Posted on 03/25/2015 10:18:15 PM PDT by EinNYC
I have a Garmin GPS in my car, about 3 years old. I think it's the 1490MT. It has led me to wrong places. It has not told me to turn until it's too late. It gives me a great deal of trouble trying to find a business. It will list a bunch of the stores of a chain except the one I want, for example. I recently updated it on my computer, so that's not the problem. I am just totally fed up with this thing and want to first smash it with a hammer and then scatter the resulting pieces all over the highway.
Are there better models of Garmin out there, or TomTom (with which I have NO experience)?
Yeah. My iPhone is excellent.
Before that, my Android phone had GPS capability that was just as good as my old Magellen unit, except that the Google map that the phones use is more up-to-date than the Magellen, and they wanted $85 to download an update to the unit.
I think the stand-alone GPS units are on their way out.
I do not have a smart phone. So, I wanted to have a standalone GPS in my car.
Sorry I can’t help you. I own 2 Garmins, have lifetime updates for both and have been very satisfied with both. 1390 and a 2455.
I-phone or android with Waze app.
You want him to give up his car?
Please see post #4.
I’ve had a Garmin for about 8 years. No problems, other than the map is old because I refuse to pay the $80 for an update.
I had a TomTom, and I will never buy one again. The touch screen would not work if it was at all warm, I had to hold it in front of the AC vent for a long time to get it cool enough to work. About a year after I bought it, it quit working all together.
So given your experience, it looks like a gamble either way with those brands.
I use my Android (work) or iPhone (personal). They both are excellent. Voice recognition for inputting addresses just cannot be beat.
And you should ALWAYS know how to get to and from your destination. Even if it's somewhat vague. Geography should be second nature. It's hard-wired in the male brain, actually. Don't eschew it. Embrace it.
Throw the GPS away. Deep inside, you know you don't need it.
If you're a woman, however, ignore this. You shouldn't be driving...
If you’re a woman, however, ignore this. You shouldn’t be driving...
Nice
I like my Garmin. I occasionally have problems similar to the ones cited, but overall, the Garmin GPS is a boon and much preferable to Mapquest, foldout maps (do they still make those?), or a map atlas.
As I have mentioned, I don’t have a smartphone. So I can’t use your probably excellent solutions. I just want to keep a GPS in the glove compartment and connect it when I have to find my way to an unfamiliar place, or find a better route to somewhere I’m going. I’m just so fed up with my current Garmin, with it wasting considerable amounts of my time refusing to find a location unless I have an exact address to type in, it often won’t even list the intersection where a store or something is located, and not telling me to turn until I’m right on the corner to turn, making me miss the turn sometimes. Only to hear that odious “Recalculating” warning.
The few times I use my Garmin, it is acceptable.
My main issue is it has trouble routing me via major roads. It tries to route me via shortcuts, even though I have set it for minimum time.
I need an update also. Is there a cost associated with update?
Wrong premise.
Well, a flycatcher IS a type of bird. Perfect to be spewing such a bird-brained remark.
As it happens, I have an excellent map sense. However, in an urban environment, and having to frequently find unfamiliar locations, it is essential to have a GPS which works well. Much safer also, with not having to divert one's attention to look at maps.
The crew for the first Mars landing will be all female.
They figure women drivers cam hit anything.
My Garmin and other brand trail units are far more reliable than my Android 4.1 phone with GPS app. The dedicated units simply always work. It is not uncommon for the phone to lock up a few minutes after enabling GPS. Sure, this could conceivably be fixed with software or a different phone model, but these issues are moot for the dedicated GPS units which never fail. While in tricky terrain I am not willing to even depend on the phone as a backup. Instead, I take a real old dedicated unit. BTW, I use free open-source maps on the Garmin. These tend to be updated every couple of months. Same maps can be used on the phone, for that matter.
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