# A new believer in navigational devices!



## Fyrefox (Nov 30, 2022)

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!


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## hearlady (Nov 30, 2022)

They are nice!


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## Lewkat (Nov 30, 2022)

Some are ok, but others take a long way around to reach a destination.


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## horseless carriage (Nov 30, 2022)

hearlady said:


> They are nice!


I find them excruciatingly annoying! The one in my wife's car actually sighs if you override an instruction and then, in an oh so patronising tone comes out with: "When it's safe to do so, make a "U" turn." "you stupid moron of a satnav, it's a one way street!" That's me, in decibels that go off The Richter Scale!


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## JustDave (Nov 30, 2022)

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.


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## Aunt Mavis (Nov 30, 2022)

They’re amazing! Yes someone is watching you but…….


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## Liberty (Nov 30, 2022)

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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## Aunt Mavis (Nov 30, 2022)

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……


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## JustDave (Nov 30, 2022)

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.


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## Devi (Nov 30, 2022)

And, it's always possible to have a GPS _and_ a map in the car.


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## jimintoronto (Nov 30, 2022)

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.


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## Jackie23 (Nov 30, 2022)

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....


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## Jules (Nov 30, 2022)

I use the Apple app or Google maps on my iPhone.  Works great. I even use those for walking routes in new cities.


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## Buckeye (Nov 30, 2022)

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.


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## Alligatorob (Nov 30, 2022)

Fyrefox said:


> navigational device


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.


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## fancicoffee13 (Nov 30, 2022)

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!


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.


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## SeniorBen (Nov 30, 2022)

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.


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## Jules (Nov 30, 2022)

fancicoffee13 said:


> 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.


Are you using voice commands?  That is the safest way.


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## Knight (Nov 30, 2022)

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.


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## Chet (Nov 30, 2022)

I don't go anywhere anymore that I haven't been to before many times, so no need here.


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## Marie5656 (Nov 30, 2022)

*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.*


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## ElCastor (Nov 30, 2022)

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.


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## NorthernLight (Nov 30, 2022)

I prefer to avoid cities and certain natural features. Can it do that?

Just curious. Not sure whether I'll go for a long drive again.


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## Blessed (Nov 30, 2022)

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.


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## horseless carriage (Dec 1, 2022)

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:
> ...


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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## JustDave (Dec 2, 2022)

Devi said:


> And, it's always possible to have a GPS _and_ a map in the car.


While caught in an hours long Interstate crawl when going home after the last total eclipse, I decided to get off the freeway and use the back roads.  Of course, I had no map, so I started stopping at gas stations, none of which had maps.  I did manage to do it with the GPS by putting in a series of short destinations, until I was miles from any Interstate.  Then I just punched "HOME" and let the GPS take me there.  I also have a gps and map system for my laptop, but it's over 20 years old, and the set is no longer available from Microsoft, but it still works, although many of the maps are out of date.  I have carried this in the car with me many times.  It's actually better than any map, because you can zoom in and out to see a much clearer big picture or alternatively more detail, but it's a tangle of GPS and power source wires and probably a driving hazard.  I've used both my car's GPS and my computer at the same time, and they often disagree where to turn, which supports the "I know more than the damn fangled GPS" argument.  And sometimes that true, but you can depend on the GPS to get you there, even if you don't like the idea of trusting it, or you think you are smarter.


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