At the start of the month, I asked for opinions on GPS units for Mrs. G.'s Christmas present. I'm happy to report that I actually listened to the advice I was given (hey, there's a first time for everything, right?!) and wound up getting a Garmin Nüvi 260W. It has the 4.3" touchscreen and announces street names, which were two of the more common suggestions for GPS units that were left in comments on that request.
Well, I used the Nüvi 260W to find my way to Martha's Saturday night, and it worked flawlessly. Delivered me right to the bar, even pointed me to the sidestreet where parking was located. The instructions are clear, the screen is large enough to be legible but still relatively unobtrusive (I mount it at the top of the windshield next to the rear view mirror).
It made finding an unknown location an absolutely breeze.
Folks, this is - for me - bordering on life-changing. I hate getting lost, and I have about the world's worst sense of direction (ask weer'd beard...) The Nüvi 260W allows me to plug in an address, follow the instructions, and have full confidence that I'll be able to find the location with minimal hindrances. No more wondering just what Google maps has forgotten to mention; no more frantic glances at crumpled printouts as the alleged location draws near. All I need to do is listen for the dulcet tones of the GPS lady to guide me to my destination...
Heck, I might even try driving into Boston again - and that's saying something!
There is one drawback to the GPS, though. With easier navigation in my future, the "Road Rage" posts might start to dwindle a bit. [thinking] No, strike that. The GPS only helps with directions, not at avoiding idiots. The person that adds features like "Avoid tailgater" or "Grandma in Buick" to a GPS unit will make a bloody fortune...
That is all.
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The Nüvi 260W allows me to plug in an address, follow the instructions, and have full confidence that I'll be able to find the location with minimal hindrances.
Wanna bet? :-)
90% confidence, yes. 95% ... well, most of the time. But 100% confidence? Nope, never happen. No matter the brand, it's only as good as its streets database. A lot of things can confuse it. That's why I try to have at least three sets of directions:
1) my GPS
2) as suggested by Microsloth Streets & Trips
3) as suggested by the destination itself.
Given a choice, I trust #3 before I trust either of the first two. You gotta figure that the hotel/restaurant/whatever is gonna have its directions right -- after all, their income depends on it.
Jay- I've gotta agree with Wolfwalker... seen people get lost as a goose with GPS, for the reasons he mentions... Enjoy but treat ALL suggestions with a grain (or 5 lb bag)of salt :-)
wolkwalker,
That's funny. I printed out Google maps directions as well as the directions from Martha's website to have with me...
Old NFO,
You and wolfwalker are, of course, absolutely correct. No technology is infallible, especially that which depends on human input...
I'll continue to have back-up directions, of course. But with the GPS I am a LOT more confident about my chances of arriving at my destination with minimal hassle...
I got the same GPS for Christmas. I think my wife will probably use it more than I will...
It can be quite fun, in a geeky kind of way, to compare my GPS's suggested routing to Streets & Trips's suggested routing. (Or Googlemaps, or Mapquest, or whatever other mapping program you use) They differ more often than you might think, and sometimes there's no apparent reason for the difference. Also sometimes when I travel from point A to point B, then return to point A, the GPS picks a different route for the return trip than it did for the trip out. Yes, very entertaining indeed.
I prefer Streets and Trips in many ways to my GPS. The problem being that I need to have it loaded on a laptop to work, with all the attendant pain in the butt stuff that using a laptop in a vehicle entails.
That being said, I recently bought an Acer Aspire One, which is the bomb for mobile use. With S&T loaded, it becomes a super GPS. The only problem being mounting it, but I ordered a mount which should work.
And I can do computer stuff with it as well.
I've found Map Quest to be worse than useless as it often gives incorrect directions. I haven't used Google Maps, so I can't comment.
I've found that Garmin at least doesn't know a lot of the short cuts, but that's no surprising.
Just about any solution works better than asking someone by the side of the road!
Back in the olden days when we would drive into Boston (not knowing any better then) I noticed that we never managed to exfiltrate the same way. But as long as we were heading West I knew we were making progress, and something familiar would turn up.
Ritchie in the Rockies
[quote] The person that adds features like "Avoid tailgater" or "Grandma in Buick" to a GPS unit will make a bloody fortune...
[/quote]
Added feature:
"Avoid Bastard Bear running speed trap under bridge"
Yeah, I'd easily pay 150 bones for that upgrade, considering that's what its costing me for the ticket I got on the way to the Indy Blogmeet....
D'OH!!!
Sorry to hear that, Heath...
That's perfectly good ammo money right there. Ouch!
There are two problems I am seeing with my Garmin...
1) Some map updates take well over a year from the time the change happens in the real world and then you have to pay for the update to the software.
2) Sometimes the shortest routes take you right through the middle of crack town. This can be a bit harrowing in a city you arent familiar with.
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