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Auto GPS Navigation Thread
skippydumptruck
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Not that I imagine the demand for a navigation thread is high, but I spent an hour or so lost in the city last night and I'd like to buy a navigation unit for my car. My wife's last minute command to "TURN LEFT HERE" across 3 lanes of traffic is going to destroy our martial bliss, and only your help in selecting a navigation unit for our car can save us.
How much I should be looking to pay, which features are good and which are unnecessary, are they locked to certain regions or good all over the country, do they require any sort of subscription, that sort of thing.
So, if you share your knowledge with me, I'd personally appreciate it, and if there's any interest I'll compile that knowledge in this opening post for others to reference as well.
So, here's what I've learned this afternoon. Some GPS units:
1) have trouble in cities with tall buildings or areas with lots of trees because they can't get a signal from the satellite. One way to get around this is via "dead reckoning," a process I still don't really get that uses sensors on your car to give the GPS unit information about what direction you're headed when you lose satellite connection;
2) are car-only, others allow you to take them out and use them on foot. Personally, this sounds awesome as it would make navigating downtown easy (assuming the unit can find the satellite);
3) have bells and whistles like bluetooth, for hands-free calling when connected to your bluetooth cell phone, or DVD or MP3 playback;
4) charge you for map updates, or updates to the Points of Interest database;
5) have services (usually subscription-based) that update the unit with information on traffic jams, construction, and accidents, and route you around these slow-moving areas.
How much I should be looking to pay, which features are good and which are unnecessary, are they locked to certain regions or good all over the country, do they require any sort of subscription, that sort of thing.
So, if you share your knowledge with me, I'd personally appreciate it, and if there's any interest I'll compile that knowledge in this opening post for others to reference as well.
So, here's what I've learned this afternoon. Some GPS units:
1) have trouble in cities with tall buildings or areas with lots of trees because they can't get a signal from the satellite. One way to get around this is via "dead reckoning," a process I still don't really get that uses sensors on your car to give the GPS unit information about what direction you're headed when you lose satellite connection;
2) are car-only, others allow you to take them out and use them on foot. Personally, this sounds awesome as it would make navigating downtown easy (assuming the unit can find the satellite);
3) have bells and whistles like bluetooth, for hands-free calling when connected to your bluetooth cell phone, or DVD or MP3 playback;
4) charge you for map updates, or updates to the Points of Interest database;
5) have services (usually subscription-based) that update the unit with information on traffic jams, construction, and accidents, and route you around these slow-moving areas.
skippydumptruck on
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I'M A TWITTER SHITTER
Maybe get a Tom Tom unit.
After poking around, I'm leaning toward the Garmin Nuvi 350. Any opinions on this unit?
Without a doubt. As an add on, it's nice to get the little rubber dashboard feet thing instead of mounting it straight to your windshield because then its easier to switch it between cars and also when you hide it, then no one will know you have a GPS in your car because of a conspicuous mounting thing on your windshield and break in and steal it, so... yeah. Word.
That Nuvi thing looks badass. Like a small portable version of the StreetPilot ones...
I can at least vouch for Garmin's software being pretty damn awesome.