<p>GPS must have:</p>
<p>TTS (Text To Speech) It talks to you, giving you warning when a turn is coming up and tells you when to turn. Example: “In one quarter mile turn left on Spencer Ave” then “Turn left on Spencer Ave.” When driving you need to keep your eyes on the road. Staring at a small screen and not at the road is dangerous.</p>
<p>A good unit with current maps can be had for $120 to $150</p>
<p>This seems really interesting. Does anyone have any other suggestions? I am a beginning driver, so ease of use is important.</p>
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<p>Other suggestions… don’t worry about any electronics. Worry about the road!</p>
<p>I picked up a Garmin Nuvi 255W for myself, liked it so much that I went back and picked up 3 more for the rest of my family. Got the kit with the the “stand” that sits on the dashboard ledge which works great and makes storing the unit in the glove compartment a snap. Also purchased lifetime map updates from Garmin which entitles me to up date the map online a few times a year. Was an extra $100 for the update subscription but over time is relatively cheap.</p>
<p>How important is it to have an undated model? D is driving later this summer from Florida to Indiana. She would feel more comfortable having a GPS in the car. We have an older GPS that my H got as a gift about 4 yrs ago. I think it is a Magellan. We never used it much. We know our way around town and we only have 1 highway that goes up or down the state so never got in the habit of using it. I think we used it once on an out of town vacation. Just checked it is a Magellan Maestro 4040.</p>
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<p>It’s more important to have an updated map. But 4 years is really pushing it as far as maps go and considering the cost of map updates (which your old unit may not have sufficient memory to accept) it may be more cost effective to buy a new unit.</p>
<p>mom60,</p>
<p>As you know, the GPS is more useful in an area that one isn’t familiar with and where one might have a good chance of getting lost. I’ve found that if one s driving freeways, even across country, the GPS really isn’t all that helpful since the route’s usually pretty straightforward. If one plans to use a GPS, major long distance routes of freeways and major highways don’t usually change very often so even a 4 y/o GPS unit with old maps would likely be fine. It’s when one wants to use it to navigate within a city with new subdivisions, etc. that it’s the most useful. It does provide some value on the long hauls by indicating where gas stations, restaurants, etc. are located but it’s really not that hard to find those without a GPS.</p>
<p>We just researched this and bought a new one. We love it and it hasn’t disappointed us. It is the Garmin Nuvi 765T. We paid $225 from Best Buy. We had it shipped. It is similarily priced at Amazon. When we got it there was a single pixel that was fried on the screen. A call to Best Buy and a new one was shipped overnight w/ a postage pd return label for the first one. Couldn’t have been easier.
One of the features that we really like on this one is the bluetooth for the celphones. We are near an area that has a hands free law. If you go from one state to the other, you need to be on hands free. It’s safer and works very well. I will be buying a second one for S2s car in the summer. Consumer Reports rates it a ‘Best Buy’.</p>
<p>Mom60-I would say with constant construction, new roads and traffic patterns, 4yrs is too old. We have a factory installed GPS in one of the cars that is about that old. ‘Lois’ gets us lost constantly. Granted we live an a pretty cramped area that has construction going on a good 360 day/yr, but for a trip like that, an updated GPS is best. That’s a lot of miles to go off grid, into an area that the old maps can’t handle. Then the GPS will recalculate and get you really lost!</p>
<p>I am bumping this thread–have begun to think of Christmas gift for spouse. Anyone have other comments? Will be shopping around over the next couple of weeks in hopes of some good buys. Looks like Garmin might be the best brand.</p>
<p>Updates/more Comments, anyone?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Garmins are by far the easiest to use and my favorite of allt he companies I have used.</p>
<p>I have the Nuvi 255WT - which is currently 169 at best buy. It has built in traffic updates, for free. They have a great deal right now on the 255W for only 89 bucks, which is practically a steal for that one. I think the only thing difference between them is the traffic updates.</p>
<p>I paid about $100 for a garmin nuvi off of amazon and am very pleased. I have this issue where no matter where I am, even if I am just a block away from home, I often look around and can’t recognize where I am-- so I REALLY needed a good GPS to help me get around. The model I have has an emergency “where am i?” thing where it will give you your lat and long coordinates, closest intersection, and directions to the nearest police, fire station, hospital, etc. I also like it because it’s easy to take down from the car mount and walk around with when you’re on foot, or throw it in your purse so it doesn’t get stolen. I wouldn’t leave home without it!</p>
<p>Is there such a thing as a programmable GPS? In rural areas of NH our Garmin always directs us to the Interstates even when clearly the state roads are a better route. The GPS ap on my droid allows one to search for and choose among alternate routes. Any dedicated GPS with a similar function?</p>
<p>For my garmin, you can tell it to avoid highways, toll roads, etc. I have it set to avoid highways because I don’t drive on them almost ever. Otherwise I don’t think I can control what route it takes, which I think is a real flaw. I am a really particular driver and refuse to drive on some roads, so what I usually end up doing is just keep driving and let it recalculate until it gives me something I want, which isn’t super practical.</p>
<p>On a garmin, you can set it to avoid interstates, toll roads, etc. Also, if you don’t like the route it is taking you can click “detour” which will find you a new route to go.</p>
<p>I just downloaded LifeInPocket for free onto my Blackberry and it has a navigation app that also says the turns out loud. I am going to try it for a while to see how it goes. Anyone tried one of the apps instead of a standalone GPS?</p>
<p>My sister has a GPS on her Droid and she likes it… She’s getting some kind of mount for it so she can put it in her windshield.</p>
<p>We gave DS a Megellan a couple of years ago. To be honest, I loved using it. I need one for myself and I’ll look at Megellan and Garmin. We got the Magellan on sale at Staples so that is another spot to look for GPS deals.</p>
<p>I got a TomTom at Target.com a couple of weeks ago–$149.99 on sale for $69. I’m saving it for a gift, so I can’t review it for you–but it got good reviews from previous buyers. If you watch the sales, etc. there will surely good buys out there between now and Christmas.</p>
<p>I bought a bottom of the line Garmin at Best Buy a couple of years ago and love it. The only feature I wish it had was to announce the street names. It shows the names on the display but will only say “turn right” etc.</p>