GPS Owners

[Sparkle]

I'm not one, but there was a segment on Good Morning America on the new electronics. You can get a gadget that will have the celebrity of your choice saying, "Hey, I see you are driving by the beach. Would you like to hear some music from my playlist?" Then it plays suitable beach music. Depending on where you are it will play desert, mountain, forest. I wonder what would happen if it said, "Hey, I see you are driving through New York City. Would you like to hear music to suit that setting?" No thank you!

[Cedar518]

I agree,.... I think I'll continue to pick my own music.

I havent' gotten a GPS yet, as it's pretty expensive for only part time use. I still rely on my atlas and plotting my own course for my camping trips here in the northeast. If i ever actually get out of here for a winter and travel I will invest in one. I like to hearing all of you discuss them with pros and cons. Your opinions will help me make a decision when it's time for me to buy.

[retiredhappy]

My friends have a Magellon and it doesn't work as well as my Garmin. I do love my Golly Garmin - she tells me which lane I need to be in for a turn up ahead so I have plenty of time to change lanes. Also lets me know how farther I have to go before arriving. Don't think I would like one that chooses my music tho.

[Sparkle]

Well I'm stuck in the 70's as far as music goes. So it might be a good thing.

[Getupngo]

I have a tomtom and have programmed the "voice" of Starfleet Commander Jean Luc Picard to navigate me through the universe. When I disobey him, he says, "You have entered the Beta Quadrant. Turn around! Turn around!" (Talk to me, Jean Luc!)

My son gave me the tomtom for Christmas a year ago. Where it comes in handy is when I need to navigate to an RV park after dark in an URBAN area with my rig+toad. It also got a real workout in October when I was canvassing neighborhoods for the Obama campaign in Colorado -- completely unfamiliar territory, but Jean Luc got me wherever I needed to go.

[mtngal]

I also have the TomTom One, it's simple and easy to use; has only gotten me lost once, that was in downtown Tucson after dark when I didn't check out the map first. That said, I LOVE TOMTOM! with him I am relaxed driving just about anywhere.

[Bethers]

As I've said before, I never wanted a gps, returned the first one I was given when I first went on the road, but Christmas before this, like Janice, I was given a TomTom - and I must say, I've decided this Tom can stay. I don't use it for much of my travels, but do use it for driving through cities and some night time driving, etc. Glad to have this Tom in my life, but he is NOT going to be allowed to select my music!

[avalen]

Sparklel, I thought you had one, one that tried to park you in the ocean

[dcricket]

Oooooooooh Ava Sparkle I see you'll never live that one down.
I have a Garmin Nuvi 680 and it has the MSN feature. Really more stuff than what I'll ever use, but I do like it. Maaaaaaaan, wish mine had neat little feature like movie star voice. I'd love to hav Sean Connery telling me where to go and how to get there

Don't think I'd care for some voice asking me what music I wanted to play..thats just a little too weird.

[Liz]

I have two. The first one I bought was a DeLorme ($89) which hooks up to laptop using USB cord. I like it best because I can plan my whole trip using the map program and tell it which roads I want to take, big or small, where I want to stop for the night or to sightsee, etc. I also like the large laptop screen. The disadvantage is you have to have your laptop on, a place to put it, and keep it hooked up to an inverter. That became a problem, so I bought a small Magellon Maestro which works ok, but not so good for advanced planning.

[mtngal]

That's interesting Liz, does the DeLorme pick up a signal from inside the house?

[Liz]

Mtngal,

Haven't tried it inside...maybe near a window. But you can plan your whole route on the map program (Street Atlas) without hooking up the gps. In fact you can plan and save several routes or route segments, then when you plug in the gps you just click on the route you want.

[avalen]

I forgot to ad........I don't even have one, but if I did I'd want a real sexy man voice
on it too and when I start getting time and money to hit the road I'm gonna look into
it. But no music please, I'd be driving by a lake and have the loons honking at me
cause I listen to relaxing nature music. I'd probably end up in the lake.

[Shirlv]

I have a Garmin and wouldn't travel without it. I move it between the rv and the car whenever needed. It has traveled with children and grandchildren. It paid for its self when I traveled the Capitol Beltway in DC, telling me to get in the lefthand land for a turn. I would probably still be driving in circles, I hate that beltway. I usually print directions from mapquest to get a general idea of how long, how many miles and a general idea of what direction I am headed. The older I get the less I like to be distracted by reading maps, searching for streets. I can always blame the gps (Gertie) if I get lost.

[Shirlv]

I have a Garmin and wouldn't travel without it. I move it between the rv and the car whenever needed. It has traveled with children and grandchildren. It paid for its self when I traveled the Capitol Beltway in DC, telling me to get in the lefthand land for a turn. I would probably still be driving in circles, I hate that beltway. I usually print directions from mapquest to get a general idea of how long, how many miles and a general idea of what direction I am headed. The older I get the less I like to be distracted by reading maps, searching for streets. I can always blame the gps (Gertie) if I get lost.