GPS Devices

"singlemalt" wrote in message
m...

wrote in message
...
On Thu, 5 Nov 2009 10:40:36 -0600, "singlemalt"
wrote:

Recently, during a car trip in France my son stated that on the next car
trip he was going to take a portable GPS device. I was thinking about
getting him one for Christmas but am a complete dunce about this sort of
thing. I would be interested in any information, experiences, etc
regarding
such you may have to offer. Not only which product but what about the
software, ease of use, etc. Any help appreciated. TIA, J.

A TomTom is a good one.You can reach them via www.tomtom.com
Ton

Thanks, btw I failed to mention that I live in the US.


There are US and Canadian maps available for TomTom
I have used mine in both countries.

The TomTom has in my opinion a better user interface than Garmin
and its map sets were much cheaper when I bought mine

Keith

Keith Willshaw wrote:
"singlemalt" wrote in message
m...

wrote in message
...
On Thu, 5 Nov 2009 10:40:36 -0600, "singlemalt"
wrote:

Recently, during a car trip in France my son stated that on the
next car trip he was going to take a portable GPS device. I was
thinking about getting him one for Christmas but am a complete
dunce about this sort of thing. I would be interested in any
information, experiences, etc regarding
such you may have to offer. Not only which product but what about
the software, ease of use, etc. Any help appreciated. TIA, J.

A TomTom is a good one.You can reach them via www.tomtom.com
Ton

Thanks, btw I failed to mention that I live in the US.


There are US and Canadian maps available for TomTom
I have used mine in both countries.

The TomTom has in my opinion a better user interface than Garmin
and its map sets were much cheaper when I bought mine

Keith

The OP needs to learn more about his son's particular needs, and the
features available to him in his vehicle. For instance, some units have a
bluetooth feature, but that will only work if the vehicle has a bluetooth
unit. Others use FM to go thru the car speaker system, and still others
have tinny little speakers built in. My son chose Garmin units for his
delivery business, because he can program the unit to only use routes that
are legal for trucks, and they also announce clearances for upcoming
overpasses. I believe most units come with a map of the US at least, some
with the US and Canada, and others include Mexico as well. Foreign maps are
optional, and availability is iffy in South America, Africa, the Middle East
and Central Asia.

One thing is a given, and that is the fact that built-in NAV systems in new
cars are outrageously priced A mid-price $150 portable will probably do
twice what the built-in unit will do, unless you subscribe to all the
options, which invoke hefty monthly fees. And if you can't use your own
car, you can still take the portable unit with you.

On Thu, 5 Nov 2009 12:43:34 -0600, "singlemalt" wrote:

A TomTom is a good one.You can reach them via www.tomtom.com

Thanks, btw I failed to mention that I live in the US.

TomTom sells a couple of models that include maps of both North America and
Europe. I've used my GO 730 to travel all over western Europe.

-- Larry

"K" schrieb

One thing is a given, and that is the fact that built-in NAV systems
in new cars are outrageously priced

That will soon be a thing of the past, with Google's navigation
feature in their Android OS around the corner, for free.
I wouldn't invest in a GPS system at the moment, because I'm
not sure if those companies will even stay on the market at all,
to supply map updates in the future.

Jochen

"K" wrote in message
...


Keith Willshaw wrote:
"singlemalt" wrote in message
m...

wrote in message
...
On Thu, 5 Nov 2009 10:40:36 -0600, "singlemalt"
wrote:

Recently, during a car trip in France my son stated that on the
next car trip he was going to take a portable GPS device. I was
thinking about getting him one for Christmas but am a complete
dunce about this sort of thing. I would be interested in any
information, experiences, etc regarding
such you may have to offer. Not only which product but what about
the software, ease of use, etc. Any help appreciated. TIA, J.

A TomTom is a good one.You can reach them via www.tomtom.com
Ton

Thanks, btw I failed to mention that I live in the US.


There are US and Canadian maps available for TomTom
I have used mine in both countries.

The TomTom has in my opinion a better user interface than Garmin
and its map sets were much cheaper when I bought mine

Keith

The OP needs to learn more about his son's particular needs, and the
features available to him in his vehicle. For instance, some units have a
bluetooth feature, but that will only work if the vehicle has a bluetooth
unit.

