I want to be able to go places I've never been while I'm driving alone in the car. I've had more than a decade of always having a navigator. I'm not getting a new car and mine is so old that there's no spot for it to be built-in. So I'm debating between a stand-alone car GPS and the phone version.
The cons for the phone version are the limited functionality, and I'd need a new phone.
The cons for the stand alone version are the hundreds of dollars for a mono-purpose device that increases the risk your car will be stolen so it requires awkwardly moving it into and out of place every time.
There's a lot of detailed decisions to be made about the stand-alone GPSs too, competing brands have different features and it's often hard to tell which things are going to be deal breakers. Garmin supposedly gives lifetime map updates by putting ads on the screen. TomTom supposedly has screens that are unreadable in sunlight. TomTom does read street names, according to an experience in a friend's car, but Garmin acquires satellite links a lot faster.
I've picked out a model I think I might like, it's the forthcoming TomTom 6" screen model. But I'm wondering why I think it's worth $230 and the lack of privacy just not to have to plan ahead. Then I remember coming home after dark from somewhere I'd never been before, where I'd only printed the TO directions and my phone had gone flat. AAA promises roadside assistance but you can't call them and say "I can't get home from here because I'm lost." And doubly so when you don't have a phone. It worked out but I was left feeling that I probably shouldn't go to new places.
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Date: 2012-05-19 04:02 am (UTC)The cons for the phone version are the limited functionality, and I'd need a new phone.
The cons for the stand alone version are the hundreds of dollars for a mono-purpose device that increases the risk your car will be stolen so it requires awkwardly moving it into and out of place every time.
There's a lot of detailed decisions to be made about the stand-alone GPSs too, competing brands have different features and it's often hard to tell which things are going to be deal breakers. Garmin supposedly gives lifetime map updates by putting ads on the screen. TomTom supposedly has screens that are unreadable in sunlight. TomTom does read street names, according to an experience in a friend's car, but Garmin acquires satellite links a lot faster.
I've picked out a model I think I might like, it's the forthcoming TomTom 6" screen model. But I'm wondering why I think it's worth $230 and the lack of privacy just not to have to plan ahead. Then I remember coming home after dark from somewhere I'd never been before, where I'd only printed the TO directions and my phone had gone flat. AAA promises roadside assistance but you can't call them and say "I can't get home from here because I'm lost." And doubly so when you don't have a phone. It worked out but I was left feeling that I probably shouldn't go to new places.