A new believer in navigational devices!

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Fyrefox

Well-known Member
I bought into a Black Friday special on a navigational device to help me get to unfamiliar distant locations. The old method of writing down directions on paper has drawbacks when you are trying to negotiate killer traffic and road construction, perhaps with bad weather or night driving conditions thrown in to boot. Well, this little gem is like having another person in the car with you who knows the route exactly, singing out every bend in the road and upcoming exit before you get there! You can even select from a variety of male/female voices, and national accents.

Well, “Sam” (my chosen device’s voice) got me to my unfamiliar destination recently on time without getting lost, and with nerves unfrazzled. I’m a new convert to car navigational devices! 🚗
 

My God, Man! Where have you been? I have a friend who became a convert a few years ago. Before that he would bitch about navigational devices and refuse to follow the directions. That is, if he had been going a different way for years. And sometimes the devices are not perfect or up to date. What he did not mention is that the same thing can be said for maps.

Now he defended his refusal to get involved by saying he preferred a map (which often requires another person in the car, and even then, you still get lost sometimes). He preferred a map, because he just liked knowing where he was at any given moment, and I kind of understand the security of knowing the "big picture." But when you think about it, what is more important: 1)knowing where you are, or 2)knowing how to get where you want to be? The thing about a GPS is that it always knows where you are, but it renders information telling only what you really need to know.

He is now a confirmed believer in GPS, but it was hard for him to get there. He's my age. I get it. The digital age came late in our lives.
 
I like when it warns you about red light cameras and such. That’s as slimy a thing as it gets for visitors to an area that get nailed! I get the idea but……
 
I recently bought a new car with all the trimmings. First time I ever went the deluxe route. The only thing it didn't have stock was a GPS. I asked why that was, and the salesman said (for what that's worth) that people like to plug their smart phones into the display and use those instead. I tried it, but it was too much monkeying around over a dedicated system, and that month, my phone bill was surcharged for the extra data I used. I had them install the Mazda GPS, which is $500 and is nothing more than putting a mini memory disk into a slot, but it's more convenient. The phone does work, and some people may prefer it. I use it if I'm trying to find a business. I look it up on the phone, then punch "get directions," and then plug my phone into the system, which is easier than putting in an address.
 
Way back in the early 90's I was an owner/operator with a expedite freight company based in Cambridge Ontario. About 80 percent of my deliveries went into the States. I had the big Truckers Atlas book, but every time I went to a new place I bought a State map and a local map of the final destination location. After 5 years I had a 26 pocket file folder full of maps. The cost of the maps was a business expense that I could apply to my annual tax return. When I quit that job, I gave all my maps to a young new driver with the company. That probably saved him at least $200. JimB.
 
When I recently bought my new car I made the comment to salesman that I was disappointed about no GPS, he showed me how to use my Iphone for navigation and that seemed to be great, I have not tried this yet, maybe when I have to travel more than 20 miles....
 
Bought our first GPS device in 2008 - Garmin. My current car has a factory nav system installed, and i also use my iPhone sometimes. I have updated the car nav system once, and it is due again. $100 or so for a disc or chip.
 
Fyrefox said:
navigational device
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Absolutely great when they work, and in my experience that's 99+% of the time. However I have on rare occasions been lead astray... that can be frustrating.

One downside for me is that I no longer get the positional and geographic grasp of where I am that I used to have. In that sense just following the GPS can be more like letting someone else drive... But I do it all the time.
 
Fyrefox said:
I bought into a Black Friday special on a navigational device to help me get to unfamiliar distant locations. The old method of writing down directions on paper has drawbacks when you are trying to negotiate killer traffic and road construction, perhaps with bad weather or night driving conditions thrown in to boot. Well, this little gem is like having another person in the car with you who knows the route exactly, singing out every bend in the road and upcoming exit before you get there! You can even select from a variety of male/female voices, and national accents.

Well, “Sam” (my chosen device’s voice) got me to my unfamiliar destination recently on time without getting lost, and with nerves unfrazzled. I’m a new convert to car navigational devices! 🚗
Click to expand...
I have something in my car that holds my phone which has the GPS on it showing the route I am to take. I have to keep touching the phone or it will go off. What is the name of it and where to go to get one. I love the sound of your device.
 
I use Google Maps on my phone, which works pretty well. I'll search for a location on my PC and then save it to "favorites." Then I just select that location on my phone and it tells me the best way to go, factoring in traffic.
 
Between knowing exactly how to get to a place & home again that is a convenience my wife loves. Then to push a button to use the hands free ability to make a call or answer call is a plus.
 
I have one in my car...with Google maps. In the 3 years I have had it,the thing only got confused once. Got me to within a couple miles of my destination and gave me a couple wrong turns. But not sure how much was me not knowing the area at all ,or how much was the thing F-ng with me.
 
My wife’s iPhone gets the job done and a seldom used Garmin probably does it even better. That Garmin is like listening to an artificial intelligence.
 
I don't have one but if I ever have to get a new car tha would be the feature I want. I don't go too far anymore but in an emergency you have to do what you have to do. My husband always drove. He had a built in compass in his head. When he got sick I had to learn to navigate, not so easy.

I was lucky that during that time, family would come and teach me the way to get to the various hospitals or facilities he was in. The only time that I did not have help was in Scottsdale AZ. The medical facilities were all in one area and the streets were very easy to learn and navigate. I spent a lot of time in AZ and I must say they have a wonderful road system, easy to learn, well lite, clean for someone new or visiting.
 
JustDave said:
My God, Man! Where have you been? I have a friend who became a convert a few years ago. Before that he would bitch about navigational devices and refuse to follow the directions.
Liberty said:
The i Phone one usually works pretty good...need to learn how to set it better to choose taking the long way sometimes and to avoid the traffic...lol.
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Satnavs and smart phones, the world has left me behind. My smart phone has yet to connect to the internet, I thought that I might eventually learn but there's no motivation to do so. Now I find that my Apple phone only connects to the server intermittently because it's 3G, whatever that means. Not that it bothers me, I use the landline for most of my calls,

As for satnavs, the fact that I end up arguing with it is why I never bother with having one. What's the point if they make my blood boil?
 

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