GPS Update... June 2008.

when did people start getting so lost that they rely on these things to tell them where to drive? do we really need these? that's a serious question...i'm not messing around, or trying to sound like a comedian on a rant. i use an actual mapbook that takes less time to decipher than a nav system, and i get around just fine (not bragging...i just never feel truely lost enough). i'm a field tech for a locksmith company, and i drive 40 hours a week. never thought of these things as helpful. just an accessory for people to notice and steal.
 
skinny! said:
when did people start getting so lost that they rely on these things to tell them where to drive? do we really need these? that's a serious question...i'm not messing around, or trying to sound like a comedian on a rant. i use an actual mapbook that takes less time to decipher than a nav system, and i get around just fine (not bragging...i just never feel truely lost enough). i'm a field tech for a locksmith company, and i drive 40 hours a week. never thought of these things as helpful. just an accessory for people to notice and steal.
Click to expand...

I haven't used mine long enough to defend it. I can only say that I bought mine because of the overwhelming positive responses I got from GPS users. I've heard and read from people that its an amazing tool they can't live without. Is it silly and over the top? Hell yeah. But, so are cell phones if you compare them to landlines. It's all relative.
 
Yeah, I could use maps and yeah I can read them (I was a boy scout).
But then you have 2 problems.

Driving in a foreign city or country and having

1. ether the maps on the lap and try to read them in heavy traffic (dangerous) or

2. having the naging wive on the passenger seat that holds the map upside down is nerve wracking.

Since I have that GPS I`m a happy camper.

Absolutley worth the $$

I have a Medion http://www.aldifoods.com/us/html/offers/2867_5329_ENU_HTML.htm
for about 189 bucks and I love it.
Lifetime free traffic is included.

I had a TomTom before. It can´t hold a candle to the Medion.
Also the Nuvi doesn´t even come close.

It took me everywhere arround europe and even knows the smallest dust road in te middle of nowhere in Dartmoor England.

The best thing is, if you drive the wrong way or took a wrong turn you see it immediately.
No map can do that for you.

Frank
 
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skinny! said:
when did people start getting so lost that they rely on these things to tell them where to drive? do we really need these? that's a serious question...i'm not messing around, or trying to sound like a comedian on a rant. i use an actual mapbook that takes less time to decipher than a nav system, and i get around just fine (not bragging...i just never feel truely lost enough). i'm a field tech for a locksmith company, and i drive 40 hours a week. never thought of these things as helpful. just an accessory for people to notice and steal.
Click to expand...


Dude... it's a dirt cheap convenience. You can get a capable GPS for $99... and there is NO WAY that you'll figure out a location faster with a map book then I will with a GPS. On top of that, the GPS will tell you that location's phone number and as you drive there it will show you anything else that you may want to know on the way.

We did I shoot at the Blue Cloud Ranch outside of LA and I needed a few things... I never had to guess if a particular exit (town) had the store I needed... and when people got hungry I could tell what restaurants we had in a radius around us... including the direction and distance.

With traffic enabled... I also see road closures, such as contruction on the 405 that caused hour-long delays... and even accidents that can also cause a delay... and as I'm driving... and I need gas... I see one more exit ahead and gas is $.20 cheaper a gallon.

So the GPS is a virtually unlimited phone book for businesses, knows the location of any address relevant to wherever I am in the whole country (I don't have to know the address of a Radio Shack, or even know if there's one IN the area, because the GPS already knows this information), and meanwhile the GPS also advises me of gas pricing, lane closures, road construction, traffic congestion, etc. etc.

The first time you fly into a new city and realize the instant "mastery" of the area (that a GPS gives you)... it will become crystal clear. On my first time out to LA (like 14 years ago)... I would have had a drastically different experience and enjoyed myself WAY more, if I didn't have to figure everything out. I got caught in long traffic jams (where I could have glanced down, saw some cool pub, and pulled off to wait it out, or simply taken another route)... I wasted so much time on that first trip out... that probably 1/4 of my visit was wasted just trying my best to navigate the city...

What you get, for what it costs... is a bargain. Saying GPS is pointless because of map books is like saying the internet is pointless because of the local library.
 
Well both Matt and Postmaster have great points. And again, I wasn't starting a rant. It just seems like everyone has them, and noone I know actually uses theirs. So I was glad to hear both your opinions.
 
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