Sunday, November 11, 2007
Advice sought: What is the best navigation system?
I'm in the market for a navigation system that we can move from car to car. What's the best system out there? What's the best value?
Bestow your wisdom upon us.
UPDATE: The comments -- those that do not mock me -- and the emails virtually all suggest various models of the Garmin Nuvi
15 Comments:
By 
, at
Sun Nov 11, 04:50:00 PM:
Here are some reviews from ZDNET
http://reviews-search.zdnet.com/search?q=Perspective
You might want to read this first about 5 short comings of Portable Nav Devices
http://www.technoride.com/article/Five+Problems+with+Portable+Navigation+Devices/195338_1.aspx
Might be a little dated but good general pointers
By , at
Sun Nov 11, 04:55:00 PM:
Here is a site that specializes on just that type of product
http://portablenavigationdevices.com/
By , at
Sun Nov 11, 06:45:00 PM:
Oh, Tigerhawk, don't make me come to Princeton to smack you upside your head. Navigation system, s'matter, can't you read a map?? The human brain is a navigation system that should work equally well in the BMW or the Durango.
Just because they make a shiny toy does not mean you need a shiny toy. Pay attention and drive, you'll get where you are going.
By 
Purple Avenger, at
Sun Nov 11, 07:08:00 PM:
By TigerHawk, at
Sun Nov 11, 07:32:00 PM:
OK guys, I like paper maps as much as the next guy. I have lots of them. So quit, well, accusing me of being a non-map reading girl, or whatever the subtext is. But suburban New Jersey is a giant pain at the micro-level, and you can only keep so many maps in your car. So, no, I am not some can't-read-a-map girly man, but I think a good nav system might freaking help.
And the Durango is history.
By , at
Sun Nov 11, 07:55:00 PM:
Garmin Nuvi, hands down.
Quick start up, accurate maps. Very portable - I take it with me in rental cars. Fits in a small pocket.
Suzette
By , at
Sun Nov 11, 07:56:00 PM:
By , at
Sun Nov 11, 08:00:00 PM:
Poor mans custom mapping
Cover page of from/to directions from Mapquest
3 or 4 zoom levels of attachments of the maps showing the trip, each zoom level closer to the endpoint.
Staple together in sequence to keep dropping pages out when trying to consume Krispy Kremes and drive at same time.
By TigerHawk, at
Sun Nov 11, 08:08:00 PM:
I do that, too, when I'm organized enough to plan ahead.
By , at
Sun Nov 11, 08:11:00 PM:
Substitute Google Maps, especially cool if street level views of your turn points are available for attachments.
Either work well saved as files to your laptop or pda also.
By , at
Sun Nov 11, 08:16:00 PM:
I used to do a lot of unknown endpoint driving and tried some of the Nav devices and got place the trip nav would have been putting me 50 yards out into a lake or something.
Have hundreds of map/img sets saved to a 2 gig card to fit in my Treo 650 and a thumb drive for my laptop which snaps to my keychain when not in use in the laptop.
By , at
Sun Nov 11, 08:20:00 PM:
I have net unlimited access on my Treo 650 and a mapquest app setup so that if for any reason my trip changes after I leave the house it is easy to update a new map/img set at a rest stop.
By , at
Mon Nov 12, 12:09:00 AM:
With GPS its now harder to get lost where ever you go excpet maybe ALPHA CENTARI
By , at
Mon Nov 12, 03:16:00 PM:
Tom Tom One is a Consumer Reports best buy and can be had for under $250. There's now a 3rd edition of it that costs only slightly more. I believe it lacks text-to-speech capability, but that's typical in its price range. You can't go wrong with any Garmin and most Magellans too. GPS devices are very helpful - ignore the naysayers!
By , at
Tue Nov 13, 12:43:00 AM:
