Looking to get a GPS

Harkins are very nice and not very expensive.
Smartphones with Googlemaps or Waze work too, but do use data.

 

There is a lot of that in west central Pa.
I'll have to look into the offline maps

 

Maybe another phone with a mount would be a better investment , they work good as a GPS , you would get more use out of it as opposed to a single purpose GPS .
I always just use my phone
Just my 2 cents

 

Normally, we go just a few places and can check out Google maps, or Mapquest.
Another phone is another monthly bill we'd rather not have, but a GPS is a one time shot.
I don't know now, as I just told my wife I have one in my Amazon cart, and her response was that she'd just have our daughter tell her the addresses she needs and she can look 'em up.
Stay tuned......this may not be ovah just yet. She's not going down there for another 3 weeks. A LOT can happen in 3 weeks.
Who knows, we may end up with another car with built in nav.

 

I get that

 

The nice thing about buying a garmin gps unit from wally world is that if you use it and don't like it, you can return it.

 

Mine was sent to me with someone's home address still logged in to the damm thing! From Chicago. I have never entered a home address into it.
The need to update message has been appearing for around 4 years now......gonna have to figure that out some day!!!
Probably just lead me to one of those GTG, no?

 

Another vote for a maps app on the phone. I use it twice every single day, once on the way to work and once on the way home to look for accidents and other traffic so I can pick a different route if needed. I think the maps app uses like 0.2 gigs a month so it's very little. Google maps has the best maps and is more accurate, I think the Apple maps has better traffic alerts. I tried Waze for a few weeks, but it seems less accurate for traffic then both Google maps and Apple maps.

I'm surprised Garmin is still around, I would have bet money that smart phones would have put them out of business years ago.

 

I understand that people especially the older generation hate messing with smartphones and their complicated plans data etc.

But IMO they are superior to a GPS in most common use aspects.
I used mine yesterday all day navigating snowmobile trails using GPS data only when needed...

IMO if you are used to paper maps, any updatable GPS will do.

My parents have a 6" " they call it miss smarty pants"Garmin they like. It has reroutes traffic etc but it's not that great at it compared to a phone...Still cheaper/simpler than a smartphone!
Like others said hit up wally world.

 

Asking only because I don't know....but, when you use a gps mode on your smart phone, does that affect your plan usage agreement? I mean, do you get "charged" for it?

 

It just uses some data.

 

I have had a few Garmins but always manage to kill them by exposure to the heat when left in the window. Now just use the smart phone for the same thing. I wouldn't buy anything beyond the basic model. I don't find the perks worth it. Beside, most some loaded with stuff you will never use. All that being said, I also must say that a GPS is essential. I am much less distracted when I don't have to keep guessing about where to turn or trying to look at a map.

 

Can't find Harkins, what is that?

 

They'res no additional charges to use the gps, just make sure to use a free app like Google Maps or Apple Maps. The only data used is to download the map and then any other options you have turned on within the map app, such as traffic, terrain, places like gas stations, restaurants, etc. The GPS function (the part that tells you were you are) uses no data. If your wife will have wifi, if she opens the app and gets directions over wifi it'll download the maps there and save you some data. You can also download maps in a certain area beforehand over wifi and save some data that way as well, here's the instructions:

Download areas and navigate offline - iPhone & iPad - Google Maps Help

But I've found that the app uses very little data. I just checked my usage on my phone, like I said I use the gps every day and my data usage is showing that the navigation apps use about 2% of my total data usage. That's 2% out of 2.5 gigs I've used this month in total.

 

One more thing, IF your wife chooses to use the gps on the phone make sure she has a car charger. The gps does use a ton of battery power, and she'll probably notice the phone feels hot.

 

That's good info. She'll only be down there for about a week, so usage sounds like it'll be minimal.
It just also dawned on me that all the kids have Iphones, so she could actually have them be her navigator.

 

We have a TomTom, it will get you there but I have not been overly impressed with it. I call it the "stupid route"
Will take you one way there and a different way back. My co-worker likes his Garmin buts says it will do dumb stuff too. I think the map system on my wifes works about as well as anything. We only turn on the location thingy when we want to use the map, it eats up data even if you aren't using the maps.