GPS advice... or smart phone?

S

Stuck_At_Work

1,000+ Posts
My wife is relocating to the outskirts of DC. I'll follow as soon as I can find the right career opportunity up there. In the short term, we'll be living apart. She isn't the best with directions, so I want to get her some sort of portable GPS device. Any recommendations? Would I be better off getting her a smart phone?
 
I have an iphone, but I find that our Garmin does a better job. It loads faster and is easier to read.

Just my opinion.
 
The phones are not as reliable, especially the ones that use tower triangulation instead of real GPS. It would also be less distracting (safer) to have one made for the car, instead of a phone you have to hold.

Buy her a map too.
 
Definitely don't get a smartphone that uses tower triangulation. Only get one that offers real GPS. I have a Sprint Mogul and the GPS works great (less than 10 meters).

It comes with a program from Sprint that does turn by turn directions or you can use it within google maps which is how I do it.

I have mine through work so I have no idea how much it will cost you.
 
Smart phones with GPS can get the job done but its hard to compete with a GPS device. but my iPhone has more up to date store, restaurant info because its just pulling the latest from google.
 
Texas Wahoo,
Do you know if any of the other brands have more success in the DC area? I can't imagine it is a national security issue for people to have good GPS service.
 
Make sure you get a GPS with Text to Speech capability. "Turn right in 250 yards" is nowhere near as clear as "turn righ in 250 yards on Alexandria Street." The extra $50 or so for Text to Speech is well worth the extra expense.
 
Check out the Garmin 255W. Should be available for ~$200. Outstanding GPS for the money and much better than any GPS integrated with a smartphone. Smartphone GPS is fine in a pinch, but not for serious navigation.
 
My blackberry curve works great. It's all the same technology. Maybe a Garmin would have more bells and whistles, but to get from point A to B the Blackberry is really good. I've used GPS as a pilot since it was first introduced.
 
Accuracy of location is not the issue. Those that use true GPS (i.e. not tower triangulation) use similar receiver technology and they're all more than adequate for street navigation. The difference is in the user interface, speed of remapping, text-to-speech capability, display size and visibility on the road, etc. Also, to my knowledge some carriers charge a monthly fee for GPS service. Mine charges $10/month. In less than two years it's cheaper to own a Garmin 255W and it will provide a better user experience. Can you get by with GPS integrated into a cell phone? Sure, but I haven't seen any that are as good as one of the better dedicated devices.
 
I have a Garmin and an iPhone and I never use the Garmin anymore. The iPhone also works well with navigation on foot. Another thing, your wife would have to be careful not to leave the GPS in the car, especially not in view. It's a great way to get your car broken into. This happened to me, and I am 90% certain that if my Garmin wasn't in there, they would have moved on to someone else's car instead of smashing in my windows and taking all my stuff
mad.gif
 
Certainly the iPhone is a fantastic device, but I haven't seen a GPS app that does text-to-speech. In my experience this is a very important feature to keep the driver's eyes on the road and to help eliminate ambiguity in spoken directions. Does your Garmin have this feature and do you find that you miss it with the iPhone?
 
My Sprint does text to voice turn by turn. And utilizes the same maps that Garmin does (NAVTEQ). Yes, you pay $10/month but only need to carry and worry about one device.
 
I have both a Garmin Nuvi 350 (bought on eBay for ~ $135) and the iPhone. Go for the Nuvi.

I don't use text-to-speech but my wife does. It's much more accurate than the iPhone and quick in picking up the sats (I can even pick up satellites when sitting in the garage). iPhone does not do any automatic re-routing.

Agree that you have to go to the extra trouble of hiding the GPS mount when parked, for if left visible you are effectively putting a sign on your windshield saying, "Two $100 bills are in this car." We either put a ball cap on top of the bean-bag mount or unplug the power source and place the mount on the floor board.
 
Garmin makes a lot of models and oddly still makes older units that have been essentially replaced by more recent designs. The last time I checked (Nov), model numbers that end in "5" are their most recent platform with improved performance and user interface. This may not be universally true, so do some homework if you decide on a Garmin. The 255W seems to be a pretty good sweet spot with the best features without the burden of useless extra features (at least for most users).
 
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