Buying a car GPS unit

[ranchlandsselling]

They seem to range from $90 - $600 with the average around $150. I was happy buying a garmin for $130 - 140.
Was looking at these two:

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/...726e921497en02

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/...9992e69428en02

But then saw this one that included bluetooth, but doesn't seem to have much else other than a different software and lifetime traffic updates.
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/...6f98564e9ben02

Anyone have experience with the Bluetooth on these, is it worth the extra money?

[ranchlandsselling]

and then there's these from Costco for $199 and $209

http://www.costco.ca/Garmin%c2%ae-n%...100043390.html

http://www.costco.ca/Garmin%c2%ae-n%...100043368.html

[Madman]

I just bought a new TomTom unit to replace our several year old one which was way out of date.

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B007PPYXOC

The big reasoning for buying a whole new one as opposed to simply updating the data was the new TomTom comes with free lifetime map updates. That is a huge benefit to me as opposed to buying something else and calculating a potential $80/year map upgrade service.

I prefer TomTom data and interface as well.

[ranchlandsselling]

Went with this one prior to getting any responses
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/...6f98564e9ben02

Bluetooth seemed good sitting at home testing it out. In the car on the dash with the heating on driving to work I couldn't hear it. Also no separate settings for volume between the GPS unit and the phone. So having the GPS unit on quiet meant you needed to crank to try out the phone feature, which meant the voice and beeping then was obnoxiously loud. I've only tried the map/traffic to and from work.

I usually take another route home avoiding crowchild, but the thing kept telling me to go on crow (which is understandable as it's the shortest route), however I could actually see the traffic backed up into the turning lane to get onto crow and my usual way was dead. Didn't show any traffic on crow and only showed traffic on some hwy sections outside the city likely due to crashes or construction.

Other than that it seems fine. But it's those features that I paid for, so. . . Who knows. I'll update the unit and take it on a trip out of town before deciding whether or not to try something else.

[Temporary_User]

I've never really looked into it, but why not just use your phone's map app? Or if the default one doesn't suite your needs, why not buy one from the app store for your phone?

If screen size is a reason you could get a data plan for your tablet or tether from your phones data plan.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

I've never really looked into it, but why not just use your phone's map app? Or if the default one doesn't suite your needs, why not buy one from the app store for your phone?

I use my phone in town too, but the biggest downfall of this is that if you go outside of your phone coverage area (ie you travel to the States) you are now roaming.

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by Table 5

I use my phone in town too, but the biggest downfall of this is that if you go outside of your phone coverage area (ie you travel to the States) you are now roaming.

I have never used it, but this might help some folks who can get wifi but not cell roaming while traveling:

http://gizmodo.com/how-to-save-offli...-ios-819672562

Works the same for Android too.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by OldDutch

I have never used it, but this might help some folks who can get wifi but not cell roaming while traveling:

http://gizmodo.com/how-to-save-offli...-ios-819672562

Works the same for Android too.

You can't get directions or find a point of interest with that though unless you have a WiFi/data connection. If you want to navigate with offline Google Maps you have to do it manually.


IMO there's really no replacement for a standalone GPS unit for some things. Phones are better for going around the city, but for driving through spotty cell coverage or abroad with a Canadian phone, a GPS unit is a far better and more robust option at least in my experience.

[sa226]

Best option imo is Sygic for Android. If you have an Android device.

Couple of months ago I took a trip down to LA, rented a car and drove to SF. I downloaded Sygic for my Nexus 7, bought the North America map package for 40 bucks and it was the best GPS I have ever used. It almost has too many features. A few annoyances, but for 40 bucks you can't go wrong.

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by opendoor

You can't get directions or find a point of interest with that though unless you have a WiFi/data connection. If you want to navigate with offline Google Maps you have to do it manually.


IMO there's really no replacement for a standalone GPS unit for some things. Phones are better for going around the city, but for driving through spotty cell coverage or abroad with a Canadian phone, a GPS unit is a far better and more robust option at least in my experience.

Hmm, ya I guess you are right. I was in Hawaii a few years ago and bought one of the better GPS apps (TomTom?) for the iPhone. I had data turned off and it worked very well. You could route anywhere offline as you mention above, without need for roaming data.

I think it was $50? Maybe a bit cheaper of an option and one less piece of hardware to lug around.