Incorrect. My GPS has bluetooth which I use to connect to my
bluetooth enabled phone to retrieve traffic information and it acts
as a hands free unit.

Keith

"singlemalt" wrote in message
m...
Recently, during a car trip in France my son stated that on the next car
trip he was going to take a portable GPS device. I was thinking about
getting him one for Christmas but am a complete dunce about this sort of
thing. I would be interested in any information, experiences, etc
regarding such you may have to offer. Not only which product but what
about the software, ease of use, etc. Any help appreciated. TIA, J.

Try posting to these groups
alt.satellite.gps
alt.satellite.gps.garmin
And for as much information as you can handle:
http://home.comcast.net/~ghayman3/garmin.gps/index.html
MLD

Keith Willshaw wrote:
"K" wrote in message
...


Keith Willshaw wrote:
"singlemalt" wrote in message
m...

wrote in message
...
On Thu, 5 Nov 2009 10:40:36 -0600, "singlemalt"
wrote:

Recently, during a car trip in France my son stated that on the
next car trip he was going to take a portable GPS device. I was
thinking about getting him one for Christmas but am a complete
dunce about this sort of thing. I would be interested in any
information, experiences, etc regarding
such you may have to offer. Not only which product but what about
the software, ease of use, etc. Any help appreciated. TIA, J.

A TomTom is a good one.You can reach them via www.tomtom.com
Ton

Thanks, btw I failed to mention that I live in the US.


There are US and Canadian maps available for TomTom
I have used mine in both countries.

The TomTom has in my opinion a better user interface than Garmin
and its map sets were much cheaper when I bought mine

Keith

The OP needs to learn more about his son's particular needs, and the
features available to him in his vehicle. For instance, some units
have a bluetooth feature, but that will only work if the vehicle has
a bluetooth unit.

Incorrect. My GPS has bluetooth which I use to connect to my
bluetooth enabled phone to retrieve traffic information and it acts
as a hands free unit.

Keith

If you have your phone with you, then in effect your car is partially
bluetooth enabled. Does it let you use car radio for the spoken
instrtuctions?

"K" wrote in message
...


Incorrect. My GPS has bluetooth which I use to connect to my
bluetooth enabled phone to retrieve traffic information and it acts
as a hands free unit.

Keith

If you have your phone with you, then in effect your car is partially
bluetooth enabled.

My car has no bluetooth devices. You could use the GPS/Phone
combo in ANY vehicle including a horse and buggy

Does it let you use car radio for the spoken instrtuctions?

No it has its own speaker

Keith

Keith Willshaw wrote:
"K" wrote in message
...


Incorrect. My GPS has bluetooth which I use to connect to my
bluetooth enabled phone to retrieve traffic information and it acts
as a hands free unit.

Keith

If you have your phone with you, then in effect your car is partially
bluetooth enabled.

My car has no bluetooth devices. You could use the GPS/Phone
combo in ANY vehicle including a horse and buggy

Does it let you use car radio for the spoken instrtuctions?

No it has its own speaker

Keith

My point was this: If you have your bluetooth phone in a canoe or
golf-cart, then your canoe or golf cart are effectively bluetooth enabled
while your phone is in them. The interface in a bluetooth-equipped car is
different because you can actually hear the gps instructions through the
radio, and it's the car that gets all the optional updates. You can also
use your phone legally, because it becomes hands-free in a bluetooth
equipped car.

"K" wrote in message
...


Keith Willshaw wrote:
"K" wrote in message
...


Incorrect. My GPS has bluetooth which I use to connect to my
bluetooth enabled phone to retrieve traffic information and it acts
as a hands free unit.

Keith

If you have your phone with you, then in effect your car is partially
bluetooth enabled.

My car has no bluetooth devices. You could use the GPS/Phone
combo in ANY vehicle including a horse and buggy

Does it let you use car radio for the spoken instrtuctions?

No it has its own speaker

Keith

My point was this: If you have your bluetooth phone in a canoe or
golf-cart, then your canoe or golf cart are effectively bluetooth enabled
while your phone is in them.

The OP's statement was that you needed a blue tooth equipped car.

The interface in a bluetooth-equipped car is
different because you can actually hear the gps instructions through the
radio, and it's the car that gets all the optional updates. You can also
use your phone legally, because it becomes hands-free in a bluetooth
equipped car.

My TomTom acts as a hands free unit for the phone

Keith