted me to take wasn't open, and it didn't want to suggest an alternate route. I went to gas up the car and asked for directions. I was only about 1km away by then, which made me feel dumb too.

The COMAND 2.0 in my normal car lacks street labels...that can make things fun

wamendt

Monitor system check indicates "White Raster" failure
No info in 2002 shop manual about furthur troubleshooting. Does it mean the screen is bad and monitor needs replacing?
All other checks RGB UNIT etc ok
Anybody know anywhere to get monitor repaired?

stever

Currently $99.99 at Amazon with free shipping, no lane assist.

steve_, "Auto Parts Bargains and Coupons" #417, 23 Nov 2010 6:48 pm

gagrice

My guess is a brand new system would cost less than Honda replacement unit. And much more advanced. Many aftermarket units are better than the best OEMs.

The monitor alone for a Prius NAV is about $600-$1000 depending on the dealer.

ateixeira

The catch is you might lose things like the steering wheel controls. It may be complicated to get an aftermarket head unit to work with all the OE stuff.

You may want to try a junk yard for a wrecked MDX and get a used Navi unit out of one of those.

markoss

where can i get a resonabily priced stereo/gps/nav to put into my 2005 boxster s ? it seems everywhere it's $1500 or more. that's crazy to me. thanks

ateixeira

You think?

Look at the cost of the factory stuff. Navi is at least $1800 stand-alone, and remember, that's the cost to upgrade from the factory stereo, so it's $1800 on top of the cost of the base stereo.

I actually have a 2005 Buyer's Guide, for kicks let me look it up...

Get ready to choke - $2,680 for Porsche's factory Navi, add another $715 for a 6CD changer if the one you're shopping has that as well. The premium Bose stereo was another $1,625.

So if you wanted Bose with 6CD and Navi (assuming you could combine all 3 of those), you would have coughed up a little over $5 grand.

Yikes. Makes $1500 seem cheap, though.

Feel better?

kyfdx

Garmin Nuvi 265WT

Available at Staples for $119.99

4.3" widescreen with text-to-speech

If you get the Staples ad in your Sunday paper, there appears to be a $10 coupon that is good for in-store purchases, and would be applicable to the Garmin, as well...

This is basically similar to the same unit that I received for a gift in Summer of '08, that then went for $300.

kyfdx

Best Buy has the 255WT, which also has TTS for $79.99!!

kyfdx

This was too good to pass up.. My local Best Buy had a couple dozen on hand, at least... Merry Christmas to me!

Since mine is in the wife's car, every time I need it, anyway..

stever

I'm sort of looking for a new one. FatWallet's deal today is a TomTom XL 340M 4.3 with lifetime maps for $84.99 and free shipping at Amazon.

Mostly what I'm getting is more and more confused though....

kyfdx

My first time, I was intent on a 4.3" widescreen and TTS..

I've since found that TTS is overly intrusive, and only use when I'm in an urban area, and need to concentrate completely on the driving part of things...

From looking at all of them, I preferred the graphics and user-interface of Garmin the best, so I don't really shop the other brands...

I will say that it's hard to go wrong with the deal from Best Buy, but I have no idea what shipping, etc. will add to the price, if you buy on-line.. I went to the store.. The T in the 255WT has something to do with traffic... My current model doesn't have that...

stever

Seeing as how the nearest Best Buy is probably a day's drive for me, I suspect that I don't really need the traffic option. I'm not exactly in an area teeming with 4 lanes and red lights, lol.

And the "lifetime" stuff irritates me a bit since it's usually the lifetime of the product, and the manufacturer determines that. The only Garmins I've played with are those E-Trek devices.

The smaller form factors are good for my dashboard and easier to pack for traveling (although the suction cup mounts can be a pain to haul around). But maybe the bigger 4.3 screen could let me look at the map without using TTS. That said, I really like the TTS function in my current nav gizmo.

Good price btw.

kyfdx

Yeah.. no idea how the traffic thing really works... I just wanted one similar to what I have... You can turn the TTS off, thank goodness..

Lifetime map updates would be useful.. Mine doesn't have that.. Doubt I'll ever pay for an upgrade, if I can just buy another one for $80!! lol..

stever

I have made good use of the mute button, lol.

I don't get paying a couple of hundred bucks just for an updated map DVD for an in-dash system.

Mr_Shiftright

That's why I use the Google NAV on the Droid smartphone. You get updates free.

ateixeira

This is exciting news, this Nextar model has a backup cam built-in.

Installation seems fairly simple, but you do have to splice in to the backup lights near the license plate. The signal is wireless, though, and the GPS switches to it automatically when it senses the signal.

Here's a review with details:

http://gps.about.com/od/incarportablegp1/fr/nextar_review.htm

The catch? I'd much rather see a Garmin with this feature, or at least a Tom Tom. Also, I'm used to the 5" screen now and would rather keep that huge screen.

If Garmin came out with a backup cam option for the 5" screens, I would buy not one but TWO of these on the first day!

I wrote them a letter, if you feel the same way it's product.support at garmin dot com.